Survey Findings

The College engages in an active schedule of survey research. Feedback from these surveys helps both academic and administrative areas to better understand our students' needs and patterns of development. They help us to identify areas where we are achieving our goals, and where we might focus attention for improvement. Surveys themselves are imperfect measures, but combined with other information such as observations, College data, conversations, etc., they are an important part of our self-reflection process. They inform many of our decisions, and we are very grateful to our students, alumni, faculty, and staff who contribute to the College's success by providing their feedback.

Enrolled Student Survey 2023 | Survey of New Students 2022 | Staff Check-In Survey, Fall 2020

Alumni Survey 2020 | Enrolled Student Survey 2019 | Survey of New Students 2018

Alumni Survey 2017 | Parent Survey 2016 | Enrolled Students Survey 2015

Enrolled Student Survey 2013 | Senior Surveys | CIRP Surveys

Enrolled Student Survey 2023

The 2023 Enrolled Student Survey asks students about their interactions with others, how much they have learned at Swarthmore, their levels of satisfaction with various aspects of campus life, and their engagement and participation inside and outside the classroom. The Enrolled Student Survey, 2023 summary document highlights…

…students’ responses to questions about diverse interactions throughout the year.
…student participation in various programs, groups, and activities.
…student satisfaction with academic and non-academic aspects of student life by class year.
…Seniors’ reflections on the college’s contribution to knowledge, skills, & personal development.

Survey of New Students 2022

The Survey of New Students presents a snapshot of Fall 2022 incoming students. Here are a few of the findings from the survey:

Incoming students had a strong response rate of over 80% on the survey!

The percentage who reported feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge in the two weeks preceding their survey response: 60%

The percentage who reported that they felt often or very often overwhelmed in the previous year by all they had to do: 47%

The percentage who are less than confident or very confident that they have absolutely found the right major: 47%

The percentage who did not have interaction with any members of the incoming class before arriving on campus: 40%

The percentage who reported feeling quite well or very well prepared to...
- ...succeed academically at Swarthmore: 63%
- ...get along socially at Swarthmore: 68%
- ...live away from home: 65%
- ...have a roommate: 54%

Staff Check-In Survey, Fall 2020

In December of 2020, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Research & Assessment administered a survey to all staff at the College, with the goal of understanding what challenges were being faced and what was working well as the College continued to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2020-21 academic year. We have summarized the results in a PDF document. The Office also completed a follow-up survey of hourly staff, who were underrepresented in the original Staff Check-In Survey. We found a great deal of similarity between the overall results and the 100 responses from the second round of surveying. Given the general consistency of the findings from this special effort compared to the original survey, we feel fairly confident that the original results did not misrepresent College staff due to the lower response rate by hourly employees.

Alumni Survey 2020

Though the College collects information about our alumni from a range of sources for our Alumni Records database, we also routinely ask about current activities on our COFHE Alumni Survey (managed by the IR office). In 2020, we sent the survey to all Swarthmore alumni. This one page brief illustrates the reported "primary activity" by class year for all survey respondents. This brief overview, as well as this more thorough summary of the findings, focus on the employment and advanced education outcomes of Swarthmore alumni.

Enrolled Student Survey 2019

The 2019 Enrolled Student Survey asks students about their interactions with others, how much they have learned at Swarthmore, their levels of satisfaction with various aspects of campus life, and their engagement and participation inside and outside the classroom. The Enrolled Student Survey, 2019 summary document highlights…

…students’ responses to questions about diverse interactions throughout the year.
…student participation in various programs, groups, and activities.
…student satisfaction with academic and non-academic aspects of student life by class year.
…Seniors’ reflections on the college’s contribution to knowledge, skills, & personal development.

Survey of New Students 2018

The Survey of New Students presents a snapshot of Fall 2018 incoming students. This summary highlights selected topics from the survey, including preparation for college, interests, high school activities and experiences, concern about paying for college, citizenship and language, demographics, and thoughts about the future.

Alumni Survey 2017

In the spring of 2017 the College surveyed alumni from the classes of 1969, 1979, 1989, 1994, 2004, 2006, 2012, and 2016, asking them to reflect on many aspects of their college experience, and how it may have impacted current activities. This brief overview, as well as this more thorough summary of the findings, focus on the employment and advanced education outcomes of these alumni.

Parent Survey 2016

The 2016 Parent Survey asked parents about general impressions of the college and experiences as a parent of a college student. The Parent Survey, 2016 summary document highlights…

…parents' general sense of satisfaction and personal connection with the College.
…parents' feelings about the culture and environment at the College.
…parents' feelings about the goals and areas of focus at the College.
…areas where parents would like to be more informed.
…levels of parental concern for the well-being of their children.
…parental reaction to the process and impacts of financing a Swarthmore education.

Enrolled Student Survey 2015

The 2015 Enrolled Student Survey asked students a variety of questions to better understand student academic, institutional, and social engagement, to provide a snapshot of learning development, and to garner feedback about the institutional environment and resources. The Enrolled Student Survey, 2015 summary document highlights…

…students’ responses to questions on health and well-being.
…student participation in various programs, groups, and activities.
…student satisfaction with academic and non-academic aspects of student life by class year.
…Seniors’ reflections on the college’s contribution to knowledge, skills, & personal development.

Enrolled Student Survey 2013

Every two to four years Swarthmore conducts a survey of all enrolled students, which focuses on day-to-day student activities, modes of student-student and student-faculty interactions, student use of institutional resources, and environmental factors that relate to engagement in the educational process. It includes questions about gains in learning that provide a snapshot of student learning development. A chart reflecting the Spring 2013 students' self-reported learning gains is provided on the College's Assessment website under "Institutional Measures and Activities," and may be linked directly from here.

Senior Surveys

Swarthmore conducts a biennial survey of graduating seniors, along with a group of several dozen peer institutions. The survey invites seniors to evaluate the College in detail, evaluate their own progress, and report on their plans for the future. Charts reflecting responses by seniors to the questions:

"Overall, how satisfied are you with your undergraduate education?" and
"Would you encourage a current high school senior who resembles you when you were a high school senior (similar background, ability, interests, and temperament) to attend your undergraduate institution?"

are also presented on the College's Assessment website, and may be linked to directly from here.

CIRP Surveys

Swarthmore has administered the Higher Education Research Institute's "CIRP Freshman Survey" to incoming students since 1971. As a national, longitudinal survey, it allows us to compare our students with their peers nationally, as well as to follow trends in their backgrounds, attitudes, goals, and expectations. Recently we began alternating the CIRP Survey (odd years) with the Survey of New Students (even years). The chart below presents the percentages of new students in Fall 2011 who responded that they engaged "frequently" in each of a set of activities said to reflect "Habits of Mind." (Click on the chart to view a larger version.)