1. National Survey of Student Engagement 2009 Missouri Valley College January 6, 2010

2. Presentation Overview  An Introduction: NSSE & Student Engagement  NSSE 2009 & Selected Valley Results  FSSE 2009 & Selected Valley Results  Using Your NSSE-FSSE Data  Questions & Discussion

3. An Introduction: NSSE and the Concept of Student Engagement

4. What is Student Engagement?  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

5. Time on task (Tyler, 1930s) Quality of effort (Pace, 1960-70s) Student involvement (Astin, 1984) Social, academic integration (Tinto, 1987, 1993) Good practices in undergraduate education (Chickering & Gamson, 1987) College impact (Pascarella, 1985) Student engagement (Kuh, 1991, 2005) Foundations of Student Engagement

6. 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

7. National Survey of Student Engagement (pronounced “nessie”) College student surveys that assess the extent to which students engage in educational practices associated with high levels of learning and development

8. NSSE Project Scope  Nearly 1,400 different colleges and universities  50 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada  Data from more than 2,395,000 students  Institutions include Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges, and single-gender colleges YearInstitutions 2001321 2002367 2003437 2004473 2005529 2006557 2007610 2008769 2009640

9. NSSE 2009 Survey Population and Respondents  About 1.1 million students were invited to participate in NSSE 2009, with 367,318 responding  826 Valley students were invited to participate, with 305 responding  Freshmen: 186 of 567  Seniors: 119 of 259

10. NSSE 2009 Institution Response Rates  Valley’s response rate = 37%  Freshmen response rate = 33%  Senior response rate = 46% Average Institutional Response Rates:  36% for all NSSE 2009 institutions  31% for Paper mode institutions  37% for Web-only institutions  34% for Web+ institutions

11. Comparison Groups Missouri Valley College results compared to three groups:  Selected peers (those with similar institutional characteristics)  Carnegie Classification (baccalaureate colleges—diverse fields)  NSSE 2009 (all institutions participating in NSSE 2009)

12. NSSE Indicators of Effective Educational Practice Level of Academic Challenge Active & Collaborative Learning Enriching Educational Experiences Student – Faculty Interaction Supportive Campus Environment

13. NSSE 2009 & Selected Missouri Valley College Results

14. NSSE 2009 Results Missouri Valley College Benchmarks of Effective Educational Practice:  Level of Academic Challenge  Active and Collaborative Learning  Student-Faculty Interaction  Enriching Educational Experiences  Supportive Campus Environment

15. NSSE 2009 Missouri Valley College Results

16. Level of Academic Challenge  How challenging is your institution’s intellectual and creative work? Class Valley Selected Peers Carnegie Class NSSE 2009 First-year 50 ̶ ̶ ̶ Senior 55 ̶ ̶ A ‘—’ symbol indicates a score significantly lower than the comparison group (p<.05). A ‘+’ symbol indicates a score significantly higher than the comparison group (p<.05).

17. NSSE 2009 Missouri Valley College Results

18. Active and Collaborative Learning  Are your students actively involved in their learning, individually and working with others? Class Valley Selected Peers Carnegie Class NSSE 2009 First-year 45 Senior 54 + A ‘—’ symbol indicates a score significantly lower than the comparison group (p<.05). A ‘+’ symbol indicates a score significantly higher than the comparison group (p<.05).

19. NSSE 2009 Missouri Valley College Results

20. Student-Faculty Interaction  Do your students work with faculty members inside and outside the classroom? Class Valley Selected Peers Carnegie Class NSSE 2009 First-year 41 + ++ Senior 50 + + A ‘—’ symbol indicates a score significantly lower than the comparison group (p<.05). A ‘+’ symbol indicates a score significantly higher than the comparison group (p<.05).

21. NSSE 2009 Missouri Valley College Results

22. Enriching Educational Experiences  Do your students take advantage of complementary learning opportunities? Class Valley Selected Peers Carnegie Class NSSE 2009 First-year 27 ̶ Senior 43 A ‘—’ symbol indicates a score significantly lower than the comparison group (p<.05). A ‘+’ symbol indicates a score significantly higher than the comparison group (p<.05).

23. NSSE 2009 Missouri Valley College Results

24. Supportive Campus Environment  Do your students feel the institution is committed to their success? Class Valley Selected Peers Carnegie Class NSSE 2009 First-year 64 Senior 63 + A ‘—’ symbol indicates a score significantly lower than the comparison group (p<.05). A ‘+’ symbol indicates a score significantly higher than the comparison group (p<.05).

25. NSSE 2009 Valley Findings  Some Highest Performing Benchmark Items Relative to Selected Peers

26. NSSE 2009 Valley Findings What percentage of our students (in comparison to selected peers) wrote at least one paper or report of 20 pages or more? (Benchmark = LAC) ClassValleySelected Peers First-Year29%19% Seniors47%39%

27. NSSE 2009 Valley Findings What percentage of Valley students worked with other students on projects during class? (Benchmark = ACL) ClassValleySelected Peers First-Year59%43% Seniors61%51%

28. NSSE 2009 Valley Findings What percentage of Valley students had serious conversations with students of another race or ethnicity? (Benchmark = EEE) ClassValleySelected Peers First-Year66%51% Seniors64%50%

29. NSSE 2009 Valley Findings What percentage of Valley students spent more than 5 hours/week participating in co-curricular activities? (Benchmark = EEE) ClassValleySelected Peers First-Year55%44% Seniors51%38%

30. NSSE 2009 Valley Findings  Some Lowest Performing Benchmark Items Relative to Selected Peers

31. NSSE 2009 Valley Findings What percentage of Valley students wrote more than 4 papers or reports between 5 and 19 pages? (Benchmark = LAC) ClassValleySelected Peers First-Year21%38% Seniors40%52%

32. NSSE 2009 Valley Findings What percentage of Valley students said courses emphasized synthesizing ideas into new complex relationships? (Benchmark = LAC) ClassValleySelected Peers Seniors63%77%

33. NSSE 2009 Valley Findings What percentage of Valley students spent more than 10 hours/week preparing for class (studying, etc.)? (Benchmark = LAC) ClassValleySelected Peers First-year32%60%

34. NSSE 2009 Valley Findings What percentage of Valley students completed foreign language coursework? (Benchmark = EEE) ClassValleySelected Peers First-Year11%27% Seniors20%46%

35. NSSE Multi-Year Benchmark Report Missouri Valley College Results First-Year Students20052009 Level of Academic Challenge 46.0 49.9 + Active and Collaborative Learning 37.8 45.3 + Student-Faculty Interaction 34.1 41.5 + Enriching Educational Experiences 24.0 26.9 + Supportive Campus Environment 54.9 63.6 +

36. NSSE Multi-Year Benchmark Report Missouri Valley College Results Senior Students 20052009 Level of Academic Challenge 52.2 54.6 + Active and Collaborative Learning 48.7 54.4 + Student-Faculty Interaction 50.6 50.4 Enriching Educational Experiences 40.1 42.8 + Supportive Campus Environment 57.2 63.1 +

37. NSSE 2009 Missouri Valley College Results  Thinking about your overall experience at this institution, how would you rate the quality of relationships with faculty and administrative personnel and offices?

38. FSSE 2009 & Selected Missouri Valley College Results

39. Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (pronounced “fessie”) College faculty survey that measures faculty members’ expectations of student engagement in educational practices that are empirically linked with high level of learning and development

40. FSSE Survey Content  Faculty perceptions of how often their students engage in different activities  The importance faculty place on various areas of learning and development  The nature and frequency of interactions faculty have with students  How faculty members organize class time

41. FSSE 2009 Project Scope  In 2009, more than 18,000 faculty members from 148 institutions responded to the survey.  66% of institutions used the course-based instrument; 34% used the typical student instrument.  The 2009 average institutional response rate was 50%.

42. FSSE 2009 Missouri Valley College Response Rates  Number of invited faculty = 96  Number of respondents = 70  Valley’s response rate = 73%  Of respondents: 75% full-time 25% part-time Average Institutional Response Rates:  50% for all NSSE 2009 institutions

43. Survey Option: Typical Student Example Question & Items  About how often has the typical [first-year student, senior student] done each of the following? (Never, Sometimes, Often, Very often)  Asked questions in class or contributed to class discussions  Come to class without completing readings or assignments  Received prompt written or oral feedback from faculty on his or her academic performance  Had serious conversations with students of a different race or ethnicity than his or her own

44. FSSE 2009 Missouri Valley College Results Time spent preparing for classes each week Student reportFaculty recommends First-YearSeniorFirst-YearSenior 10 or less68%49%26%39% Between 10 and 20 24%37%58%43% 20 or more7%15%7%17%

45. FSSE 2009 Missouri Valley College Results Come to class without completing readings/assignments Student reportFaculty perception First-YearSeniorFirst-YearSenior Never25%22%0%4% Sometimes55% 36%65% Often16%14%38%17% Very often4%9%27%13%

46. FSSE 2009 Missouri Valley College Results Worked harder than thought they could to meet instructor’s expectations Student reportFaculty perception First-YearSeniorFirst-YearSenior Never5%3%9%4% Sometimes37%34%55%65% Often38%39%32%22% Very often21%24%5%9%

47. FSSE 2009 Missouri Valley College Results Learned something that changed the way they understood an issue or concept Student reportFaculty perception First-YearSeniorFirst-YearSenior Never3%4%5%0% Sometimes33%30%36%65% Often43%34%52%30% Very often21%32%7%4%

48. FSSE 2009 Missouri Valley College Results Percent who responded that coursework emphasized the following activities ‘quite a bit’ or ‘very much’. Student reportFaculty perception First-YearSeniorFirst-YearSenior Memorizing 67%71%65%35% Analyzing 67%79%71%78% Synthesizing 63% 64%78% Making judgments 70%72%54%83% Applying theories 70%75%55%65%

49. FSSE 2009 Missouri Valley College Results Percent of faculty who responded that it was important or very important that undergraduates at Valley do:  Practicum or other practical experience: 94%  Culminating senior experience: 93%  Community service or volunteer work: 63%  Participate in learning community: 58%  Foreign language coursework: 55%  Work on research project with faculty: 54%  Study abroad: 37%

50. Questions & Discussion

51. Missouri Valley College Mission guiding students to succeed through personal instruction and intellectual inquiry

52. Missouri Valley College Highest benchmark scores (relative to other institutions): Student-Faculty Interaction Lowest benchmark scores (relative to other institutions): Level of Academic Challenge

53. 1)What does “academic challenge” mean to you? 2)What things do you do now that you consider academically challenging? 3) What activities/approaches/policies can we use to increase the level of academic challenge?

54. Contact Information NSSE Web site www.nsse.iub.edu National Survey of Student Engagement Center for Postsecondary Research Indiana University Bloomington Phone: 812.856.5824 E-mail: nsse@indiana.edu Valley contact with NSSE: Dr. Marilyn Belwood belwoodmf@moval.edu.