National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) 2014 snapshot

What is NSSE?

NSSE annually collects information at hundreds of four-year colleges and universities about student participation in activities and programs that promote their learning and personal development. The results provide an estimate of how undergraduates spend their time and what they gain from attending their college or university. Institutions use their data to identify aspects of the undergraduate experience that can be improved through changes in policy and practice.

NSSE has been in operation since 2000 and has been used at more than 1,500 colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada. More than 90% of participating institutions administer the survey on a periodic basis.

Visit our website: nsse.indiana.edu.

A Summary of Student Engagement Results

Student engagement represents two critical features of collegiate quality. The first is the amount of time and effort students put into their studies and other educationally purposeful activities. The second is how institutional resources, courses, and other learning opportunities facilitate student participation in activities that matter to student learning. NSSE surveys first-year and senior students to assess their levels of engagement and related information about their experience at your institution.

This snapshot is a concise collection of key findings from your institution’s NSSE 2014 administration. We hope this information stimulates discussions about the undergraduate experience. Additional details about these and other results appear in the reports referenced throughout.

Engagement Indicators

Sets of items are grouped into 10 engagement indicators, organized under four broad themes. Below are summary results for your institution. For details, see your Engagement Indicators report.

**Academic Challenge** Engagement Indicator Theme of Your Institution Compared with Ontario
Engagement Indicator	First Year	Senior
Higher-Order Learning	No significant difference.	Your students’ average was significantly higher (p < .05) with an effect size less than .3 in magnitude.
Reflective and Integrative Learning	Your students’ average was significantly higher (p < .05) with an effect size less than .3 in magnitude.	Your students’ average was significantly higher (p < .05) with an effect size less than .3 in magnitude.
Learning Strategies	Your students’ average was significantly lower (p < .05) with an effect size less than .3 in magnitude.	No significant difference.
Quantitative Reasoning	Your students’ average was significantly higher (p < .05) with an effect size less than .3 in magnitude.	No significant difference.

**Learning with Peers** Engagement Indicator Theme of Your Institution Compared with Ontario
Engagement Indicator	First Year	Senior Year
Collaborative Learning	Your students’ average was significantly higher (p < .05) with an effect size less than .3 in magnitude.	No significant difference.
Discussions with Diverse Others	No significant difference.	Your students’ average was significantly lower (p < .05) with an effect size less than .3 in magnitude.

**Experiences with Faculty** Engagement Indicator Theme of Your Institution Compared with Ontario
Engagement Indicator	First Year	Senior Year
Student-Faculty Interaction	Your students’ average was significantly higher (p < .05) with an effect size less than .3 in magnitude.	Your students’ average was significantly higher (p < .05) with an effect size less than .3 in magnitude.
Effective Teaching Practices	Your students’ average was significantly higher (p < .05) with an effect size less than .3 in magnitude.	Your students’ average was significantly higher (p < .05) with an effect size less than .3 in magnitude.

**Campus Environment** Engagement Indicator Theme of Your Institution Compared with Ontario
Engagement Indicator	First Year	Senior Year
Quality of Interactions	Your students’ average was significantly higher (p < .05) with an effect size less than .3 in magnitude.	Your students’ average was significantly higher (p < .05) with an effect size less than .3 in magnitude.
Supportive Environment	Your students’ average was significantly higher (p < .05) with an effect size less than .3 in magnitude.	Your students’ average was significantly higher (p < .05) with an effect size less than .3 in magnitude.

High-Impact Practices (HIP)

Due to their positive associations with student learning and retention, special undergraduate opportunities are designated "high-impact." For more details and statistical comparisons, see your High-Impact Practices report.

HIP During First Year

The opportunities include learning community, service-learning, and research with faculty.

The graph below shows that in first year:

Of the students who participated in two or more HIPs, Laurier students had a 10% participation rate compared with Ontario's 7% participation rate.
Of the students who participated in one HIP, Laurier students had a 47% participation rate compared with Ontario's 40% participation rate.

Graph of high-impact practices during first year comparing Laurier with Ontario and participation in HIPs

HIP During Senior Year

The opportunities include learning community, service-learning, research with faculty, internship, study abroad and culminating senior experience.

The graph below shows that in senior year:

Of the students who participated in two or more HIPs, Laurier students had a 45% participation rate compared with Ontario's 52% participation rate.
Of the students who participated in one HIP, Laurier students had a 33% participation rate compared with Ontario's 27% participation rate.

graph of high impact practices during fourth year

Comparison Group

The comparison group featured in this report is Ontario.

See your Selected Comparison Groups report for details.

Academic Challenge: Additional Results

The academic challenge theme contains four engagement indicators as well as several important individual items. The results presented here provide an overview of these individual items. For more information about the academic challenge theme, see your Engagement Indicators report. To further explore individual item results, see your Frequencies and Statistical Comparisons, the Major Field Report, the Online Institutional Report, or the Report Builder – Institution Version.

Time Spent Preparing for Class

The figure below reports the average weekly class preparation time for your first-year and senior students compared to students in your comparison group.

During first year, Laurier students spent 15.0 average hours per week preparing for class compared to Ontario's 15.7 average hours per week.
During senior year, Laurier students spend 14.4 average hours per week preparing for class compared to Ontario's 16.2 average hours per week.

graph of average time spend preparing for class

Reading and Writing

These figures summarize the number of hours your students spent reading for their courses and the average number of pages of assigned writing compared to students in your comparison group. Each is an estimate calculated from two or more separate survey questions.

Number of Hours Students Spent Reading for Courses

The graph below reports that:

During first year, Laurier students spent 7.4 average hours per week on course readings compared to Ontario's 7.6 average hours per week.
During senior year, Laurier students spend 7.7 average hours per week on course readings compared to Ontario's 7.8 average hours per week.

graph of average hours on course readings

Note: The reading item is limited to 2014 institutions.

Number of Pages of Assigned Writing

The graph below reports that:

During first year, Laurier students had 62.5 average number of pages of assigned writing in their current year compared to Ontario's 62.9 average number of pages.
During senior year, Laurier students had 100.2 average number of pages of assigned writing in their current year compared to Ontario's 104.7 average number of pages.

graph of average number of pages of assigned writing

Challenging Students to Do Their Best Work

To what extent did students' courses challenge them to do their best work? Response options ranged from 1 = "Not at all" to 7 = "Very much."

First-Year Students

Laurier's students responded with the following:

High challenge (6 or 7): 51%
Moderate challenge (3, 4 or 5): 48%
Low challenge (1 or 2): 1%

Compared to the Ontario response of:

High challenge (6 or 7): 50%
Moderate challenge (3, 4 or 5): 48%
Low challenge (1 or 2): 2%

Senior Students

Laurier's students responded with the following:

High challenge (6 or 7): 50%
Moderate challenge (3, 4 or 5): 47%
Low challenge (1 or 2): 3%

Compared to the Ontario response of:

High challenge (6 or 7): 49%
Moderate challenge (3, 4 or 5): 48%
Low challenge (1 or 2): 3%

Graph of percentage of courses challenging students to do their best work

Academic Emphasis

How much did students say their institution emphasizes spending significant time studying and on academic work? Response options included "Very much," "Quite a bit," "Some," and "Very little."

First-year students: 83% of Laurier students responded with "very much" or "quite a bit" compared to 83% of the Ontario response.
Senior students: 76% of Laurier students responded with "very much" or "quite a bit" compared to 83% of the Ontario response.

Graph of response of institution emphasis on time studying and academic work

Item Comparisons

By examining individual NSSE questions, you can better understand what contributes to your institution's performance on engagement indicators and high-impact practices. This section displays the five questions^a on which your first-year and senior students scored the highest and the five questions on which they scored the lowest, relative to students in your comparison group. Parenthetical notes indicate whether an item belongs to a specific engagement indicator or is a high-impact practice. While these questions represent the largest differences (in percentage points), they may not be the most important to your institutional mission or current program or policy goals. For additional results, refer to your Frequencies and Statistical Comparisons report.

First-Year

Highest Performing Relative to Ontario, First Year
Topic or Question	Item Number	Percentage Point Difference with Ontario
Quality of interactions with student services staff (...)^d (QI)	13d	+10
Institution emphasis on attending campus activities and events (...)^c (SE)	14h	+10
About how many courses have included a community-based project (service-learning)?^e (HIP)	12	+10
Worked with other students on course projects or assignments^b (CL)	1h	+9
Prepared for exams by discussing or working through course material w/other students^b (CL)	1g	+9

Lowest Performing Relative to Ontario, First Year
Topic or Question	Item Number	Percentage Point Difference with Ontario
Summarized what you learned in class or from course materials^b (LS)	9c	-1
Spent more than 10 hours per week on assigned reading^f	16	-1
Analyzing an idea, experience, or line of reasoning in depth by examining its parts^c (HO)	4c	-1
Spent more than 15 hours per week preparing for class	15a	-4
Reviewed your notes after class^b (LS)	9b	-7

Senior

Highest Performing Relative to Ontario, Fourth Year
Topic or Question	Item Number	Percentage Point Difference with Ontario
Institution emphasis on providing support for your overall well-being...^c (SE)	14f	+12
Institution emphasis on providing opportunities to be involved socially^c (SE)	14e	+10
Institution emphasis on using learning support services (...)^c (SE)	14c	+9
Quality of interactions with students^d (QI)	13a	+8
Institution emphasis on providing support to help students succeed academically^c (SE)	14b	+8

Lowest Performing Relative to Ontario, Fourth Year
Topic or Question	Item Number	Percentage Point Difference with Ontario
Reviewed your notes after class^b (LS)	9b	-5
Institution emphasis on studying and academic work^c	14a	-7
Spent more than 15 hours per week preparing for class	15a	-7
Worked with a faculty member on a research project (HIP)	11e	-8
Completed a culminating senior experience (...) (HIP)	11f	-12

Notes

a. The displays on this page draw from the items that make up the 10 engagement indicators (EIs), six high-impact practices (HIPs), and the additional academic challenge items reported on page 2. Key to abbreviations for EI items: HO = Higher-Order Learning, RI = Reflective & Integrative Learning, LS = Learning Strategies, QR = Quantitative Reasoning, CL = Collaborative Learning, DD = Discussions with Diverse Others, SF = Student-Faculty Interaction, ET = Effective Teaching Practices, QI = Quality of Interactions, SE = Supportive Environment. HIP items are also indicated. Item numbering corresponds to the survey facsimile included in your Institutional Report and available on the NSSE Web site.

b. Combination of students responding "Very often" or "Often."

c. Combination of students responding "Very much" or "Quite a bit."

d. Rated at least 6 on a 7-point scale.

e. Percentage reporting at least "Some."

f. Estimate based on the reported amount of course preparation time spent on assigned reading.

g. Estimate based on number of assigned writing tasks of various lengths.

How Students Assess Their Experience

Students' perceptions of their cognitive and affective development, as well as their overall satisfaction with the institution, provide useful evidence of their educational experiences. For more details, see your Frequencies and Statistical Comparisons report.

Perceived Gains Among Seniors

Students reported how much their experience at your institution contributed to their knowledge, skills and personal development in 10 areas.

Perceived Gains Among Senior Students
Perceived Gains (Sorted Highest to Lowest)	Percentage of Fourth-Years Responding "Very Much" or "Quite a Bit"
Thinking critically and analytically.	88%
Writing clearly and effectively.	78%
Working effectively with others.	72%
Speaking clearly and effectively.	69%
Understanding people of other backgrounds (econ., racial/ethnic, polit., relig., nation., etc.).	55%
Developing or clarifying a personal code of values and ethics.	54%
Analyzing numerical and statistical information.	52%
Solving complex real-world problems.	51%
Being an informed and active citizen.	50%
Acquiring job- or work-related knowledge and skills.	47%

Satisfaction with Laurier

Students rated their overall experience at the institution, and whether or not they would choose it again.

The graph below indicates that,

Among first-year students at Laurier, 85% rated their overall experience as "excellent" or "good" compared to the Ontario group who provided a 79% rating.
Among senior students at Laurier, 86% rated their overall experience as "excellent" or "good" compared to the Ontario group who provided a 79% rating.

graph of percentage of students rating their overall experience as excellent or good