First Destination Outcomes for the Class of 2022

November 7, 2022

Finlandia University’s Class of ’22 graduates are off to a great start! The Seaton Center for Vocation & Career has completed its inaugural First Destination Survey, a new tool to collect and summarize data on graduate employment outcomes and continuing education enrollment.

With an overall knowledge rate of 76.5%, the survey captures information on the activities of 52 of the 68 students who completed their studies in the Spring or Summer of 2022. Of this cohort, encompassing both associate and bachelor’s degree holders, 69.2% had secured employment, 17.3% enrolled in graduate studies, and 1.92% began serving in the military, within the first six months after graduation. An additional 11.5% were still looking for their next opportunity at the time of response.

Finlandia’s First Destination Survey is administered through the Handshake early career platform, adopted by the Seaton Center in August 2021. Handshake enables an automated email campaign that solicits responses from recent graduates throughout the summer. Email recipients see the aggregated response data of their peers (rates of employment, military service, etc.), updated in real-time, which helps drive survey completion. Student responses are supplemented by information gathered from Finlandia faculty and staff who have firsthand knowledge of what their advisees or program participants are up to – a great benefit of being a close-knit community where employees know individual students so well. Survey questions and data collection methodology are developed in accordance with guidelines set out by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

Finlandia graduates are finding success all over the nation, with students landing jobs in cities as far west as Portland, Oregon and as far east as Spartanburg, South Carolina. Michigan and the Upper Peninsula have managed to hold onto many grads, with 31% of all respondents currently located in the U.P. region and an additional 12% downstate. Graduates are engaged in a wide range of exciting endeavors from pursuing graduate studies in forensic science in Connecticut, to practicing pediatric nursing at the University of Michigan hospital system. Several graduates are serving the local Hancock and Houghton communities in roles ranging from athletic coaches to accountants.

The Class of ’22 has been greeted by a more favorable job market compared to the previous year, with opportunities up nearly 32% for new graduates over 2021, according to NACE. Hiring is particularly strong in the healthcare field, as evidenced by the outcomes for graduates from Finlandia’s College of Health Sciences (CHS): 92.3% of Nursing and Physical Therapy Assistant program respondents are currently employed or engaged in further study. These rates are similarly positive for graduates of the School of Arts and Sciences (SCAS) at 86.7% and the International School of Business (ISB) at 90%, however, knowledge rates for these program participants were lower (71.4% and 55.5% respectfully), compared to the 93.1% for CHS graduates.

The Seaton Center will conduct the First Destination Survey annually throughout the summer and fall. In an attempt to continually improve response rates, the Center will collaborate with the Office of the Registrar and academic programs to further incentivize completion among seniors and alumni. Finlandia University stands out through its commitment to support the ambitions of each individual student, and we are excited to see these positive graduate education and employment trends continue in the years to come!

Article provided by the Seaton Center for Vocation & Career.

First Destination Outcomes for the Class of 2022

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