M.P.H. alumni survey : an analysis of their general characteristics, career mobility and job satisfaction

Includes bibliographical references (pages 61-63)The purposes of this study were to: l) Determine whether or not\ud there was a significant difference in perceived career mobility among\ud alumni from different universities; 2) Determine whether or not\ud salaries did actually increase within the profession over a period pf\ud time; 3) Determine if there was a significant difference in levels of\ud job satisfaction among those who had worked fewer than three years,\ud compared with those who had worked three or more years; 4) Determine\ud the actual percent of male and female alumni in administrative\ud positions; and 5) Determine whether or not one's gender was a\ud determinant of the salary commanded by administrators. \ud The procedures employed in this study included: 1) Interviewing\ud university professors and professionals practicing in the field of\ud health education; 2) Preparing and administering an alumni questionnaire\ud to 360 graduates; and 3) Analyzing the data by statistical\ud methods.\ud Analysis of the data provided the following conclusions:\ud 1) There was no significant difference in perceived career mobility\ud among the alumni from the four different universities; 2) Salaries\ud did increase steadily with time in a linear type relationship; 3) The\ud overall levels of job satisfaction were high when examined by years\ud of practice and also by university, gender and age. Job satisfaction\ud did not increase with time but remained at a relatively high level\ud throughout an individual's career; 4) There are equal percentages of\ud male and female administrators represented within the health education\ud profession; 5) There is a significant difference between the salaries\ud of male and female administrators, which appears to indicate that\ud gender is a determinant of salary in this type of position.\ud On the basis of the findings it was recommended that universities\ud assess their alumni to gain greater insight into their professional\ud strengths, weaknesses and needs. Schools of Public Health, or\ud Departments of Health Science within universities, should engage in\ud programs of continual self-evaluation to fulfill their missions of\ud providing leadership in education and research. One method of the\ud self-evaluation process would be to regularly and systematically\ud survey graduates to determine how well their education is serving\ud them. An excellent indicator of program effectiveness is from the \ud employment histories of graduates. Follow-up measures for\ud universities should include continuing education classes for alumni.\ud Such measures would help contribute to the success of their alumni\ud and to the advancement within their profession and careers