University of Massachusetts SAREO Student Assessment, Research, and Evaluation Office

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SARIS REPORT NO. 313
THE ENTERING CLASS AT UMASS
ACE/CIRP SURVEY, FALL 1999

PREFACE

Normative data on the characteristics of freshmen entering American colleges and universities are useful for persons engaged in policy analysis, institutional planning and administration, educational research, teaching, guidance and counseling, as well as for the general community of students and parents. The annual survey of entering freshmen conducted by the UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute and partially sponsored by the American Council on Education (ACE) provides such information. This survey is part of the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP), the nation’s largest and longest national, longitudinal empirical study of the American higher education system. National results from this study are reported in The American Freshman: National Norms for Fall 1999 (Sax, Astin, Korn, & Mahoney, 1999). The UMass report follows the same format as the national report while emphasizing the data from entering students at UMass.

The CIRP survey provides information about incoming students’ backgrounds, academic and career expectations, personal goals, and opinions on a wide range of political and social issues. The 1999 national study is based on responses from 261,217 freshmen entering 462 two-year and four-year institutions. The normative scores are stratified according to type of institution and admissions profile in order to facilitate comparison.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) has participated in the CIRP survey since its inception in 1966 (UMass did not participate in 1976 and 1978). Since 1975, the Student Affairs Research, Information and Systems Office (SARIS) has produced a report on the responses of UMass students and students in comparison schools. In 1999, 3538 of the 3888 entering UMass first-time, full-time freshmen who participated in the New Students Program also participated in the CIRP survey by completing the 30 minute questionnaire during the summer. The high response rate (90.99%) ensures that the scores for the University accurately represent the entire entering freshman class.

The report summarizes the 1999 responses of entering UMass students and students in comparison schools: high-select public universities, where the average SAT scores for entering students are over 1100. From 1995 to 1996, UMass Amherst data were compared to medium-select public universities where medium-select is defined as an institution having an average composite SAT score (V&Q) of between 1000 and 1100 for the entering class. Tables 1 and 2 provide background characteristics of the entering freshmen at UMass who responded to the ACE/CIRP Survey.

Stress Increasing

This year’s national survey indicated that record numbers of entering college students are experiencing frequent feelings of being “overwhelmed by all I have to do”: 30.2% of students this year as compared to 16.0% when the question was introduced in 1985 (Sax et al, 1999). UMass students expressed similar feelings, with 32.1% of respondents reporting that they frequently felt overwhelmed. UMass students also follow the national pattern in that the sense of being overwhelmed has become increasingly prevalent over time. Figure 1 illustrates this increase.

Figure 1. Stress among incoming students at UMass (% “frequently” overwhelmed)

Both nationally and at UMass, women are almost twice as likely as men to report that they feel overwhelmed. Sax et al. (1999) report that 38.8% of women and 20.0% of men are “frequently” overwhelmed, while at UMass the proportions are 40.8% and 21.7% respectively (see Figure 1).

Sax et al. (1999) suggested that students’ expectation of having to work full-time while in college might be a contributor to this increase in stress. Nationally, 6.9% of incoming students report a “very good” likelihood of working full-time while attending college. At UMass, 2.1% of incoming students thought there was a “very good” likelihood of doing so, compared to 2.5% of freshmen at public, high-select universities.

Sax et al. (1999) suggested several factors that might contribute to the stress difference between men and women. One was concerns about money. Nationally, women are more concerned than men that they may not have enough money to complete college (69.6% v. 57.2%). The proportions are very similar at UMass, with 70.3% of women and 60.8% of men expressing “some” or “major” concern.

Another factor that Sax et al. (1999) suggested might contribute to gender differences in stress is how men and women spend their time. Like the national sample, in the last year of high school, entering women at UMass spent more of their time than men working for pay, participating in student clubs and organizations, doing housework and childcare, performing volunteer work, and studying (see Figure 2). Men spent more time than women watching TV, exercising or playing sports, playing video games, and partying (see Figure 3). These findings are in keeping with the interpretation of Sax et al. (1999, p.3), who “suggest that women spend more time on goal-oriented and potentially stress-producing activities, whereas men more often participate in activities that provide a recreational outlet and possible release from stress.”

Figure 2. How students spend their time - activities common among women

Figure 3. How students spend their time – activities common among men

Academic Disengagement

Sax et al. (1999) report that college freshman appear to be increasingly disengaged from the academic process. They point, for example, to the fact that a record 39.9% of students reported that they “frequently” felt bored in class. Boredom among UMass entering freshmen also rose to new heights this year, when 45.8% reported that they were “frequently” bored in class the previous year. At public high-select universities, 43.1% reported being frequently bored. See Figure 4 for an illustration of the increase in this behavior over time.

Figure 4. Students at UMass who reported being frequently bored in class

Another indicator of disengagement used by Sax et al. (1999) was the increasing proportion of students who reported that they “frequently” or “occasionally” came late to class: nationally an all-time high of 62.6% of students reported having done so. By comparison, 71.6% of the UMass survey participants and 68.6% of those in the public, high-select university freshmen comparison group, reported that they “frequently” or “occasionally” came late to class the previous year. Similarly, 36.5% of students in the national sample reported having “overslept and missed class or appointment” as compared to 38.3% of the UMass students and 35.8% of the public, high-select comparison group.

Nationally, a record low number of freshman (31.5%) reported studying or doing homework six or more hours per week during their last year of high school. At UMass, 41.3% of students reported having studied six or more hours per week and 47.9% of the comparison group did likewise. Women were significantly more likely than men at UMass (46.9% v. 34.6%, c2=53.58, p=.000) to have studied six or more hours per week.

Another related finding was that growing numbers of students had taken remedial courses in high school, setting records in some disciplines. Figure 5 details the proportion of UMass freshmen who reported having taken remedial courses in high school in comparison with national averages and those for public, high-select universities. Figure 6 compares men and women from UMass in this regard. Men at UMass were significantly more likely than women to have taken remedial English, and women significantly more likely than men to have taken remedial mathematics.

Figure 5. Students who took remedial courses in high school, UMass, public high-select, and national

Figure 6. Students who took remedial courses in high school, by sex

When asked if they thought they needed remedial work, UMass men and women had significantly different responses in several disciplines. Men were significantly more likely than women to say that they needed remediation in English (7.9% v. 5.5%, c2=8.52, p=.004) and reading (3.8% v. 2.2%, c2=8.62, p=.003). Women were significantly more likely than men to say that they needed remediation in mathematics (23.1% v. 14.6%, c2=41.83, p=.000) and science (9.8% v. 6.7%, c2=11.65, p=.001).

Grade Inflation

Despite the tendency toward academic disengagement, high school students nationally are receiving higher grades and recording record levels of academic self-confidence (Sax et al. 1999). Nationally, a record high of 34.1% of freshmen reported having an average of “A” in high school, while at UMass 27.2% of students had an “A” average and 60.1% of the comparative group reported an “A” average. As Figure 7 demonstrates, the proportion of UMass freshmen who reported having had an “A” average in high school has essentially doubled between 1991 and 1999. Although women consistently reported a higher proportion of “A” grades than men, the upward overall trend is extremely similar for both men and women.

Figure 7. Average grade in high school, men and women

Like the offspring of Garrison Keillor’s mythical Lake Woebegon, where “all the children are above average,” UMass students also tend to rate themselves as “above average” or the “highest 10%” when asked to compare their abilities with an average person of their own age. Of UMass students surveyed, 71.7% rated themselves as above average in academic ability, compared to 58.5% in the national sample (Sax et al., 1999) and 82.5% of the comparative group. Figure 8 presents UMass students’ ratings of their own abilities on several indicators of academic self-confidence over the past decade. Students’ perceptions of how they compare with others have increased overall. Men rated themselves consistently higher in terms of academic ability, leadership skills, and intellectual self-confidence than did women, while there was little difference between men and women on public speaking and writing ability (which are not included in Figure 8).

Figure 8. Indicators of academic self-confidence, men and women, 1991-1999

Social Activism

Sax et al. (1999) reported that a record high proportion of freshman (75.3%) performed volunteer work in high school at the same time that “students’ long-term goals for social activism are on the decline.” Like the national sample, UMass freshman also logged a record high for having performed volunteer work in their last year of high school (see Figure 9).

Figure 9. Proportion of UMass freshmen who did volunteer work in their last year in high school

Sax et al. (1999) used a number of objectives students consider “essential” or “very important” as indicators of student commitment to social activism and found that many of these indicators continued long-term declining trends. At UMass, downward trends continue in terms of the proportion of freshmen who believe it is important to influence social values (see Figure 10), help clean up the environment (see Figure 11), or promote racial understanding (see Figure 12). In all these areas, women were more likely than men to consider these goals essential or very important. The proportion of students who believe that it is essential or very important to keep up to date with politics also continued a long-term decline, although in this case more men than women rated this goal highly (see Figure 13).

Figure 10. Students who believe it is essential or very important to influence social values

Figure 11. Students who believe it is essential or very important to become involved in
programs to clean up the environment

Figure 12. Students who believe it is essential or very important to help promote racial understanding

Figure 13. Students who believe it is essential or very important to keep up to date with politics

Drinking and Smoking

Sax et al. (1999) stated that, nationally, this year’s incoming students report the lowest level of beer drinking in the history of the CIRP survey: 50.7% of the national sample and 50.2% of the comparative group said that they frequently or occasionally drank beer. At UMass, a higher proportion of the students, 62.4%, reported drinking beer. Figure 14 shows the trend of beer drinking reported by men and women at UMass, with a higher proportion of men than women consistently reporting that they drank beer. UMass students also exceed the national figures in the consumption of wine and liquor (53.8% of students nationally, 55.7% of the comparative group, and 64.7% at UMass). The proportion of UMass women who report drinking wine or liquor is consistently higher than the proportion of men. (In 1999, 67.5% of women and 61.4% of men reported “frequently” or “occasionally” drinking wine or liquor.)

Figure 14. Students who reported that they “frequently” or “occasionally” drank beer

On the related issue of partying, Sax et al. (1999) reported a new low proportion of students who reported partying six or more hours a week: 30.1%. Figure 15 demonstrates a similar decrease among UMass students, who have reported 34.0% and 34.3% respectively in the past two years.

Figure 15. Students who reported partying six or more hours per week

Sax et al. (1999) reported that the national proportion of students who smoke cigarettes “frequently” now stands at 14.2%. Among incoming UMass students, 13.4% reported that they smoked “frequently,” and the long-term trend illustrated in Figure 16 is for a higher proportion of women than men to report that they smoke cigarettes.

Figure 16. Students who reported that they “frequently” smoked cigarettes in the past year

Career Interests

Sax et al. (1999) report that incoming students’ interest in elementary and secondary teaching as a career is at a thirty-year high of 11.2% (15.7% for women and 5.6% for men). As Figure 17 demonstrates, interest in an education career is also at a high at UMass, with 7.9% of students listing teaching as a probable career. Much of the increase is in interest by women, while interest by men has remained essentially stable for most of the decade. The proportions of UMass women and men with an interest in teaching are noticeably lower than national figures, but higher than the comparative group (4.6%).

Figure 17. Proportion of students listing teaching and/or school administration as their probable career

Sax et al. (1999) reported on growing student interest in the arts and humanities. Grouping the probable career categories of “artist,” “actor/entertainer,” “interior decorator,” “musician,” and “writer/journalist,” they noted that a record 7.8% of incoming students aspire to become artists or performers. Although a higher proportion of UMass students (9.6%) expressed interest in these career categories in 1999, interest was higher at the beginning of the decade than it is at present. (See Figure 18).

Figure 18. Probable career in the arts or humanities

Another measure of interest in the arts and humanities is the proportion of students who considered achievement in arts, writing and creativity as essential or very important life objectives. Here again, Sax et al. (1999) reported national peaks this year, while student interest in these areas at UMass appears to have reached a peak in 1997. See Figure 19 for the proportions of students who considered achievement in the performing arts and writing or otherwise creating artistic works as essential or very important life goals.

Figure 19. Proportions of students seeing artistic life objectives as essential or very important

Age at Matriculation

Sax et al. (1999) report a national increase in the proportions of first year students matriculating at the age of nineteen or above, with significantly more men than women doing so. A similar trend appears with UMass students, with almost twice as many men as women (29.8% v. 17.6%) starting college at age 19 or above. This trend does not seem to be caused by delayed college entry, since the proportion of full-time students entering college directly from high school has not decreased (see Figure 20).

Figure 20. Age at matriculation and proportions of students entering college directly from high school

Refererences

Sax, L. J., Astin, A. W., Korn, W. S., & Mahoney, K. M. (1998). The American freshman: National norms for Fall 1998. Los Angeles: UCLA Higher Education Research Institute.

APPENDIX A

The schools listed below represent public universities in the “high select” group (average SAT score of over 1100). These schools make up the comparison group in which UMass has chosen to be represented. These schools were judged to have representative samples and were included in the 1999 national data.

Miami University
Rutgers University – New Brunswick
Rutgers University – Newark
SUNY - Binghamton
SUNY - Stony Brook
UCLA
UC – Riverside
University of Michigan
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

APPENDIX B

The 1999 ACE/CIRP Survey Instrument

Click here to see the Survey Instrument

APPENDIX C

Comparative Data Tables (1990-1999)

Click here to see the Comparative Data Tables

APPENDIX D

Item-by-Item of the 1999 ACE/CIRP Data

Click here to see the Item-by-Item