[HT Alison Sjovall for sending me the link to this report]
According to a 2014 Gallup-Purdue Index Report, “Great Job, Great Lives,” the college that students attend does not determine their success in life. Rather, evidence from interviews with more than 30,000 U.S. graduates reveals that it is the different experiences that students have during their time at college that makes a difference in their level of success. These experiences include having professors that genuinely cares about them, who make learning exciting, and who encourage them to pursue their dreams. By having a caring, encouraging professor, their odds of being engaged at work later more than double, as do their odds of thriving in their well-being. Additionally, internships or jobs where they were able to apply what they were learning in the classroom, active involvement in extracurricular activities and organizations, and work on projects that took a semester or more to complete, doubled their odds of being engaged at work.
Feeling supported and having deep learning experiences means everything when it comes to long-term outcomes for college graduates. Findings from this Gallup-Purdue Index yield important insights for colleges, educators, employers, and students on the factors that contribute to these outcomes for college graduates. You can find the full report at Gallup-Purdue Index Report 2014. You can find an overview of the report at Great Jobs, Great Lives Gallup-Purdue Index Inaugural National Report.