CANTON -- Nearly 97 percent of recent St. Lawrence University graduates responding to a survey said they were either employed or attending graduate school less than one year after graduation.

The Canton school says that “demonstrates the value of a St. Lawrence liberal arts education.”

Roughly 77 percent of respondents to a survey indicated that they found their jobs, including employment in their desired fields, through university alumni connections.

According to a survey conducted by St. Lawrence Career Services, members of the Class of 2014 had a total career outcome rate of 96.8 percent, which is a slight increase of 0.3 percent over last year’s survey. Of those, 78 percent said they were pursuing a career, and 19 percent said they were attending graduate school. Nearly 90 percent of respondents identifying as recent graduates who are employed indicated that their work is either directly or somewhat related to their desired career path, and the number reporting they are satisfied or very satisfied with their employment remained strong at 94 percent of respondants.

“The university’s exceptional outcome rate reflects the vitality of a St. Lawrence liberal arts education, one which includes experiential learning such as internships with alumni and research collaboration with leading faculty,” said President William L. Fox. “Employers and graduate schools seek candidates who are strong writers, skilled public speakers, inquisitive learners, and also those who think of themselves as global citizens.”

The Career Services Follow-Up Survey asked St. Lawrence University’s Class of 2014 what they were doing seven to 10 months after graduation.

The return rate on this year’s survey of 82 percent is an improvement from last year’s 76 percent return rate. According to The Wall Street Journal, the average response rate for members of the National Association of Colleges and Employers, of which St. Lawrence is one, is 48 percent.

“The data confirm our continued emphasis on networking as the most effective strategy in securing employment, as nearly 77 percent of those employed reported that connections through family and friends, the alumni and parent network, SLU faculty and staff, and previous internships were the top sources for obtaining employment,” said Ron Albertson, director of Career Services.

A large portion of respondents from the Class of 2014 said they had some kind of learning through experience while attending St. Lawrence. Of them, 84 percent had some sort of research experience, 63 percent studied off campus, 67 percent took part in an internship and 77 percent participated in some sort of community service activity.

“A liberal arts education emphasizes forming independent judgments, articulating cogent arguments, and developing the tools and taste for continued lifelong learning,” said Georgia Nugent, senior fellow with the Council of Independent Colleges and a member of St. Lawrence’s Board of Trustees. “We live in a world where graduates will be employed in roles that don’t event exist today. This kind of learning is more practical than training in a specific skill that may well be obsolete almost upon graduation.”

The survey is posted on the school’s website at http://bit.ly/1k5xUBC .