Table of Contents

APPENDIX A: TEXT VERSION OF ON-LINE SURVEY OF PROFESSIONALS

Welcome to the Transportation Education Survey

Funded by the
Southwest Region University Transportation Center

This survey is an important part of a study on the education of transportation planning professionals. The study is being funded by the Southwest Region University Transportation Center and is being directed by Dr. Susan Handy of the University of Texas at Austin. Your participation in this survey is critical to the success of this study. The survey should take about 15 minutes to complete. Once you begin filling out this survey there is no opportunity to save it and return to complete it. Please be sure you have the allotted time available to complete it in one session. Be assured that all your responses will be completely confidential; the survey database will not include your name or any other form of identification. Please contact Dr. Handy at handy@mail.utexas.edu if you have any questions about the survey or the study.

Thanks for your contribution to this important research!

If you are not familiar with on-line surveys, here are a few tips.

Questions with circle response buttons will accept only one correct answer. If you feel you have chosen an incorrect response, clicking on another button in the list will change your response.

Questions with square response buttons will allow you to choose as many responses as you feel necessary. If you feel you have chosen an incorrect response, clicking on the button again will remove your mark.

  1. In five words or less, what is the most challenging aspect of your job?

Please tell us about where you work

  1. How would you characterize the organization where you work?

  2. Approximately how many people are employed at your organization?

  3. In what state is your office located?


  4. What is your current title or classification?


  5. How long have you been in the transportation field (years)?


  6. How long have you been in your current position (years)?


  7. Which of these duties does your current position include? Please check all that apply.

  8. What share of your job would you describe as "planning"?

  9. What share of your job would you describe as "engineering"?

Please tell us about the skills involved in performing your job

  1. How frequently does your job address the following topics? Please rate from "Never" (1) to "Daily" (5).

  2. How important are the following SKILLS in performing your job? Please rate from "Not Important" (1) to "Very Important" (5).

Please tell us about your education

  1. Please choose the option that describes your educational background.
    Associates Degree Bachelors Degree Masters Degree Ph.D

  2. What professional accreditations do you hold?

  3. How important have the following sources of education or training been for providing you with skills and knowledge that are most useful for your current job? Please rate from "Not at all" (1) to "Very" (5).

  4. To what extent did you cover the following SUBJECT AREAS in your degree program? (Not covered, Minor portion of course, Major portion of course, or Full course)

  5. To what extent did you cover the following SKILLS in your degree program? (Not covered, Minor portion of course, Major portion of course, or Full course)

  6. To what extent did you cover the following SKILLS in your degree program (continued)?

  7. Given the skills and knowledge important in you current position, do you think you received the right amount of exposure to the following SUBJECT AREAS in your formal degree program? Please rate from "Not enough" (1) to "Too much" (5)?

  8. Given the skills and knowledge important in your current position, do you think you received the right amount of exposure to the following SUBJECT AREAS in your formal degree program (continued)?

  9. Given the skills and knowledge important in you current position, do you think you received the right amount of exposure to the following SKILL AREAS in your formal degree program? Too much? Not enough?

  10. Given the skills and knowledge important in you current position, do you think you received the right amount of exposure to the following SKILL AREAS in your formal degree program (continued)?

  11. What classes did you not take that you wish you had taken?


  12. What classes do you wish you had been offered but weren't?

Please tell us about your experience in the hiring of transportation professionals

  1. Have you been involved in hiring decisions for professional planners in the past three years?
      Yes
      No


  2. How many hiring decisions have you been involved with during the last three years regarding a transportation planning professional?


  3. When hiring ENTRY-LEVEL planners, how important do you feel knowledge in the following SUBJECT AREAS is? Please rate from "Not at all" (1) to "Very" (5).

  4. When hiring ENTRY-LEVEL planners, how important do you feel knowledge in the following SUBJECT AREAS is (continued)?

  5. When hiring ENTRY-LEVEL planners, how important do you feel ability in the following SKILL AREAS is? Please rate from "Not at all" (1) to "Very" (5).

  6. When hiring ENTRY-LEVEL planners, how important do you feel ability in the following SKILL AREAS is (continued)?

  7. Are there other importants skills and knowledge areas that you are looking for in entry-level applicants?


  8. How would you rate recent applicants for ENTRY-LEVEL positions on their knowledge in these SUBJECT AREAS? Please rate from "Deficient" (1) to "Exemplary" (5).

  9. How would you rate recent applicants for ENTRY-LEVEL positions on their knowledge in these SUBJECT AREAS (continued)?

  10. How would you rate recent applicants for ENTRY-LEVEL positions on their ability in these SKILL AREAS? Please rate from "Deficient" (1) to "Exemplary" (5).

  11. How would you rate recent applicants for ENTRY-LEVEL positions on their ability in these SKILL AREAS (continued)?

  12. What do you see as the biggest strengths in entry-level applicants?


  13. What do you see as the biggest weaknesses in entry-level applicants?


  14. Are you finding a sufficient number of qualified applicants for your entry-level positions?
      Yes
       No

Please tell us about yourself

  1. What is your age (years)?

  2. What is your gender?
       Male
       Female


  3. What is your racial or ethnic background?

  4. What professional organizations do you belong to?

  5. What professional listserves do you subscribe to?


  6. What professional magazines and newsletters do you read regularly?

We would like to know a little bit about your views regarding current issues in transportation planning

  1. Read the following statements and indicate to what extent you agree or disagree with each. Please rate from "Disagree" (1) to "Agree" (5).
    1. A planning degree is excellent preparation for the job duties of a transportation planner.
    2. If not for monetary constraints it would be possible to meet the mobility needs of the next 20 years with roadway construction.
    3. The needs of non-drivers are adequately addressed by current transportation policies.
    4. Future transportation projects should focus on increasing person capacity rather than vehicle capacity.
    5. The tools available to transportation planners today are adequate to meet the planning challenges of the future.
    6. TEA-21 provides enough funding flexibility for local areas to address their transportation needs.
    7. The Clean Air Act Amendments have been an effective tool for improving air quality in metropolitan areas.
    8. Current Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFÉ) standards are sufficient to address fuel supply issues.
    9. Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) have been an effective means for identifying and mitigating of the environmental impacts of transportation alternatives.
    10. Additional land use regulations are needed to address future mobility needs.
    11. Metropolitan Planning Organizations have enough autonomy in the selection of local transportation projects.
    12. Public input improves the transportation planning process.
    13. Transportation policies should not require people to change their behavior or lifestyle.
    14. The transportation planning process usually leads to the selection of the best alternative.
    15. Future transportation projects should focus on increasing the efficiency of the existing transportation system.
    16. The needs of people who are dependent upon non-motorized modes are adequately addressed by current transportation policies.
    17. Sustainability should be the primary goal in long-range transportation plans.
    18. Current public involvement programs provide meaningful opportunities for public input into transportation decisions.
    19. Technology-based solutions are more feasible than solutions that depend upon behavioral changes.
    20. The transportation models in use today do a good job of predicting future transportation system needs.
    21. People will participate in the planning process only when they feel a direct threat.
    22. Current practices for addressing environmental justice are sufficient.
    23. The private automobile will still dominate transportation in metropolitan areas in fifty years.
    24. ISTEA has improved the quality of transportation planning.
    25. Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) have an important impact on the selection of transportation alternatives.

  2. What do you see as the MOST critical issue in transportation planning today? Please check one.

  3. What do you see as the MOST promising solution for addressing the problem you checked above? Please check one.

  4. How did we contact you to participate in this survey?

  5. Please provide additional comments for us about your educational and professional experiences. If you would like to participate in the interview phase of this research, please provide your name and phone number/email address, and we will contact you.

Thank you for helping with this survey. Your input is critical to this. Results from this study will be available in early 2002. We hope to be presenting our findings at the Transportation Research Board Conference in Washington, D.C. in January 2002.