The American Freshman: National Norms for Fall 2006 Sylvia Hurtado & John H. Pryor January 19, 2007 Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) Higher.

The American Freshman:National Norms for Fall

2006 Sylvia Hurtado & John H. Pryor

January 19, 2007

Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP)

Higher Education Research Institute (HERI)Graduate School of Education & Information Studies

University of California, Los Angeles

http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri/heri.html

CIRP Surveys

Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) established in 1966 at American Council on Education

CIRP transferred to UCLA in 1973 40th Anniversary of CIRP in 2006

Examination of long-term trends in college students

Data used for policy analysis, human resource planning, campus administration, educational research, guidance and counseling

CIRP Surveys

Freshman Survey Your First College Year (YFCY)

End of first year of college College Senior Survey (CSS)

End of college experience

Survey instruments Used in conjunction for longitudinal purposes Revised annually to reflect changing concerns

2006 Freshman Norms

Based on weighted responses of 271,441 students at 393 4-year colleges and universities

88% median institutional participation rate

Data statistically adjusted to reflect responses of 1.3 million first-time, full-time students

Presentation Outline

Political Orientation and Views Attitudes on Social/Political Issues Concerns about College Finances Impact of Finances on College Choice Reliance on Paid Work AP Course-Taking and Exams Civic Commitment and Concerns Pre-College/College Racial Composition

Political Orientation and Views


Increased prevalence of discussing politics in high school

2006 – 33.8 percent (“frequently”) 2004 – 25.5 percent (“frequently”)

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

1988 1991 1994 1997 2000 2003 2006


Political Orientation 2006Change from

2005

Liberal 28.4%(highest since 1975)

+1.3%

Middle-of-the-Road 43.3%(lowest since 1970)

-1.7%

Conservative 23.9%(highest in history)

+1.3%

Political shift away from center


Political shift away from center

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006

Liberal Middle-of-the-Road Conservative

Agree “Strongly or “Somewhat” 2005 2006

The federal government should do more to control the sale of handguns

78.7% 73.8%

There is too much concern in the courts for the rights of criminals

57.9% 55.9%

Same sex couples should have the right to legal marital status

57.9% 61.2%

It is important to have laws prohibiting homosexual relations

27.4% 25.6%


Shift in attitudes from 2005 to 2006

Attitudes on Social/Political Issues


Differences in support for gay rights

Attitudes on Gay Rights

83.6%

11.0%

63.0%

22.8%30.4%

48.5%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Sam-sex couples should have the right tolegal marital status

It is important to have laws prohibitinghomosexual relationships

Perc

ent

"agre

ein

g"

Liberal/ Far Left Middle-of-the-Road Conservative/ Far Right


Differences in support for legalizing abortion

Abortion Should Be Legal

78.3%

56.3%

31.8%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Liberal/Far Left Middle-of-the-Road Conservative/Far Right

Political Orientation

Perc

ent

"agre

ein

g"

Noticeable differences along ideological lines


Agree “Strongly or “Somewhat” LiberalsConservativ

es

The death penalty should be abolished

48.0% 22.5%

Marijuana should be legalized 52.5% 23.5%

A national health plan is needed to cover everybody’s medical costs

83.9% 57.0%

Affirmative action in college admissions should be abolished

52.7% of conservative freshmen agree “strongly” or “somewhat”

44.6% of liberal freshmen agree “strongly” or “somewhat”



Modest differences along ideological lines

Agree “Strongly or “Somewhat” LiberalsConservativ

es

Dissent is a critical component of the political process

66.1% 63.2%

Realistically, an individual can do little to bring about major changes in our society

25.3% 26.5%



Agree “Strongly or “Somewhat”Liberal/Far Left

Middle-of-the-Road

Conservative/

Far Right

The federal government is not doing enough to control environmental pollution

88.5% 79.3% 62.5%

The federal government should do more to control the sale of handguns

81.8% 74.8% 62.1%

Only volunteers should serve in the armed forces

73.0% 62.1% 53.6%

Wealthy people should pay a larger share of taxes than they do now

71.6% 57.8% 42.2%

Through hard work, everybody can succeed in American society

68.3% 79.9% 85.4%

The chief benefit of a college education is that it increases one's earning power

59.6% 68.8% 70.8%



Agree “Strongly or “Somewhat”Liberal/Far Left

Middle-of-the-Road

Conservative/

Far Right

There is too much concern in the courts for the rights of criminals

43.2% 58.3% 67.6%

Undocumented immigrants should be denied access to public education

34.0% 47.5% 61.4%

The federal government should raise taxes to reduce the deficit

33.4% 24.2% 23.3%

Colleges have the right to ban extreme speakers from campus

28.5% 40.6% 55.1%

Federal military spending should be increased

18.4% 31.7% 51.4%

Racial discrimination is no longer a problem in America

12.6% 18.7% 27.8%

Civic Commitment and Concerns

Civic Commitment and Concerns

Institutional Type

Black Colleges

“Essential” or “Very Important” Objectives

All Baccalaureate Institutions

AllBlack

CollegesPublic Private

Helping others who are in difficulty

66.7% 76.5% 75.0% 79.5%

Becoming a community leader 35.2% 52.7% 49.8% 58.3%

Influencing social values 42.5% 57.7% 56.1% 60.9%

Participating in an organization like the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps/VISTA

11.3% 15.2% 15.3% 15.0%

Concerns about College Finances

Concerns about College Finances 2 out of 3 (64.1 percent) students indicate

that they have “some” or “major” concerns regarding their ability to finance the costs of college education

52.5%

11.6%

35.8%

NoneSomeMajor

Concerns about College Finances

23.8%

11.0%

3.2%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Less than $50,000 $50,000-$100,000 More than $100,00

“Major” concerns about financing college based on family income

College Choice and Finances

College Choice

2006 – 67.3% attending first choice

Lowest level since 1988 (66.7%)

Students Accepted by First Choice Institution Choosing to Attend Other Institutions

49.8%

39.3%34.6%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

2nd Choice 3rd Choice 4th Choice or Lower

Choice of Institution Attended

Perc

ent

Acc

epte

d b

y Fi

rst

Choic

e

Inst

ituti

ons

Top 5 important reasons influencing college choice for students attending first-choice institution

Academic reputation Graduates getting good jobs Visit to campus School size Good social reputation

College Choice and Finances

Impact of Finances on College Choice

Considered cost“very important”

Freshmen attending first-choice institution 29.1%

Freshmen attending second-choice institution

37.4%

Freshmen attending third-choice institution

40.4%

Finances of greater concern for students attending second- and third-choice institutions

Of students who were admitted but did not attend their first-choice institutions…

34.0% could not afford their first choice 20.7% did not receive aid from their first choice



Attending

"Very Important" Reason for Attending this College

1st Choice

2nd Choice

3rd Choice

4th Choice

and Lower

This college has a very good academic reputation

63.0 49.9 41.1 30.5

This college's graduates get good jobs

52.7 44.9 39.2 31.3

A visit to campus 43.1 31.2 23.5 18.0

I wanted to go to a school about the size of this college

42.9 33.6 26.0 21.3

This college has a very good reputation for its social activities

35.6 28.0 21.6 15.5

I was offered financial assistance 32.5 37.2 39.6 39.8

This college's graduates gain admission to top graduate/professional schools

31.4 28.4 27.5 23.8


Attending

"Very Important" Reason for Attending this College

1st Choice

2nd Choice

3rd Choice

4th Choice

and Lower

The cost of attending this college 29.1 37.4 40.4 41.2

I wanted to live near home 19.6 16.7 13.8 12.5

Information from a website 18.1 15.6 13.4 11.0

Rankings in national magazines 17.5 14.4 14.0 12.9

Admitted through Early Action/Decision program

13.4 6.4 5.0 3.7

Could not afford my first choice 3.0 20.4 26.0 28.4

Not offered aid by my first choice 2.3 13.2 18.2 21.4

Reliance on Paid Work

Reliance on Paid Work

Source of Aid for First Year2006 Change

from 2000

Parents, other relatives, or friends 82.2% -0.3%

Other savings 38.3% +6.3%

Part-time job on campus 29.0% +3.2%

Part-time job off campus 24.3% +2.4%

Full-time job while in college 4.7% +2.0%

AP Course-Taking and Exams


61.6% took at least one AP course 51.0% took at least one AP exam 6.3% went to high schools that did not offer AP

courses


AP Courses Offered at My High School: None

Took 1 or More AP Courses

Took 1 or More AP Exams

Took 5 or More AP Courses

White 6.2% 61.1% 49.7% 13.9%

Black/African American 7.4% 49.8% 38.6% 7.6%

American Indian 6.5% 62.1% 48.7% 31.7%

Asian American/Pacific Islander

5.8% 73.1% 65.7% 17.8%

Latina/o 5.1% 67.7% 59.4% 13.7%

Other/Unknown 7.4% 58.9% 47.8% 13.0%

TOTAL 6.3% 61.7% 50.9% 14.9%

Pre-College/College Racial Composition

Pre-College/College Racial Composition

Percentage of White Students in Incoming Freshman Cohort at

Student's Institution

Racial Composition of High School Last Attended

Mean % s.d.

All/mostly non-White 49.0 28.5

Half & Half 63.0 22.8

All/mostly White 72.1 16.9

Racial Composition of Neighborhood Where You Grew Up

All/mostly non-White 48.5 29.3

Half & Half 59.5 24.6

All/mostly White 71.9 16.5

TOTAL 67.0 21.6

Conclusions Increasing student political and civic awareness Colleges can foster democratic citizenship,

greater political and civic awareness. Good news for college classroom and student affairs work

College choice is becoming more complex Attention to financial support for low-income and

middle-class families is essential Given unequal opportunities in access to AP

courses and exams, we need to offer alternative criteria for admissions

Diversity remains a major concern for college educational goals

For more information:

A copy of “The American Freshman: National Norms for Fall 2006, press release, research brief,

powerpoint slides:http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri/heri.htm

Register for the 2007 CIRP Freshman Survey www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri/cirp_register.html

The American Freshman: National Norms for Fall 2006 Sylvia Hurtado & John H. Pryor January 19, 2007 Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) Higher.

Documents

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college financesmajor