Data Analysis Report

Bryce Langley, Sam Nason, and Elizabeth Ristau

Dr. Tammy Swenson-Lepper
03/06/15

Executive Summary
After analyzing the data from the Major Survey of students at Winona State
University, we found that the percentage of first generation students
compared to not first generation students at Winona State is nearly 50/50.
37 of the 50 students surveyed were incoming freshman when they declared
Winona State while 13 of the 50 were transfer students. 34 of the 50
students interviewed were college-aged, as that they were 20-22 years old.
68% of students interviewed said that graduate school was in their future
plans. The majority of these students chose the Communication Studies
major because they thought the major would give them transferable skills
and they realized that it was a broad field that would give them many
opportunities. Mass Communication and Spanish were the two most common
minors of these Communication Studies students.
Our three key findings were as follows:
1) Most students declared Communication Studies as their major because it
is a broad field with many opportunities. Gaining marketable or transferrable
skills was also another big factor.
2) Most students with a Communications major had either a Mass
Communications minor or Spanish language minor. These minors are not
surprising as they go hand and hand with communication.
3) Most students heard about the major through friends that were already
declared Communication Studies majors. Having Communication Studies

professors, taking classes in the department, and the WSU Catalog were also
reasons for choosing the CMST department.

Analysis
This survey of 50 Communication Studies students at Winona State. Of the
students surveyed, 37 were freshmen when they arrived at Winona State
while the other 13 were transfer students. 23 of the 50 were first generation
students, and 27 were not first generation students. 34 out of the 50
students surveyed were between the ages of 20 to 22 years old (the total
range was 18 to 37). Though this age range yields the majority of people in
this major, there were six students between the ages of 23 to 26 surveyed.
Numbers may indicate the flexibility of Communication Studies. Because this
major does not require a lengthy application for the program or early
commitment (by comparison to nursing or education), there is more room for
those who have general education credits and want to find a fitting major.
The age range of 20 to 22 usually indicates at least sophomore level.
When asked about graduate school, 31 of the respondents said that graduate
school was more than likely in their plans. Most of them plan to go into some
other field besides Communication Studies such as law. The other 19
respondents said that graduate school was not in their plans.
When the students were asked why they chose this major, a majority of them
stated that they wanted to major in a broad field that was applicable to many
things. Eleven students found Communication Studies as a major that could

give them knowledge in a transferrable skill. The Communication Studies

major appeals to students who may not have a clear direction about what
they would like to do in the future, or students who want to improve their
communication skills. Professors and fun or interesting classes were also big
factors in a students decision to declare Communication Studies. Not only
are professors and interesting classes useful for attracting people to the
major, making them declare Communication Studies, they are also great
tools to spread the word about the major.
Although having friends in the major was reported as the most common way
people heard about Communication Studies, having professors recruit and
interesting classes in the major were a close second and third. The Winona
State University Course Catalog was also a major resource for promoting the
major. Just as many students said that the Course Catalog was their resource
for finding out about the major as did say that about taking interesting
classes. The internet, family, major and minor fair, and student resources on
campus were also mentioned.
There were several minors that were common amongst the Communication
Studies majors; the most popular were Mass Communication and Spanish.
Other common minors amongst Communication Studies students were Child
Advocacy, Coaching, Global Studies, Professional Selling, Psychology,
Sociology and Women and Gender Studies.