National Survey of Student Engagement: Results from the 2001-2002 Administration

at

LaGrange College

August 16,2002

 

Introduction

 

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) is intended to measure the extent to which our students are engaged in a variety of “good educational practices” and compare the results obtained from our students to an appropriate comparison group and to all NSSE respondents.  Items selected for inclusion in this survey are intended to reflect the presence or absence of specific institutional practices that are believed to influence student engagement.  Student engagement is in turn assumed to positively influence student achievement.

 

The survey is based in large part on the scholarly work of such researchers as Astin, Chickering, Pascarelle, and Terenzini.  You may be familiar with the “Seven Principles of Good Teaching” published by Chickering and Gamson in 1987.  These seven principles heavily influenced the content of the survey.

 

Respondent Characteristics

 

Below are a few of the characteristics of the respondents from LaGrange College.

 

Response Rate                                     49%

 

Sample Size                                        432

 

Sampling Error                           5.2 %

 

Male                                                    24%

Female                                                76%

 

African American                                 16%

Caucasian/White                                 78%

International                                          5%

 

First Year Students                                   49%

Seniors                                                51%

 

Full Time Students                                   88%

Part Time Students                                   12%

 

On-campus Residents                                 47%

Off-campus Residents                                 53%

Substantive Observations?

 

In general, LaGrange College students score well on the vast majority of survey items suggesting that our students are more engaged in educational good practices traditionally associated with student achievement than the national sample as well as the sample from the comparison group. 

 

A few of the statistically significant and interesting outcomes are:

 

Strengths

  1. LaGrange College students rate the quality of their advising experience higher than their peers in both comparison groups.
  2. LaGrange College students rate many of the items associated with their academic and intellectual experience (i.e., discussions with faculty about grades, assignments, readings, and career plans, etc.; conversations with fellow students from a different religious background, political disposition, race and/or ethnicity; participation in community-based projects…) higher than their peers in both comparison groups.
  3. LaGrange College students rate their relationship with the faculty higher than their peers in both comparison groups. 
  4. LaGrange College students rate their relationship with the administration higher than their peers in both comparison groups.
  5. LaGrange College students rate their entire educational experience better than their peers in both comparison groups.

 

Opportunities

  1. LaGrange College students suggest that they work with classmates outside of class to prepare assignments less than their peers in both comparison groups.
  2. LaGrange College students suggest there is no difference between themselves and either comparison group regarding the use of memorization, analysis, synthesis, evaluation, or application as intellectual skills.
  3. LaGrange College students report that they use fewer textbooks and write fewer papers greater than five pages in length than their peers in either comparison group.
  4. LaGrange College freshmen appear to come to campus anticipating practicums, internships, community service, learning communities, and study abroad at a level higher than the senior class reports experiencing. 

 

These are simply a few cursory observations that I hope will provoke more discussion as we seek to understand our students and our college in order to improve students’ educational experiences and achievements.  The data from the survey is available in the Office of IR and Planning to anyone that might like to review it in more detail.