Alfred University graduates fare well in job market 8/05/04
Alfred University's Class of 2003 was remarkably successful in finding employment or enrolling in graduate school, a Career Development Center survey finds."In light of the national college recruiting environment in 2003, Alfred University graduates attained a high percentage rate of both employment and graduate school enrollment," said Kathy Woughter, interim vice president for Student Affairs and director of the Career Development Center.The Career
Development Center annually surveys graduates a year after they leave Alfred University. This year, as in the past five years, about 75 percent of the graduates respond to the survey, or 434 of the 582 who received AU degrees in
2003.Among those who received baccalaureate (undergraduate) degrees, the survey showed 66 percent were employed;
29 percent were in graduate school; six percent are still seeking work; and one percent is not seeking employment at the time of the survey.A full 80 percent of the graduate degree recipients, those who received master's or doctoral degrees, are employed, with 17 percent choosing to continue their graduate studies; one percent still seeking work; and two percent not seeking employment at this time. "According to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), 42.4 percent of employers expected to hire fewer new graduates in 2003, with 36.3 percent saying they would hire more, and 21.2 percent saying their hiring levels for new graduates would remain the same," Woughter noted. "The survey results were not unanticipated, given the slow rate of job growth nationally, coupled with lay-offs at major companies that left a number of experienced workers competing against recent college graduates. "Overall, I am pleased with how well our 2003 graduates are doing," said Woughter. "Our students found jobs with employers such as Eastman Kodak, Corning Inc., Conde Nast Publications, Eli Lilly and Company, Paychex, Progressive, Travelers, Oak Ridge National Laboratories, Strong Memorial Hospital, The Bonadio Group, Xerox Corporation and many others, including school districts, arts organizations, health and human services organizations, engineering firms and businesses of all types.Equally important in determining the success of graduates is the number of students who are admitted to professional or graduate school programs, Woughter noted. Top graduate schools enrolling members of AU's Class of 2003 were American University, Carnegie Mellon University, Case Western Reserve University,
Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University, Temple University, Penn State, Vanderbilt University and several others. Geographically, New York State attracted the largest percentage of 2003 AU graduates, followed by Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and North Carolina."While many employers are understandably reluctant to predict the state of their college hiring for the upcoming year, in the Career Development Center we have noticed a recent increase in recruiters asking for resume collections, posting jobs and scheduling on-campus recruiting dates," all indicators of employers' intentions to hire new college graduates,
Woughter noted. She predicts that both the average salaries and the general outcomes rates will be more positive for the Class of 2004 than they were for the Class of 2003.Additional information about the 2003 Alfred University graduates outcomes survey may be obtained by contacting Woughter at 607 871 2164.
