NC State Office of Institutional Research & Planning September, 2017

1. NC State Office of Institutional Research & Planning September, 2017

2. Presentation Overview • NSSE and the Concept of Student Engagement • Selected NSSE Results for NC State • User Resources • Using NSSE Data • Contact Information

3. NSSE and the Concept of Student Engagement

4. 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

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. NSSE Background More than 1,600 baccalaureate-granting colleges and universities in the US and Canada have participated to date. 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.

8. 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 “effective educational practices”

9. NSSE Survey Content Engagement in meaningful academic experiences Student learning & development Engagement in High-Impact Practices Student reactions to college Student background information

10. NSSE Engagement Indicators Meaningful Academic Engagement Themes Engagement Indicators Academic Challenge Learning with Peers Experiences with Faculty Student – Faculty Interaction Campus Environment

11. 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

12. Research Design, NC State Comparison Groups, & Response Rate

13. Survey Administration Spring 2017 Census of first-year students & graduating seniors Online survey Email invitation and 4 email reminders to increase response rates Additional survey modules: • Civic Engagement • Global Learning

14. NSSE 2017 Respondents by Race, Ethnicity, and Nationality

15. NSSE 2017 Survey Population and Respondents • Approximately 2 million students were invited to participate in NSSE 2017, with 517,850 responding • 8,030 NC State students were invited to participate, with 1,300 responding

16. NSSE 2017 U.S. Institution Response Rates NC State’s response rate = 16% • All NSSE 2017 institutions = 30% • NSSE 2017 U.S. Average Institutional Response Rates by Enrollment:

17. NC State NSSE Comparison Groups Group 2: Carnegie Classification: Doctoral Universities - Highest Research Activity (Carnegie / R1) • 48 institutions • Participated in NSSE in AY16-17 or in the two prior years Group 3: Large Public, Doctoral - Very High Research (Doc VH/H) • 33 institutions • Participated in NSSE in AY16-17 or in the two prior years • Enrollment of 20,000+ undergraduates • Doctoral – very high research Group 1: Participating Official Peers (Peers) • 8 Institutions: • Colorado State University • Georgia Institute of Technology • Iowa State University • Michigan State University • Ohio State University • University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign • University of Wisconsin-Madison • Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

18. Response Rates:NC State & Comparison Groups NC State’s response rate for both first-year students and seniors was similar to that of our official peers, but slightly lower than those in the Carnegie comparison group, as well as other large public very high research institutions.

19. NC State Respondents by Gender & Race/Ethnicity/Nationality The race/ethnicity distribution of NC State’s NSSE respondents generally matches that of the student population overall. While females are over-represented among NC State respondents, NSSE results are weighted to accurately reflect the true proportion of males and females in the population.

20. Selected NSSE Results for NC State

21. Overall SatisfactionHow would you evaluate your entire educational experience at this institution? NC State seniors were more likely than first-year students to rate their educational experience as “excellent.” Both first-year students and seniors at NC State were more likely than students at R1 institutions to rate their experience as “excellent.”

22. Overall SatisfactionIf you could start over, would you go to the same institution you are now attending? Ninety percent of NC State first-year and senior students said they would “probably” or “definitely” choose NC State again if they were starting over. Both groups were much more likely than students at official peer institutions to say they would “definitely” choose to do so.

23. NC State first-year students were much more likely than students at Peer institutions to give positive ratings to the institution’s emphasis on encouraging contact among students of different backgrounds and student well-being, and much less likely than their peers to report spending more than 10 hours weekly on assigned reading. Highest and Lowest Performing Items Relative to Official Peers

24. NC State seniors were much more likely than students at Peer institutions to indicate completing a culminating senior experience (e.g., capstone course, senior project/thesis, etc.), and to give positive ratings to the institution’s emphasis on encouraging contact among students of different backgrounds. Highest and Lowest Performing Items Relative to Official Peers

25. Engagement Indicators: NC State vs. Official Peers NC State seniors gave more positive ratings than seniors at Peer institutions on experiences with faculty, the campus environment, and collaborative learning. While NC State first-year students are also more likely than those at peer institutions to say we provide a supportive environment and encourage collaborative learning, they were less likely than Peers to say we emphasize higher-order learning and quantitative reasoning.

26. Higher-Order Learning: NCSU Majorities of NC State first-year students and seniors indicated that their coursework in the current semester “very much” or “quite a bit” emphasized higher-order learning. However, NC State seniors were more likely to say their course work “very much” emphasized such experiences.

27. Higher-Order Learning: First-Years NC State first-year students were more likely than their peers at R1 institutions to say that they apply facts, theories, or methods to problems and new situations. NC State first-year students were less likely to evaluate points of view, decisions, or sources of information, or to form new ideas or understanding from various pieces of information.

28. Higher-Order Learning: Seniors Similar to the findings for first-year students, NC State seniors were slightly more likely than their peers at R1 institutions to say that they apply facts, theories, or methods to problems and new situations, but less likely evaluate points of view, decisions, or sources of information, or to form new ideas or understanding from various pieces of information.

29. Reflective & Integrative Learning: NCSU NC State seniors gave more positive ratings on all Reflective & Integrative Learning engagement indicators than first-year students. Both groups were least likely to have had courses that included diverse perspectives.

30. Reflective & Integrative Learning: First-Years NC State first-year students gave lower ratings than R1 peers on most Reflective & Integrative Learning engagement indicators.

31. Reflective & Integrative Learning: Seniors NC State seniors gave lower ratings than R1 peers on all Reflective & Integrative Learning engagement indicators.

32. Learning Strategies: NCSU NC State seniors were twice as likely than first-year students to say that they identified key information from reading assignments “very often.” Seniors were, however, less likely than first-year students to report reviewing notes after class or summarizing course materials.

33. Learning Strategies: First-Years NC State first-year students were slightly more likely than their R1 peers to indicate reviewing notes after classes and summarizing what they learned from course materials. However, they were much less likely than their R1 peers to say that they “very often” identified key information from reading assignments.

34. Learning Strategies: Seniors NC State seniors had similar scores to their R1 peers on all Learning Strategies items, although they were slightly less likely to indicate practicing these strategies “very often.”

35. Quantitative Reasoning: NCSU NC State seniors gave notably more positive ratings to all Quantitative Reasoning items compared to first-year students. Seniors were especially more likely than first-year students to report using numerical information to examine a real-world problem or issue.

36. Quantitative Reasoning: First-Years NC State first-year students were less likely than first-year students at R1 peer institutions to say that they used various quantitative reasoning skills, especially to have used numerical information to examine a real-world problem or issue.

37. Quantitative Reasoning: Seniors NC State seniors reported use of quantitative reasoning was generally similar to those at R1 peer institutions, with the exception that they were slightly more likely than peers to say that they reached conclusions based on their own analysis of numerical information.

38. Time Usage: Preparing for Class About 30% of both first-year students and seniors at NC State reported spending 20 or more hours per week preparing for class, slightly more than their R1 peers.

39. Time Usage: Participating in Co-Curricular Activities Similar to their R1 peers, first-year students at NC State were slightly more likely than seniors to report spending 5 or more hours per week participating in co-curricular activities.

40. Collaborative Learning: NCSU NC State first year students were more likely than seniors to report asking another student for help understanding course material and to work with other students when preparing for exams. However, seniors were much more likely than first-year students to report working with other students on course projects or assignments.

41. Collaborative Learning: First-Years NC State first-year students scored higher than first-year students at R1 peer institutions on all Collaborative Learning items. NC State first-year students were especially more likely than their R1 peers to report asking another student for help understanding course material.

42. Collaborative Learning: Seniors NC State seniors scored higher than seniors at R1 peer institutions on three of the four Collaborative Learning items. NC State seniors were especially more likely than their R1 peers to report working with other students on course assignments.

43. Discussions with Diverse Others: NCSU There were no differences between NC State first-year students and seniors in the extent to which they report having discussions with people of a different race/ethnicity, economic background, religious belief, or political views than their own.

44. Discussions with Diverse Others: First-Years NC State first-year students were slightly more likely than first-year students at R1 institutions to report having discussions with people from an economic background different than their own and with political views different than their own.

45. Discussions with Diverse Others: Seniors NC State seniors scored slightly higher than seniors at R1 peer institutions on two of four Discussions with Diverse Others measures, including having discussions with people from different economic backgrounds and with different political views than their own.

46. Student-Faculty Interaction: NCSU NC State seniors were more likely than first-year students to report interacting with faculty outside of class, especiallyregarding non-course related activities (e.g., committees, students groups), to discuss course topics, ideas, or concepts, with a faculty member outside of class and to talk about career plans.

47. Student-Faculty Interaction: First-Years While only a minority of first-year students said they “often” or “very often” interacted with faculty outside of class, NC State students were less likely than their R1 peers to do so at least sometimes. NC State first-year students were more likely than their R1 peers to say they “often” or “very often” talk with faculty members about career plans, but were less likely to talk with faculty about their academic performance.

48. Student-Faculty Interaction: Seniors NC State seniors were more likely than seniors at R1 peer institutions to report talking about career plans with a faculty member and working with faculty on activities other than coursework.

49. Quality of Interactions: NCSU Seniors were more likely than first-year students at NC State to report higher quality interactions with fellow students, and with faculty members.

50. Quality of Interactions: First-Years NC State first-year students were more likely than students at R1 peer institutions to report higher quality interactions with all groups asked about.