CWU: S TUDENT & P ARENT S URVEY CWU-Inclined Students Students and parents who were inclined to apply to CWU tended to have comparatively lower grades, They were more likely to be from lower-income households in which their parents had not gone to college. To some degree the tended to be from smaller schools outside King County. When considering college, they were pragmatic and businesslike. They gave the most weight to cost, followed by specific programs of study. They were interested in a range of programs, heads by health care, social sciences, arts & music, business and education. For these potential students, picking a college is a value equation. When considering Central, they were attracted by its location, its programs, its welcoming and comfortable atmosphere, its attractive campus and its focus on teaching. CWU was rated right in the middle between “top choice” and “back up school.” Given that these tended to be second echelon students, the appealing atmosphere at CWU may be reassuring to them. They are not particularly up for an intense, highly competitive college experience. But they want solid programs and good teachers. The parents of these CWU-inclined students valued the quality of teaching and the availability of specific programs slightly more than they valued low cost when thinking about college. Parents who saw CWU as a good fit for their child were more likely than other parents to describe CWU as welcoming, comfortable, attractive and focused on teaching. They were somewhat more likely than their children to look at CWU as challenging and as a top choice. Parents attracted to Central rated it right in the middle between “prestigious” and “not highly regarded;” Students were slightly on the “not highly regarded” side of the scale, indicating that “prestige” was less important to them than other considerations, and that CWU represented a good balance. The parents were attracted to the quality of programs at CWU as well as its location and attractive campus. Disinclined toward CWU Compared to the CWU-inclined, students who would not consider CWU tended to be high performing, academically focused, and intent on high-prestige schools. They were more likely to have better grades, live in large cities and suburbs in King County, attend the largest high schools, and come from the highest income households in which both parents went to college. They were focused on the content and quality of their education: they weighed the availability of specific programs and the quality of the teaching as the top two considerations when thinking about a college, with cost third. One in four of these students were interested in majoring one of the “hard sciences.” They gave as reasons for not applying to Central its location and the fact that they did not know enough about it — not that they appeared interested in finding out more. They also cited its reputation and lack of programs. They were more likely to describe Central as relaxed, easy and isolated, and were far more likely than others to describe CWU as “not highly regarded’ and a “back-up school.” 55
JUNE 2014
.
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online