National Survey Finds Baylor Alumni Retain Strong Bond With University

February 11, 2013

WACO, Texas (Feb. 11, 2013) - A new national survey by a leading academic survey research institute shows that large majorities of alumni of Baylor University are "very proud" to be graduates and report a stronger bond than ever to their alma mater.

The survey of national Baylor alumni was conducted by telephone from Nov. 13-19, 2012, by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center (UNHSC). This latest survey - the third in a series of studies of national Baylor alumni conducted in 2007, 2010 and 2012 - was commissioned by Baylor's Division of University Marketing and Communications.

"The results of this latest scientific survey of alumni show that Baylor graduates across the nation are enthusiastically supportive of their alma mater," said Baylor President Ken Starr. "Engaging Baylor alumni is both a high privilege and weighty responsibility. The University and our alumni have worked together over the past decade to establish a rich variety of new programs that connect, empower and serve as never before our alumni nationally and around the world."

A national sample of 609 randomly selected Baylor alumni answered a variety of questions concerning their alma mater, including their level of connectedness to Baylor, the quality of education they received at the University, the likelihood that they would recommend Baylor as a "top choice" university to their college-age children and their support for various alumni programming options.

Some of the key findings from the survey:
• Baylor alumni have a strong affinity with their alma mater, with more alumni than ever (98 percent) reporting a special bond or connection to Baylor and 96 percent of Baylor alumni saying they are proud to be a graduate of Baylor University.
• Almost all Baylor alumni (91 percent) say they are interested in maintaining a connection to Baylor and consider it important that Baylor University support and staff an alumni outreach program.
• About 8 in 10 alumni give Baylor an excellent rating, while a majority of alumni now say Baylor ranks among the best private universities in the nation, up from 35 percent in 2007.
• Baylor alumni are positive ambassadors for the University, with 88 percent of alumni saying they would recommend Baylor as a "top choice" school to their college-age children.
• Nearly 50 percent of alumni would recommend Baylor primarily because of academic quality, with "quality education" the most mentioned response when alumni were asked to identify what comes to mind first about Baylor.
• A large majority of Baylor alumni nationally readily identify Ken Starr as Baylor's president.
• Among those who say they know enough to rate the job the president is doing, 96 percent rank his job performance as good or excellent, with nearly two-thirds saying excellent.
• Ninety-two percent of alumni are supportive of President Starr's assertion that future progress at Baylor will rely on all alumni working together to support the University and its students.

"These data are extraordinarily helpful in guiding us towards continuous improvement in our active outreach, communications and programming for Baylor alumni worldwide," said John M. Barry, vice president for marketing and communications at Baylor. "We are always excited by the opportunity to serve alumni better and will move forward with changes according to the wisdom of what this survey tells us our alumni want and need. We're delighted to know that science now affirms what we hear so often in conversations with our graduates. Baylor alumni love their alma mater, they want to engage with the University actively, and they have high regard for our president and his focus on reaching out to and serving Baylor alumni worldwide."

"Baylor is on a powerful upward trajectory. By God's grace, and with the support and active partnership of our 160,000 alumni worldwide, we have the opportunity to propel our university to new heights," Starr said. "I am convinced that Baylor's future progress under our Pro Futuris strategic vision will depend on the energetic and focused engagement of all Baylor alumni working together to realize the remarkable promise of our beloved University. We eagerly look forward to continuing our enthusiastic partnership with Baylor alumni as we build Baylor together."

The scientific survey was conducted by the UNHSC using a random selection of alumni from a list provided by Baylor University. The margin of sampling error for the random survey of 609 respondents is +/- 4.0 percent. The full report of the most recent alumni survey can be found at www.baylor.edu/alumni/2012survey.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian university and a nationally ranked research institution, characterized as having "high research activity" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The university provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 15,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating university in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 11 nationally recognized academic divisions. Baylor sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and is a founding member of the Big 12 Conference.

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE SURVEY CENTER

The University of New Hampshire Survey Center (UNHSC) is an established, non-partisan academic survey research institute committed to meeting needs of faculty researchers, state and local governments and businesses that has been serving academic and government research needs since 1976. As part of the UNH College of Liberal Arts, UNHSC adheres to American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) standards on data collection, transparency and methodological best practices. UNHSC is a founding member of the Association for Academic Survey research Organizations (AASRO) and benefits from this collaboration with other university research institutes. Find them online at cola.unh.edu/unh-survey-center.