2. Commencement Survey Summer 2008 August 19, 2008 Department of Institutional Research and Planning E. Perry Deess, Ph.D.

3. Graduation Ceremony Website Good/Excellent % Accuracy of information70% Usefulness of information68% Ease of locating information60% Overall impression of commencement webpage59% Response Rate: 19.06% N = 202 Scale: Poor, Fair, Satisfactory, Good, Excellent

4. Satisfaction with Ceremony Sat./Very Sat. % Open seating/unlimited guest policy92% Availability of seating88% Courteousness of commencement staff82% Convenience of site81% Helpfulness of commencement staff79% View of ceremony77% Length of ceremony57% Quality of sound system56% Quality of commencement speaker49% Relevance of commencement speaker49% Overall satisfaction with the commencement ceremony70% Scale: Very Dissatisfied, Dissatisfied, Neutral, Satisfied, Very Satisfied

5. Parking 82% parked at the arena Satisfaction with ParkingSat./Very Sat. % Availability of parking62% Ease of parking54% Length of time to exit parking50% Cost of parking34% Scale: Very Dissatisfied, Dissatisfied, Neutral, Satisfied, Very Satisfied

6. Leaving Early/Cell Phones/Scoreboard 76% of the respondents stayed for the entire ceremony and 66% were not disturbed by people leaving early. About 85% of the respondents were not disturbed by cell phone use and do not support banning cell phones. 70% of the respondents think that it is important/very important that the students’ names be scrolled on the scoreboard.

7. Scenario Ratings SummaryHighest Rec. (8-10) %Mean Scenario 1xx Scenario 2xx Scenario 3xx Scale: 1=Not at all 10=Highest recommendation

8. Scenario 1 A one-hour ceremony at the Prudential Center that includes the commencement address, student speakers, awards, and the awarding of honorary and earned doctoral degrees, plus general (not individual) recognition of all bachelors and masters graduates, followed by a second one-hour ceremony at the department level where all bachelors and masters graduates receive individual recognition. The second ceremonies would be at various locations, either on campus or elsewhere, and have different formats that allow interaction between graduates, their family and friends, and the departments.

9. Scenario 2 Separate 1.5-2 hour ceremonies divided by degree level, one for bachelors graduates, and another for masters and PhD graduates. Each ceremony would have its own commencement address, student speaker, award recognitions and honorary degrees. All students would be recognized individually by going on stage to be greeted. Locations of the ceremonies may or may not be at the same location (Prudential Center or elsewhere), and may or may not be on the same day.

10. Scenario 3 – Current model A single 2.5-3 hour ceremony at the Prudential Center that includes the commencement address, student speakers, awards, and the honorary and earned doctoral degrees, plus individual recognition of all bachelors and masters graduates by having them go on stage to be greeted.

11. Scenario Ratings SummaryHighest Rec. (8-10) %Mean Scenario 120%4.64 Scenario 241%6.31 Scale: 1=Not at all 10=Highest recommendation Scenario 335%5.83

12. Suggestions for improving the ceremony: Separate Graduates and Undergraduates or split them by majors/schools/programs/departments Shorten the ceremony Make the arena more comfortable (temperature, ambience, level of noise, etc.) Better guest speakers that the students can connect with A more exciting presentation with better acoustics Complimentary gift/food/beverage/refreshments at the end