Gainful Employment
Gainful Employment is defined as the ability of a college graduate to receive consistent work and payment from an employer using the credentials earned at an institution of higher learning (Law Dictionary, 2016). Southwestern Christian University offers a variety of degree programs for student preparation into a number of vocations including but limited to educations, business, and other liberal arts based programs. Based on the diversity of our programs our Office of Institutional Effectiveness has gathered some data which can be seen below, but will continue to gather data each year to ensure that Southwestern Christian University is providing the most accurate data it can provide.
DATA IS TAKEN FROM THE ANNUAL GRADUATION QUESTIONNAIRE GIVEN TO SCU GRADUATES.
IMMEDIATE PLANS FOLLOWING GRADUATION
For immediate plans following graduation in the “Other” field for 2017/2018, 3% indicated employment in ministry, and 1% for owning their own business. In the “Further Education, Full-time” category 1% indicated Full-time employment and Full-time Graduate Student. These “Other” selections are excluded from the data in Table E2.
TABLE E1
Plan |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017/2018 |
Employment, Full-time (in position related to field of study) |
45% |
63% |
42% |
54% |
Employment, Full-time (in position NOT related to field of study) |
15% |
5% |
11% |
8% |
Employment, Part-time (in position related to field of study) |
9% |
3% |
0% |
5% |
Employment, Part-time (in position NOT related to field of study) |
2% |
0% |
3% |
0% |
Further Education, Full-time |
15% |
12% |
28% |
13% |
Further Education, Part-time |
5% |
5% |
9% |
9% |
Military Service |
0% |
1% |
0% |
1% |
Volunteer Service (e.g. Peace Corps, Unpaid Missions) |
0% |
1% |
1% |
2% |
Marriage and/or Starting a Family (No Working Outside of the Home) |
0% |
0% |
0% |
2% |
No plans |
5% |
3% |
1% |
2% |
Other |
5% |
7% |
6% |
4% |
- CURRENT EMPLOYMENT STATUS FOR RESPONDENTS AT TIME OF SURVEY
All respondents for 2017/2018 in the “Have not started Searching for a Job” category have stated that they will begin shortly after commencement.
TABLE E2
Five-year Trend – Full-time Employment After Graduation (In Related Field) |
||||
Plan |
2014 (45%) |
2015 (63%) |
2016 (42%) |
2017/2018 (54%) |
Working in Related Field |
56% |
36% |
33% |
46% |
Searching for Position for Which to Apply |
0% |
9% |
13% |
12% |
Working in Non-related Field |
13% |
9% |
11% |
10% |
Working in Non-related Field; Seeking Field Employment |
10% |
18% |
17% |
10% |
Declined a Position; Awaiting the Right Position |
0% |
4% |
2% |
0% |
Accepted a Position to Begin After Graduation |
7% |
11% |
9% |
3% |
Considering At Least One Offer |
0% |
4% |
0% |
0% |
Applied to Positions; Not Interviewed |
0% |
7% |
11% |
5% |
Interviewed; Awaiting Offer |
10% |
0% |
2% |
3% |
Have Not Started Searching for a Job |
3% |
9% |
2% |
11% |
TABLE E3
Five-year Trend – Full-time Employment After Graduation (In Non-Related Field) |
||||
Plan |
2014 (15%) |
2015 (12%) |
2016 (11%) |
2017/2018 (8%) |
Working in Related Field |
10% |
25% |
8% |
0% |
Searching for Position for Which to Apply |
0% |
25% |
0% |
33% |
Working in Non-related Field |
70% |
50% |
42% |
67% |
Working in Non-related Field; Seeking Field Employment |
0% |
0% |
17% |
0% |
Declined a Position; Awaiting the Right Position |
0% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
Accepted a Position to Begin After Graduation |
10% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
Considering At Least One Offer |
0% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
Applied to Positions; Not Interviewed |
0% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
Interviewed; Awaiting Offer |
10% |
0% |
8% |
0% |
Have Not Started Searching for a Job |
0% |
0% |
25% |
0% |
- FURTHER EDUCATION
A report from the National Center for Educational Statistics (linked below), shows the estimated number of master's degrees to be conferred in 2016-2017 to be 44% of the number of bachelor's degrees conferred. From these statistics, it can be assumed that on a national scale, a rough estimate of 44% of students with a bachelor's degree plan to pursue further education at a graduate degree level.
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d12/tables/dt12_310.asp?referrer=report
Using the national data linked above, it can be surmised that SCU falls below the estimated national average of graduating students who anticipate completing a degree beyond their received degree, Table F reflects trending data for SCU.
TABLE F
Five-year Trend – Further Education After Graduation |
||||
|
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017/2018 |
Total |
20% |
17% |
37% |
20% |
Full-time |
15% |
12% |
28% |
12% |
Part-time |
5% |
8% |
9% |
8% |
Seeking Bachelor |
31% |
15% |
17% |
9% |
Seeking Master |
67% |
69% |
71% |
74% |
Seeking Doctorate |
8% |
15% |
12% |
17% |
Table G shows the five-year data for SCU academic programs with students pursuing further education. The “Grads” column reflects the number of students self-identified as graduating in that field of study. The “F.E.” column reflects the percentage of Grads who plan to pursue further education after graduation.
TABLE G
Five-year Trend – Further Education by Program Completed |
||||||||
Program |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017/2018 |
||||
|
Grads |
F.E. |
Grads |
F.E. |
Grads |
F.E. |
Grads |
F.E. |
Behavioral Sci / Related |
14 |
7% |
25 |
8% |
27 |
33% |
22 |
14% |
Biblical / Ministry |
16 |
19% |
18 |
28% |
25 |
32% |
28 |
21% |
Business / Prof. Leadership |
19 |
26% |
14 |
7% |
15 |
40% |
43 |
14% |
General / Liberal Studies |
3 |
67% |
2 |
100% |
5 |
60% |
3 |
67% |
English |
1 |
100% |
6 |
0% |
5 |
0% |
0 |
NA |
Sports Studies |
6 |
0% |
9 |
33% |
24 |
54% |
12 |
42% |
Prof. Teacher. Ed. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
50% |
History |
1 |
100% |
1 |
0% |
0 |
NA |
1 |
0% |
Music |
0 |
NA |
3 |
0% |
2 |
100% |
1 |
0% |
Other |
4 |
0% |
3 |
0% |
7 |
0% |
0 |
NA |
LOCATION OF EMPLOYMENT
Twelve states and one country outside the U.S. were indicated as locations of employment for those who are already working or have accepted a position to begin after graduation. To compare, in 2016 only four states and one country were reported. The increase in the spread of states may be due to the realization of the enrollment/graduation cycle for many of our online students.
The highest state of employment was Oklahoma with 79%, followed by a tie between Texas, Florida, New Jersey, and Mississippi with 3% each. The other states listed were Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota.
One student reported that they accepted a position in China after graduation.
SALARIES/WAGES
Chart A.1 shows the breakdown of majors by salary/wage of graduates working Full-Time or accepted Full-Time employment, related or not to their field of study.
Chart A.2 shows the breakdown of majors by salary/wage of the graduates currently working Full-Time in their field of study combined with those who accepted a Full-Time position in their field of study to begin after graduation.
CHART A.1 – Full-Time
CHART A.2 – Full-Time
TABLE H
Five-year Salary Trend (All Full-time Employed) |
||||
|
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017/2018 |
Under $25,000 |
41% |
46% |
46% |
17% |
$25,000-$40,000 |
41% |
31% |
34% |
54% |
$40,001-$65,000 |
5% |
15% |
17% |
21% |
$65,001-$80,000 |
5% |
8% |
0% |
2% |
$80,001-$100,000 |
0% |
0% |
2% |
6% |
Over $100,000 |
7% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
SOURCES OF LOCATING EMPLOYMENT
Table I shows the Five-year trend for sources SCU students used to find employment. This chart includes all students currently employed or student who accepted a position to begin after graduation.
TABLE I
Five-year Trend – Sources for Employment |
||||
|
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017/2018 |
Career Fair at SCU |
0% |
2.8% |
0% |
0% |
Career Services at SCU |
0% |
2.8% |
2% |
0% |
Faculty Member |
2% |
2.8% |
5% |
10% |
Family/Friend |
44% |
41.7% |
42% |
46% |
Job Board/Ads (Indeed, Monster.com, Etc.) |
5% |
11.1% |
5% |
15% |
Alumni of SCU |
0% |
5.6% |
5% |
2% |
Employment Agency |
2% |
0% |
15% |
0% |
Other |
46% |
33.3% |
27% |
6% |
Already Employed before SCU |
|
|
|
21% |