Notes to Users
This sample presentation is designed to serve as a customizable template to present
NSSE, BCSSE, or FSSE results on your campus. The presentation is divided into the
following topical sections to help you quickly select the slides most appropriate for a
particular audience:
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NSSE and the Concept of Student Engagement
Selected NSSE Results for [Institution]
Selected BCSSE Results for [Institution]
Selected FSSE Results for [Institution]
User Resources and Activities of the NSSE Institute
Using Your NSSE, BCSSE, and FSSE Data
Questions & Discussion
Contact Information
Replace the cover slide and the red text throughout this presentation with the name of
your school and your own results.
Use slides from the “Selected Results for [Institution]” sections for ideas on how to
present your campus results.
View the notes section of each slide for additional information or relevant talking points
(in the PowerPoint tool bar select “VIEW” then “Notes Page”)
Insert Presenter Name(s) Here
Insert Presentation Date
Presentation Overview
1. NSSE and the Concept of Student Engagement
2. Selected NSSE Results for [Institution]
3. Selected BCSSE Results for [Institution]
4. Selected FSSE Results for [Institution]
5. User Resources
6. Using Your NSSE, BCSSE, and FSSE Data
7. Questions & Discussion
8. Contact Information
NSSE and the Concept of
Student Engagement
What is Student Engagement?
What students do –
Time and energy devoted to studies and other
educationally purposeful activities
What institutions do –
Using resources and effective educational practices to
induce students to do the right things
Educationally effective institutions channel student
energy toward the right activities
Seven Principles of Good Practice in
Undergraduate Education
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.
Other Supporting Literature
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.
Pascarella, E. & Terenzini, P (2005). How college affects students: A third
decade of research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Presents institutional policies, programs, and
practices that promote student success. Provides
practical guidance on implementation of effective
institutional practice in a variety of contexts.
Kuh, G. D., Kinzie, J., Schuh, J. H., Whitt, E.J., & Associates (2005). Student
success in college: Creating conditions that matter. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
NSSE Background
 Launched with grant from The
Pew Charitable Trusts in
1999, supported by
institutional participation fees
since 2002.
 Institution types, sizes, and
locations represented in
NSSE are largely
representative of U.S.
baccalaureate institutions.
 More than 1,500 baccalaureategranting colleges and
universities in the US and
Canada have participated to
date.
Year
Institutions
2001 thru 2009
1390
2010
595
2011
751
2012
577
2013
621
2014
713
2015
585
Goals of NSSE Project
 Focus conversations on
undergraduate quality
 Enhance institutional
practice and improvement
initiatives
 Foster comparative and
consortium activity
 Provide systematic national
data on “good educational
practices”
NSSE Updated in 2013!
What we’ve learned… connect
engagement data to indicators of
success; student behaviors;
institutional improvement is
possible
Updating NSSE… same focus; new
& refined measures; updated
terminology
 Emerging areas of interest – HIPs,
quantitative reasoning, effective
Read the Change magazine
teaching, deep approaches,
article May/June 2013
topical modules
NSSE Survey Content
Engagement in meaningful
academic experiences
Engagement in
High-Impact Practices
Student learning
& development
Student reactions
to college
Student background
information
NSSE Engagement Indicators
Meaningful Academic Engagement Themes
Engagement Indicators
Academic Challenge
Learning with Peers
Experiences with Faculty
Campus Environment
Student – Faculty
Interaction
Survey Administration
 Census-administered or
randomly sampled first-year
students & seniors
 Spring administration
 Multiple follow-ups to increase
response rates
 Topical Modules provide
option to delve deeper into
the student experience
 Consortium participation enables
addition of custom questions
A Commitment to Data Quality
NSSE’s Psychometric Portfolio
presents evidence of validity,
reliability, and other indicators
of data quality. It serves
higher education leaders,
researchers, and
professionals who
use NSSE.
See the Psychometric Portfolio
nsse.indiana.edu/html/psychometric_portfolio.cfm
Selected NSSE Results for
[Institution]
NSSE 2015 Institutions
by Carnegie Classification
100%
NSSE Schools
All 4-year Schools
75%
50%
32%
25%
25%
4%
7%
23%
15% 16%
11% 11%
9%
6%
6%
5%
5%
18%
7%
0%
RU/VH
RU/H
DRU
Master’s L Master’s M Master’s S Bac/A&S Bac/Diverse
NSSE 2015 Respondents by Race,
Ethnicity, and Nationality
NSSE 2015
Respondents
U.S. Bachelor’sGranting Population
African American/Black
9%
12%
American Indian/Alaskan Native
1%
1%
Asian
5%
6%
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander
<1%
<1%
Caucasian/White
65%
60%
Hispanic/Latino
13%
14%
Multiracial/Ethnic
3%
3%
Foreign/nonresident alien
4%
4%
Note: Percentages are unweighted and may not sum to 100 due to rounding. The NSSE 2015 sampling frame consists of
first-year and senior undergraduates. Data were provided by participating institutions. U.S. percentages are based on data
from the 2013 IPEDS Institutional Characteristics and Enrollment data. Includes all class years. Institution-reported, using
categories provided in IPEDS. Excludes students whose race/ethnicity was unknown or not provided.
NSSE 2015 Survey
Population and Respondents
 More than 1.3 million students
were invited to participate in
NSSE 2015, with 315,815
responding
 x [Institution] students were
invited to participate, with x
responding
NSSE 2015 U.S. Institution
Response Rates
[Your institution’s] response rate = x%
All NSSE 2015 institutions = 29%
NSSE 2015
U.S. Average
Institutional
Response Rates
by Enrollment:
Undergraduate
Enrollment
Number of
Institutions
Avg. Institutional
Response Rate
2,500 or fewer
242
35%
2,501 to 4,999
110
28%
5,000 to 9,999
97
22%
10,000 or more
89
20%
All institutions
538
29%
NSSE 2015 Results (Sample Slides)
The following slides are examples of how your institution
might share selected NSSE results with various
institutional constituencies. Expand this section to
highlight items of interest to your audience.
NSSE 2015 Results for
[Institution]
Overall results compared to peer group for each
Engagement Indicator.
NSSE 2015 Results for
[Institution]
Highest and lowest performing items compared to peer
group.
NSSE 2015 Results for
[Institution]
Highest and lowest performing items compared to peer
group.
NSSE 2015 Results for
[Institution]
Engagement Indicator: Quality of Interactions
 Indicate the quality of your interactions with the following
people at your institution. (First-year students)
100%
Faculty
Academic Advsiors
75%
50%
35%
26%
25%
1% 3%
3%
1%
5%
7%
22%
20%
23%
21%
10% 11%
0%
Poor
2
3
4
5
6
Excellent
NSSE 2015 Results for
[Institution]
Engagement Indicator: Discussions with Diverse Others
 How often have you had discussions with people from the
following groups? (First-year students)
100%
People of a race or ethnicity other than
your own
75%
People with religious beliefs other than
than your own
50%
44%
42%
34%
28%
25%
25%
20%
3%
4%
0%
Never
Sometimes
Often
Very often
[Institution] Comparisons with
[Selected Peers]
High‐Impact Practices
 Percentage of first-year students who participated in a
learning community and in course-based service-learning.
100%
75%
First-Year Students
50%
Selected Peers
25%
12%
16%
6%
8%
0%
Learning Community
Service-Learning
[Institution] Comparisons with
[Selected Peers]
Engagement Indicators
 Learning Strategies and Collaborative Learning
(First-Year Students)
60
45
EI Score
37.9
39.2
First-Year Students
36.8
31.5
30
15
0
Learning Strategies
Collaborative Learning
Selected Peers
[Institution] Comparisons with
[Selected Peers]
High‐Impact Practices
 Percentage of seniors who worked on a research project
with a faculty member, and who did a culminating senior
experience.
100%
75%
70%
Seniors
Selected Peers
50%
43%
37%
25%
21%
0%
Work w/Faculty on
Research Project
Culminating Senior
Experience
[Institution] Comparisons with
[Selected Peers]
Engagement Indicators:
 Higher-Order Learning and Student-Faculty Interaction
(Seniors)
60
Seniors
45
40.0
41.2
30
Selected Peers
25.5
23.9
15
0
Higher-Order Learning
Student-Faculty Interaction
[Institution] Comparisons with
[Selected Peers]
How do students spend their time?
 Percentage spending more than 10 hours per week
preparing for class
Class
[Institution]
Selected Peers
First-Year
More than x%
More than x%
Senior
More than x%
More than x%
[Institution] Comparisons with
[Selected Peers]
How do students spend their time?
 Percentage of students spending more than 5 hours per
week participating in co-curricular activities
Class
[Institution]
Selected Peers
First-Year
More than x%
More than x%
Senior
More than x%
More than x%
Selected BCSSE Results for
[Institution]
BCSSE Purpose
BCSSE collects data about
entering first-year students’
high school academic and
co-curricular experiences, as
well as their expectations for
participating in educationally
purposeful activities during
the first college year.
BCSSE Survey Content
There are 3 sections to the BCSSE survey:
1. High school
experiences
2. Expectations and
beliefs regarding the
first year of college
3. Background
characteristics
Administration Modes
Paper, Web, or Mixed Modes
 Paper group administration
• Orientation, Welcome
Week, etc.
 Web group administration
• While students are in
computer lab, etc.
 Web email administration
• Web link emailed to students
BCSSE Survey Content
High School Experiences
BCSSE Survey Content
Expectations for the First Year of College
BCSSE Survey Content
Many of these questions are designed to be paired
with NSSE, providing an in-depth view of the
first-year experience.
BCSSE
NSSE
BCSSE Scales
BCSSE Scales
High School Quantitative Reasoning
High School Learning Strategies
Expected Student-Faculty Interactions
Expected Collaborative Learning
Expected Discussions with Diverse Others
Importance of Campus Environment
Expected Academic Perseverance
Expected Academic Difficulty
Perceived Academic Preparation
Corresponding NSSE
Engagement Indicator?

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
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BCSSE Reports
Four reports are provided:
 BCSSE Institutional Report
(Summer/Fall 2014)
 BCSSE Student Advising Report
(Summer/Fall 2014)
 Grand Frequencies and Means
(Fall 2014)
• Overall
• Institution types
 BCSSE-NSSE Combined Report
(Summer 2015)
BCSSE 2014 Results for
[Institution]
During your last year of high school, about how many
hours did you spend in a typical 7-day week doing each of
the following?
 Preparing for class (studying, doing homework,
rehearsing, etc.)
100%
Male
Female
75%
48%
50%
46%
25%
25%
19%
30%
16%
7%
1%
0%
8%
0%
0 Hours
1-10
11-20
21-30
More than 30
BCSSE 2014 Results for
[Institution]
During the coming school year, how difficult do you
expect the following to be?
 Learning course material
100%
First generation
Not first generation
75%
50%
28%
25%
18%
19%
7%
18%
23%
21%
15%
16%
15%
14%
6%
0%
Not at all difficult
2
3
4
5
Very difficult
BCSSE 2014-NSSE 2015 Combined
Results for [Institution]
How often [do you expect to do/have you done] each of
the following?
Discuss your academic
performance with a
faculty member
Work with other students
on course projects or
assignments
100%
FY expectation (BCSSE)
76%
83%
FY experience (NSSE)
75%
67%
53%
50%
47%
33%
24%
25%
17%
0%
Never/Sometimes
Often/Very Often
Never/Sometimes
Often/Very Often
Selected FSSE Results for
[Institution]
Faculty Survey of Student Engagement
(FSSE is pronounced “fessie”)
College faculty survey that measures faculty expectations
for student engagement in educational practices that are
empirically linked with student learning and development
FSSE Survey Content
 How often faculty use
effective teaching practices
 How much faculty
encourage students to
collaborate
 The importance faculty
place on increasing
institutional support for
students
 The importance faculty
place on various areas of
 The nature and frequency of
learning and development
faculty-student interactions
 How faculty members
 Opportunities to engage in
organize their time, both in
diverse perspectives
and out of the classroom
FSSE 2015 Project Scope
 In 2015, more than 19,000 faculty members from 133
institutions responded to the survey.
 In 2015, 42% of the faculty contacted responded to the
survey.
 Response rates at individual institutions ranged from
15% to 85%.
 The average institutional response rate was 48%.
FSSE Administration
 Third-party administration in the spring
 Institutions choose faculty to be surveyed
 Faculty responses are kept anonymous
 Administered as an online-only survey
 Institutions are able to add topical modules and
consortium items to the end of the core FSSE
instrument
Faculty Values and Student
Participation in High-Impact Practices
FacultyVery Important or
Important
High-Impact Practice
[Institution]
FSSE
First-Year
Participation
[Institution]
NSSE
Senior
Participation
[Institution]
NSSE
Internship
83.7%
8.8%
52.1%
Learning Community
47.2%
15.3%
25.2%
Study Abroad
40.0%
3.7%
14.9%
Research with Faculty
58.6%
5.6%
25.7%
Culminating Senior Experience
85.4%
3.0%
46.9%
Service-Learning
58.4%
51.8%
61.7%
Faculty responses are to how important it is to them that undergraduates at their institution do the following before they graduate.
Student responses are to whether or not they have participated in the listed activities. Student responses to service-learning indicate that at least
some of their courses included a service-learning experience. Student percentages are weighted by sex, enrollment status, and institution size.
User Resources: Overview of
NSSE Institute Activities
User Resources and the
NSSE Institute
The NSSE Institute for Effective Educational Practice
develops user resources and responds to requests for
assistance in using student engagement results to
improve student learning and institutional effectiveness.
 Resources:
• Free Webinars
• User Workshops
• System and Consortium
Workshops
• Accreditation Toolkits
• Guides to Data Use
• Degree Qualifications
Profile Toolkit
• A Pocket Guide to
Choosing a College
• Voluntary System of
Accountability (VSA)
nsse.indiana.edu/institute/
A Pocket Guide to
Choosing a College
For Students and Families:
 A Pocket Guide to Choosing a College
gives questions to ask during a campus
visit about what matters to learning.
For NSSE Institutions:
 A data report, NSSE 2015 Answers
from Students provides results for
admissions, orientation, prospective
students and families, and
campus Web sites.
* Available in Spanish, and in a mobile version.
Using Your NSSE, BCSSE,
and FSSE Data
Using NSSE, BCSSE, and FSSE Data
 It is important for NSSE to
discover and share ways student
engagement results are used.
Areas of
Effective
Educational
Practice
Areas for
Institutional
Improvement
 NSSE results are used across all
types of institutions.
 The following slides illustrate
how NSSE data inform
educational policy and practice
at specific institutions.
Internal Campus Uses
 Gauge status of campus priorities
 Examine changes in student
engagement between first
and senior years
 Assess campus
progress over time
 Encourage dialogue
about good practice
 Link with other data
to test hypotheses,
evaluate programs
 Improve curricula,
instruction, services
Enrollment
Management
Institutional
Research
Learning
Communities
1ST Year
and Senior
Experience
Institutional
Improvement
Student
Affairs
Peer
Comparison
Academic
Affairs
Learning
Assessment
Academic
Advising
Faculty
Development
External Campus Uses
 Assess status vis-à-vis
peers, competitors
Governing
Boards
 Identify, develop,
market distinctive
competencies
 Encourage
collaboration in
consortia (e.g.,
statewide NSSE
conference)
Parents
Media
Public
Accountability
Accrediting
Bodies
 Provide evidence of
accountability for good
processes (while awaiting
improvement in outcomes)
Focus on
Right Things
Fund
Raising
Prospective
Students
Alumni
Performance
Indicators
State
Policy
Makers
Supporting NSSE Use in Accreditation
NSSE Accreditation Toolkits – Resource tailored to
regional and program accreditors
 Maps NSSE items to accreditation standards/criteria to
support data use in accreditation
Example of Data Use:
Increasing Academic Challenge
FAYETTEVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY
Finding:
 Writing and time spent preparing for
class were lower than desired.
Action:
 Provided NSSE data to department
chairs so that areas of potential
improvement could be identified. The
institution also increased investment in
learning communities and capstone
courses to strengthen writing across the
curriculum and class preparation.
Example of Data Use:
Enriching the First-Year Experience
WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY
Finding:
 Campus was not meeting
expectations for collaborative
learning, student-faculty
interaction, and
learning communities.
Action:
 Freshman Focus learning
communities provide the
opportunity to engage in an
extensive living-learning
community system.
Example of Data Use:
Student-Faculty Interaction
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY-FRESNO
Finding:
 NSSE results showed that
student-faculty interaction was
lower than expected.
Action:
 Student success task force
identified ways to improve
student success. Participated
in Building Engagement and
Attainment for Minority Students (BEAMS) program to
develop Mentoring Institute. Now 200+ faculty members,
staff and student mentors have been trained.
Example of Data Use:
Enriching and High-Impact Practices
JACKSONVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY
Finding:
 Student reported engagement in service-learning and
other high-impact practices were not as high as desired.
Action:
 The Office of Leadership and
Service was created to
coordinate service-learning,
promote service learning, and
provide support to faculty
interested in developing
service-learning courses.
Example of Data Use:
Supportive Environment and Retention
SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY
Finding:
 BCSSE and NSSE data consistently showed that nonreturning students had weaker relationships with faculty,
peers, and administrative personnel than their peers.
Action:
 The relationship of persistence
to supportive environment and
quality of interactions focused
institutional action on support
for learning and promoting
quality interactions.
Example of Data Use:
Faculty and Staff Development
ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY
Finding:
 Needed to increase campus dialogue relevant to student
learning among students, faculty, and student affairs.
Action:
 A four-part series focusing
on methods to improve the
quality of student writing
was developed for faculty
based on FSSE and
NSSE results.
Example of Data Use:
Foster Collaboration and Focus
TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
Finding:
 Early results showed lower
NSSE and FSSE scores
than desired.
Action:
 Increased attention and energy
on student engagement.
Promoted collaboration between
Academic Affairs and Student
Affairs to enhance student
engagement in and out of
the classroom.
Additional Data Use Examples and
Resources
 Lessons from the Field
(Volumes 1 & 2), including
examples for transitioning to the
updated NSSE, is instructive as
institutions seek to move from
data to action
 Searchable database for
examples of NSSE, FSSE, and
BCSSE use
 Making NSSE Results Public
 Guidelines for Display of
NSSE Results
nsse.indiana.edu/html/lessons_from_the_field.cfm
Questions & Discussion
Contact Information
[Institution]
NSSE Contact:
[Contact name]
[Contact email address]
Center for Postsecondary Research
Indiana University School of Education
1900 East Tenth Street, Suite 419
Bloomington, IN 47406-7512
Phone: 812-856-5824
Fax: 812-856-5150
Email: nsse@indiana.edu
Web: nsse.indiana.edu
.
Institutional Photo Credits
Thank you to NSSE participating schools for the use of their institutional
photos in the development of this PowerPoint template. We encourage
you to insert your own campus photos for use in presentations.
.