Tracer study for the CPU College of Agriculture graduates from 1995 to 2005

Abstract

This tracer study was conducted to gather relevant information as to the employment of CPU College of Agriculture graduates from 1995 to 2005. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire among 110 out of the 263 (41.8%) graduates of the CPU College of Agriculture from 1995 to 2005. The survey revealed that the respondents of the study were generally married, males, 26 to 35 years of age, and from municipalities in the province of Iloilo. They were generally graduates of the BS in Agriculture program with Animal Science as major. Only seven out of the 110 graduated with honors. Most of the respondents were paying students but a good proportion of them were scholars. The respondents took their respective courses primarily due to the influence of their parents or relatives, prospect for immediate employment and strong passion for the profession while their top three reasons for taking their courses at the CPU College of Agriculture included the quality of graduates as seen from its alumni, known standard of instruction and performance of its graduates in the field. Most of them have passed the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) examination in their respective fields and the majority of the respondents have not attended any training and advanced studies. The respondents are generally employed and have permanent or regular employment status. Their occupations are very varied, but most of these jobs are directly related to agriculture. Their major employers are National Government Agencies (i.e. Department of Agriculture), Local Government Units and private companies. Only more than one fourth of the respondents claimed that their present job is their first job after college of which the majority of them find their college course to be related. The majority of the respondents reported that they have already changed their job after mostly staying on their first job for not more than six months because of salaries and benefits, career challenge and relationship to special skills. The respondents landed on their first job through recommendations, or as walk-in applicant and through information from friends, generally, within six months after graduation but their initial monthly gross income is generally below P 10,000. Generally, the respondents were able to occupy professional/ technical/ supervisory position in their first and present job. They believed that their college curriculum is relevant to their job, particularly learned competencies which included technical skills, human relations skills, communication skills and information technology skills. The respondents, generally, did not make any suggestions to improve the curriculum and the program of the college. They generally give high ratings to the significance of the different college program components to their professional life, with farm practice having the highest and laboratory having the lowest rating. They also give high satisfaction ratings to the different areas of the College program, with the library having the highest and laboratory having the lowest rating.