NSSE and USA TODAY Initiative: Furthering Dialogue on College Quality
Student engagement results provide prospective students, parents, counselors, and others with information about aspects of college quality not available through most accessible venues, such as college rankings. NSSE has reliably provided institutions student engagement data for ten years, and works with colleges and universities to develop strategies for public reporting of results. As part of this effort, institutions that participated in NSSE at least once in the past three years are invited each year to authorize NSSE to provide their most recent NSSE benchmark scores for posting on a USA TODAY college education Web site. The five NSSE benchmarks of effective educational practice are based on 42 key questions from the NSSE survey that capture many vital aspects of the student experience. These student behaviors and institutional features are important contributors to learning and personal development. The NSSE benchmarks of effective education practice are:
- Level of academic challenge
- Active and collaborative learning
- Student-faculty interaction
- Enriching educational experiences
- Supportive campus environment
This initiative is part of an effort to shift the conversation about oollege quality from topics centered on institutional resources and reputation toward dialogue about how often students are engaging in activities that relate to desired learning and personal development outcomes. The USA TODAY feature also provides an opportunity to recognize different types of colleges and universities involving students at high levels in effective educational practices.
The USA TODAY feature coincides each year with the November release of NSSE’s Annual Reults. Contact NSSE staff at nsse@indiana.edu with questions related to the results, survey administration, or NSSE’s position on public reporting of engagement results.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Which institutions are included?
2. Will institutions be ranked?
3. Will institutions be compared? Will peer comparison group institutions be revealed?
4. What are the benchmark scores for each Carnegie 2010 Basic Classification?
5. How are institutions selected for featured reporting by USA TODAY?
6. What content should institutions publish on their Web site to provide additional information about NSSE scores?
7. We would like to create a Web page that discusses our NSSE results in greater detail, but it is not ready now. Can it be added later?
8. What year was used for each institution’s benchmark scores? Can institutions select the year they want to use?
9. Why would an institution want to participate if they did not score well on the benchmarks?
10. If an institution did not authorize its benchmark scores for this project, does this mean the school did not score well?
11. Can an institution authorize its data to be published on the USA TODAY Web site after the November release?
12. How does this initiative support responsible public reporting of results?
13. Will this initiative continue in future years?
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Which institutions are included?
More than 300 colleges and universities released their benchmark scores when the USA TODAY Web site opened in late 2007, and that has grown to about 450 institutions in 2009. All baccalaureate-granting colleges and universities in the US that administered NSSE in 2008, 2009, and 2010 are eligible for the November 4, 2010 release
2. Will institutions be ranked?
No. The project is intended to respond to calls for greater institutional transparency and to underscore the idea that educational quality is more complex than typically reported elsewhere, such as in rankings. The focus will be on informing people with an interest in college quality about the indicators of educational effectiveness represented by NSSE benchmarks and survey items, as well as distinctive patterns of engaging educational activities offered by different types of institutions around the country.
3. Will institutions be compared? Will peer comparison group institutions be revealed?
NSSE scores for individual institutions are displayed alongside national averages for their institutional type represented by Carnegie 2010 Basic Classification because USA TODAY believes it is important to provide its readers with a frame of reference to interpret the NSSE benchmark scores. There are no side-by-side comparisons of individual schools or summary tables listing multiple institution scores or comparisons to peer groups selected by the institution.
NSSE and USA TODAY recognize that institutional benchmark scores do not reflect everything there is to know about the depth, breadth, and nuances of student engagement at any college or university. For this reason, institutions were invited to provide a link from the USA TODAY Web site to a page on the institution’s Web site that contextualizes their NSSE scores or describes its distinctive programs and practices.
Of course, people who visit the USA TODAY Web site will be able to compare individual institutions. This is one of the purposes of the growing movement toward institutional transparency endorsed by groups such as APLU, AASCU, AAU, and NAICU. NSSE is committed to educating the public about the appropriate and inappropriate uses of NSSE and other data as described in our position on the public reporting of student engagement results.
4. What are the benchmark scores for each Carnegie 2010 Basic Classification?
When the USA TODAY Web site is updated November 4, 2010, averages for each Carnegie 2010 Basic Classification will be based on the NSSE 2010 cohort, regardless of whether a school’s scores are from 2008, 2009, or 2010. This provides the most consistent point of comparison for readers. Average Carnegie 2010 Basic Classification scores across administration years are stable enough over time for the comparisons to be valid.
View NSSE 2010 benchmark scores for each institutional type .
5. How are institutions selected for featured reporting by USA TODAY?
In addition to posting NSSE benchmark scores on the USA TODAY Web site, USA TODAY print and Web articles may feature schools whose NSSE results indicate strong performance or achievement in an area of journalistic interest. Examples might include the share of students who participate in “high impact” activities, demonstrated capacity to engage students in “deep learning” activities, serving large numbers of underprepared students, etc. NSSE will share contact information with USA TODAY for colleges and universities that have agreed to release their benchmark scores and which match specific criteria of interest for their reporters, but these institutions can choose whether they want to participate in this additional coverage.
6. What content should institutions publish on their Web site to provide additional information about NSSE scores?
Each institution is in the best position to determine what is most important for prospective students and others to know. Some institutions may choose to point to more specific NSSE results, such as student responses to individual survey items that reflect the institutional mission and educational priorities. Other institutions may focus more on programmatic efforts that illustrate student engagement opportunities on their campus. We hope by developing this information each institution will learn more about the results and how they can best be communicated to interested parties, on and off the campus.
7. We would like to create a Web page that discusses our NSSE results in greater detail, but it is not ready now. Can it be added later?
Yes. Creating a link from the USA TODAY Web site to more information on your own Web site is optional, and the content does not need to be ready now. If you grant permission to release your benchmark scores now, you can provide us with this optional URL up until October 22 and still have it included for the November 4 release. If you have a URL now, but the content is not complete, you can provide us with the URL now and then make sure the content is updated before November 4.
8. What year is used for each institution’s benchmark scores? Could institutions select the year they want to use?
The most recent year of NSSE data for each institution is used. This ensures that all participating institutions are on a level playing field, a cornerstone principle of NSSE since its inception. Benchmark scores were created consistently in 2008, 2009, and 2010, and institution scores tend to be stable over time.
9. Why would an institution want to participate if they did not score well on the benchmarks?
This initiative is fundamentally about familiarizing the public with what matters to educational quality and encouraging prospective students, parents, policy makers, institutional leaders, and others to focus more on these issues. Institutions vary widely in their educational programs; some score high in certain areas and low in others. Very, very few institutions score high on all NSSE indicators. Colleges and universities participating in this initiative are able to declare and demonstrate their commitment to improving and being accountable for undergraduate education. Also, the USA TODAY Web site includes a link to the institution’s Web site; this allows an institution to place its scores in context and call attention to strong performing programs and other distinctive aspects of its learning environment and students’ educational experiences.
10. If an institution did not authorize its benchmark scores for this project, does this mean the school did not score well?
Of course not. Institutions with both higher and lower scores choose not to participate for varied reasons. Some only have one year of data, which they have not had time to contextualize with other sources of information, while others are waiting to reassess student engagement after implementing new educational programs.
11. Can an institution authorize its data to be published on the USA TODAY Web site after the November release?
NSSE will periodically update the information supplied to USA TODAY to reflect institutional authorizations received after the deadline. The October 1 deadline for authorizing the release of benchmark scores is necessary to allow time for USA TODAY to follow up with some institutions to produce feature stories for the November publication. It is also likely that the greatest media attention will occur upon the initial release. Please contact your NSSE Project Services Team for more information.
12. How does this initiative support responsible public reporting of results?
This effort provides a model of appropriate and responsible use of student engagement results by a national news organization. It focuses the quality discussion on the right things, recognizing multiple dimensions of quality, respecting institutional diversity, and rejecting reductionist rankings. It also provides an opportunity for participating institutions to demonstrate a commitment to transparency with respect to undergraduate teaching and learning.
NSSE is committed to educating the public about the appropriate and inappropriate uses of NSSE and other data as described in our position on the public reporting of student engagement results.
13. Will this initiative continue in future years?
NSSE and USA TODAY will continue to assess the effectiveness of this initiative each year. If it is extended, new institutions will be allowed to participate, and current participating institutions can decide if they want to continue.