GIS SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA AT KEARNEY ALUMNI COHORTS, 1930–2004

Authors

Paul R. Burger, University of Nebraska at KearneyFollow
Brett R. Chloupek, University of KansasFollow

Date of this Version

2010

Citation

Great Plains Research Vol. 20 No. 2, 2010

Comments

Copyright © 2010 by the Center for Great Plains Studies. University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to utilize Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology and spatial analysis coupled with the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) alumni data from 1930 to 2004 in order to compare and contrast the changing distribution patterns of five-year alumni cohorts. Mean centers, location quotients, and cluster analysis were used to assess the degree to which UNK alumni cohorts have migrated over the 75-year period, the extent to which any regionalization or lack thereof occurs, and the proportion of UNK alumni per county compared to college graduates as a whole. These spatial patterns were then compared to migration trends throughout the United States for the same period.