BCSSE and NSSE results have helped guide our thinking and planning over the past two years as the campus engaged in a broad-based strategic planning process.
Marianne D. Kennedy, Professor and Coordinator of Assessment and Planning, Southern Connecticut State University
NSSE Special Analysis Product Information
A benefit of participating in the NSSE project is the option to request a “Special Analysis.” Special analyses allow for more detailed or additional comparisons between your students and those attending other institutions. This site provides basic information on our Special Analysis options. Please contact your NSSE Client Service Team or nsse@indiana.edu if you have additional questions or would like to order a Special Analysis report.
Available Reports
There are two types of special analysis reports, and they are based on the standard reports NSSE produces. These present information by first-year and senior class standing:
- Means & Frequency (To see a sample report, click here and here)
- Benchmark (To see a sample report, click here)
Report Variations & Related Instructions
You can answer a number of different questions via special analysis by redefining your population (e.g., selecting only business majors) and/or changing the composition of the comparison groups (e.g., selecting only private master's institutions). The following describes two typical special analysis requests:
- How does the college experience at my institution compare to this other set of institutions?
The majority of special analyses ask for existing reports to reflect new selected peer group(s). A selected peer group must contain at least six institutions. Because each report has three reference groups, one can choose up to three different peer groups.
Institutions may choose selected peer groups based upon a variety of factors such as the level of similarity on key institutional characteristics, institutions they aspire to be like, institutions they compete against for admitting students, and geographical proximity. When submitting a request, a list of participating schools will be provided to help identify a peer list based upon such things as admissions selectivity, public-private status, and Carnegie classification. Contact your NSSE Client Service Team for this information
Unless there are extenuating circumstances, peer groups should consist of institutions from the same administration year as your own. Combining multiple years' worth of data to define your institution's population or a peer group is potentially problematic, as survey questions change over time and therefore limit the amount of information that could be provided. In the event that multiple-years of NSSE data must be combined for an analysis, an extra charge is incurred because of the additional complexity associated with combining multiple years of NSSE data.
- How does a particular type of student at my institution compare to similar students at other institutions?
Institutions very often want to know how particular students on campus engage in educationally beneficial practices, whether they are Honors students, students from particular academic majors/schools or those that have participated in a special orientation program. Many times information from the existing NSSE dataset can be used to redefine the institution and reference group population. For instance, if an institution wanted to compare particular types of Engineering students to other similar students in their peer groups, all they would need to do is identify what specific NSSE majors should be used (see this document for a complete list of majors).
In other cases, NSSE will not have the pertinent information upon which to identify certain sub-populations for an analysis, thus necessitating that an institution provide an appropriate identifier. Before a NSSE administration such identifiers can be submitted during the population file submission process using the group variable option (contact your NSSE Client Service Team for more information). No additional charges will be incurred for institutions providing such identifiers during the population file submission process. After a NSSE administration such identifiers can be submitted as a separate file with both the relevant identifier and unique NSSE identification variable (called 'studid'). Extra charges may be incurred because of the additional complexity associated with merging such separate files.
Keep in mind that special analyses are for comparing your students with those of other institutions. They are not meant for intra-institutional analyses – i.e., comparing one group of your students with another group of your students. These types of analyses are best left for campuses to address with their Institutional Research office or a faculty member with the requisite skills.
Submitting a Request
Requesting a special analysis requires institutional contacts to contact their Client Service Team. Once a request has been made, a NSSE staff member will contact the requester with any follow-up questions, expected delivery date, and estimated costs. In order for work to begin, written agreement that the terms are acceptable (usually through e-mail) from the requester must be received by NSSE.
Cost, Delivery, & Payment
Typical special analyses cost $325-$425 depending on the complexity of the request. If both Means-Frequency and Benchmark reports are requested, the total cost would be $650-$850. There are additional fees associated with expedited deliveries, locally-administered survey analyses, multiple-year analyses, and reports that require the merging of special identifiers (i.e., Honors or First Year Experience program participant identifiers).
Standard delivery time is approximately 6-8 weeks from the point that all report details have been finalized and the institutional contact has confirmed in writing that the terms are acceptable. Delivery may be slower during certain times of the year such as late summer and early fall. All special analysis requests are delivered electronically through the NSSE Institution Interface or other secure location.
Once reports have been completed and delivered, an invoice will be sent to the requester. The requester’s contact information will be used on the invoice unless otherwise indicated when the order is placed.
The Coordinator for Special Analyses will review each delivery request individually to determine a reasonable expected delivery date and cost.
Other Surveys
Although the information presented on this web page is NSSE focused, other survey projects besides NSSE offer special analysis services. If interested in a special analysis for another survey project, contact your NSSE Client Service Team or nsse@indiana.edu describing your needs and an appropriate staff member will reply with relevant information.
Additional information about FSSE special analysis options is available here.