2005 Student Exit Interview Summary

1.      Why did you choose the department of Family and Consumer Sciences? 

• The most frequent response was that our department was where their interest area was located.

• The second most frequent response was that they had been unhappy in their former major.

• One student said that they took a nutrition class at a community college and the instructor recommended contacting us. Another had a friend in our program who recommended it.

• “This major lets you mold yourself into the career option you want to be and direct your career the way you want to direct it.” (Student #3)
   

2.      If you were to start over, would you choose the same major?

• All but two students said they would choose the same major and option. 

• One student said they would prefer deaf education, but it’s not available at UW.  The other said maybe, and didn’t elaborate.

3.      What are your plans for the future? 

• Most students said that they were planning to attend a graduate or professional school program.
• Four students said that they were planning to start their dietetics internship.
• One planned to do nutrition counseling in a fitness center or start her own business.  One planned to teach preschool.

4.      Do you feel your degree has prepared you for your plans academically and otherwise?

• All of the students said that it had.

• Two added that their internship would solidify their preparation, and one said she would have liked more electives that would have added to her program.
   

5.      Are there areas in which you still feel weak or would have liked more emphasis?

• Just over half of the students said that they did feel weak in an area of their program. Three said that that they would like more clinical experience, one wanted more health courses and medical terminology, one wanted more classroom management strategies, and one wanted more on grammar and technical writing.

• Just under half said that they did not feel weak in any area.

6.      Were the courses in your area of specialization within the department oriented toward your interests?  Please explain.

• All but two said that they were.  Two said yes and no.
• Many reiterated that the courses fit the area they had chosen for their option, and therefore did match their interests.

7.      What courses were the most beneficial to you?  How or why?

• Students indicated courses that they felt helped to prepare them for their chosen careers.
• Students also named courses where they felt that there was excellent instruction.
• Courses listed most frequently were Advanced Nutrition, and Nutrition and Weight Control.
• Additional courses named in a general way included all writing courses, courses in FCS outside of their option, outside science courses, and all courses in the major.
• Additional specific courses included Experimental Foods, Introduction to Nutrition, Marriage and Intimate Relationships, Child Development Internship, Preschool & Day Care Operations, Housing, and Family Crisis.

8.      What courses were of least value to you?

• Several students said that they wish that the information in 4010 would have been introduced sooner.  This may be a holdover of students who took the older version of 1010.
• Other specific courses listed were 1010, 4010, Therapeutic Nutrition, Consumer Issues, Textile Science, Family Relationships, Psychology and Sociology.
• Several students said that all had value, and mentioned that sometimes ones may not seem to have value initially, but later they were valuable.

9.      How adequate were supporting courses in other colleges?

• Many students felt that the outside courses were not as valuable as courses within the department. The courses in the College of Business were most often mentioned as not beneficial.
• General positive comments were made about courses in the College of Education, the courses taught in the Department of Psychology, and the required science courses.
• Specific courses listed as beneficial and contributing to their major included Counseling Skills, Public Health, and Management and Organization.

10.  Think of the best instructor you’ve had and describe to me what made that person a good teacher.

• The most frequently named qualities were:  confident and knowledgeable, willing to know and relate to you as a person, up to date in the field, encouraging, always having time for the students, high expectations, energetic, challenging, and approachable.
• The most frequently named teaching strategies were: covering the material thoroughly, require out of class work that ties to the learning objectives, having a structured flow to the class, and answering questions as they come up in class.

11.  Do you feel that coursework in the department increased your sensitivity to and appreciation for diversity related issues?  If so, in which courses, and if not, what could we do better?

• One student said that she felt “beaten over the head” with diversity issues and felt it was greatly overdone in the department.
• One student said that the courses within the department didn’t, but African-American Studies did.
• Most students said that we had courses that touched on the importance of being culturally aware and of diversity and “just knowing what’s around you.”
• Specific courses named included Family Decision Making, Multicultural Influences on the Young Child, 4010, Global Textiles, and two students just said that the nutrition classes did (but didn’t mention specific courses by name).

12.  Do you feel that coursework in the department has given you an appreciation for the interdisciplinary nature of the field?  If so, in which courses, and if not, what could we do better?

• Many students cited FCSC 4010, but several said they wish they would have seen the connections sooner.
• Some of the students complained about having to take courses in the core that they didn’t see fitting into their option.
• Specific courses in addition to 4010 included Clothing in Modern Society, Advanced Nutrition, Family Decision Making, Internship in Child Development, and Directing Preschool and Day Care Programs.

13.  Did you receive adequate advising as you progressed through your program?  In what ways was it helpful or problematic?

• Advising was consistently listed as a strength in the department. Students felt that their advisers knew them as individuals, knew the program requirements, and met with the students whenever questions arose in addition to advising weeks. Only one student said that misadvising had created an extra semester of schooling.

14.  Have you had an internship experience, and was it valuable?

• All of the students in the Professional Child Development and Family Life Education said that they had completed their required internships and had learned a great deal.

• Dietetics students indicated that they had applied for their internships and were awaiting the results of their competitive applications. The Human Nutrition and Foods students were either looking at graduate school or going directly into the job market and had not taken internships.

• No information was available for Textiles and Merchandising students, since none completed interviews prior to graduation spring semester.

15.  What were your most positive experiences in the department?

• Many students spoke in general ways about the positive climate in the department, the caring faculty members, good courses, opportunities with the Student Dietetics organization and AAFCS, and friends they had made.
• One student said that the most positive thing was the variety of career opportunities that the major provided.

16.  What were your most negative experiences in the department?

• All but two students said that they had no negative experiences.
• Two students commented on a grade in a course that was less than what they thought they deserved. One student felt that she was punished by having to make up work or do assignments when she missed class due to participation in a sport.

17.  While you were at the University of Wyoming, did you participate in any student organizations or clubs?

• All but one student had been active in an organization.
• One student listed AAFCS, 6 students listed SDA, 1 listed Phi Upsilon Omicron, 1 listed Golden Key, and 1 listed the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

18.  In what ways can the department improve?

• Mixing of the different courses and fields more.
• Having more free (non-restricted) electives as part of the curriculum (dietetics).
• More hands-on classroom management opportunities (in child dev.).
• Most students:  No suggestions, things were really good.

19.  Now that you are going to be an alum, what kinds of communication would you like to receive from the department?

• The majority wanted the web page kept up to date so they were aware of departmental functions they could attend and to keep up with what the faculty and students were doing.
• Some wanted to be contacted via email.
• The majority wanted to receive the departmental newsletter.

20.   Is there any additional information you would like to provide as part of this exit interview?

• Most said that they had nothing to add, but reinforced their satisfaction with their experiences.
• One voiced a concern that she’d heard the dietetics program was going to be eliminated.  I assured her that was not true.
• One voiced concern about having to take two W3s.  I helped her understand that 4010 is no longer a writing course under the new USP. She also said that she didn’t feel that 4010 was challenging enough, and that there were inconsistencies with its delivery.
• One student wished that their university email accounts could last past graduation, and also wanted the student web pages to remain.
• One student felt that 4010 should be taught in fall, since the resume and career projects would be helpful earlier.