A SURVEY OF EAST TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATES IN INDUSTRY AND TECHNOLOGY FROM 1973 TO 197

Purpose of the Study. The purpose of this study was to determine through the use of a questionnaire the perceptions and attitudes of Industry and Technology graduates of East Texas State University toward the Industry and Technology program. This information would assist in the evaluation of departmental offerings and propose suggestions regarding revisions or improvements.;Procedure. Those industrial arts majors who graduate from East Texas State University between the years of 1973 and 1979 were surveyed. The questionnaire requested information in four basic areas: (1) personal information, (2) information concerning courses offered by the department (3) the extent of education in various areas, and (4) information regarding the department, instruction, and physical facilities.;Responses were received from 331 (67.97 percent) of 487 mailed questionnaires. The locations of the graduates were obtained from the Alumni Office.;Conclusions. Based on the findings of this study, several conclusions were drawn. These were: (1) Of those who chose to respond, 71.90 percent were employed in industry, while 28.10 percent were employed in education, thereby indicating that some consideration of the curriculum for those in industrial employment is necessary. (2) Of the respondents employed in industry; the courses taken most frequently were: Metal Manufacturing Processes (IT 221), Accident Prevention in Industry (301), and Engineering Graphics I (IT 111). (3) Of the respondents employed in education, the courses taken most frequently were: Engineering Graphics I (IT 111), Wood Technology (IT 211 and IT 212), and Accident Prevention in Industry (IT 301). (4) Of those respondents employed in industry, over sixty percent chose not to express their views concerning course offerings, thereby indicating no particular dissatisfaction with the course. (5) The respondents employed in industry who chose to express their views concerning the curriculum indicated the areas in which they would like to have more courses were: Industrial Supervision (IT 406), Numerical Control Technology (IT 353), and Mechanics and Strengths of Construction Materials (IT 272). (6) Of the respondents employed in education, fifty-six percent chose not to express their views of course offerings, thereby indicating no particular dissatisfaction with the courses. (7) The respondents employed in education who completed this portion of the questionnaire indicated they would like to see more courses in the areas of Domestic Architectural Drawing (IT 112), Engineering Graphics I (IT 111), and Engineering Graphics II (IT 223). (8) The courses which were taken by less than eight percent of those surveyed were courses which had seldom been offered or had not been offered at all. (9) Those respondents employed in industry indicated a need for increased assistance in job placement, upgrading of objective grading practices to be observed by all instructors, adequate classroom and laboratory facilities. (10) Those respondents employed in education indicated a need for consistent departmental grading practices. (11) Of those respondents employed in industry, a small majority agreed that they were not familiarized with laws directly associated with industrial education. This would not be considered a significant finding, however, due to the fact that familiarization with such laws is not usually required in an industrial situation. (12) Both groups of respondents indicated the overall curriculum was satisfactory and meeting their needs in terms of their present employment. (13) Those currently employed in an industrial capacity are less satisfied with their training than those employed in education.