This document outlines a research study examining student satisfaction with their educational experience at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) through the lens of Organizational Identity theory. The purpose is to understand student expectations, perceptions of their educational programs, and overall satisfaction levels. Research questions focus on how student perceptions develop from pre-entry to post-entry stages. The research procedure involved focus groups and an online survey of SIUC students with at least two years of experience. Results and recommendations are discussed to provide insights for both scholars and practitioners.

1.
Does SIUC Get an A?
Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Education
Allie Toothman

2. Does SIUC Get an A? 2
Table of Contents
Purpose 3
Organizational Identity 3
Specifics 4
Research Questions 4
Research Procedure 5
Methodological Justification 5
Survey Construction Process 5
Survey Procedure 6
Sample Population 6
Analysis/Results 7
Discussion 19
Answers 19
Reconceptualization 22
Implications 25
Recommendations to Scholars 25
Recommendations to Practitioners 26
Conclusion 27
References 29
Appendices 30
Informed Consent Form Appendix A
Survey Appendix B
Survey Results Appendix C
Survey Graphs Appendix D

3. Does SIUC Get an A? 3
Purpose
Our research examines the Organizational Identity theory and how it shapes our study
with specific students’ satisfactory levels pertaining to their experience with the education
offered at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC). The purpose of this research is to
study from an Organizational Identity perspective: the expectations and perceptions of
students prior to attending SIUC, what goes on within students’ educational programs that are
offered at SIUC, and students overall levels of satisfaction after at least two full years of
experience with SIUC and its educational programs.
Organizational Identity
The identity of an organization is what differentiates itself from other organizations.
Organizations can be defined and recognized from various forms of identity, such as
trademarks, logos, brands, names, etc. They are the sources in defining its overall character as
a whole. Identity is what transforms an organization’s existence because the heart of an
organization is its identity to the public eye. “Organizational Identity is the shared beliefs of
members about the central, enduring and distinctive characteristics of the organization‐
constitutes part of the shared meanings held by the members” (Biddle & Rao, 1997, p. 594).
Understanding Organizational Identity is important to the sustainability of organizations.
The theory has three key components in addressing organizations. First, the theory examines
and explains actions within an organization, such as the purpose for an organization to exist and
why it is important that it exist. Second, it identifies the organization’s roles for its members
depicting what they do for the organization, and how they perform the tasks to uphold the
organization. The last component of Organizational Identity explains how members of an

4. Does SIUC Get an A? 4
organization interpret the issues and roles within that organization, as well as how its members
respond to those issues and roles.
Specifics
Organizational Identity is important to our research pertaining to the satisfaction rate of
students with their educational program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Primarily,
the knowledge of Organizational Identity helps organizations go about conflicting changes, and
by the degrees of satisfaction, change can illustrate the final way an organization’s identity is
perceived. Our research will be examining the Organizational Identity theory, and how it
shapes our study with specific students’ satisfactory levels pertaining to their experience with
Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s educational programs. Through the research of
Organizational Identity, we are able to accommodate the accurate understandings in gathering
and receiving liable results about the education offered at Southern Illinois University
Carbondale.
Research Questions
Through the study of Organizational Identity, a conceptual question was developed in
order to narrow the process and results of our research. Since our research of Organizational
Identity primarily centered on the concept of the three components that constructs the theory
as a whole, our main conceptual research question was based on all of Organizational Identity’s
three parts.
1. How do students’ overall perceptions of Southern Illinois
University Carbondale’s education develop from the three
stages of entry within Organizational Identity?

5. Does SIUC Get an A? 5
However, since a concept of Organizational Identity theory is that it is divided into three
components, we narrowed this question, within numerical order, into three additional parts:
pre‐entry stage, entry stage, and post‐entry stage.
1. How does Southern Illinois University Carbondale persuade
students’ to attend its educational programs through the use
of application attributes?
2. How do the different features and members of Southern
Illinois University Carbondale’s Organizational Identity
differentiate from student to student within the diverse
educational programs and its professional educators?
3. How have students’ previous experiences within their
educational programs contributed to their overall levels of
satisfaction for Southern Illinois University Carbondale?
Research Procedure
Our team conducted our research through multiple ways, also known as triangulation.
We first, conducted four focus groups that consisted of 6 to 12 individuals who have had two
years or more of educational experience at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Each group
discussion was ethically validated and understood through the use of informed consent forms
(See Appendix A). Through the focus group findings, a survey was then constructed in order to
further assist our research findings.
Methodological Justification
Survey research was justified in our research procedure because of its many methods of
asking different types of questions. Through the survey research, open and closed questions
were created in order to better measure, analyze, and interpret our conceptual questions
accurately for more valid results.

6. Does SIUC Get an A? 6
Survey Construction Process
The survey was constructed into two parts: questions pertaining to returning SIUC
students, and a separate set of questions pertaining to SIUC alumni. Both demographics were
asked a set of similar questions. However, through focus group findings, there was an
understanding that post‐entry results would not be accurately validated through students still
attending SIUC. In order to research the three stages of Organizational Identity theory and
students satisfaction with SIUC’s education accurately, the surveys would need to research SIUC
alumni separately since they truly have post‐entry results with SIUC and its Organizational
Identity.
Survey Procedure
Our research was limited to a set of specific demographics, to accurately receive valid
answers attaining to our conceptual questions for our research. These demographics caused a
more selective approach in choosing individuals for the survey. Therefore, we used a more
stratified purposive sample in order to obtain our survey research findings. We did this by
choosing the individuals that matched the specific demographic standards within each of the
different colleges under SIUC. This opened the door for recognizing if students’ perceptions of
their education offered from SIUC varied within the different colleges under SIUC, or if there
was a consensus throughout the university.
Sample Population
The student participants chosen for our research were selected by specific
demographics throughout the individual colleges under the university. The primary
demographics were required to have at least two years or more of experience at SIUC. This was

7. Does SIUC Get an A? 7
particularly important because experience is measured by time, therefore, time must be spent
at SIUC in order to fully measure an individuals satisfaction at the university. Also, because of
the two‐year experience expectancy, before taking the survey, students were required to have
a junior or senior status, and/or graduated from SIUC after at least two years of experience.
We were able to collect 40 returning SIUC junior and senior participants, and 40 SIUC alumni
participants, 80 participants totaled. All participants studied, classified themselves as either
male or female, and varied in age from 20 to 59 years old. However, the primary age of
returning SIUC participants was 21, while the primary age of the SIUC alumni was 23.
Analysis/Results
During this research the alumni of Southern Illinois University Carbondale were asked to
rate their educational experience at SIUC along with the returning juniors and seniors of the
university. Both set of surveys from returning SIUC students and SIUC alumni were crucial in
thoroughly analyzing all three stages of Organizational Identity. The analyzing of data for SIUC
alumni was essential in obtaining accurate results regarding the theory’s final stage, post‐entry.
Both returning SIUC students and SIUC alumni were asked to rate, on a scale of one to
ten, their expectations of SIUC before enrolling within the university. According to research
findings many students seem to have moderately high expectations. Returning students from
the College of Agricultural Sciences and the College of Engineering had the highest expectations
rates of 80 percent. The lowest rating of SIUC prior to students attending was from students of
the College of Applied Sciences and Arts with 50 percent.
Pertaining to the question mentioned above, when SIUC alumni were asked to respond
the College of Education and Human Services gave the highest rating of 90 percent.

8. Does SIUC Get an A? 8
Immediately following that was the College of Agricultural Sciences with 80 percent. Very
similar to the returning students the lowest expectations came from the college of Applied
Sciences and Arts with 50 percent.
When trying to find, what about SIUC’s education most contributed to the knowledge
pertaining to returning SIUC juniors and seniors degrees, there was a total of 40 students but 41
answers. This occurred because the survey never specified only one answer per question.
Therefore, 30 out of 40 (75%) of the returning SIUC students said teachers were what most
contributed to their knowledge about their degree. While, 10 out of 40 (25%) said it was the
resources at the university that contributed to the knowledge about their degree. Finally, the
one extra answer came from a student in the College of Liberal Arts and they responded with
the option choice, “other,” and specified, “practical experiences,” contributed the most to their
knowledge about their degree.
When also looking at what about SIUC’s education most contributed to the knowledge
of the degrees obtained by SIUC alumni, there was a total of 40 participants, but 45 total
answers. With both demographics answering more than one option, ended up showing this
was a good thing because it showed students did not limit SIUC to just one thing, they felt SIUC
offered more than one contributor. Therefore, 26 out of 40 (65%) of the alumni said teachers
were what most contributed to their knowledge about their degree. While, 14 out of 40 (35%)
said it was the resources at the university that most contributed to their knowledge about their
degree. Only, 3 out of 40 (8%) said the computer technology availability contributed to their
knowledge about their degree, and finally 2 out 40 (5%) said it was other things that
contributed to the knowledge about their degree.

9. Does SIUC Get an A? 9
The 40 returning juniors and seniors were then asked what had the largest affect on
their selection of a major at the university. The largest amount of students, 26 out of 40 (65%),
said that their own personal interest in the subject had the biggest affect on their degree
selection. While, 6 out of 40 (15%) of returning students answered that it was their friends
opinion that influenced their degree selection, 4 out of 40 (10%) answered that future
paychecks are what influenced their degree selection, and 3 out of 40 (8%) said their parents
had the largest affect on their selection of their chosen major. Finally, one individual from the
College of Education and Human Services said a suggestion from their advisor is what affected
their decision.
The 40 SIUC alumni were then also asked what had the largest affect on their selection
of a major at the university. The largest amount of alumni, 24 out of 40 (60%) said that their
own personal interest in subject had the biggest affect on their degree selection. While, 10 out
of 40 (25%) answered that it was their parent’s opinion that had the largest affect on their
section of a major, 3 out of 40 (8%) said their friend’s opinion is what influenced their degree
selection, and a tie with 1 out of 40 (3%) answered that future paychecks and a suggestion from
their advisor helped affect their degrees selections.
The same 40 returning students were then asked to rate their classes with in their
degree. Students were asked to check one of the options: always, most the time, hardly ever,
or never. “I feel excited about class projects/ assignments” was the first scenario; 53% of the
returning students answered most of the time, while 23% said always, 20% answered hardly
ever, and 5% answered never. The next scenario was, “I go to class everyday.” The highest
answer chosen was at 55%, answering most of the time, 33% answered always, and 13% said

10. Does SIUC Get an A? 10
hardly ever. Next scenario is, “I feel confident in receiving a job after college,” 55% answered
most of the time, 33% answered always, 13% answered hardly ever, and 3% answered never.
The forth scenario was, “I have good attendance in all my classes,” 43% answered most of the
time, 40% answered always, and 18% answered hardly ever. The next scenario was, “I feel
challenged within my classes in my chosen degree,” 55% answered most of the time, 33%
answered always, and 13% answered hardly ever. The sixth scenario was, “I enjoy my classes”
53% answered most of the time, 25% answered always and 23% answered hardly ever. “I get
good grades (A’s and B’s) in my classes,” was the next scenario and 55% of students answered
most of the time, 45% answered always, and 5% answered hardly ever. The last scenario
student were asked to rate was, “I feel successful in my classes,” 63% answered most of the
time, 33% answered always, and 5% answered hardly ever.
Similar to the returning students the same 40 alumni were asked to rate their classes
with in their degree. Students were asked to check always, most the time, hardly ever or never
for different options just like the returning students. “I felt excited about class projects/
assignments” was the first scenario. 63% of the alumni answered most of the time while 23%
answered hardly ever, 13% said always and 5% answered never. The next scenario is, “ I went
to class everyday.” 50% answered most the time, 30% answered always, 18% said hardly ever
and 3% answered never. Next scenario is “I felt confident in receiving a job after college” 43%
answered most of the time, 33% answered always and 25% answered hardly ever. The forth
scenario is “I had good attendance in all my classes” 48% answered most of the time, 35%
answered always, 15% answered hardly ever and 3% answered never. The next scenario is “I
felt challenged with in my classes” 65% answered most of the time, 23% answered hardly ever,

11. Does SIUC Get an A? 11
and 13% said always. The sixth scenario is “I enjoyed my classes” 56% answered most of the
time, 28% answered hardly ever and 15% answered always. “I got good grades (A’s and B’s) in
my classes” was the next scenario and 65% of students answered most of the time and 35%
answered always. The last scenario alumni were asked to rate was “I felt successful in my
classes”, 55% answered most of the time, 43% answered always, and 3% answered hardly ever.
After reviewing these results and seeing that “most of the time” was the option that
was selected the majority; for every scenario for the returning students as well as the alumni,
one can see that the past students as well as the presents students are for the most part
average college students. In some areas the students may have fallen short or went above and
beyond but the students who completed these surveys are a sample group of average everyday
students at the university.
After rating different options pertaining to the classes with in returning students degree,
returning juniors and seniors were then asked to rate different options according to their
personal opinion about their teachers. These are the scenarios and responses to the question
beginning as, my teachers are: “Great about giving good assignments/class project”: 70%
answered most of the time, 28% answered always, and3% answered hardly ever. The next
scenario stated “ knowledgeable about the fields of study”: 55% answered always and 45%
answered most of the time. The next scenario asked “available to talk to/ ask for help” 53%
answered always, 45% answered most of the time and 3% answered hardly ever. The forth
scenario asked was ”Great about giving opportunities to gain practical experience”: 56%
answered most of the time, 35% answered always, and 8% answered hardly ever. The next
scenario asked if teachers were “open to suggestions”: 56% answered most of the time, 28%

12. Does SIUC Get an A? 12
answered always and 15% answered hardly ever. Next scenario asked if the teachers were
“fun”: 56% answered most of the time, 23% answered hardly ever, 15% said always, and finally
2% answered never. The next scenario asked if teachers were “prepared for class”: 55%
answered most of the time, 43% answered always and 3% answered hardly ever. The final
scenario asked if the teachers were “very clear so students can understand them”: 65%
answered most of the time, 28% answered always and 8% answered hardly ever.
After analyzing the data of how the returning juniors and seniors rated their teachers it
was time to get an idea of how the Alumni rated their teachers while attending SIUC. These
scenarios and responses are as follows, my teachers were, “Great about giving good
assignments and/or class projects,” 80% answered most of the time, 10% answered always, and
10% answered hardly ever. The next scenario stated, “knowledgeable about the fields of
study,” 63% answered always, 35% answered most of the time, and 3% answered hardly ever.
The next scenario asked, “available to talk to/ ask for help,” 48% answered most of the time,
40% answered always, 10% answered hardly ever, and 3% answered never. The forth scenario
asked was, ”Great about giving opportunities to gain practical experience,” 50% answered most
of the time, 28% answered always, and 23% answered hardly ever. The next scenario asked if
teachers are, “open to suggestions,” 53% answered most of the time, 20% answered always,
25% answered hardly ever, and 3% answered never. Next scenario asked if the teachers were,
“fun.” 60% answered most of the time, 25% answered hardly ever, and15% said always. The
next scenario asked if teachers were, “prepared for class,” 55% answered most of the time,
43% answered always, and 3% answered hardly ever. This section here was identical to the
returning juniors and seniors thus saying that teachers at the university, for the most part, were

13. Does SIUC Get an A? 13
prepared. The final scenario asked if the teachers are, “very clear so students can understand
them,” 65% answered most of the time, 28% answered always, and 8% answered hardly ever.
This too is identical to the returning juniors and senior’s responses. After reviewing the results
one can see that the teacher’s at Southern Illinois University Carbondale are viewed by the SIUC
alumni as good/great teachers. The fact that some of the answers were identical between
returning students and alumni, show that there is truth to the fact that teachers at SIUC are
prepared and very clear, so that students are able to understand them.
During our research students were then asked to rate their educational experience at
SIUC. Over all returning junior and seniors rated the university with a 74%. The highest rating
came from the College of Applied Sciences and Arts with a rating of 100 percent. The College of
Applied Sciences and Arts was the college that had the lowest expectations for the university
prior to attending. The Colleges of Agricultural Sciences, Engineering, and Education of Human
Services all gave a rating with in the 80‐percentile range. The lowest ranking came from the
College of Science, which gave a ranking of 63%, this ranking dropped 14% from 77%, which is
what they rated their expectations of the university prior to attending.
During our research the alumni were also asked to rate their educational experience
while attending SIUC. Overall, the SIUC alumni rated the university with a 77%. This was 3%
higher then what the returning students gave SIUC. The highest ratings came from alumni who
graduated from the Colleges of Agricultural Sciences, and Education and Human Services with a
rating of 90%. The lowest rating came from the College of Art and Design. Their rating went
down from their expectation rating of 68% to 43%, which was a 25% drop. All the colleges went

14. Does SIUC Get an A? 14
up in their ratings from their expectations except for the College of Art and Design and the
College of Education and Human Services, which stayed the same.
The next question on the survey asked the returning juniors and seniors to fill out and
rate the different options according to their personal opinions. The first options stated, “I had
high expectations about the university prior to enrollment”: 43% answered Agree, 30%
answered strongly agreed, 25% answered neutral and 3% disagreed. The next option stated,
“College advisors played a big role in my selection of classes”: 33% answered agree, 33%
answered neutral 15% answered strongly agree and 13% answered disagree and 8% said
strongly disagree. The third option stated, “Prerequisite courses prepared me for courses with
in my major”: 45% answered agree, 30% answered neutral, 15% answered strongly agree and
10% disagreed. The forth option stated, “Classes in my major create the biggest challenge for
me while attending SIUC”: 48% answered agree, 18% answered strongly agree, 23% answered
neutral and 13% answered disagree. The next option stated, “So far, SIUC, has prepared and
developed me into a growing professional within my degree”: 68% answered agree, 23%
answered strongly agree and 10% answered neutral. The last option for this section stated, “So
far, I am happy with my decision to come to SIUC to attain my degree”: 48% answered agree,
35% answered strongly agree and 18% answered neutral.
After looking at the returning student’s question 14 results, it can be determined that
most of the participants are at a consensus with the answer choice “agree”. For the most part,
the participants are satisfied with their educational programs at SIUC this far. However, with
the students from the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Science, there is a comparison
contradiction between questions 13 and 14. When asked to rate the options in question 14,

15. Does SIUC Get an A? 15
“So far, SIUC has prepared and developed me into a growing professional within my degree,”
and “So far, I am happy with my decision to come to SIUC to attain my degree,” all of the
students from College of Science put the answer “agree” for both options. Question 13
illustrates that students from the College of Science have lowest rating for the university and
had a 14% drop from their expectation ratings.
The College of Liberal Arts had the third lowest rating of 68%, which is a 6% drop from
their expectations ratings. Contradictory is apparent when 9 out of 12 liberal arts students
answered, “agree” for the option, “So far, SIUC has prepared and developed me into a growing
professional within my degree.” Contradictory is also apparent when 9 people answer, “agree,”
but in the next option only 5 people “agree” they are happy with their decision to come to SIUC
to attain their degree.
Question 15, asked the returning juniors and seniors to, “Please rank the following in
the order of what the most important thing and least important thing you can acquire from
your education within your major(s) at SIUC. (4) Being the most important, and (1) being the
least of importance.)” Out of 156 possible points, “strong educated teachers” came out with
the highest points of 110 (71%). However, when the already employed SIUC alumni were asked
a similar question to rank what most contributed and least contributed to them acquiring a job
within their degree, out of 60 total points, “to gain practical experience,” was the most
contributing option chosen with the highest rank of 40 points (67%).
Question 16 asked returning SIUC students, “What do you feel your educational
program at SIUC has provided you the most with upon your graduation date?” The number one
response of returning students was experience. However, in question 15, practical experience

16. Does SIUC Get an A? 16
was the second highest answer. This may have been caused because one liberal arts student
did not fill out their ranking. This could have caused a tie or possibly raised another total. The
second most common response for question number 16 was confidence. A contradiction arises
here because in question 15, confidence, is the least important with a percentage of 53%. Also
while conducting a focus group, confidence was considered important by SIUC returning
students to attain, but once again question 15 contradicts this particular answer.
Question 14 for the SIUC alumni asked, “What did your education at SIUC help you excel
in after college?” 12 out of 40 (30%) answered getting a job with in their chosen degree, 10 out
of 40 (23%) answered other. The alumni who answered other stated that it helped them obtain
another degree, with job interviews, obtain internship or get a job, but the job was not in their
degree. 9 out of 40 (23%) answered entering grad school, 5 out of 40 (13%) answered
networking and obtaining strong references and 5 out of 40 (13%) answered nothing. Only 30%
of students who graduated from SIUC were able to say that their education at SIUC helped
them obtain a job in their chosen degree, which is very poor on behalf of the university.
Question 15 asked alumni, “After graduating from SIUC, it took me ________ long to
find a job within my degree” the most common answer was “other.” Many of alumni went on
to grad school, started a new degree, went to law school and one person from the College of
Agriculture had a job before graduating. The next most common answer with 23% is
“Temporary job until I find one within my degree” With 15%, 1‐3 months was the third most
popular answer. Right behind that response with 13%, alumni said it took them 1‐3 months to
find a job. Still looking, less than 4 weeks and less than 2 weeks all tied for the 5th most

17. Does SIUC Get an A? 17
common answer with percentages of 5%. More than 6 months and internship both tied for the
least common responses with percentages of 35.
The 16th question on the surveys for alumni asked employed alumni to rate the
following options according to their personal opinion to how prepared SIUC made you for your
chosen job today. The first option stated, “I was confident in receiving my job today.” 47%
answered strongly agree, 27% answered agree, 13% answered neutral, 7% answered disagree,
and 7% answered strongly disagree. The second option states, “It was easy to receive a job
within my degree.” 27% was the highest percentage and had a three‐way tie between strongly
agree, agree, and disagree. The remaining 13% answered neutral and 7% answered strongly
disagree. The next option stated, “Prerequisite courses are still important to have within my
job.” 33% answered strongly agree, 27% answered agree, 20% answered neutral, 13%
answered strongly disagree and 7% answered agree. The fourth option states, “My major at
SIUC fully prepared me for my job today.” 33% answered both strongly agree and neutral. 13%
answered both disagree and strongly disagree and 7% answered agree. The next option states,
“My coworkers feel I am a great asset to their team because of the knowledge I attained from
SIUC.” 33% agree, 20% answered both strongly agree and strongly disagree and 13% answered
both neutral and disagree. The sixth option states, “My coworkers feel I am a great asset to
their team, but no thanks to SIUC, I had to teach myself what I know today.” 33% answered
strongly agree, 27% answered agree, 20% answered disagree, 13% answered neutral and 7%
answered strongly disagree. The seventh option state, “I am very happy with my decision to
receive my degree at SIUC.” 40% answered agree, 27% answered neutral, 20% answered
strongly agree and 7% answered for both disagree and strongly disagree. The final option

18. Does SIUC Get an A? 18
states, “I still remain in contact with my professors from SIUC.” 33% answered both agree and
strongly disagree, 13% answered both neutral and disagree and 7% answered strongly agree.
Question 14 demonstrates 30% of alumni feel their education at SIUC helped them get a
job with in their chosen degree. Overall according to the results of question 15 38% of alumni
have jobs with in their degree. Apparently 8% of the alumni with jobs do not feel as though
their educations at SIUC helped them get a job with in their chosen major. Of that 38% who
were able to get a job with in their degree, only 41% were able to find a job within a time frame
of 2 weeks to a year. Of that 41% only 10% were able to find a job with in the first month of
graduation.
A lot of the problems that recent SIUC alumni are possibly facing while trying to obtain a
job may be caused by the economy of the United States. On the contrary, the fact that 8% of
alumni did not state that their education at SIUC helped them get a job with in their chosen
degree does not look good on behalf of the university. Also lowering SIUC’s grade, 33% of
alumni strongly agree and 27% agree with the option on question 16 stating, “My coworkers
feel I am a great asset to their team, but no thanks to SIUC, I had to teach myself what I know
today.” On a positive note for SIUC, when question 18 asked alumni, “Why do you feel you have
not received a job within your degree yet?” The answer “other” was chosen by 35% of alumni,
who were either in grad school, law school, had a job, but not in their degree or simply because
of the economy. As the second highest answer chosen, 18% of alumni said they have not
looked hard enough.
“More practical experience” was chosen most by alumni with a percentage of 39 for
question 20. This question asked alumni to explain what you feel your educational program at

19. Does SIUC Get an A? 19
SIUC could do and/or change in order to improve its program. 32% of all the responses came
from alumni who graduated form the College of Art and Design. The College of Art and Design
said, “There needs to be more practical experience offered, and SIUC, in general, needs to
improve and there needs to be more realistic expectations.” Looking at question 21, which asks
alumni, “Is there anything else you would like to share with us involving the education offered
at Southern Illinois University Carbondale?” 57% of alumni, 75% being alumni from the College
of Art and Design, responded that, “Personally I would never come back.”
After looking closely at the returning students results and alumni’s results the overall
satisfaction of Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a “fair” grade. Even though only 38%
of alumni have jobs with in their major the, which did effect the satisfaction rate, the alumni
rated the university with a 77%. The 77% given by the alumni was 3% more than the 74%
satisfaction rate given by the returning students. (For more information on data and results see
Appendix C, and for graph charts see Appendix D).
Discussion
After days of analyzing the results and correlating the differences, we were able to
successfully find the answers to our conceptual research questions.
Answers
As mentioned above the conceptual question was divided into three parts pertaining to
the concept of the three components that construct Organizational Identity theory such as: pre‐
entry stage, entry stage, and post‐entry stage.
The question pertaining to pre‐entry, “How does Southern Illinois University Carbondale
persuade students’ to attend its education programs through the use of application

20. Does SIUC Get an A? 20
attributes?” was consistently answered the same through both the focus group sessions and
the survey research. The 40 returning SIUC student participants primarily agreed by 28 percent
the reason they had chosen to come to SIUC were reasons pertaining to the university being
the furthest from home while still receiving low instate tuition. The university exceedingly
markets itself to potential students in the northern areas of Illinois as the college that is,
“furthest from home while still encompassing the lowest in‐state tuition price”. Since this was
the reasoning most students from the Northern Illinois areas stated why they chose to come to
SIUC, the university is effectively persuading students to attend the university through the use
of its application attributes. However, the question does specify how SIUC persuades students’
to attend its, “education programs through the use of application attributes.” According to the
survey, there was a tie between the options, “my majors program,” and, “I just wanted to come
here,” with 20 percent, as the second most chosen options. Although, 65 percent of returning
SIUC students and 60 percent of SIUC alumni stated this was because of a, “personal interest in
subject,” there were comments left stating different programs such as, College of Engineering
and College of Business, were rumored to be strong programs offered by SIUC.
The question pertaining to entry, “How do the different features and members of
Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Organizational Identity differentiate from student to
student within the diverse educational programs and its professional educators?” was highly
indicated through the focus group findings and survey results that educational professors are
what most contributed to the student’s knowledge about their degree. This was proven within
our survey research that measured, out of the 80 participants combined, 70 percent of the
participants answered “teachers” as what most contributed to their educational knowledge.

21. Does SIUC Get an A? 21
Since we had already anticipated this would be the case, the survey measured students’
perceptions about the professor’s performance within their chosen degree. The majority of the
80 participants answers, regarding their professor’s performances was, “most of the time”.
However, the majority of returning SIUC students answered, “always,” to the options stating,
“My teachers are knowledgeable about the field(s) of study,” and, “My teachers are available to
talk to and/or ask for help”. This was a positive agreement pertaining to the educators of SIUC,
contributing to more positive results within the entry stage of Organizational Identity theory.
The final question within the three components pertaining to post‐entry, “How have
students’ previous experiences within their educational programs contributed to their overall
levels of satisfaction for Southern Illinois University Carbondale?” was primarily answered
through the SIUC alumni participants. Studying SIUC’s organization from a student’s
perspective allows the third stage of Organizational Identity theory to actually reflect on
previous experiences within all the stages after leaving the establishment. In this case, the
post‐entry stage was primarily centered on if they were easily able to attain a job post‐
graduation. However, because of this primary reasoning into entering SIUC in the first place,
these were the cause of some very unsatisfied perspectives among the students who had not
found a job yet, compared to the students who did have a job already. However, this was not
the case within all the colleges under SIUC. The College of Art and Design was a significant
variable within our findings that was a contradiction to our dependent variables. Even though
two out of the four participants did have jobs within their chosen degree, the SIUC alumni’s of
the College of Art and Design, were all very unhappy with their degrees they had received from
SIUC. This was shown through a consistent amount of negative responses from these specific

22. Does SIUC Get an A? 22
participants, and even more from the respondents that have jobs. They felt unprepared,
uneducated, inexperienced, unconfident, and betrayed by SIUC’s communication design
program within the College of Art and Design. On the contrary, there were also specific
alumni’s who illustrated their experience at SIUC was neutral to unsatisfying, but because of
expected future paychecks they gave above average ratings. A lot of these results were quite
shocking to view, and led to additional curiosities for future studies involving universities within
the three components of Organizational Identity theory.
Since our research of Organizational Identity primarily revolved around the concept of
the three components that constructs the theory as a whole, our main conceptual research
question, “How do students’ overall perceptions of Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s
education develop from the three stages of entry within Organizational Identity?” was
successfully identified through our research. As mentioned above, the consistency among most
students’ answers were shown through the three stages of Organizational Identity theory. As in
most cases when dealing with researching theories, not all research participants will allow your
results to match perfectly because of the different personalities and perceptions of students
prior to their involvements. As shown above, within the three components of the main
conceptual question, in successfully studying prior studies about Organizational Identity theory,
the research was successfully constructed to acquire findings within all three stages of the
theory regarding our specific research.
Reconceptualization
Organizational Identity theory is a complex theorization that has many reasons for its
successes and failures. Primarily, members are the characteristics of an organization. The

23. Does SIUC Get an A? 23
theory is strengthened when members of its organization associate positive feelings toward its
identity. This is important because members with positive Organizational Identity are more
likely to maintain their loyalty by telling others about the organization, spending or donating
more money, and staying with the organization throughout their expected time frame
(Fombelle, 2007, p. 77). However, conflicts can occur whenever change takes place that
decreases members’ identification within the organization. Conflicts are primarily caused by
the organization’s inability to uphold the different dimensions of its identity, as well as the
disability to fulfill some of its key aspects (Biddle & Rao, 1997, p. 602). Furthermore, when
these conflicts emerge, members tend to reduce their involvement within the organization
since the organization is no longer beneficial to their needs. These conflicts within the
organization can begin to violate its identity. Positive and negative identifications are
important to our particular research because SIUC would be nonexistent without its students.
SIUC is an educational university that survives by students’ interest to attend. Therefore, our
findings as to why students are satisfied or dissatisfied with the university’s educational
programs is critical in determining its educational identity, because inaccurate data could be
detrimental to the Organizational Identity of SIUC.
From the research, we are able to view accuracy within all three components of
Organizational Identity theory. How members of the organization’s happiness and conflicts
reflect their perceptions within all three stages of the theory, and how those perceptions
determine the individual’s different levels of satisfactions. For example, the SIUC alumni’s
within the College of Art and Design as mentioned above. High expectation results showed a
decrease in personal experience when not met to their individualized standards, and this

24. Does SIUC Get an A? 24
related to an immense decrease in the overall satisfaction. This was strongly expressed within
each individual, leaving the independent variable with a bad review to possible future
members.
Our research differentiates from other studies we have researched involving
Organizational Identity theory. Primarily, studying SIUC’s organization from a student’s
perspective allowed the third stage of the theory to become one of the main findings within our
particular research because of the more accurate post‐reflection on previous experiences
within all the stages after leaving the establishment. Furthermore, our research is
differentiated because all university’s like SIUC are centered on student’s expectations to
attend, experience and receive their education, then to finally graduate and leave the
university. Within our research, there were no expectancies to attend SIUC as a student
forever. It was to attend the university in order to one day successfully leave the
establishment, and then join a new organization with expectations of a permanent status there.
However, through our knowledge of the theory, we were able to understand different
organizations ways in going about post‐entry results, without having all those members of the
organization terminated. Which is why our research study was equally separated into two
parts, so we could compare differences between the two demographics, returning SIUC juniors
and seniors, and SIUC alumni. This was verified because it allowed us to see in more depth the
effectiveness of each stage within the three components of Organizational Identity theory from
a student’s perspective before, during, and after attending SIUC. The returning SIUC student
participants were particularly accountable for the two stages, pre‐entry and entry because they
are fully aware of their current state of mind without the possibilities of negative and/or

25. Does SIUC Get an A? 25
positive post‐entry conflicts determining their overall perceptions and satisfactions, whereas,
the SIUC alumni participants were able to show results depicting all three stages of SIUC’s
Organizational Identity as a whole.
Implications
Recommendations to Scholars
Many recommendations can be made for future studies regarding educational
universities with the study of Organizational Identity theory. Due to restrictions of time, our
research was limited to a very small size regarding the SIUC population that could have been
studied in order to attain a more accurate data collection analysis. Therefore, we recommend
that future scholars develop a survey that can be constructed and distributed fully online. This
will save time in the collection of data process because most Internet based surveys allow you
to view the totals and graphs from the moment it is distributed to the public. However, careful
selectiveness with issues of placement will need to be considered in order to avoid inaccurate
demographic participants.
Also, within the construction of the separate alumni student sector, more options and
precise questioning are recommended. SIUC alumni were confused as to what to answer when
it regard a specific set of students that went into law school, which led them into having a job,
just not necessarily within their undergraduate degree. Making sure to clarify how to proceed
with the survey regarding certain student’s specific answering options would accommodate to a
more accurate data collection.
For the most part, we do recommend analyzing the collection of data through
comparison of returning juniors and seniors within the university, as well as the university’s

26. Does SIUC Get an A? 26
alumni. This helps view the differences in post‐entry results from different current situational
states that may or may not be affecting participants individual perspectives. Furthermore, the
continuing of studying the various answers within the different colleges of the university is
highly recommended as well.
Recommendations of Practitioners
Through the reconceptualization of Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s education
and the Organizational Identity theory, we highly recommend to all practitioners to pay more
attention to detail within specific majors of the nine colleges offered at SIUC. Particularly the
communication design students within the College of Art and Design, chemistry majors within
the College of Science, Geographic Information Systems in the College of Liberal Arts.
Also recommendations to professional educators under the College of Business
Administration is a small recommendation primarily concerning teachers being more open to
adapt to students needs. This small change would help in increasing the colleges’ results in
order to better perform for its high expectancies students tend to mutually agree with.
Furthermore, we recommend the College of Agricultural Science continue doing
everything just as they are because of its consistently high and satisfyingly mutual ratings.
Finally, final recommendations for Southern Illinois University Carbondale as a whole,
should primarily be concerned with, as mentioned above, with specific majors under specific
colleges. Otherwise, we would recommend continuing your hiring process with dedicated,
knowledgeable, open to suggestion, and passionate professors. The consensus of students did
appreciate the professional educators, for the most part, but would like to be provided with
more practical experience within their field of study. This was one of the most common

27. Does SIUC Get an A? 27
answers along with “confidence to attain a job within my degree”. However, certain comments
stating, “I would never recommend anyone to go here,” and various comments from SIUC
alumni under the College of Art and Design should be paid additional attention in order to more
adequately satisfy their individual needs.
Paying attention to these specific needs may allow SIUC to receive an “A” within all its
required classes as well.
Conclusion
All in all, Southern Illinois University Carbondale had pretty good data results within the
small population of 80 participants as a whole. However, our predictions were correct in
analyzing the different features of the university in order to see the differences between
answers within each college under the university. As currently enrolled SIUC students, this was
primarily intriguing because of the curiosity in wondering if our education we are receiving is as
good as the building to our right and/or left side. Due to us being personally linked to SIUC, our
passion for research and curiosity to understand the unknown world of a failing economy, it
was very interesting in finding which specific colleges under SIUC uniquely stood out with
similar responses to similar questions against others. As well as, which colleges were the most
satisfied colleges, while which colleges were the least satisfied. These results were even more
interesting to find through the use of the Organizational Identity theory. Since the foundation
of our survey was constructed around the Organizational Identity theory, we were able to
understand post‐entry results through expectancies and experiences through pre‐entry and
entry results.

28. Does SIUC Get an A? 28
If time had not been a restriction so we would have been able to research a larger
population of our specific demographics, we feel this research would have been a great
presentation to Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Primarily, we feel the research
conducted through Organizational Identity theory was consistent to our findings. Also, we feel
we have added to strengthening the validity of the theory because of our research findings
through students’ perspectives that depicted their expectancy levels from SIUC’s use of
application attributes, and those individual expectations are differentiated from student to
student’s personal experiences within the educational environment at SIUC, and finally how the
levels of expectancies and personal experiences can determine final post‐entry results
pertaining to the overall satisfaction of each individual student that attends, experiences, and
graduates from SIUC.
Therefore, this research could accommodate a few things by understanding how SIUC
distinguishes itself within the Organizational Identity theory, and if SIUC’s expectancies’,
experiences, and satisfactions are what reflect the students’ perceptions? For instance, if SIUC
expects that all students should believe they should receive an overall good grade, then
according to Organizational Identity theory, if SIUC is doing their job correctly, tuition prices
should not be increasing, while enrollment should not continue decreasing year‐by‐year, either.
Consequently, the real question is, “Does SIUC feel they deserve an ‘A’?”

29. Does SIUC Get an A? 29
References
Biddle, K., & Rao H. (1997). Breaches in the boardroom: Organizational identity
and conflicts of commitment in a nonprofit organization. Organization Science, (8)6,
593‐609.
Fombelle, P. (2007). Organizational identity: Maximizing a member’s value to
the organization. AMA Winter Educators’ Conference Proceedings, 18, 77. Winter 2007,
from Business Source Complete database.
Foreman, O. P., & Parent, M. M. (2008). The process of organizational identity
construction in interactive organizations. Corporate Reputation Review, 11(3), 222‐244.
Retrieved March 12, 2009, from Business Source Complete database.
Margolis, L. S., & Hansen, D. C. (2002). A model for organizational identity:
Exploring the path to sustainability during change. Human Resource Development
Review, 1, 277‐300. doi:10.1177/1534484302013002

30. Does SIUC Get an A? 30
Appendix A
Informed Consent Form
Focus Group Session
Southern Illinois University’s Education
Researchers’ Names: Lea Dalley, Savannah Desmond, Ashlye Richardson, and Allie Toothman
(Southern Illinois University Carbondale)
I, __________________________, agree to participate in the focus group conducted by Dalley,
Desmond, Richardson, and Toothman. In agreeing to participate, I feel that I have an accurate
understanding of the following matters based on Dalley, Desmond, Richardson, and
Toothman’s verbal explanation.
• I understand, the purpose of this research is to study from an Organizational
Identity perspective: the expectations and perceptions of students prior to
attending Southern Illinois University (SIU), what goes on within students’
educational programs that are offered at SIU, and students overall levels of
satisfaction after at least two full years of experience with SIU and their
educational program(s).
• I understand that the research does not involve any procedures that would harm
me, and should not place me under severe stress that could be a risk to my
health.
• I understand my participation within the research is completely voluntary, and at
any time during the research, my decision not to participate will involve no
penalty against me.
• I understand that an audio/video tape will record my participation within this
focus group. However, I understand, my participation within the research is
completely confidential, and that Dalley, Desmond, Richardson, and Toothman
will do their best in protecting my confidentiality. Therefore, unless approved by
my consent, under no circumstances will anyone other than Dalley, Desmond,
Richardson, Toothman, and our research advisor is able to listen and/or view the
tapes.
• I understand that this is a focus group that involves other members to
participate in the discussion with me. Therefore, I will respect the other
members within the group, and their personal opinions about the topic(s) being
discussed.
• I understand that Dalley, Desmond, Richardson, and Toothman have all
requested that I not share any information discussed within the focus group, as

31. Does SIUC Get an A? 31
well as who participated within the discussion. I will ensure complete
confidentiality about all members and matters discussed within this focus group.
I, __________________________, give my permission, without any restrictions, to Dalley,
Desmond, Richardson, and Toothman to study and record the focus group session and my
participation within it. I understand that my opinions spoken within the focus group session
will be used for research purposes only. I understand my identity within the focus group will be
completely confidential, and agree to respect the confidentiality of the other members’
participation within the group as well.
• I knowingly agree to participate within this research that will be recorded on an
audio/video tape. My signature gives Dalley, Desmond, Richardson, and
Toothman full permission to audio/video tape the focus group session(s).
Participant _________________________________ Date ___________________
Researchers ________________________________ Date ___________________
This project has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Satoshi Toyosaki. Questions and concerns pertaining to your
rights as a participant within this research may be addressed to Dr. Satoshi Toyosaki, Office: 2002‐B,
Communication Building at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Phone: (618) 453‐4669. E‐mail:
tsatoshi@siu.edu.

32. Does SIUC Get an A? 32
Appendix B
I am involved with the research being conducted for my class, Research Methods in Public
Communication. My research team is collecting data by a process called random sampling. This survey
will be asking you questions about your education at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Through your participation in this survey, you are giving our research team consent to use your answers
for our research. The privacy of your identification is important to us. Therefore, to ensure your
confidentiality, please do not write your name anywhere on the survey. Also feel free to be as honest as
possible regarding your education at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. There are no right or
wrong answers, and your response is very important to our research findings.
If you have any questions regarding this survey, please feel free to ask us questions at any time. Also
the results of our survey research will be available by December 18, 2009, please feel free to contact the
research leader, Allie Toothman by e‐mail at allie05@siu.edu, or by phone, (618) 521‐7810, for these
results.
This project has been reviewed and approved by our research advisor, Dr. Satoshi Toyosaki. Questions
and concerns pertaining to your rights as a participant within this research may be addressed to Dr.
Satoshi Toyosaki, Office: 2002‐B, Communication Building at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Phone: (618) 453‐4669. E‐mail: tsatoshi@siu.edu.
Thank you for your participation within this survey.
The research team: Lea Dalley, Savannah Desmond, Ashlye Richardson, and Allie Toothman
Department of Speech Communication
Southern Illinois University Carbondale

33. Does SIUC Get an A? 33
1. How old are you? ____________________
2. What is your gender?
a. Male
b. Female
c. Other
3. What is your student classification?
a. Returning Junior
b. Returning Senior
c. SIU Alumni
4. What college is your degree in? (If graduate or alumni, please circle the one in which you
graduated from.)
a. College of Agricultural Sciences
b. College of Applied Sciences and Arts
c. College of Art and Design
d. College of Business Administration
e. College of Education and Human Services
f. College of Engineering
g. College of Liberal Arts
h. College of Mass Communication and Media Arts
i. College of Science
5. What is your major/specialization? __________________________________________________
6. Was SIU your first choice when picking your college?
a. Yes.
b. No.
c. (If no, please tell us if it was second, third, fourth, or last.): ________________________
7. Why did you come to SIUC?
a. I just wanted to come here
b. Social life
c. Scholarship
d. My majors program
e. Parents are SIU alumni
f. It was my last option
g. The sports program
h. Other (Please Explain): _____________________________________________________
8. On a scale of 1‐10, how would you rate your expectations of SIUC before you enrolled?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Extremely poor Neutral/Adequate Exceptional
NOTE: If your answer to question 3 was Returning Junior or Returning Senior, please continue to next
page. However, if your answer to question 3 was SIU Alumni, please skip to page 5.

34. Does SIUC Get an A? 34
Returning SIUC Juniors and Returning SIUC Seniors
9. What about SIUC’s education most contributes to your knowledge about your degree?
a. Teachers
b. Resources
c. Computer Technology Availability
d. Other (Please Explain): _____________________________________________________
10. What factor had the biggest affect on your selection of a major at SIUC?
a. Parent’s Opinion
b. Personal Interest in Subject
c. Suggestion from Advisor
d. Friends Opinions
e. Future Paychecks
f. Other (Please Explain): _____________________________________________________
11. Please rate the following options pertaining to the classes within your degree(s).
Always Most of the Time Hardly Ever Never
I feel excited about class projects/assignments.
I go to class everyday.
I feel confident in receiving a job after college.
I have good attendance in all my classes.
I feel challenged within my classes.
I enjoy my classes.
I get good grades (A's and B's) in my classes.
I feel successful in my classes.
12. Please rate the following options according to your personal opinion about your
teachers within your field(s) of study. “My teachers are ______________.”
Always Most of the Time Hardly Ever Never
Great about giving good assignments/class projects.
Knowledgeable about the field(s) of study.
Available to talk to/ask for help.
Great about giving opportunities to gain practical experience.
Open to suggestions.
Passionate about the field(s) of study.
Fun.
Prepared for class.
Very clear so I can understand them.

35. Does SIUC Get an A? 35
13. On a scale of 1‐10, how would you rate your educational experience at SIUC?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Extremely poor Neutral/Adequate Exceptional
14. Please rate the following options according to your personal opinion about SIUC.
Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
I had high expectations about the university
prior to my enrollment.
College Advisers played a big role in my
selection of classes.
Prerequisite courses prepared me for courses
within my major.
Classes in my major create the biggest
challenge for me while attending SIU.
So far, SIUC has prepared and developed me
into a growing professional within my
degree.
So far, I am happy with my decision to come
to SIUC to attain my degree(s).
15. Please rank the following in the order of what the most important thing and least important
thing you can acquire from your education within your major(s) at SIUC.
(4) Being the most important, and (1) being the least of importance.
a. Strong Educated Teachers _______________
b. To Gain Practical Experience _______________
c. Strong Portfolio/Resume/Cover Letter _______________
d. Confidence to Attain a Job Within My Field(s) _______________
16. What do you feel your educational program at SIUC has provided you the most with upon your
graduation date? (For example, answers a, b, c, d from question 15 above, and/or other
responses.)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
17. Is there anything else you would like to share with us involving the education offered to you at
Southern Illinois University Carbondale?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for completing our survey. We value your opinion and appreciate your
participation within our research. Please return this survey to the researcher, and have a
great day.