Using the 2005 National Survey of Student Engagement in Student Affairs

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Using the 2005 National Survey of Student
Engagement in Student Affairs

• Indiana State University

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Todays Presentation

• Briefly introduce the NSSE
• Focus on two question categories
• Point out some potential uses of the NSSE for
  Student Affairs
• Share a few examples of how NSSE is currently
  used at ISU
• Transition to discussions of how to use this (and
  other) information in Student Affairs

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Question Categories on the NSSE

• Academic and intellectual experiences
• Mental activities
• Examinations
• Reading and writing
• Problem sets
• Homework problems
• Enriching educational experiences
• Quality of relationships
• Time usage
• Institutional environment
• Educational and personal growth
• Academic advising
• Satisfaction

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NSSE Category Nine Time Usage

• Question About how many hours do you spend in a
  typical 7-day week doing each of the following?
• 10 hrs/wk 21-5 36-10 411-15 516-20
  621-25 726-30 8gt30
• Question Themes
• Preparing for class
• Working for pay on campus
• Working for pay off campus
• Participation in co-curricular activities
• Relaxing and socializing
• Providing care for dependents living with you
• Commuting to class

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Preparing for Class
When compared with other freshman at
doctoral-intensive and all other
NSSE-participating schools, ISU freshman spend
significantly less time preparing for class.
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Working
When compared to students at other
doctoral-intensive and NSSE-participating
institutions, ISU freshman work for pay off
campus significantly more (plt.001). ISU seniors
work for pay off campus significantly more
(plt.01) when compared to other seniors at NSSE
participating institutions.
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Participating in Co-Curricular Activities
ISU freshmen participate in co-curricular
activities significantly more than freshmen at
other doctoral-intensive universities (plt.001).
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ObservationsWhat do the NSSE Questions Have to
Say About ISU Students Use of Time?

• Results for preparing for class might be a
  concern
• Freshman participation in co-curricular
  activities is encouraging.
• How might these results be sliced and diced?
  Might the athletic department, or Greek life like
  to see their own data (which would differ) in
  respect to their own students?
• Key pointwhat might be useful in helping us
  understand our students and how to better serve
  them?

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NSSE Category Eleven Education and Personal
Growth

• Acquiring a broad general education
• Acquiring job or work-related knowledge and
  skills
• Writing clearly and effectively
• Speaking clearly and effectively
• Thinking critically and analytically
• Analyzing quantitative problems
• Using computing and information technology
• Working effectively with others
• Learning effectively on your own
• Understanding yourself
• Understanding people of other racial and ethnic
  backgrounds
• Solving complex real-world problems
• Developing a personal code of values and ethics
• Contributing to the welfare of your community

All questions rated on 4 point scale 1very
little 2some 3quite a bit 4very much
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Working Effectively With Others
ISU freshman and senior scores lower than those
at NSSE-participating and doctoral intensive
institutions (sig. plt.05)
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Voting
ISU freshmen reported voting higher than freshmen
at other doctoral-intensive universities (plt.05).
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Understanding People of Other Racial/Ethnic
Backgrounds
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Contributing to the Welfare of the Community
ISU freshmen and seniors rate ISU significantly
lower than those at other NSSE institutions
(plt.01) however, ISU seniors rate ISU higher
than in 2003.
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Observations

• Given some improvements, why did this occur? What
  did ISU do to improve institutional performance?
• What can be done to improve performance in some
  areas?
• Can these data be sliced and diced?

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How Are NSSE Data Currently Being Used at ISU to
Affect Institutional Effectiveness?
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General Education Assessment

• NSSE questions are matched with a number of
  performance indicators
• Results on the NSSE indicate that ISU students
  perform well in respect to participating in
  community projects as part of a course, for
  example
• Used with other indicators, such as GRE scores,
  to assess the quality of student learning

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College of Nursing

• The use of NSSE questions is currently being
  discussed by faculty
• 2003 NSSE results indicate that Nursing students
  tend to commute and take care of dependents
  living with them than other students
• Implications for student services

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College of Education

• Teacher education program was in need of
  assessments for diversity and technology
• 2003 NSSE questions indicate that senior teacher
  candidates rate the institution significantly
  higher on technology than freshman teacher
  candidates
• Implications for upcoming (November 2005) NCATE
  and IPSB visit

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Concluding Comments

• NSSE is useful in assessing institutional
  capacity on several student affairs questions
• NSSE questions can be sliced and diced so they
  can be used by different departments and programs
• Central question about assessmentnot only
  placing data on a table, but actually using and
  discussing data to enhance students experience
  at ISU.