NSSE - National Survey of Student Engagement

The 2012 NSSE administration is now in the field with 577 colleges and universities participating, including 23 Canadian institutions. To date, approximately 1.5 million college students from across the US and Canada have been invited to complete the NSSE survey. The administration will close on June 1, with Institutional Report 2012 binders scheduled for shipping in August. NSSE 2.0 will launch in 2013.

We are pleased to announce that the NSSE Institutional Report 2011 binders have shipped to participating institutions. Downloadable reports and data files are now available through NSSE’s secure Institution Interface. The Institutional Report 2011 features a wealth of information from this year’s NSSE administration, plus several documents of value to all NSSE users. It also includes material related to NSSE’s two companion surveys, the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE) and the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE). Almost two million first-year and senior students were invited to participate in NSSE this year. Of this survey population, more than 537,000 students responded, including more than 109,000 students from Canadian institutions. Also available for non-participating institutions is an Overview of this year’s administration, and a sample report page.

The NSSE Report Builder instantly creates tables of NSSE aggregate results based on student and institution characteristics of your choosing. Formerly the Custom Report Generator, the NSSE Report Builder features a more user-friendly interface, better functionality, additional variables for customization, and improved report formatting.

You choose the group. We'll show you the results.

Campus assessment professionals have many questions about patterns of engagement for different populations of students and institutions. The NSSE Report Builder instantly generates reports from a secure database containing the two most recent years of NSSE, and can be queried using many combinations of student and institutional characteristics. Variable options include individual items and benchmarks. Give it a try!

Go to the NSSE Report Builder

The recently released Spanish-language version of the National Survey of Student Engagement's (NSSE) Pocket Guide to Choosing a College -- Una Guia de Bolsillo Para Escoger una Universidad: Preguntas a hacer en tus visitas universitarias -- expands access to Spanish-speaking families. The college exploration process is complex and choosing a college can be difficult. Too often, students and their families are challenged to obtain accessible and useful information. What kinds of questions should students ask on a college visit? Who and what are the best resources to consult? NSSE's Pocket Guide includes important questions that students and parents should consider as they visit colleges and universities or explore them online.

We are pleased to announce that an updated version of the National Survey of Student Engagement—NSSE 2.0—will launch with the 2013 administration. The update will incorporate what we have learned over the past decade while preserving NSSE’s signature focus on diagnostic and actionable information related to engagement in effective educational practice. With an updated survey, we aim to refine existing measures and scales, incorporate new dimensions of effective teaching and learning, and improve the clarity and applicability of survey language.

Please share your ideas, feedback, and questions by e-mail at nsse2013@indiana.edu or by phone at 812-856-5824. For more information and to keep track of NSSE 2.0 progress, visit nsse.iub.edu/nsse2013.

NSSE is pleased to announce that Shimon Sarraf, a NSSE research analyst since 2004, has succeeded Todd Chamberlain in the important position of Assistant Director for Survey Operations and Project Services. Todd Chamberlain, who served NSSE for many years, left the Center for Postsecondary Research last fall to concentrate on completing his dissertation.

Each year, more campuses use their NSSE results in innovative ways. We've highlighted these examples in publications including Using NSSE Data and Lessons from the Field. All these examples are now searchable via a new database of more than 500 examples of NSSE use. You can search for examples by keywords, institution name, or Carnegie classification, and by type of use such as for accreditation, or general education assessment, or using results to study retention, or strengthen advising. These campus examples provide instructive accounts and inspiring examples of how other colleges and universities are using their NSSE results to improve undergraduate education.

The NSSE publication, Using NSSE to Assess and Improve Undergraduate Education: Lessons from the Field 2009, highlights the approaches different types of institutions have taken to use their NSSE results in innovative ways to improve the undergraduate experience.