Students' Commitment to Their Studies at California State University San Marcos:
Spring 2006 Responses to the National Survey of Student Engagement
The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) is an annual inquiry into the extent to which
students at four-year colleges and universities engage in an array of good educational practices. Many
of the questionnaire items deal with student behaviors that educational researchers have found to be
highly correlated with the intense learning and personal development that are hallmarks of a
meaningful college education. Rather than asking about students' satisfaction with academic and other
activities, as is typical of many surveys done on college campuses, most of the NSSE items ask
respondents to estimate the amount of time they devoted to various activities during the current
academic year (e.g., amount of reading and writing required; students' interactions with teachers and
peers).
The seventh administration of the NSSE took place in Spring 2006 and involved entering and
exiting students at a diverse group of 557 four-year colleges and universities. Of the over 300,000
randomly selected students who responded, 232 attend California State University San Marcos. This
report summarizes the San Marcos responses and highlights differences between them and those of two
groups of respondents: the 3,817 attending one of the other participating CSU campuses 1 and the
approximately 100,000 respondents attending one of the Master’s-level institutions participating in the
2006 NSSE.
The Master’s-level institutions constituted 41% of the participating institutions and included both
publicly- and privately-funded campuses from all parts of the United States and Canada. 2 Most are
classified as Master’s I institutions in the 2000 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher
Education – as are California State University San Marcos and the other participating CSU campuses. 3
Analysis shows that the CSU campuses who participated in the NSSE are largely representative of the
larger CSU system. 4
1 In addition to CSUSM, the following CSU campuses also participated in the 2006 NSSE and were selected
as comparison institutions: Chico, Dominquez Hills, Long Beach, Stanislaus, Northridge and Sonoma.
2
Other institutions surveyed included Doctorate/Research and Baccalaureate level colleges and universities.
3 Master’s I colleges and universities offer a variety of baccalaureate programs, as well as a number of
graduate programs leading to the Master’s degree (Carnegie).
4 The participating CSU institutions are somewhat atypical in two respects: the percentage of large campuses
(10,000 or more students) is greater and the emphasis on Graduate Programs is lower than the system as a whole.
Spring 2006 NSSE Responses - 2
Data Collection Procedures
Staff at the participating campuses, were only marginally involved in the 2005-06 NSSE data
collection process. In Fall 2005, the campuses submitted lists of newly arrived first time freshmen and
graduating seniors to the Center for Survey Research at Indiana University, which, in turn, randomly
selected a subset of survey participants from each of the two groups—294 freshmen and 297 seniors in
the case of CSUSM; survey packets were distributed during the Spring 2006 term. Two-fifths (40%) of
the students in the San Marcos sample eventually returned completed questionnaires, a response rate
which is higher than either the other participating CSU campuses or other Master’s-level institutions. 5
Preliminary analysis revealed that these respondents are largely representative of the larger groups
from which they are drawn.6 Since these larger groups of freshmen and senior students may be
atypical of the student body as a whole, however, the findings summarized on the next pages should be
interpreted a bit cautiously. More importantly, the responses of the seniors cannot be assumed to be
similar to those that current CSUSM freshman respondents will necessarily articulate when they are
seniors because, unlike other Master’s-level institutions, the vast majority of the senior respondents
came to California State University San Marcos as transfer students.
Because California State University San Marcos has participated in the NSSE since its inception
in 2000, we have accumulated valuable data about our students’ views over time. 7 Complete
longitudinal comparisons between survey years for California State University San Marcos are
presented in in the brief summary below. 8
Key Findings
Table 1 summarizes some key differences between California State University San Marcos and the
other participating CSU and Master’s-level institutions. The NSSE 2006 findings suggest that
California State University San Marcos has stronger curricular features (e.g., emphasis on academics
5
Respondents at California State University San Marcos were given the option of completing the survey
electronically or on paper. Among freshmen, 51% completed the web-based survey and 46% of senior respondents
chose the electronic version.
6
Among the Senior respondents, respondents are more likely to be somewhat older and to have attended
CSUSM for fewer terms than the larger senior population from which they are drawn.
7
Specifically, California State University San Marcos Students participated in the NSSE in 2000, 2001, 2002,
2003, 2005 and 2006.
8
For a copy of the full report, contact Pat Morris in Institutional Planning and Analysis at pmorris@csusm.edu.
Spring 2006 NSSE Responses - 3
and the amount of writing required) than comparative campuses in most areas. The campus is also
more likely to emphasize oral communication skills and to provide several important enriching
experiences (e.g., second language acquisition and use of electronic technologies). Senior respondents
from California State University San Marcos are more likely than those at the comparison campuses to
say that the university provides opportunities for interaction with diverse groups and most respondents
have included diverse perspectives in their assignments.
One areas of clear weakness, particularly for freshmen, was the amount of time spent preparing for
class. San Marcos senior respondents were less likely than respondents at other Master’s-level
campuses, to participate in co-curricular activities, to feel supported in their academic needs or to have
much interaction with faculty members. Nevertheless, they are more likely than others to be pleased
with their educational experience.
When considering these comparisons, it is important to note that San Marcos respondents,
particularly freshmen, are more likely than others to hold off-campus jobs, to work 10 hours or more
per week and to provide care for dependents living with them-- activities that typically inhibit student
engagement. This work pattern, combined with the commuter nature of the campus, may account for
why San Marcos freshman respondents are less likely than respondent at either the other CSU
campuses or Master’s-level campuses to say they would definitely choose to attend California State
University San Marcos if they were starting over again.
Shifts in Engagement Through Time
California State University San Marcos has been participating in the NSSE since Spring 2000 and,
as a result, we are able to examine changes through time in the six years’ worth of survey findings that
the campus has accumulated. This section discusses ways in which San Marcos responses have
changed from year to year and also examines this campus’s changes in comparison to those at other
Master’s-level campuses in key areas. The findings suggest that the ratings of the San Marcos
freshman respondents have increased through time in areas related to abstract thinking skills, second
language acquisition and oral communication and declined in some areas related to writing. In the
remaining areas (use of electronic media, collaborative learning and interaction with diverse groups)
the ratings have been mixed. When compared to other Master’s-level campuses, San Marcos freshmen
maintained their relative advantage in selected abstract thinking skills, second language acquisition,
oral communication, collaboration and the number of papers written.
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Senior respondents at California State University San Marcos showed gains in two areas between
2000 and 2006: use of electronic media and selected abstract thinking skills. In other areas (writing,
active and collaborative learning and interaction with diverse groups) the ratings either held steady or
were mixed. Yet, when compared to respondents elsewhere, the relative advantage in some areas
declined.
There are two possible explanations for the observed pattern of findings: engagement with one’s
studies has declined through time among San Marcos students or the respondents at other Master’slevel campuses have made greater gains over the same time period. When responses of San Marcos
freshmen are compared to responses at other Master’s-level institutions, the loss of relative advantage
in several areas—use of electronic media, their abstract thinking skills and campus emphasis on
interaction among diverse student groups—has come primarily as a result of gains at the other
campuses; a majority of San Marcos respondents continue to give positive responses in these areas.
Although San Marcos seniors appear to have lost some of their advantage in several areas, the
reasons are less clear-cut. In spite of a modest increase in the percentage of San Marcos respondents
who indicate they often rewrote papers and that their coursework emphasizes selected abstract thinking
skills, respondents from other campuses showed a sharp increase in their percentages in these areas
which narrowed the gap between the two groups of respondents. Similarly, the seniors’ gains in the use
of electronic media were impressive, yet their advantage over other campuses declined due to even
larger gains elsewhere. Does this constitute a problem? Or, is it sufficient that over two-thirds of
respondents use these services. In such cases, it may be more useful to interpret findings based on a
level of engagement which is appropriate for our students rather than focusing only on our
performance in relations to other campuses.
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