Illinois Brand Study 2014LINDA OWENS & SOWMYA ANANDSURVEY RESEARCH LABORATORY

University of Illinois at Chicagowww.srl.uic.edu

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Study Methodology

Study Populations• Alumni of Illinois• Parents of Illinois students • Residents of Cook, DuPage, and Lake Counties in

Illinois

Methods• Three separate online questionnaires • E-mail invitations to alumni and parents• Letter invitation to IL residents to complete online

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Response Rates

 Total in sample

Total emails or

mail delivered

# completed

Response rate

Alumni parents 4,659 3,419 1,607 47.0%

Non-alumni parents 11,623 8,396 2,806 33.4%

Chicago alums 5,985 5,036 774 15.4%

Other alums 3,990 3,728 642 17.2%

IL residents 4,004 3,709 102 2.8%

Overall response rate 24%

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Questionnaire

Number of questions varied by group Ratings on 5-point scales and some 3-point scales Select one or multiple from list Open-end questions

Can group items into 6 main themes Connection to Illinois Value of an Illinois education Quality of an Illinois education How well Illinois reaches out to

alumni/parents/residents Sources of information about the university Attitudes and intentions regarding giving

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Questionnaire

Examples Connection to Illinois

How often do you attend events held by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign?

At this time, how strong is your connection to the university?

Value of an Illinois education How would you evaluate the value for money you get from the

educational programs & services provided by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign?

Quality of an Illinois education How well does the education provided by the University of

Illinois at Urbana-Champaign train students for a specific career or profession?

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Questionnaire

Examples How well Illinois reaches out to alumni/parents/residents

How much does the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign value its relationship with alumni/parents/residents?

How close a connection does the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign maintain with alumni/parents/residents?

Sources of information about the university How much information do you get about what is happening at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign? In the past 3 months, have you seen any advertisements featuring the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign?

Attitudes and intentions regarding giving Of the following, which motivates you the most to make a charitable gift

to the university? In the next 5 years, how likely are you to make a financial contribution to

the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign?

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Alumni Results

R2 = 0.290, F (5, n = 1,315) = 108.668, p < 0.000

• Alumni who feel connected more likely to intend to make a financial contribution in the next five years

 

Unstandardized CoefficientsStandardized Coefficients

t Sig.B Std. Error Beta(Constant) –1.309 0.186   –7.034 0.000

Connect 3.186 0.238 0.349 13.398 0.000

Value 1.285 0.215 0.162 5.985 0.000Change since R attended

0.661 0.156 0.105 4.231 0.000

Outreach 1.075 0.200 0.147 5.374 0.000

Age 0.006 0.002 0.084 3.466 0.001

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Alumni Results

• Feeling connected also strongly associated with past contributions

 

Unstandardized CoefficientsStandardized Coefficients

t Sig.B Std. Error Beta(Constant) –1.396 0.158   –8.850 0.000

Connect 1.879 0.194 0.261 9.671 0.000

Quality 0.354 0.167 0.057 2.125 0.034Change since R attended

0.394 0.129 0.079 3.048 0.002

Respondent age 0.018 0.001 0.339 12.687 0.000

R2 = 0.173, F (4, n = 1,308) = 69.423, p < 0.000.

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Alumni Results

• Unfortunately, connection to Illinois is not very strong

 

Not strong at

all (1)

Slightly strong

(2)

Moderately strong

(3)

Very strong

(4)Extremely strong (5) Total

At this time, how strong is your connection to the university?

418 402 367 163 64 1,414

29.6% 28.4% 26.0% 11.5% 4.5% 100.0%

Mean           2.3

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Alumni Results

  Northeast Midwest South West

Not strong at all (1)22 284 46 35

41.5% 27.1% 38.0% 31.0%

Slightly strong (2)13 297 33 37

24.5% 28.3% 27.3% 32.7%

Moderately strong (3)12 277 30 31

22.6% 26.4% 24.8% 27.4%

Very strong (4)3 132 11 8

5.7% 12.6% 9.1% 7.1%

Extremely strong (5)3 58 1 2

5.7% 5.5% 0.8% 1.8%

Total53 1,048 121 113

100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%Mean 2.1 2.4 2.1 2.2

χ2 (12, n = 1,335) = 21.816, p = 0.040.

At this time, how strong is your connection to the university?

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Alumni Results

• However, there is opportunity to strengthen alumni connections

 

Decrease greatly/

somewhat (1)

Stay the same (2)

Increase somewhat

(3)Increase

greatly (4) TotalWould you like your current level of connection to the university to increase, decrease, or stay the same in the future?

42 518 616 137 1,313

3.2% 39.5% 46.9% 10.4%  100.0%

Mean         2.6

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Alumni Results

  Chicagoland Elsewhere

Decrease greatly/somewhat (1)21 21

2.9% 3.5%

Stay the same (2)236 281

33.1% 47.1%

Increase somewhat (3)367 248

51.4% 41.5%

Increase greatly (4)90 47

12.6% 7.9%

Total714 597

100.0% 100.0%Mean 2.7 2.5

χ2 (3, n = 1,311) = 30.238, p = 0.000.

Would you like your current level of connection to the university to increase, decrease, or stay the same in the future?

• Chicagoland based alumni would like to increase connection

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Alumni Results

How Much the University Values Its Relationship with Alumni

χ2 (3, n = 1,335) = 9.237, p = 0.026.

• But, Chicagoland based alumni also have less positive perceptions

  Chicagoland Elsewhere

Not at all (1)26 14

3.4% 2.2%

A little (2)157 85

20.3% 13.3%

A moderate amount (3)263 211

34.0% 33.0%

A lot (4)241 246

31.2% 38.4%

A great deal (5)86 84

11.1% 13.1%

Total773 640

100.0% 100.0%Mean 3.3 3.5

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Alumni Results

  Chicagoland Elsewhere

Not well at all (1)15 9

1.9% 1.4%

Slightly well (2)63 31

8.2% 4.8%

Moderately well (3)200 131

25.9% 20.4%

Very well (4)337 303

43.6% 47.2%

Extremely well (5)158 168

20.4% 26.2%

Total773 642

100.0% 100.0%Mean 3.7 3.9

χ2 (4, n = 1,415) = 16.907, p = 0.002

How Well “World-Class Educational Institution” Describes the University

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Alumni Results

  Chicagoland ElsewhereNot at all/to a small extent (1)

23 83.3% 1.3%

To some extent (2)180 98

25.5% 16.3%

To a large extent (3)223 220

31.5% 36.7%

To a great extent (4)281 274

39.7% 45.7%

Total707 600

100.0% 100.0%Mean 3.1 3.3

How Much Illinois Research Impacts the World

χ2 (3, n = 1,307) = 22.948, p = 0.000.

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Alumni ResultsHow Much the Educational Experience Provided by the University Helps to Develop Students’ Critical Thinking and Analytic Skills

χ2 (3, n = 1,309) = 11.182, p = 0.011.

  Chicagoland ElsewhereDoes not help at all/helps a little (1)

39 345.4% 5.8%

Helps a moderate amount (2)179 105

24.9% 17.8%

Helps a lot (3)281 237

39.1% 40.1%

Helps a great deal (4)219 215

30.5% 36.4%

Total718 591

100.0% 100.0%Mean 2.9 3.1

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Alumni ResultsHow Much the Education Provided by the University Improves Students’ Future Earning Potential

χ2 (3, n = 1,335) = 9.237, p = 0.026.

  Chicagoland Elsewhere

Not at all/a little (1)35 25

4.8% 4.1%

A moderate amount (2)196 127

26.8% 21.1%

A lot (3)286 234

39.1% 38.8%

A great deal (4)215 217

29.4% 36.0%

Total732 603

100.0% 100.0%Mean 2.9 3.1

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Parent Results

Very similar results for parents stratum Strength of connection lower among non-alumni

parents, Yet group expresses a slightly greater preference

for increasing their connection.

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Questions?

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Thank you!