Mind the Gap: Overview of FSSE and BCSSE

1. Mind the Gap: Overview of FSSE and BCSSE Jillian Kinzie NSSE

2. The family of NSSE surveys • FSSE – emerged from the field as a tool to promote faculty reflection on student engagement • BCSSE – obvious pre-test to NSSE; can we measure what the institution contributes to student engagement, or “value-added”? • LSSSE – Law School Survey

3. Rejected “essies” • Student Affairs Survey of Student Engagement (sassy!) • Administrator Survey of Student Engagement (#!@^:) • Medical School Survey of Student Engagement (messy!) • Graduate School Survey of Student Engagement …..We are focused on UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION. Surveys grounded in body of research on undergraduate student learning and development.

4. Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (pronounced “fessie”) FSSE measures faculty expectations and activities related to student engagement in effective educational practices

5. FSSE and NSSE Point to “Disorienting Dilemmas” Situations in which usual perspectives or ways of responding do not work or don’t fit are more likely to motivate us to learn and change (Mezirow, 1990)

6. AVG STUDENT Acad emic Act ive - Diversity Stu dent - AVG FACULTY c hall enge c ollab e xperiences f ac ulty A c ad emic chall enge ü ü ü emph asis Act ive - collab ü ü ü ü practices Emph asis on diversity ü ü ü experiences Emph asis on h igher ü ü ü order thinking Imp ortance enriching ü ü ü ed uc e xp eriences Faculty Priorities and Student Engagement

7. Faculty Priorities and Selected Student Outcomes

8. What to make of this? • When faculty members emphasize certain educational practices, students engage in them to a greater extent than their peers elsewhere. • Good things go together

9. Deep Learning Sub-ScaleIntegrative Learning • Worked on a paper or project that required integrating ideas or information from various sources • Included diverse perspectives (different races, religions, genders, political beliefs, etc.) in class discussions or writing assignments • Put together ideas or concepts from different courses when completing assignments or during class discussions • Discussed ideas from your readings or classes with faculty members outside of class • Discussed ideas from your readings or classes with others outside of class (students, family members, co-workers, etc.)

10. Disciplinary ComparisonsIntegrative Learning

11. BCSSE • How much do student’s background characteristics affect NSSE scores? • Are institution’s benchmark scores the result of good practices or good recruitment? • Pilot 04, 05,06

12. BCSSE • BCSSE measures: • HS experiences; Importance of college activities • Baseline self-assessment of knowledge and skills • Demographics • Use to examine gap between expectations and engagement • Study effect of students’ background on NSSE scores

13. High importance: Asking questions Come to class with readings/assignments completed Discuss grades/assignm’t with faculty Talk about career plans Feedback on performance Work hard Learn something that changes way you understand issue Low or mixed importance: Make class presentation Work with peers in AND out of class Tutor peers Service learning Work with faculty on activities other than coursework Discuss ideas with others, and also faculty outside of class Important NSSEville emphasis: Spend significant amount of time studying Provides support to succeed academically Encouraging contact among students from different economic, social, racial-ethnic backgrounds Less important NSSEvilleemphasis: Helping students cope with non-academic responsibilities Provide support to thrive socially Using computers in academic work Focus on First-year students: Expectations for Engagement

14. Match value to engagement Ask questions in class* Prepare 2 drafts Work on integrated paper* Include diverse perspectives Work with peers out of class Put together different ideas Tutor peers – Service learning – Used email* Discuss ideas with faculty Receive feedback Discuss ideas with others Serious conversation race-ethnicity – Serious conversation beliefs Better understand diff POV Learn something change view on issue* Mind the Gap: FY expectations and engagement * High value- High engagement - Low value – Low engagement • Students who do not value activity are less motivated to participate in it in college. • How to re-shape student values concerning activity?

15. Mixed value – Low engagement Class presentation Work with peers in class Work with faculty on activities High value – Mixed engagement Discussed grades Talk about career plans Work hard Examine strength of views Mind the Gap: FY expectations and engagement • Activity is valued, but students don’t do it much; Is “sometimes” an acceptable response? • College providing students with fewer experiences than they anticipated

16. Mind the Gap: FY expectations and engagement • Time Gaps: • 45% entering students expect to spend 20+ hrs per week studying, but only 30% actually spent this much time studying • FY spent less time in co-curriculars (avg. 5 hrs per week) than they expected (avg. 11 hrs per week) • Estimates for working were slightly higher; relaxing & socializing about what they expected

17. Diversity Experiences: Slightly more FY report conversations with students of different race-ethnicity More FY & SR perceive an institutional emphasis on encouraging contact among students from different economic, social and racial-ethnic backgrounds More FY report gains in understanding people of other racial-ethnic backgrounds Student Faculty Interaction: FY have less interaction with faculty outside class Enriching Experiences Some flux over the years. Plan to do an internship Study abroad (71% plan to do in 2005; 63% in 2006) More emphasis on attending campus events FY students plans match what Seniors report in terms of Enriching Experiences 51% FY plan to do research with faculty; 52% seniors do Patterns in FY NSSE Results 2004-2006