First-year students are more interested in politics and are more liberal than in previous years, said a new survey from the University of California-Los Angeles' Higher Education Research Institute.
The annual study, in its 36th year and conducted by UCLA's Graduate School of Education and Information, is the largest study of incoming first-year students ever administered. It was given to 411,970 students at 704 colleges and universities.
The study aims to assess attitudes on a broad range of topics including academic engagement, wellness, religious preference and interracial interaction.
Linda Sax, UCLA education professor and director of the survey, said the purpose of the survey was to collect nationwide data for the educational establishment. It also gives colleges a picture of their incoming students for programming decisions.
Virginia E. Carter, director of external affairs in the office of the vice president for student affairs, said her office currently is in the process of compiling and analyzing the data on University students.
The data then will be given to deans and directors within the division.
The data usually does not result in specific programming changes, but it is valuable to recognize trends among students over a long period, Carter said.
"It's a really good tool to gather how University students compare to students across the country," she said.
Over 2,000 first-year University students participated in the survey during the first week of classes in the fall semester.
Nationwide, the numbers reflected a few important trends.
The percentage of students nationwide that said they discussed politics frequently increased from 16.4 percent in 2000 to 20.9 percent, the survey said. Results showed that 31.4 percent of students felt that it was essential to be informed on political events.
Efforts by groups to mobilize young voters and the "interesting times we live in" could account for this increase, said Paul Freedman, University professor of government and foreign affairs.
"Young people see politics as engaging to their lives and their futures as American citizens," Freedman said.
The survey also shows that 29.9 percent of students labeled themselves as "liberal" or "far left" in political belief, a rising trend over the last five years. In addition, 20.7 percent considered themselves "conservative" or "far right" and 49.5 percent labeled themselves "middle of the road."
These trends are a result of the students growing up during the Clinton administration and through liberal messages in teen-oriented media, Sax said.
"Over time during college, students do become more liberal across the board," she said.
The levels of liberalism have risen since the mid-1990s, Freedman said.
The majority of the results were collected before Sept. 11 so the results could not be attributed to students' reactions to the terrorist attacks, Sax said.
The Sept. 11 attacks might spark an increase in political awareness but any prediction is only speculation, Sax said.
"Students are focused in college so international events might take a back seat," she said.
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