Graduates: Areas of Study, Debt, Employment, Higher Education, Satisfaction
- Over 17,500 alumni
572 Degrees/Certificates Awarded to 543 students in 2020-21
- 16% Associates
- 73% Bachelors
- 11% Certificates
Top 5 Fields of Study: Associate Degrees Awarded
- Liberal Studies
- Dental Assisting/Hygiene
- Business Administration
- Medical Laboratory Technology
- Justice Studies & Psychiatric/Mental Health Services
Top 5 Fields of Study: Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded
- Liberal Studies
- Psychiatric/Mental Health Services
- Cybersecurity/Computer Information Systems/Information Technology
- Applied Science
- Business Administration/Management/Accounting
2020-21 Bachelor’s Graduates who started at UMA as First-Year Students (N=103)
- 72% Graduated with loan debt (includes only debt accrued at UMA)
- Average amount of Federal Title IV debt – $34,382
- Average amount of Private debt – $23,167 (<1% graduated with Private debt)
- Average age at time of graduation – 34
2015-17 Graduates (Maine Workforce Data Quality Initiative)
- 81% were employed in Maine within 18 months after graduation
- 56% were employed full-time in Maine within 18 months after graduation
- $43,008 average full-time wage
Graduates Pursuing Higher Learning (2009-10 thru 2013-14)
- 33% have continued their education at a higher level than their UMA award
- 46% of associates graduates have continued their education at the bachelor’s level
- 92% continue at UMA to earn a bachelor’s degree
- 20% of bachelor’s graduates have continued their education at the graduate level
- 77% entered graduate school within 2 years of graduation
Top 5 Graduate Schools
- University of Maine
- University of Southern Maine
- Southern New Hampshire University
- University of New England
- Thomas College
Top 5 Areas of Study in Graduate School
- Education
- Business, Management, Marketing & Related Support Services
- Public Administration & Social Services Professions
- Health Professions & Related Clinical Services
- Psychology
Survey of Summer 2019 – Spring 2022 Graduating Students (38.7% Response Rate, N=656)
Overall UMA Experience
- 74.1% would return to UMA to pursue an advanced degree (if UMA offered a graduate degree in their field)
- 75.7% would return to UMA for continuing education workshops or seminars
- 77.2% said if they had to do their education over again, they would choose UMA
- 85.3% would recommend UMA to others
- 81.2% believe that their career success is/will be greater as a result of their UMA education
- 80.8% believe that their UMA education was an excellent financial investment
| Educational Experience | Very/Somewhat Satisfied |
| Overall quality of academic program | 88.4% |
| Quality of faculty instruction | 84.3% |
| Coursework relevance to current position or career goals | 82.2% |
| Coursework providing practical applications of material | 86.8% |
| Coursework providing theoretical perspectives in my field | 82.5% |
| Courses scheduled at convenient times | 84.8% |
| Rigor of curriculum | 81.1% |
| Coursework providing development of research skills | 82.7% |
| Personal attention from faculty | 79.8% |
| Availability of courses in my Major | 82.4% |
| Availability of courses in General Education | 77.9% |
| Breadth of course offerings | 75.6% |
| Quality of faculty career advising | 75.1% |
| Campus Climate | Very/Somewhat Satisfied |
| Academically stimulating environment | 69.1% |
| Interaction with other students | 57.3% |
| Curriculum connected to community (e.g. service-learning) | 59.7% |
| Sense of community | 60.5% |
| Student Support Services | Very/Somewhat Satisfied |
| Course registration process | 89.2% |
| Admission process | 89.7% |
| Billing and payment process | 78.2% |
| Financial aid services (not the amount of financial aid received) | 72.2% |
| Library’s ability to meet academic needs | 72.8% |
| Adequacy of facilities (e.g. labs, computers, building conditions) | 70.5% |
| Academic advising through Advising Center staff | 78.4% |
| Learning support services (e.g. writing, math tutoring, TRiO) | 62.5% |
|
Learning Outcomes: |
Strongly/Somewhat Agree |
| Developing better knowledge in my field of study | 91.1% |
| Working independently | 89.3% |
| Writing clearly and effectively | 87.5% |
| Thinking analytically | 88.3% |
| Defining and solving problems effectively | 87.1% |
| Understanding my professional responsibilities and obligations | 88.0% |
| Reading texts critically | 83.4% |
| Formulating more creative/original ideas | 82.3% |
| Improving interpersonal skills | 81.1% |
| Being a productive team member | 83.6% |
| Using information technology | 85.8% |
| Speaking clearly and effectively | 83.6% |
| Understanding people of other cultural backgrounds | 77.4% |
| Leading a group effectively | 75.6% |
| Working more productively at my current job | 73.1% |
| Analyzing numerical and statistical information | 72.6% |
Time to Earn Degree
- 38.8% said it took more time than expected
- 53.2% said it took the same amount of time as expected
- 8.0% said it took less time than expected
Employment
- 74.5% currently employed at the time of graduation
- 64.4% were working in their field of study
- 32.0% received an increase in salary due to their education
| Top 6 Fields Graduates are Working In | Percentage |
| 1. Social/Human/Mental Services | 14.4% |
| 2. Education | 14.1% |
| 3. Computer/IT | 7.7% |
| 4. Business/Management | 5.7% |
| 5. Library Services | 5.5% |
| 6. Medical | 5.5% |
Top Reasons Graduates are Currently Not Working in their Field of Study
- 68.4% employed in a different field of study
- 38.6% seeking employment in my field
Making Use of their UMA Education in the Next Year
- 51.7% to advance in their current field
- 35.2% to qualify for additional education
- 34.7% to be more productive at my current job
- 30.2% to get a job different from their current field of work
UMA Office of Institutional Research and Assessment
Statistics updated June 2022.