Methods

The Illini Success annual reports document the post-graduation outcomes of bachelor’s degree recipients from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Those who receive both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the same semester are excluded from these analyses. Lists of graduates are initially drawn from University records during the semester of graduation, and are finalized ten weeks after graduation to represent an accurate picture of the graduating class for each cohort.

Data Collection

The primary method for collecting graduate outcomes data is an online survey administered by Illini Success team members at the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Several strategies are used to distribute the survey, including centralized emails, college-specific emails, and requests during capstone classes and related college events. Requests to complete the survey are sent approximately one month before graduation, at graduation, three months post-graduation, and six months post-graduation. Direct surveys of graduates are the primary and preferred source of data. However, when survey data are not available, other sources of information are considered. For example, data on continuing education enrollment are obtained from the National Student Clearinghouse, and college-collected data are included in the data set. Finally, very limited information from LinkedIn profiles is included after careful assessment of the data's quality. LiveAlumni is contracted to gather publicly available information from LinkedIn profiles. Data are collected for six months after the May graduation date, with data collection closing in mid-November. For those graduating in the preceding August and December, data are accepted through mid-November, but there is no rigorous follow-up after the initial six-month period.

Privacy and Confidentiality

The privacy and confidentiality of Illinois graduates are respected and protected as data is collected, analyzed, and reported. All data efforts related to the Illini Success initiative adhere to the University of Illinois’ privacy and confidentiality guidance. A very limited number of Illini Success team members are granted access to the data, and all personally identifiable information is removed from data presentations. To further protect confidentiality, outcomes data is reported only in aggregate for groups of 10 graduates or more.

When fewer than 10 graduates from a specific major provide post-graduation outcomes (i.e., Knowledge Rate N < 10), detailed First Destination category data and compensation information are not reported to ensure respondent confidentiality. However, these majors may still appear in the report to acknowledge their inclusion, but only the Secured First Destination Rate and Knowledge Rate are displayed.

When there are fewer than ten employed graduates and fewer than five graduates reporting salaries in one year’s data, responses are combined with those from the class of the previous year to provide salary information while protecting the confidentiality and privacy of survey respondents. If sufficient numbers cannot be reached by combining two years of data, dashes are used to indicate that salary information cannot be shared. The same criteria apply to the signing bonus.

Illini Success only identifies graduates when they consent to their information or likeness being shared. When they do so, graduates state specifically what they want to share, and nothing beyond that is released. For example, the Illini Success website presents graduate success stories with photographs and personalized narratives. Being highlighted on the website is voluntary, and individuals sign a talent release consent form to participate.

Terms and Categories

To understand analyses in the reports, it is helpful to familiarize yourself with key terminology used to define outcomes and categorize variables. When completing the online survey, Illinois graduates are asked about their plans following graduation and were given the following response options: working full-time, working part-time, enrolling in additional education, engaged in military service, engaged in volunteer service, seeking employment, seeking additional education, not seeking employment or education at this time, taking a gap year, and I'd rather not answer. For ease of interpretation, we combine these nine response options into the following five categories:

Employed, which includes: (a) working full-time, (b) working part-time, and (c) engaged in military service
Continuing education
Volunteer/service
Seeking, which includes: (a) seeking employment, and (b) seeking education
Other, which includes not seeking employment or education, and taking a gap year at this time

“I’d rather not answer” is treated similarly to a non-response to the question. Little detail is lost in combining groups. For example, in the employment section, typically small percentages of respondents pursue military careers (<1%) or part-time employment (1%).

Graduates can select responses regarding their post-graduation plans in two ways. First, they select all statuses that apply to them. For example, a graduate may report both working full-time and engaging in volunteer work in the community. Second, graduates are asked to select one primary status that best represents their main focus after graduation. Continuing the example, the graduate may identify working full-time as a primary status. The annual reports focus on graduates’ primary statuses.

Further, the annual reports identify graduates who have “secured a first destination” following graduation. This is defined as obtaining employment, enrolling in a continuing education program, and/or engaging in volunteer service as a primary status after graduation.

Data Analysis and Presentation

Analyses in the reports are informed by standards and guidelines set by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2012). Unless otherwise noted, findings are presented by unique graduates without duplication. A few tables present results by academic major. In these tables, duplicate counts exist because graduates can complete both double majors and dual degrees at the bachelor’s degree level. When a graduate completes more than one major and/or degree, their outcomes data are recognized in each appropriate category for the bachelor’s degree and the majors they have completed.

To support ease of reading for various audiences, non-respondents are excluded from each graph, table, and data point (rather than including sections of non-respondents with each question) because respondent numbers change throughout the report as different graduates have access to different survey questions. For example, graduates who selected “continuing education” as their primary status do not receive survey questions about “employment”. Throughout the report, the number of respondents(N) is provided with the data for each survey question.

Definitions of Key Metrics

To ensure clarity in data interpretation, the following definitions apply to key metrics used throughout the annual report:

Secured First Destination Rate: The percentage of graduates who indicated a Primary Status of working, enrolling in continuing education, or engaging in volunteer/military service within six months of graduation.
Knowledge Rate: The percentage of graduates for whom a Primary Status is known, based on survey responses and/or secondary sources.
Compensation: Median and Average Salaries are calculated from all types of employment, including full-time, part-time, internship, fellowship, etc. The analysis excludes values below the federal minimum wage equivalent for full-time employment and above $500,000. Outliers more than 3 standard deviations from the mean are also removed before calculating averages and medians. Signing bonuses are not included in salary calculations.

Finally, there is some grouping of majors in each annual report so that data for small majors can be presented while protecting the confidentiality of graduates. Please see the tables in the concluding pages of each annual report to learn how majors are represented for each college and where combinations occurred.