1. UTRGV 2016 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)
Survey Highlights
Prepared by:
Office of Strategic Analysis and Institutional Reporting (SAIR)
January 2017

2. Outline What is NSSE? Response Rate at UTRGV
Four NSSE Themes for Student Engagement
Engagement Indicators in NSSE Themes
Performance Comparisons
Satisfaction with UTRGV
Engagement Indicators in Need of Attention
Recommendations
Areas to be Celebrated

3. What is NSSE?
The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) collects information from first-year and senior students about the characteristics and quality of their undergraduate experience. It assesses the extent to which students engage in educational practices associated with high levels of learning and development.
The results provide an estimate of how undergraduates spend their time and what they gain from attending their college or university.
Institutions use their data to identify aspects of the undergraduate experience that can be improved through changes in policy and practice.

4. Response Rate
Note:
UT System includes NSSE 2016 participants - UT Arlington, UTD, UTEP, UTSA, UT Tyler, and UT Permian Basin.
Carnegie Class includes all NSSE 2016 participants in the Carnegie Classification Doctoral Research (Moderate) category.
NSSE includes all other NSSE 2015 & 2016 U.S. participants.
Note:
UT System includes NSSE 2016 participants - UT Arlington, UTD, UTEP, UTSA, UT Tyler, and UT Permian Basin.
Carnegie Class includes all NSSE 2016 participants in the Carnegie Classification Doctoral Research (Moderate) category.
NSSE includes all other NSSE 2015 & 2016 U.S. participants.

5. Four NSSE Themes for Student Engagement
Experiences with Faculty
Students learn firsthand how experts think about and solve problems by interacting with faculty members inside and outside of instructional settings. As a result, faculty become role models, mentors, and guides for lifelong learning. In addition, effective teaching requires that faculty deliver course material and provide feedback in student-centered ways. Two Engagement Indicators investigate this theme: Student-Faculty Interaction and Effective Teaching Practices.
Academic Challenge
Challenging intellectual and creative work is central to student learning and collegiate quality. Colleges and universities promote student learning by challenging and supporting them to engage in various forms of deep learning. Four Engagement Indicators are part of this theme: Higher-Order Learning, Reflective & Integrative Learning, Learning Strategies, and Quantitative Reasoning.
Learning with Peers
Collaborating with others in mastering difficult material and developing interpersonal and social competence prepare students to deal with complex, unscripted problems they will encounter during and after college. Two Engagement Indicators make up this theme: Collaborative Learning and Discussions with Diverse Others.
Campus Environment
Students benefit and are more satisfied in supportive settings that cultivate positive relationships among students, faculty, and staff. Two Engagement Indicators investigate this theme: Quality of Interactions and Supportive Environment.
NSSE has 4 themes for student engagement. They are: Academic Challenge, Experiences with Faculty, Learning with Peers, and Campus Environment.

6. Engagement Indicators in NSSE Themes
Academic Challenge
Learning with Peers
Experiences with Faculty
Campus Environment
Higher-Order Learning
Collaborative Learning
Student-Faculty Interaction
Quality of Interactions
Reflective & Integrative Learning
Learning Strategies
Discussions with Diverse Others
Effective Teaching Practices
Supportive Environment
Each of the 4 themes has engagement indicators. The indicators are ….. (see table above).
Quantitative Reasoning

7. Performance Comparisons for UTRGV on Academic Challenge
First-Year Students
Seniors
Academic Challenge
UTRGV Score
Compared with…
Compared with …
UT System
Carnegie Class
NSSE
Higher-Order Learning
38.3
41.0
Reflective & Integrative Learning
34.8
37.3
Learning Strategies
39.0
40.5
Quantitative Reasoning
27.4
30.1   
This is how UTRGV compares with UT System schools, Carnegie Class schools, and all other NSSE schools on Academic Challenge. The Green Smiley face shows that we do significantly better than that category on the specific Engagement Indicator. The Red Frowning face indicate that we do significantly poorly than that category of schools on the specific Engagement Indicator. A Blank indicates no statistically significant difference. We have a few areas which could use improvement.  
The Scale is 60 points
indicates the score of UTRGV is significantly lower than this comparison group
indicates the score of UTRGV is significantly higher than this comparison group
A BLANK indicates no statistically significant difference  

8. Performance Comparisons for UTRGV on Learning with Peers
First-Year Students
Seniors
Learning with Peers
UTRGV Score
Compared with…
Compared with …
UT System
Carnegie Class
NSSE
Collaborative Learning
33.3
34.1
Discussions with Diverse Others
31.9
33.9           
This is how UTRGV compares with UT System schools, Carnegie Class schools, and all other NSSE schools on Learning with Peers. We have mixed results on this Theme. Collaborative Learning is good, but diversity is lacking due to the homogeneous makeup of our student body.
The Scale is 60 points
indicates the score of UTRGV is significantly lower than this comparison group
indicates the score of UTRGV is significantly higher than this comparison group
A BLANK indicates no statistically significant difference  

9. Performance Comparisons for UTRGV on Experiences with Faculty
First-Year Students
Seniors
Experiences with Faculty
UTRGV Score
Compared with…
Compared with …
UT System
Carnegie Class
NSSE
Student-Faculty Interaction
21.0
23.7
Effective Teaching Practices
40.7
40.9        
This is how UTRGV compares with UT System schools, Carnegie Class schools, and all other NSSE schools on Experiences with Faculty. This chart is a good indication of the great faculty we have at UTRGV. They need to be applauded for their hard work.
The Scale is 60 points
indicates the score of UTRGV is significantly lower than this comparison group
indicates the score of UTRGV is significantly higher than this comparison group
A BLANK indicates no statistically significant difference  

10. Performance Comparisons for UTRGV on Campus Environment
First-Year Students
Seniors
Campus Environment
UTRGV Score
Compared with…
Compared with …
UT System
Carnegie Class
NSSE
Quality of Interactions
39.0
39.2
Supportive Environment
35.8
32.2        
This is how UTRGV compares with UT System schools, Carnegie Class schools, and all other NSSE schools on Campus Environment. Apparently we need to do a lot of work to improve our students scores on this NSSE theme.
The Scale is 60 points
indicates the score of UTRGV is significantly lower than this comparison group
indicates the score of UTRGV is significantly higher than this comparison group
A BLANK indicates no statistically significant difference  

11. Satisfaction with UTRGV
Percentage Rating Their Overall Experience at their institution as "Excellent" or "Good"
Students rated their overall experience at the institution, and whether or not they would choose
it again.

12. Satisfaction with UTRGV
Percentage who would “Definitely” or “Probably” Attend this Institution Again

13. Engagement Indicators in Need of Attention
Campus Environment: Quality of Interactions
Recommendation: Consider initiatives that will aid in improving the interactions of students with Academic Advisors, Faculty, Student Services Staff (career services, student activities, housing, etc.), and Other Administrative Staff (registrar, financial aid, etc.).
First-Year Students
Seniors
Quality of your interactions with the following
UTRGV Score
Compared with…
Compared with …
UT System
Carnegie Class
NSSE
Academic Advisors
4.8
4.7
Faculty
4.9
5.3
Student Services
4.6
Other Administrative Staff
4.4                       
The Scale is 7 points
indicates the score of UTRGV is significantly lower than this comparison group
indicates the score of UTRGV is significantly higher than this comparison group
A BLANK indicates no statistically significant difference  

14. Engagement Indicators in Need of Attention
Learning with Peers: Discussions with Diverse Groups
Recommendation:
Consider initiatives that aid in recruiting students from backgrounds other than those most common in the Rio Grande Valley Region (i.e., ethnic, economic, religious and political backgrounds).
Consider initiating more student activities that encourage diverse groups of students to engage one another and learn about their similarities/differences in a positive manner.
Consider establishing Learning Communities or some other formal program where groups of students take two or more classes together.

15. Other Areas in Need of Attention
Recommendations:
Emphasize:
Availability of learning support services that promote academic success (i.e., tutoring services, writing center).
Availability of support for overall well-being of students (i.e., recreation, health care, counseling) and services that can teach them about how to best manage non-academic responsibilities (i.e., work, family).
Advantages to attending campus activities and events (i.e., performing arts, athletics events).

16. Areas to be Celebrated Recommendations:
Encourage faculty to continue to do the following:
Encourage students to complete reading and assignments before coming to class.
Clearly explain course goals and requirements.
Use examples or illustrations to explain difficult points.
Encourage students to work with other students on course projects or assignments.
Provide feedback on drafts or work in progress.
Provide prompt and detailed feedback on tests or completed assignments.
Encourage students to combine ideas from different courses when completing assignments.

17. Areas to be Celebrated… (continued)
Recommendations:
Encourage faculty to continue to do the following:
Talk with students about their career plans.
Encourage students to work with faculty on activities other than coursework (committees, student groups, etc.).
Encourage students to participate in internships, co-op, field experience, student teaching, or clinical placement.
Encourage students to participate in a study abroad program.
Encourage students to work with faculty on a research project.
Encourage students to complete a culminating senior experience (capstone course, senior project or thesis, etc.).
Emphasize service learning.

18. For detailed frequency tables and more information on NSSE Results
Visit
(Look under “Data and Reports” for Student Survey Results)