It’s getting to be that time of year again. The hustle and bustle of graduate and undergraduate students in the bookstore preparing to graduate is increasing.

Graduation preparation includes a mandatory survey submitted with their degree application. While it may be an annoyance to some, this exit survey plays an important role in keeping Wichita State moving forward.

“We obviously want to know what our students think of their educational experiences,” Richard Muma, associate provost said.

The survey can relay important information to the school about what programs need improving and what students think they have achieved while attending WSU. It is something the graduate school has been doing for awhile. Recently undergraduates have been included.

It also helps show if the university is meeting the goals set up by Foresight 2020, a 10-year academic plan started by the Kansas Board of Regents. “Foresight 2020 requires tracking for students and skills,” Muma said.

How do seniors feel about the exit survey? Most of them haven’t even heard of it.

“I don’t even know what it is so they’re not doing a very good job of explaining it,” senior Rachel Havlik said. Havlik will be graduating in the spring of 2014.

Senior Amber Aden thinks there should be more ways of establishing the college experience other than just a survey at the end. “I think it’s worth taking, but I think they should have more ways of evaluating college while you’re still there,” Aden said.

Questions asked pertain to whether graduates feel they have gained these skills, critical thinking and problem solving, numerical literacy, teamwork, library research, and diversity/globalization.

According to recent results at WSU, both undergraduate and graduate students are overall satisfied with the education they received. Eighty percent were satisfied with their degree program while 90 percent of undergraduate students felt they were competent in the skills needed for their major.

The lowest scores were found in the undergraduate survey when asked about numerical literacy at 74.2 percent, and library research at 65.9 percent.