Did you know?

-About three-fourths of students expect to graduate in four years or less; no students

expect to take longer than five years to graduate. (Fall 2010 Baseline)

-Over the entire academic year, 35% of students claim they did not write a single paper longer than 5 pages and 56% claimed to write between one and four such papers.  Given that 34% of students claimed that learning writing skills is very important to them, this lack of writing experience may explain why only 15% of students are “very satisfied” with the writing skills they have developed (2nd Year 2010)

-Almost half did not work for pay during the quarter. However, 55% of respondents claimed that they or someone else on their behalf has borrowed money to fund their education. Of those that have borrowed, the average education debt was $15,228 of which about $600 is in credit card debt. Three-fifths of students expect to borrow more to complete their Western education (2nd Year 2011)

What is the OSR?

OSR is responsible for developing and administering the Western Educational Longitudinal Study (WELS), including baseline surveys of incoming students, second-year surveys, exit surveys of graduating students, and alumni surveys. See WELS Survey Design.

• OSR supports assessment and accountability research at Western.
• OSR is responsible for developing and administering WELS
• OSR acts as a research unit within the Sociology Department at Western.
• OSR provides instruction in survey research methods and employment opportunities for students at Western, particularly sociology majors and graduate students