For Immediate Release
Contact:
Matthew Cookson, USNH, 603-862-0904 Matt.cookson@usnh.edu
Surveys Show Need and Opportunity Exists to Convince More College Grads to Live and Work in NH
Students & recent alumni believe NH has a high quality of life; top barrier to staying is jobs
December 12, 2007 – Bedford, NH – Results of more than 3,100 surveys of New Hampshire college seniors and recent alumni released today demonstrate a very positive perception of the quality of life in the state, but show that many of these educated individuals leave the state because they are concerned about job opportunities here. As part of the 55% Initiative, an effort to retain more college graduates in the state, the University of New Hampshire Survey Center released results from surveys at the Forum on the Future breakfast event, co-sponsored by the NH College and University Council (NHCUC) and the NH High Tech Council (NHHTC). Forum on the Future presentation and executive summaries of the surveys are available: Alumni Survey Results and Senior Survey Results.
Dr. Andrew Smith, director of the Survey Center, presented the results and joined in a panel discussion that included the University System of New Hampshire (USNH) Chancellor Stephen Reno, Dr. Ken Johnson, a demographer and visiting professor from Loyola Chicago University, Alison Stebbins, general manager of Fidelity Investments in Merrimack, and Grey Chynoweth, a member of the board of the Manchester Young Professionals Network.
Dr. Smith reviewed the survey findings and highlighted several major points. First, nearly a quarter of all seniors surveyed had not decided if they were going to leave or stay in the state upon graduation. Second, of those who planned on leaving, 52% said they would consider moving back (a large number of alumni who moved away provided the similar response). Third, a large percentage plan to and actually do leave upon graduation because they believe there are few or no job opportunities for them in their field of study. Last, for those who plan on staying, 94% cited the quality of life in New Hampshire as a positive factor.
"There is a group that is very persuadable and there are a lot of ways to persuade them" Dr. Smith said.
About 50 percent of the 16,000 individuals who earn degrees or certificates each year leave NH, representing a huge “brain drain” that darkens the overall employment outlook and hinders the state’s growth. The 55% Initiative sets a goal of convincing 55% of new graduates to “work, play, and stay” here, as compared to the roughly 50% who currently stay. Survey results will be used to develop a “tourism-like” marketing campaign aimed at NH future college graduates, on heightening awareness of key attributes of the state and its employers, and on shifting perceptions about the state that may be outdated or incorrect.
The University System of New Hampshire has been partnering with business, professional and community leaders, policy makers, higher education, and the state’s young professionals’ networks to develop the 55% new initiative. Those partners include the NHCUC and the NHHTC, the two organizations responsible for the Forum on the Future. Some next steps include taking the results and developing marketing campaigns to encourage more to stay (marketing students at UNH, Keene State College, and Plymouth State University will take this on as part of class projects in the spring), working with the business community to improve ways job opportunities are promoted, and linking these efforts with complementary efforts at the Department of Tourism and Department of Resources and Economic Development.
Key findings from the two surveys include:
Senior Survey:
There is a target market for the 55% Initiative - survey results shows that a significant number of seniors (22%) are undecided in terms of their plans for staying or leaving NH upon graduation. The remainder is evenly split between those who probably or definitely want to stay or leave the state.
There is a strong link between the perception of the NH job market and the decision of a student to stay or leave – concern about availability of jobs and salaries are the top two reasons students leave. The desire of both in-state and out-of-state students to stay in NH is significantly influenced by their perception of the job opportunities in NH.
The overall view of NH by students is very favorable – both in-state and out-of-state students viewed factors such as quality of life, good place to raise a family, proximity to natural resources, and housing as very important reasons to stay in NH.
Those who plan to leave cited the importance of the following factors impacting their decision – salary (45%), availability of jobs in field of study (43%), proximity to family and friends (35%), travel time to employment (34%), quality of life (26%), cost of living (19%), cost of housing (18%), a good place to raise a family (16%), proximity to natural resources (10%), lack of taxes (9%), and personal safety (6%).
Those who planned to stay cited the importance of the following factors on their decision to stay – quality of life (94%), proximity to family and friends (86%), a good place to raise a family (81%), personal safety (81%), cost of living (79%), cost of housing (77%), availability of jobs in field of study (74%), travel time to employment (72%), salary (68%), lack of taxes (68%), and proximity to natural resources (60%).
Students from out of state are much less likely to stay – only 17% of out-of-state students plan on staying as compared to 57% of NH residents, and out-of-state students are less confident of the NH job market in their field of study.
Internships do not play a major factor in retaining students in the state – of those students who had an internship, slightly more planned on leaving NH than staying. However, in-state students who had a positive internship experience and plan to leave the state are more likely to consider moving back than those who had a negative experience.
While many plan to leave right away, many would consider moving back at a later date – 41% of all seniors do not plan on staying in NH, however, 42% of those who plan to leave say they will probably or definitely move back at some point in their life and only 17% say they will probably or definitely not come back.
Alumni Survey:
Of those graduates who left, many want to return – 67% of those surveyed do not currently live in NH now, but 43% of those said they would probably or definitely move back to NH and 36% said they would probably or definitely not move back (remainder were undecided).
As a matter of fact, some already have returned – of the total responding, 530 were NH residents when they graduated, but 667 now live in NH, representing a net in-migration of 138.
Graduates expressed concern about the job market in NH in their fields – 41% of respondents believed there were few or no jobs in their field in NH, while 21% believed there were many or very many jobs in their field. Of those who left, 34% cited jobs as the reason. Out-of-state students had a more negative view of the NH job market.
College graduates also have a very favorable opinion of NH – both in-state and out-of-state students viewed factors such as quality of life, good place to raise a family, proximity to natural resources, and housing as very important factors for staying in NH.
Graduates found jobs quickly – Of those students looking to join the workforce, 33% had a job lined up before graduation and 79% had one within six months after graduation. There was little variation between in-state or out-of-state students or those in different majors.
The trend is positive in terms of those who plan to stay – of those who graduated in 2001 and responded to the survey, 27% planned to stay in NH and 52% planned to leave. Of the respondents from the 2005 class, 36% planned to stay and 43% planned to leave (the remainder in both class were undecided).
The UNH Survey Center conducted the surveys on behalf of USNH and NHCUC, through support received from the NH Department of Resources and Economic Development. The specific areas of interest are the attitudes and behaviors of NH college seniors and alumni. Supported by the presidents of our four-year colleges and universities, the online surveys were completed by 1,121 seniors and 2,011 more recent alumni between May and November of 2007. Complete results have been posted on the NHCUC and the USNH web sites (www.nhcuc.org and www.usnh.edu).