CCFSSE: Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
What is CCFSSE?
The Community College Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (CCFSSE) is an online survey that elicits
information from faculty about their teaching practices; the ways they spend their professional time,
both in and out of class; and their perceptions regarding students' educational experiences. CCFSSE is
offered as a companion to the student survey, the Community College Survey of Student Engagement
(CCSSE). These surveys are conducted by the Center for Community College Student Engagement at the
University of Texas at Austin. For more information, please visit www.cccse.org
Will my responses be anonymous?
Yes. Only aggregated responses are reported to your college. In addition, certain demographic
items (academic rank, tenure status, teaching experience, age, gender, citizenship status, and
race/ethnicity) are not included in the data file to protect the individual identities of participating
faculty members; therefore, your responses cannot be linked back to you as an individual faculty
member. Aggregate faculty responses will be compared with aggregate student responses for
institution-wide improvement purposes, so please be completely candid when completing the survey.
Sampling Procedures
Why did I get asked to participate?
Your college is participating in CCFSSE to assist in institutional improvement efforts and believes it is
vital that faculty have a voice in this process. Therefore, all faculty teaching credit courses that are
eligible for selection in the student survey (CCSSE) during the chosen term are invited to take part in the
survey. Survey results will enable your college to view faculty expectations and perceptions of student
engagement alongside student responses to CCSSE. Your institution plans to use these data to help
identify areas of strength as well as areas for improvement at your college.
Is the sampling process the same for CCSSE and CCFSSE?
No. A random sample of students is surveyed for CCSSE, but all faculty members included in the Course
Master Data File (CMDF) are invited to participate in CCFSSE. The CMDF is created at the beginning of
the spring semester. Therefor there may be instructors who were not included due to the time the class
was built and the list (CMDF) was prepared. The following types of classes are excluded from the CMDF:
non-credit, dual-credit, distance education, lowest level ESL, labs, individual instruction and
independent study, self-paced with no regular meeting time/location.
What if the course listed in the CCFSSE invitation e-mail does not match the course
selected for CCSSE administration?
Adapted from the Center for Community College Student Engagement CCFSSE Survey FAQs
© 2014 Permission granted for unlimited copying with appropriate citation
Because the sampling process for CCFSSE and CCSSE differs, it is not uncommon for a faculty member
to be asked to reflect on a particular class that is not part of the CCSSE administration. Additionally,
course-level information is not included in the analysis of either CCFSSE or CCSSE; this information is
only used for sampling purposes.
Survey Administration
How long does it take to complete the survey?
Approximately 25-30 minutes.
How much time can I take to finish the survey? Does the survey time out?
Although there is not a technical time limit set for you to complete the survey, there is a chance that
your connection to the survey could be interrupted during a long period of inactivity. It is best to
complete the survey in one sitting, or to click the “Save and Exit” button and log back into the survey at
a later time.
I teach more than one course. Why do I have to reflect upon the one that was selected by the
Center?
If faculty members teach more than one course, CCFSSE sampling methodology randomly selects one
course upon which faculty are to base their survey responses. Details about the randomly selected
course are provided in the invitation e-mail sent to faculty. If the randomly selected course is no longer
meeting for any reason, faculty can think of another course they are currently teaching.
What is the deadline to complete the survey?
The deadline to submit your completed survey is May 13, 2015.
Reporting
How will CCFSSE results be reported to the college and what data will be included?
CCFSSE results will be released electronically, in conjunction with CCSSE results. CCFSSE
reports will include side-by-side frequency distributions for faculty and student responses to
related items side-by-side, as well as frequency distributions for faculty-specific items. In
addition, participating colleges will receive a separate raw data file containing faculty responses;
only non-identifying faculty information is included in this file. A summary of CCFSSE findings
will also be included in the Key Findings. Key Findings will be available through the CCSSE
online reporting system and multiple print copies will be mailed to the college chancellor following
the online release of results.
Will CCFSSE results be posted on the public CCSSE website?
No. CCFSSE results for participating colleges will NOT be posted on the public CCSSE website
and, therefore, will not be publicly reported. The Center may use CCFSSE survey data in the
Adapted from the Center for Community College Student Engagement CCFSSE Survey FAQs
© 2014 Permission granted for unlimited copying with appropriate citation
aggregate for national reporting purposes, for supplemental research of interest to community
colleges, and for other undergraduate improvement initiatives; however, CCFSSE data should
not be used to compare faculty across institutions.
For information regarding your college’s participation in this survey, please contact MCC’s
CCFSSE Campus Coordinator: melissa.giese@mcckc.edu
Adapted from the Center for Community College Student Engagement CCFSSE Survey FAQs
© 2014 Permission granted for unlimited copying with appropriate citation