1. NSSE Results for Faculty
Replace all text in red with institutional information. 1

2. What Really Matters in College: Student Engagement
Because individual effort and involvement are the critical determinants of impact, institutions should focus on the ways they can shape their academic, interpersonal, and extracurricular offerings to encourage student engagement.
Pascarella, E. & Terenzini, P (2005). How college affects students: A third decade of research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
After reviewing approximately 2,500 studies on college students from the 1990s, in addition to the more than 2,600 studies from 1970 to 1990, Ernest Pascarella and Patrick Terenzini concluded student engagement is a central component of student learning.
Looking behind student outcomes and student engagement:
What do we know about students who enter our institution?
How are various student experiences (e.g., course-taking patterns, leadership roles) related to outcomes?
What do students contribute to learning?
What do students learn over time in a program of study?
How do out-of-class experiences contribute to learning?
What are students able to do with what they know?
What judgments can students make about their learning?
(Adapted from Hutchings, 1989)
Pascarella & Terenzini, How College Affects Students, 2005, p. 602
National Survey of Student Engagement 2

3. The Student Engagement Trinity
What students do -- time and energy devoted to educationally purposeful activities
What institutions do -- using effective educational practices to induce students to do the right things
Educationally effective institutions channel student energy toward the right activities
National Survey of Student Engagement 3

4. Student Behaviors in College Institutional Actions
NSSE Survey Content
Student Behaviors in College
Student Learning
& Development
Institutional Actions
And Requirements
Student Reactions to College
The NSSE survey asks students to report the frequency with which they engage in activities that represent effective educational practice. Students also record their perceptions of the college environment associated with achievement, satisfaction, and persistence. Then, students estimate their educational and personal growth since starting college. Finally, students provide information about their background, including age, gender, race or ethnicity, living situation, educational status, and major field.
Student Background
Information 4

5. Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education (Chickering & Gamson, 1987; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005)
Student-faculty contact
Active learning
Prompt feedback
Time on task
High expectations
Experiences with diversity
Cooperation among students
Chickering, A. W. & Gamson, Z. F. (1987). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. AAHE: Bulletin, 39 (7), 3-7.
Pascarella, E. & Terenzini, P (2005). How college affects students: A third decade of research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. 5

6. NSSE Indicators of Effective Educational Practice
Active & Collaborative Learning
Level of Academic Challenge
Enriching Educational Experiences
Clusters of items on the survey are used to represent each area of educational practice.
Students scores on these items are combined and used as a student-level indicator.
Students’ combined scores are averaged across an institution to give us an institutional indicator, called a benchmark.
Supportive Campus Environment
Student – Faculty Interaction
National Survey of Student Engagement 6 6

7. Survey Administration
Administered to random samples of first-year & senior students
Paper & Web-based survey
Flexible to accommodate consortium questions
Multiple follow-ups to increase response rates
The Center for Survey Research at Indiana University helps NSSE administer the survey utilizing best practices in the field. See: for more information.
NSSE design parameters:
Relatively short survey
Items directly related to college outcomes
Administered to first-year and senior students at 4-year institutions
Administered directly by a credible third-party survey organization
National Survey of Student Engagement 7

8. NSSE 2007 Survey Population and Respondents
More than one million students were invited to participate in NSSE 2007, with 323,147 responding
5,000 FAU students were invited to participate, with 1,748 responding 8

9. NSSE 2007 Institution Response Rates
FAU’s response rate = 35%
Average Institutional Response Rates
36% for all NSSE 2007 institutions
33% for Paper mode institutions
37% for Web-only institutions
35% for Web+ institutions
Your response rate is included in the Respondent Characteristics section of the 2007 Institutional Report. 9

13. Level of Academic Challenge (LAC)
Benchmark Comparisons

15. FAU
Top 50%
Top 10%

24. Active and Collaborative Learning (ACL)
Benchmark Comparisons

26. FAU
Top 50%
Top 10%

33. Student-Faculty Interaction (SFI)
Benchmark Comparisons

35. FAU
Top 50%
Top 10%

39. Enriching Educational Experiences (EEE)
Benchmark Comparisons

41. FAU
Top 50%
Top 10%

46. Supportive Campus Environment (SCE)
Benchmark Comparisons

48. FAU
Top 50%
Top 10%

58. In your experience during the current school year, how often have you done each of the following?
Freshmen
Seniors
Made a class presentation
- - +
Prepared two or more drafts of a paper before turning it in ++
Included different perspectives in class assignments
Discussed grades or assignments with an instructor
Had serious conversations with students of a different race
or ethnicity

59. To what extent does your institution emphasize…
Freshmen
Seniors
Spending significant amounts of time studying and on
academic work +
Providing the support you need to help you succeed
Encouraging contact among students from different
economic, social and racial or ethnic backgrounds
Helping you cope with your non-academic responsibilities
Providing the support you need to thrive socially
Attending campus events and activities -

60. To what extent has your experience at this institution contributed to your ability in the following areas?
Freshmen
Seniors
Acquiring a broad general knowledge
Acquiring work-related knowledge -
Writing clearly and effectively +
Analyzing quantitative problems
Thinking critically and analytically

61. - - - Freshmen Seniors How would you evaluate your entire educational
Freshmen
Seniors
How would you evaluate your entire educational
experience at this institution? -
If you could start over again, would you go to the
same institution that you are now attending?
 - -

62. Does NSSE predict retention?
73% of FTIC’s who took NSSE (entered in Fall 2006) were still enrolled in Fall 2008.
After controlling for SAT scores, the only NSSE benchmark associated with retention was “Supportive Campus Environment.” Students who perceive that FAU is committed to their success and cultivates positive relations among different groups on campus are significantly more likely to be retained.
Your response rate is included in the Respondent Characteristics section of the 2007 Institutional Report. 62

63. Florida Atlantic University
NSSE Student Comments
Florida Atlantic University
Results