2008 National Survey of Student Engagement SUNY Oneonta

Patty FrancisSteve Perry

Fall 2008

An Introduction: NSSE and the Concept of Student Engagement

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

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

Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education(Chickering & Gamson, 1987; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005)Student-faculty contactActive learningPrompt feedbackTime on taskHigh expectationsExperiences with diversityCooperation among students

National Survey of Student Engagement(pronounced nessie)

Assesses the extent to which students engage in educational practices associated with high levels of learning and development

NSSE Benchmarks ofEffective Educational PracticeLevel of Academic ChallengeActive & Collaborative LearningEnriching Educational ExperiencesStudent Faculty InteractionSupportive Campus Environment

NSSE Benchmark DefinitionsLevel of Academic Challenge - Engagement in intellectually challenging and creative work.

Active & Collaborative Learning - Engagement in collaborative learning and learning in different settings.

Student-Faculty Interaction - Student engagement with faculty as role models and mentors.

Supportive Campus Environment - Quality of campus environment to support student success.

Enriching Educational Experiences - Participation in many activities not typically completed by first-year students (e.g., internships, capstone courses, study abroad).

Survey AdministrationAdministered to random samples of first-year & senior students Administration occurs in the spring academic termPaper & Web-based surveyMultiple follow-ups to increase response ratesAdministered 2003, 2005 and 2008 at Oneonta

NSSE 2008 & Selected Oneonta Results

NSSE 2008 Respondent Characteristics

First-YearSeniorRespondents473579Response Rate40%39%Female71%65%Caucasian/White78%83%Transfer6%45%Full-time100%97%Live On-campus90%30%Traditional Age99%85%

Overall, Oneonta scores were similar or higher, especially for seniors.Selected Oneonta Results on NSSE Benchmarks Compared to Other SUNY Institutions:

Oneonta Benchmark Scores Compared to SUNY Institutions

LACOneonta SUNY Peers First-Year 51.3 52.2 Senior 57.0 55.5 ACLFirst-Year 39.0 39.4Senior 55.5 47.3 *** SFIFirst-Year 32.1 32.9 Senior 46.8 40.8 *** EEEFirst-Year 26.7 27.4 Senior 42.8 39.6 *** SCEFirst-Year 62.6 59.0 *** Senior 62.3 55.9 ***

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For both student cohorts, almost all scores increased from 2003 to 2008, some markedly.Selected Oneonta Results on NSSE Benchmarks Over Time:

First-Year StudentsSeniorsLevel of Academic Challenge (LAC)

First-Year StudentsSeniorsActive and Collaborative Learning (ACL)

First-Year StudentsSeniorsStudent-Faculty Interaction (SFI)

First-Year StudentsSeniorsEnriching Educational Experiences (EEE)

First-Year StudentsSeniorsSupportive Campus Environment (SCE)

For seniors, Oneonta scores were similar or higher but for first-year students Oneonta scores were lower overall.Selected Oneonta Results Compared to National Peer Institutions:

Oneonta Benchmark Scores Compared to National Peer Institutions

LACOneonta Carnegie Class NSSE 2008 First-Year 51.3 53.2 **52.9 ** Senior 57.0 58.156.5ACLFirst-Year 39.0 45.9 ***42.5 ***Senior 55.5 52.7 ***50.8 ***SFIFirst-Year 32.1 38.3 ***34.6 **Senior 46.8 45.942.3 ***EEEFirst-Year 26.7 28.327.5Senior 42.8 41.440.4 **SCEFirst-Year 62.6 62.961.0Senior 62.3 61.357.9 ***

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Who Were These Peer Institutions?NSSE Institutions - Consisted of all 714 institutions participating in NSSE 2008

Carnegie Class InstitutionsConsisted of 46 non-SUNY institutions in Oneontas Carnegie Class (i.e., Masters colleges and universities smaller programs)Included relatively large public institutions as well as small privates

Recommendations

Oneonta should initiate a campus-wide discussion of student engagement and strategies for enhancing this process, to include faculty, staff, and students.

Oneonta should focus on initiatives to improve engagement with first-year students.

These initiatives should target the following areas:Student-Faculty Interaction (SFI)Active and Collaborative Learning (ACL)Level of Academic Challenge (LAC)

Aspirational goal: To compare favorably to other institutions in our Carnegie Class, for both first-year students and seniors, when the NSSE is next conducted in 2011.

Questions & Discussion

Contact InformationNSSE 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 Oneonta Contacts: Patty Francisfrancipl@oneonta.eduSteve Perryperrysr@oneonta.edu

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*Replace all text in red with institutional information.

***Pace (1970s)Pioneer of looking at the entire student experience versus just looking at test scores or grades to assess student learning. Pace asked questions related to students academic and social experiences in college and assessed how much effort they were putting forth in their educational experiencesAstin (Hired by Pace at UCLA in 1980s)Promoted theory of student involvementAmount of learning taking place directly proportional to quantity and quality of energy invested in educational activitiesTinto (Also in the 1980s)Retention model greater social and academic integration, both formal and informal processes -> greater satisfaction -> more likely to stayChickering and Gamson (1980s analysis of hundreds of studies over several decades) Student-faculty contact, 2) Cooperation among students, 3) Active learning, 4) Prompt feedback, 5) Time on task, 6) High expectations, 7) Respect for diverse talents and ways of learningKuh (1990s idea of student engagement)What students do -- time and energy devoted to educationally purposeful activitiesWhat institutions do -- using effective educational practices to induce students to do the right things

Chickering, A. W. & Gamson, Z. F. (1987). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. AAHE: Bulletin, 39 (7), 3-7.

Pascarella, E. & Terenzini, P (2005). How college affects students: A third decade of research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

**National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)Evaluates extent to which first-year & senior students engage in educational practices associated with high levels of learning and development. Partners include the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research1900 East Tenth Street, Suite 419Bloomington, IN 47406-7512 Phone: 812.856.5824Fax: 812-856-5150 E-mail: nsse@indiana.eduWeb site: www.nsse.iub.edu

Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE)CCSSEs survey instrument, The Community College Student Report, provides information on student engagement. The survey, administered to community college students, asks questions that assess institutional practices and student behaviors that are correlated highly with student learning and student retention. The instrument helps community and technical colleges respond effectively to their unique missions and diverse student populations.

The University of Texas at Austin Community College Survey of Student Engagement 1 University Station, D5600 Austin, Texas 78712-0378 Phone: (512) 471-6807 E-mail: info@ccsse.org Web site: www.ccsse.org/**To represent the multi-dimensional nature of student engagement at the national, sector, and institution levels, NSSE developed five indicators or Benchmarks of Effective Educational Practice: Level of Academic Challenge (LAC) Active and Collaborative Learning (ACL) Student-Faculty Interaction (SFI) Enriching Educational Experiences (EEE) Supportive Campus Environment (SCE)

The individual items used in the construction of these benchmarks were created with a blend of theory and empirical analysis. Principal components analyses (oblique rotation) were used initially in this exploration, with theory and practice being used subsequently to inform and determine the final benchmark item groupings. Only randomly sampled cases are included in the calculation of benchmarks for standard institutional reporting.

Students scores on these items are combined and used as a student-level indicator. Students combined scores are averaged across an institution to give us an institutional indicator, called a benchmark.**The Center for Survey Research at Indiana University helps NSSE administer the survey in the field. See: www.iub.edu/~csr/ for more information.

NSSE survey design: Relatively short survey Items directly related to college outcomes Administered to first-year and senior students at 4-year institutions Administered directly by a credible third-party survey organization

**The distribution of NSSE 2008 respondents resembles national demographics attending 4-year colleges and universities. African American and Hispanic students are slightly underrepresented. Caucasian/White students are overrepresented.

******************If you have additional questions, feel free to contact the NSSE main office at 812-856-5824.

The NSSE Web site has updated information on NSSE project initiatives, background information, research, news articles, and more. On the website, you can find: Complete list of all participating colleges and universities for NSSE 2000 through NSSE 2008 NSSE origins, conceptual framework, and psychometrics information Electronic copies of NSSE national reports Articles in national publications and colleges/university newspapers about NSSE Research articles on web and paper mode, the disengaged commuter student, using focus groups to establish validity and reliability, and more List of recent and upcoming NSSE conference presentations NSSE electronic newsletter (NSSE e-News) with updates, tips and current events Registration information for NSSE, BCSSE, or FSSE