2008 Woodie Awards
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Students conduct groundbreaking study on 'brain drain'
College grads look for jobs outside Wisconsin
Jeremy Pink
Issue date: 10/17/07 Section: News
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A two-year study orchestrated by students at the UW-Whitewater recently released its findings showing college students' lack of perception of career opportunities in Wisconsin.
The study, which was directed by Productive Knowledge, Inc. of Elm Grove, Wis., was carried out by students of UW-Whitewater lecturer Bill Lowell's public opinion classes over the course of two years and provided results directly from college students across Wisconsin: the source previous studies may not have been focusing on effectively.
David Niles, co-owner of Productive Knowledge, said his firm was prompted to do the study after viewing similar studies.
"We saw that many of the other studies were not talking directly to the students," he said.
UW-Madison released a similar study in 2006, but Niles said the focus on students of all grades was not there.
"That [study] was primarily focused on graduates rather than existing students," Niles said. "Other studies also seemed to focus on what business leaders and civic leaders think about the situation. We wanted a study that would strictly focus on current college students across Wisconsin and not just at a particular college."
So Productive Knowledge formulated a series of survey questions and enlisted the help of Lowell and his public opinion students to execute the surveys on college students of all grades.
"The students were broken up into teams and were responsible to go out and gather the information," Lowell said.
Niles said approximately 2,000 students from Wisconsin and other states were surveyed for the study. According to student results, 77 percent of which were from Wisconsin, there may be a communication problem between businesses and students.
"Freshman are not being urged to look into Wisconsin's job opportunities, thus they often believe that opportunities only exist elsewhere," UW-Whitewater graduate student Kelli Danielski said in a release from Productive Knowledge; Danielski was one of the students who helped conduct the study.
The study, which was directed by Productive Knowledge, Inc. of Elm Grove, Wis., was carried out by students of UW-Whitewater lecturer Bill Lowell's public opinion classes over the course of two years and provided results directly from college students across Wisconsin: the source previous studies may not have been focusing on effectively.
David Niles, co-owner of Productive Knowledge, said his firm was prompted to do the study after viewing similar studies.
"We saw that many of the other studies were not talking directly to the students," he said.
UW-Madison released a similar study in 2006, but Niles said the focus on students of all grades was not there.
"That [study] was primarily focused on graduates rather than existing students," Niles said. "Other studies also seemed to focus on what business leaders and civic leaders think about the situation. We wanted a study that would strictly focus on current college students across Wisconsin and not just at a particular college."
So Productive Knowledge formulated a series of survey questions and enlisted the help of Lowell and his public opinion students to execute the surveys on college students of all grades.
"The students were broken up into teams and were responsible to go out and gather the information," Lowell said.
Niles said approximately 2,000 students from Wisconsin and other states were surveyed for the study. According to student results, 77 percent of which were from Wisconsin, there may be a communication problem between businesses and students.
"Freshman are not being urged to look into Wisconsin's job opportunities, thus they often believe that opportunities only exist elsewhere," UW-Whitewater graduate student Kelli Danielski said in a release from Productive Knowledge; Danielski was one of the students who helped conduct the study.
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