Student Demographics
Students in the IE program have changed in the 50 years since its creation. The early classes were largely white males. Barbara McCrokie was our first woman graduate in 1957. The next woman graduate, Linda Lukey, completed her degree in 1969. We started having multiple women graduates in the late 1970s. Since the 1980s, women have comprised approximately 25-30% of our student body. Over the years, the IE program has attracted the highest percentage of women graduates in the college.Our first African-American graduate, Carl Belcher, completed his degree in 1971. The number of African-American graduates peaked in the 1990s. We have not seen an increase in the enrollment of African-American students as we saw with women.
Another striking change in the demographics of the student body is the number of married students in the program. During the early years, many students were married by their senior year. Over time the percentage of married students has declined. Currently we rarely have a married student in our program.
Over the years, the IE program has had a student body that was largely in the 18-22 year age bracket. While we have had a few non-traditional students (with respect to age), the basic age range of our students hasn’t changed.
Class sizes have varied considerably over the years. The earliest classes were understandably small but graduating classes grew to 20-25 by the early 60s. Class sizes stayed in the 20-30 range until the 1980s. The class of 1983 was the largest class and contained 70 students. In the 1990s, class sizes returned to the 30-35 range due in large part to an increase in admissions requirements. Class sizes are again increasing as our college is attracting more students. We are expecting annual classes in the 40-45 range.
Another major change in the student body is parents’ educational backgrounds. In the first 25 years of our department’s history, most of our students were first generation college students. Once the children of the children of the baby boom generation started college, most of our students came from families with both parents having college educations. We still have a few first generation college students, but these students are now in the minority.
Perhaps the greatest change in the student body is who they are. Our student body in many ways mirrors national trends. Summarized below are some general characteristics.
Class Characteristics
1955 – 1966 Dedicated, willing to make sacrifices, hard working, patient. These students were shaped by their parents’ experiences with the Great Depression and World War II.
1967 – 1986 Optimistic, enthusiastic for the “good life”, questioning of authority, inner directed. These students were shaped by Vietnam and the many upheavals in societal attitudes.
1987 – 2000 Concerned about quality of work life, self reliant, informal, practical, seeking ways for personal motivation, shaped by commitment failures. These students were influenced by the many problems they saw with the parents’ careers and stressful work life.
2001 – Present. Realistic, seeking out advice from others, wanting the "good life" but unsure of doing what it takes, looking at entrepreneurial career opportunities. As student demographics have changed, so too have the teaching approaches that are needed to be effective. The authoritative, "do it my way or else" approach that might have worked for classes in the 50s and 60s has been replaced by teaching that is more coaching than telling.
     
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