The Collegiate Results Instrument (CRI) was a survey targeted at graduates from 1991 through 1994. This survey was designed to help institutions and the public better understand the outcomes of a college education. Macalester was one of eighty schools from a full spectrum of higher education institutions participating in the project, which resulted in over 38,000 valid surveys. Over 240 Macalester alumni from the classes of 1993 and 1994 returned surveys. The survey was conducted by the Knight Higher Education Collaborative and the Institute for Research on Higher Education. The CRI looks at the personal values of alumni, their abilities, occupations, work skills, and their pursuit of lifelong learning.
The results of the CRI survey are illustrated by a comparison of the scores of our Macalester graduates to "threshold" scores, predetermined by the administrators of the survey. The "threshold" is an average or normal score that would be expected of a graduate taking the survey. Threshold scores were set for each area (i.e. quantitative abilities, civic and community values, etc.) by combining responses to different questions on the survey. Each of the following graphs shows the percentage of Macalester graduates whose scores exceeded this predetermined threshold.
Values of Macalester Graduates
Macalester graduates indicate very strong values in arts and culture and in the civic and community area, with about two thirds of the graduates exceeding the threshold in each area. The arts and culture items on the CRI emphasize enjoying artistic experiences and activities such as visiting an art gallery. The civic and community items focus on the value of participation as well as actual participation in volunteer work or a political campaign. The response of our graduates on the physical fitness value is substantially lower than the responses of graduates from several of our peer colleges.
Abilities of Macalester Graduates
Macalester graduates indicate exceptional strength in the ability to find information, but are somewhat weaker in their quantitative abilities. Almost 75% of the graduate scores exceed the threshold in the ability to find information, compared to 57% in quantitative abilities. The quantitative scores are based on how the graduates reacted to situations such as determining financial implications or answering a probability question. The quantitative skills area is another where the Macalester responses are lower than those of graduates from several of our peer colleges.
Work Skills of Macalester Graduates
The strongest area of work skills shown by the Macalester graduates is in writing and presentation, with customer/client skills being the weakest area. Three fourths of the graduate scores exceed the threshold in writing and presentation, compared to about half in customer/client skills. The customer/client questions focus on working with customers, children, the elderly, or selling products and services. The following graph shows the percentages of graduates exceeding the thresholds in each area of work skills:
11 September 2000
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