Newly released survey results reveal that alumni are more than satisfied with the education they got at Trent University.

        The survey questions were piggybacked onto a questionnaire asking more than 13,500 addressable alumni to update information contained in the Trent alumni directory. The eight questions were selected from Statistics Canada's national graduate survey and asked how satisfied alumni were with their education while enrolled at Trent and since graduating. About one third returned the questionnaire and 3,790 -- about 17.4 per cent of all Trent alumni -- responded to the national graduate survey questions. The survey drew responses from alumni who had enrolled at Trent between 1964 (when it opened) and 1992.

        The survey respondents from all years consistently indicated they were satisfied and close to very satisfied (on a four-point scale from very satisfied to very dissatisfied) with class sizes, faculty availability and teaching quality while enrolled at Trent.

        The survey also showed, in light of their experience since graduation, they valued their education at Trent more than "to some extent" and often "to a great extent" (on a scale of one to four). The responses were consistent across the years when asked whether their courses of study improved their lives generally and provided them with the skills to write well, speak well and think independently.

        An increasingly negative response was evident, however, from alumni who enrolled at Trent between 1986 and 1992 when asked to what extent their programs improved their chances of a good income. Trent's part-time institutional analyst Torben Drewes says there may be various explanations for this which will require further investigation.

        Except for the income-related question, the survey showed that Trent alumni were happier with their university experience than the national average of alumni respondents to Statistics Canada's national graduate survey at other Canadian universities.