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NSSE 2013

How to Use Results(or “Why you should care about

NSSE”)

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What is NSSE?National Survey of Student Engagement Administered to first-year and senior students

in the spring > 1,400 US/Canada institutions have

participated

Used at CU Denver: 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2013Assesses engagement (NOT satisfaction) in / exposure to educational practices that promote student engagement

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Supportive Campus

Environment (SCE)

NSSE’s benchmarks of effective educational practice

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Enriching Educational Experiences

Level of Academic Challenge

Active & Collaborative

Learning (ACL)Enriching

Educational Experiences

(EEE)

Student – Faculty

Interaction (SFI)

Level of Academic

Challenge (LAC)

How to use NSSE data&

what the NSSE data include

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1. Integrate with other survey data

If you have identified data from other surveys, NSSE data can be integrated with them E.g., International Affairs’ International

Student Barometer, your alumni surveys or course evaluations, ETS Proficiency Profile

To find out e.g., Are students who participate in service learning more engaged as alumni?

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2. Combine with student data

Merge NSSE data with student performance / outcomes data to get a sense of how student engagement: influences GPAs and student retention is associated with student gender, race/

ethnicity, financial aid, school/college, participation in online courses, study abroad

Identify characteristics of under- engaged students

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3. Evaluate strategic goal progress

Use longitudinal NSSE data to assess progress towards: “student-centeredness” increased service learning development of capstone experiences participation in study abroad commitment to a diverse learning

environment, faculty-student interactions enhanced student support services

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4. Evidence for accreditation, etc.

Establish evidence to meet accreditation standards such as diversity and active learningUse in program review reports, evaluation of First Year Seminar, Honors ProgramCompare data from CU Denver students to those from peer institutionsUse areas of excellence for PRReporting to CU System, VSA

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5. Assess specific activitiesHow much time do our students spend: Preparing for class, reading for courses, in

co-curricular activities, working, performing community service, providing care for dependents

Have or will students participate in: internships, learning communities, study

abroad, capstone courses, faculty members’ research projects

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6. Measure frequency of behaviors

How often do our students: Combine ideas from different courses Connect learning to societal issues Examine strengths/weaknesses of own

views Talk about career plans with faculty Attend an arts performance Discuss academic performance with

faculty

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7. Assess students’ perceptions of quality

Interactions with students, advisors, faculty, student services staff, other administrative staff/officesOverall educational experience at UCDWould they come here again?

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8. Initiate changeExpand learning communitiesDesign faculty development initiativesCreate online student support toolsCluster student services into a one-stop-shopProvide 24-hr student access to computer labsInform staffing decisions

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9. Venues to DiscussStudent and Faculty Orientation SessionsNew Employee OrientationLeadership meetings Provost Team, Deans’ Council, AD/ASG, UWG

Chancellor’s State of the Campus AddressStudent Government meetingsSurvey Working Group (SWG)

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NSSE Topical Modules

Used at CU Denver in 2013

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Academic Advising#Times discussed academic concernsExtent to which advisors offered specific behaviors (e.g., been available, listened closely, discussed career interests)Identify primary source of advice

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Development of Transferable Skills

Frequency of behaviors, such as: Made a speech to a group, critically

evaluated multiple solutions to a problem, discussed ethical consequences

Frequency when writing, that student: Used information from a variety of

sources, assessed conclusions of published work, included ideas from more than 1 discipline, presented multiple perspectives

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Use NSSE to take action!

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What can OIRE do for you?Provide school/college-specific reports and meet with leadership to discuss and interpret the findings Identify areas of strength, opportunity

Meet with your unit to discuss how NSSE data might enhance your strategic planningRecommend NSSE data/analyses that inform your curriculum committees

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TimelineSummer: OIRE explains/promotes NSSEEarly fall: NSSE distributes standard reports and raw dataFall: OIRE develops school/college-specific reports that parallel NSSE’s standard reports, shares with academic/ business unitsWinter-ongoing: OIRE performs multivariate, other analyses

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Data teaser…

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2013 NSSE response rates

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CAM BUS CLAS CEAS SPA TOTAL0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

29

.8%

17

.7%

29

.6%

29

.9%

25

.0%

28

.4%

26

.0%

14

.6% 2

4.5

%

22

.4%

18

.8%

23

.5%

28

.7%

34

.1%

37

.5%

33

.2%

56

.5%

35

.6%

24

.0%

28

.6%

31

.7%

29

.9%

43

.5%

30

.2%

39

17

20

9

20

4 28

9

34

14

17

3

15

3 23

9

79

12

5

51

3

81

13

81

1

66

10

5

43

4

73

10

68

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2013 NSSE Response Rates by School/College

First-Year Students Including Partial and Completed

First-Year Students Including Complete Only

Senior Students Including Partial and Completed

Senior Students Including Complete Only

Denver Campus School/CollegeNotes: Numbers in the base of each bar reflect the number of students who RESPONDED (NOT the total number surveyed).Denominator for response rate calculations includes: Complete + Implicit Refusal + Nothing Returned + Partial + Refusal.

Questions?

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