Graduates: Areas of Study, Debt, Employment, Higher Education, Satisfaction
- Over 16,300 alumni
582 Degrees/Certificates Awarded to 564 students in 2018-19
- 20% Associates
- 71% Bachelors
- 9% Certificates
Top 5 Fields of Study: Associate Degrees Awarded
- Liberal Studies
- Dental Assisting/Hygiene
- Business Administration
- Justice Studies
- Psychiatric/Mental Health Services
Top 5 Fields of Study: Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded
- Liberal Studies
- Psychiatric/Mental Health Services
- Applied Science
- Business Administration/Management/Accounting
- Computer and Information Systems Security/Information Technology
2018-19 Bachelor’s Graduates who started at UMA as First-Year Students (N=120)
- 78% Graduated with loan debt (includes only debt accrued at UMA)
- Average amount of Federal Title IV debt – $30,447
- Average amount of Private debt – $3,146
- Average age at time of graduation – 36
2012-14 Graduates (Maine Workforce Data Quality Initiative)
- 81% were employed in Maine within 18 months after graduation
- 55% were employed full-time in Maine within 18 months after graduation
- $32,157 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 Fall 2017 – Spring 2020 Graduating Students (37.5% Response Rate, N=662)
Overall UMA Experience
- 81.5% would return to UMA to pursue an advanced degree (if UMA offered graduate degrees)
- 82.2% would return to UMA for continuing education workshops or seminars
- 83.5% said if they had to do their education over again, they would choose UMA
- 90.3% would recommend UMA to others
- 83.6% believe that their career success is/will be greater as a result of their UMA education
- 83.9% believe that their UMA education was an excellent financial investment
| Educational Experience | Very/Somewhat Satisfied |
| Overall quality of academic program | 88.8% |
| Quality of faculty instruction | 84.2% |
| Coursework relevance to current position or career goals | 84.1% |
| Coursework providing practical applications of material | 86.5% |
| Coursework providing theoretical perspectives in my field | 83.5% |
| Courses scheduled at convenient times | 85.1% |
| Rigor of curriculum | 81.5% |
| Coursework providing development of research skills | 81.8% |
| Personal attention from faculty | 79.8% |
| Availability of courses in my Major | 81.0% |
| Availability of courses in General Education | 81.3% |
| Breadth of course offerings | 77.0% |
| Quality of faculty career advising | 74.7% |
| Campus Climate | Very/Somewhat Satisfied |
| Academically stimulating environment | 72.9% |
| Interaction with other students | 61.9% |
| Curriculum connected to community (e.g. service-learning) | 61.3% |
| Sense of community | 60.6% |
| Student Support Services | Very/Somewhat Satisfied |
| Course registration process | 87.2% |
| Admission process | 88.1% |
| Billing and payment process | 79.4% |
| Financial aid services (not the amount of financial aid received) | 74.1% |
| Library’s ability to meet academic needs | 75.7% |
| Adequacy of facilities (e.g. labs, computers, building conditions) | 70.7% |
| Academic advising through Advising Center staff | 75.1% |
| Learning support services (e.g. writing, math tutoring, TRiO) | 63.6% |
|
Learning Outcomes: |
Strongly/Somewhat Agree |
| Developing better knowledge in my field of study | 90.8% |
| Working independently | 90.0% |
| Writing clearly and effectively | 86.6% |
| Thinking analytically | 88.0% |
| Defining and solving problems effectively | 86.7% |
| Understanding my professional responsibilities and obligations | 85.8% |
| Reading texts critically | 83.6% |
| Formulating more creative/original ideas | 81.7% |
| Improving interpersonal skills | 81.0% |
| Being a productive team member | 82.8% |
| Using information technology | 83.9% |
| Speaking clearly and effectively | 80.7% |
| Understanding people of other cultural backgrounds | 76.9% |
| Leading a group effectively | 73.9% |
| Working more productively at my current job | 73.8% |
| Analyzing numerical and statistical information | 73.0% |
Time to Earn Degree
- 41.5% said it took more time than expected
- 49.8% said it took the same amount of time as expected
- 8.7% said it took less time than expected
Employment
- 76.5% currently employed at the time of graduation
- 62.2% were working in their field of study
- 27.8% received an increase in salary due to their education
| Top 6 Fields Graduates are Working In | Percentage |
| 1. Social/Human/Mental Services | 14.8% |
| 2. Education | 12.9% |
| 3. Business/Management | 7.2% |
| 4. Computer/IT | 6.4% |
| 5. Medical | 5.7% |
| 6. Library Services | 5.5% |
Top Reasons Graduates are Currently Not Working in their Field of Study
- 72.4% employed in a different field of study
- 36.8% seeking employment in my field
Making Use of their UMA Education in the Next Year
- 50.9% to advance in their current field
- 35.2% to be more productive at my current job
- 34.6% to get a job different from their current field of work
- 30.5% to qualify for additional education
UMA Office of Institutional Research and Assessment
Statistics updated July, 2020.
