Swarthmore College Institutional Research

Institutional Research

The Senior Survey: This (approx.) 8-page survey is designed by COFHE, and is administered to seniors biennially in the spring. (COFHE only provides full reports every four years. Participation by other COFHE institutions, and consequently the normative comparisons, in the "off" years are limited.) It asks seniors about their post-graduation plans, evaluations of their undergraduate education and services provided by the college, values, and participation in activities. A number of the items in this survey overlap with the Senior Survey used by HEDS institutions. Therefore some comparisons with non-COFHE institutions in HEDS are available.

The Senior Survey of the Class of 2002 was administered for the first time via the web, and was coordinated by our wonderful colleagues at MIT. Unlike our first experience with a web-based student survey (the CSEQ of spring 2001), this survey went very smoothly. We achieved a response rate of 64%, the highest in recent years. (The Senior Survey of the Class of 2000, achieved a response rate of 54%.) A survey of seniors in the Class of 2004 was conducted March-April of 2004, with a response rate of 69%. The survey of seniors in the Class of 2006 achieved a response rate of 62%. Click on the link below for highlights from the survey of the Class of 2006.

This survey should not be confused with the Senior Survey administered annually by Career Services^*.

Please contact the Institutional Research Office for more information regarding the COFHE Senior Survey.

Survey Instrument used in 2006.
Survey Instrument used in 2002 and 2004.
Supplemental Questions from 2006 Survey
Supplemental Questions from 2004 Survey
Supplemental Questions from 2002 Survey
Summary of Fall Plans of Seniors 1994-2006 (Fact Book table)

Survey Instrument used in 1998 and 2000.
Supplemental Questions from 2000 Survey

HIGHLIGHTS from 2006 survey.

^* That survey consolidates questions from a number of offices on campus which need information from graduating seniors. It is not an opinion survey, but rather it is more an inventory of activities while here, contact information following graduation, and immediate post-graduation plans. The information is used by Career Services, Alumni Office, News and Information, and others to better serve seniors as well as future students. It is conducted in late April/ early May each year.

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