You spoke... and we're listening.

In November 2007, the Bastyr Alumni Association partnered with the Office of Institutional Effectiveness to conduct a survey in order to learn about alumni attitudes toward and interest in the University.  The 2007 Alumni Survey collected data from alumni of Bastyr University and the Leadership Institute of Seattle (LIOS.)  Information was solicited about their experiences as students, their expectations for the Bastyr Alumni Association, their career activities, their continuing education needs and their overall opinions regarding the University.

The 2007 Alumni Survey was distributed to 3562 alumni via e-mail to those alumni for whom an e-mail address was available and via US postal service to those who had a mailing address.  Based on the number of returned surveys, it was assumed that the survey was received by approximately 3200 alumni. A total of 838 alumni responded yielding a response rate of 26.2%.

Some key findings from the survey:

• Bastyr graduates tend to rate the following alumni services as having above-average importance to them: 

• Continuing education opportunities
• Alumni employment network
• Access to University libraries
• Electronic alumni directory

• Overall, Bastyr alumni appear to be satisfied with their educational experiences.  Qualitative comments suggest that interactions with faculty and staff tend to make the most significant positive impact on students.  Year of graduation had little influence on satisfaction level.

• The majority of Bastyr alumni is primarily employed full-time in a career field and believes that their jobs are appropriate for their skill and training level.  Most indicate that their jobs are in fields directly related to their Bastyr degree/certificate. 

• Respondents tended to be female, Caucasian, Washington residents, older than 50 years, and graduates of the Naturopathic Medicine program.

• Most Bastyr alumni rate their overall student experiences as "excellent" or "good"; would "definitely" or "probably" choose Bastyr again for their degree; and would "definitely" or "probably" encourage a prospective student to attend Bastyr.

• Alumni seem to want to build and maintain personal relationships with faculty, the alumni office and current students.  Approximately a quarter of Bastyr alumni indicated that they would be willing to assist current students in finding employment, allow current students to job shadow with them and assist current students through student mentoring.

• Continuing education opportunities were given above-average importance ratings by over half of all Bastyr alumni and almost three-quarters of those alumni who have donated in the past year. 

Thanks to all who provided valuable input which is the key to developing and improving our alumni programs. We are working to incorporate the findings and recommendations from the survey into the work we do for you.