Many colleges and universities have made some or all of their NSSE survey results publicly available on their institutional Web sites. NSSE encourages public reporting of student engagement results in ways that serve to increase understanding of college quality and that support institutional improvement efforts. See NSSE’s position on public reporting of survey results.
Examples of institutional Web sites that display NSSE results in support of the assessment, transparency and accountability initiatives in higher education are listed below. These sites are in keeping with NSSE’s policy against rankings and with guidelines for analyzing and interpreting results.
A caveat: NSSE does not endorse the layout or content of Web sites except to point out that no major issues were found in how the data are represented. We present the examples to our users as a resource on the varied ways institutions have posted their results.
Users seeking guidance on analyzing and interpreting results should consult the guidelines provided in the NSSE Institutional Report 2008, FAQs posted on our Web site, resources such as the Multi-Year Data Analysis Guide and Accreditation Toolkits, or consult NSSE staff.
We will continue to expand the list as we review additional Web sites. If you would like to have your institutional Web site be considered for inclusion, please contact your Client Services Team.
Eckerd College
Eckerd College has posted its NSSE benchmark results compared to Carnegie peers and the entire NSSE cohort. The Web site also provides an extensive overview of NSSE and a history of Eckerd’s participation in the survey.
http://www.eckerd.edu/nsse/
Elon University
Elon displays its benchmark scores and presents individual graphs of each survey item contributing to the benchmark. Graphs compare first-year and senior Elon students with entire NSSE cohort for year.
http://www.elon.edu/e-web/news/nsse/
Mercer University
The Office of Institutional Effectiveness (OIE) Web site at Mercer provides access to results from multiple surveys including NSSE, FSSE, BCSSE, other national surveys, and internal surveys. An OIE analysis of annual NSSE results accompanies links to NSSE and BCSSE mean comparisons reports, and the entire FSSE institutional report.
http://www.mercer.edu/oie/assessment/testing.htm
Pace University
In 2008 Pace administered NSSE for the seventh time. The institution has used NSSE data extensively in assessment, planning, and accreditation - resulting most notably in the 32-page report, A Blueprint for Accountability: Lessons from the Pace University Experience. Pace’s Web site provides links to institutional programs that support each NSSE benchmark.
http://www.pace.edu/page.cfm?doc_id=28438
St. Xavier University
St. Xavier displays its NSSE benchmark results in the context of institutional planning, assessment, and improvement of teaching and learning. The University states that to foster a culture of continuous improvement, it will continue to participate in NSSE in the future. The Web site shows benchmark results for first-year and senior students compared to St. Xavier’s Carnegie peer group. Links from each graph show the survey items that comprise that benchmark.
http://www.sxu.edu/Administrative/Research/learning.asp.
Santa Clara University
In addition to displaying its benchmark scores compared to the entire NSSE cohort, Santa Clara also provides links to (a)a list of the survey items that comprise each benchmark, (b) questions such as “Do faculty hold students to high standards?” and “What types of thinking do assignments require?” that are answered by selected responses of its students to NSSE survey items , and (c) the USA TODAY “Searching for Signs of Engagement” Web site, a joint initiative with NSSE to encourage the public dissemination of NSSE results.
http://www.scu.edu/nsse/
Slippery Rock University
One of the more comprehensive institutional Web sites that presents, interprets, and makes accessible its NSSE results. The site includes a Flash presentation, multiple reports and links to related resources.
http://administration.sru.edu/WebComm/Admissions/NSSE/
Wheaton College
After an overview of its participation in NSSE, Wheaton displays its benchmark results compared to selected peers and the entire NSSE cohort.
http://www.wheatoncollege.edu/nsse/
Winthrop University
Winthrop has participated in NSSE every year since 2001. The institutional Web site contains a description of NSSE, some general response characteristics of students who participated in the survey, and posts expanded benchmark reports for the current year. The site also contains links to summary reports from 2001 date and benchmark reports from 2006 to date.
http://www.winthrop.edu/effectiveness/nsse/