The college uses a variety of surveys to gather information from existing students, alumni, employers, and others to help inform our judgments about what improvements we can make.

Survey Results


Administered to graduating seniors in the fall and spring prior to graduation, the senior survey gathers information on:

  • satisfaction with CU-Boulder, the College of Engineering and Applied Science, and the student’s major
  • satisfaction with courses, overall curriculum, academic advising
  • satisfaction with college facilities (library, lab, computer, etc.)
  • highlights and worst parts of the student’s experience
  • how well students were prepared in meeting program’s outcomes (such as technical skills, communication skills, teamwork skills, etc.)
  • participation in various campus- and college-sponsored programs
  • engagement in employment while attending school
  • after-graduation plans, including employment and future educational

Administered to alumni 3-5 years after graduation (timeframe depends upon major), the alumni survey gathers information on:

  • satisfaction with CU-Boulder, the College of Engineering and Applied Science, and the alumni’s major
  • satisfaction with courses, overall curriculum, faculty
  • highlights and worst parts of the student’s experience
  • the appropriateness of the program’s stated objectives
  • how well prepared alumni were in meeting program’s outcomes (such as technical skills, communication skills, team work skills, etc.)
  • engagement in various employment opportunities while attending school
  • current employment (where, with which company, at what salary, whether supervises others, how closely related to engineering)
  • current pursuit of additional education (type, institution attending, degree sought)
  • current pursuit of or plans for future certification

Administered to alumni 6-8 months after graduation, the post-graduation survey gathers information on:

  • current employment (where, with which company, at what salary, how found position, how closely related to engineering, satisfaction with position)
  • current pursuit of additional education (type, institution attending, degree sought)
  • current pursuit of or plans for future certification

Input is sought from employers every third year. The employer survey gathers information on:

  • what type of majors the employer hires
  • whether the employer has hired CU engineering graduates
  • if yes, how our students compare to students from other institutions on a variety of dimensions
  • if not, why not (if jobs offers were made and were refused, why refused)
  • whether the employer has hired CU engineering students as interns
  • if yes, what GPA do they require, do the students return to work there after graduation
  • if no, why not

Administered to graduate students as they graduate, the graduating grad survey gathers information on:

  • how many papers written and conferences attended
  • post-graduation plans and employment satisfaction with CU-Boulder, the College of Engineering and Applied Science, and the student’s major
  • highlights and worst parts of the student’s experience