Work Attitudes, Educational Quality, and Employability among Marketing Management Graduates: A Tracer Study at a Philippine State University

This study examined employment outcomes, work attitudes, and perceived educational quality among Bachelor of Science in Business Administration major in Marketing Management (BSBA-MM) graduates from a Philippine state university. Guided by human capital theory and multidimensional employability frameworks, a descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among 80 graduates from Academic Year 2024–2025. The study contributes to the literature by integrating psychological orientations (work attitudes) with educational outcomes to provide a holistic view of professional preparedness. Results indicated that 73.8% of graduates were employed, with 57.5% securing jobs within 1–3 months. Furthermore, 67.1% reported high job-degree alignment. Graduates exhibited very high work attitudes (M=4.40M=4.40) and skills (M=4.31M=4.31), and high perceived educational quality (M=4.06M=4.06). While overall competencies were strong, information and communication technology (ICT) skills emerged as the lowest-rated area. Inferential analysis revealed a strong positive correlation between perceived educational quality and self-rated skills, r(70)=.68,p<.001r(70)=.68,p<.001. Additionally, employed graduates reported more positive work attitudes than unemployed peers with a large effect size (Cohen’s d=1.29d=1.29), highlighting the role of psychological readiness in employment success. The findings suggest that while the BSBA-MM program effectively fosters employability, there is a critical need for curriculum innovation. Practical recommendations include deepening the integration of digital marketing and data analytics tools to address ICT gaps and enhancing career support services—such as mentoring and resilience coaching—to assist graduates facing labor market entry challenges. This research underscores the importance of aligning institutional support with both technical and psychological work requirements to sustain graduate competitiveness in a digital economy.