Student & Alumni Survey for the 2022 MA English Lit Program Self-Study
Greetings, graduate English students and alumni of Mercy College. Every five years, as a part of Mercy College's accreditation, the MA English Lit program is required to perform a "program self-study." This involves the Program Director gathering together data and other info, including student & alumni feedback, and then reflecting with the MA faculty and college administrators on what these elements reveal. The goal is to identify where the program is succeeding, and where it needs improvement, based on the "evidence" from the past five years. 

This survey seeks to secure feedback/evidence by inviting responses from Mercy grad students and alumni, including those just starting in fall 2022, and those who exited before completing the degree requirements.

Survey responses are anonymous. We trust that people will only complete the survey once. Because this is a comprehensive survey, there are many questions encompassing a wide variety of topics; so feel free to skip any questions that you don't feel like answering, or that don't seem relevant to your experience (but please answer as many as you can!). Remember to click the "submit" button at the bottom of the page, in order to complete and submit the survey. Thank you for taking the time to express yourself about the program!
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First, please let us know your program status
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How did you first hear about the Mercy College MA in English Lit program?
If you answered "other" to the question above, or if you can share further details about any other response above, please elaborate here:
What factor(s) contributed to you deciding to join Mercy College, after being accepted into the MA program? (Select all that apply)
If you answered "other" to the question above, or if you can share further details about any response, please elaborate here:
Which (if any) other colleges' or universities' graduate English programs were you considering joining, before deciding to join Mercy College?
What is/was your primary reason for pursuing the MA English Lit degree? (You can offer more answers in the next question below; here we're trying to identify the  primary reason.)
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Beyond your primary reason for pursuing the MA English Lit degree, what other reasons apply? (Select however many are appropriate) 
If you can recall, what were your feelings about joining the Mercy College MA program at the conclusion of your first semester in the program? (left circle is most negative, right circle is most positive) 
I felt like I'd made a big mistake
I was certain that I'd made the right choice
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Please elaborate on why you answered the previous question however you did
If you transferred out of Mercy College prior to completing your MA degree here, and transferred into another MA program, please let us know (A) your primary reason for transferring out; (B) which program you transferred into; and (C) if you completed the degree in that other program. 
As you progressed through the Mercy College MA program, how did you feel about the amount of course offerings each semester, and from semester to semester? 
Not enough offerings
Perfect amount from which to choose
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As you progressed through the Mercy College MA program, how did you feel about the variety of course offerings each semester, and from semester to semester? (i.e., was there an interesting selection of course options each semester)
Boring and uninspired
Interesting and inspired
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If you care to do so, please elaborate on your feelings about the amount of offerings, and the variety of offerings, encountered during your time in the program.
This question might seem similar to the above question about variety but it takes a particular focus: one of our goals when designing new courses, and creating course schedules, is to include diversity and representation. Based on however you define "diversity and representation," do you feel that the program offers adequate and appropriate course options? If not, can you offer specific suggestions for how to improve in this respect? 
As you progressed through the program, how did you feel about the overall level of communication and support that you received (e.g. from the Program Director, from PACT, from the library's online tutors, from your various professors)?
It was nonexistent; I felt ignored and adrift the whole time
It was excellent; I felt seen, heard, and supported the whole time
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If you care to do so, please elaborate on your answer above about the level of communication and support:
What was your favorite class (or classes) that you took during your time in the program? Why? 
What was your least favorite class (or classes) that you took during your time in the program? Why?
What were the most effective classroom techniques or teaching styles that you encountered in your courses?
What course (or courses) do you think the program should add to its curriculum that it does not currently offer?
Do you feel that the overall structure of the program (i.e. the required courses and categories, the amount of electives, the required thesis tutorial) is effective and appropriate?
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On the whole, based on your experiences in your various MA courses at Mercy College, how do you feel about the graduate student community that you encountered, and that you were a part of? (E.g., did you feel the classroom conversations were friendly and encouraging, did you feel seen by your colleagues, did you look forward to encountering the other students in the program in class each week, did you feel a sense of community at all? Anything that you want to share about the grad student community based on your experiences, please do.)  
If your answer to the previous question about your experiences with the grad student community was negative, can you suggest things that the program might do to help students have a better experience?
Based on your overall experience in the program, how would you rate appropriateness of the level of challenge that you experienced throughout your time in the MA program, across all of your courses?
One thing that's difficult for us teaching in the program to do, but necessary for us to strive for, is getting the workload in each course (e.g. reading requirements, writing requirements, participation requirements) balanced and consistent from course to course, so that students are encountering about the same amount of workload in each course. How would you describe the balance of workload that you encountered in your courses during your time in the program?
The workload balance was a disaster: some courses were demanding A LOT more or less work than other courses
The workload balance felt just right, such that I never felt any one course was asking me to do a lot more or less than any other course
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If you tended toward the negative answer above, can you specify which courses seemed to demand either too much, or too little, work?
Do you (or did you) regularly check the program blog at mercyenglishma.com during your time in the program?
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Has the program blog proven useful?
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Are you aware of the college's literary journal, Red Hyacinth?
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Have you ever contributed anything to Red Hyacinth (e.g. submitted work for publication, received publication, worked as an editor)? 
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For students who have not yet completed the MA degree (alumni will be asked a version of this question down below):  please share anything else that you want to say about the Mercy College MA in English Literature program, and/or your experiences in the program so far:
This question and all questions below it are intended only for alumni who completed the MA English Lit degree at Mercy College: At the moment of earning your MA degree through Mercy College, how did you feel? 
Full of regrets
I felt great about it!!!
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Please let us know more about your answer
Now, after some time has passed since you completed your Mercy College MA in English Lit degree, how do you feel about having earned it?
Full of regrets
I feel great about it!!!
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Please let us know more about your answer above
Has your MA degree proven useful in your pursuit of whatever are your goals? And/or has it provided you with whatever you were hoping it would?
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Here's a more specific version of the previous question, intended only for alumni who had a very specific professional outcome in mind when earning the MA degree (which includes PhD studies): has the MA degree directly contributed to you landing or retaining the position or job you currently have?
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Please elaborate on your answers to the above two questions, however much you like; and for those who answered "yes" to the question about if the MA has contributed to you landing or retaining your current position or job, if you could share the name of your current position or job (even the name of the employer or institution) this would be extremely useful for us as we try to chart out, for our accreditors, specific data regarding this sort of thing. Of course don't share any info that you are not comfortable sharing. 
For all alumni: please share anything else that you want to say about the Mercy College MA in English Literature program, and/or how you feel about how your experiences in the program, and the earning of the MA degree, inform your life today.
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