V 4.2 Date: 9.25.96

Eastern has participated in the Cooperative Institute Research Project (CIRP) Freshman Survey since 1987. In 1995, the survey was administered to over 300,000 students at 641 two and four year colleges and universities. At Eastern, the survey was administered to 507 students at new student orientation by Student Academic Services. Of these, 425 students were first-time freshmen with no previous academic credit at an institution of higher education according to the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA. The results for a number of the questions which deal with student attitudes, behaviors, goals and aspirations follow. The text here will focus on similarities and differences of student responses to those of the national sample.

Eastern students were somewhat older, more likely to identify their ethnicity as white, and had higher self-reported grade point averages. One-third of the first-time freshmen at Eastern lived within 50 miles of Portales, where almost 58% lived 100 miles or more away. When compared to students at other four year low-select public institutions, Eastern students were less likely to have had work in remedial courses (this may be the function of a lack of offerings in New Mexico as anything else), were more likely to indicate that they would need remedial work in mathematics and reading, and less likely to need remedial assistance in English and foreign language.

During the last year, Eastern students were less likely to report being bored in class, feeling overwhelmed or depressed, and to having played a musical instrument; but were much more likely to have socialized with members of a different ethnic group, vote in a student election, discuss politics, smoke cigarettes, drink beer, wine or liquor. When asked to self rate themselves in a number of areas, more students rated themselves above average or in the top 10 percent compared to the four year public low-select cohort that rated themselves higher in artistic ability, competitiveness, creativity, cynicism, drive to achieve, leadership ability, and writing ability and rated themselves lower than the national sample in academic ability, cooperatives, emotional health, mathematical ability, physical appearance, and physical health.

All but 2% of Eastern’s first-time freshmen plan to complete the bachelor’s degree with more than half planning to complete a graduate or professional degree. Eastern students spent less time studying but more time socializing with friends, exercising, working for pay, and watching television.

The full description of the results for the national sample and Eastern for the last ten years are available at the Assessment Resource Office. If you would like to look at these results for any year for any particular question or for any other cohort, please contact Dr. Alec Testa at ext. 4313.