How to Use Student Survey Data (NSSE) to Improve Your Teaching

1. How to Use Student Survey Data (NSSE) to Improve Your Teaching Andrea Brown Director, Program Assessment and Institutional Research

2. What is NSSE? • National Survey of Student Engagement • What is student Engagement? • The amount of time and effort students put into their studies and other educationally purposeful activities. • How the institution deploys its resources and organizes the curriculum and other learning opportunities to get students to participate in activities that decades of research studies show are linked to student learning.

3. How is NSSE Administered? NSSE is an online survey administered in the Spring semester, with invitations going out via email. First-year students –attended both fall and spring semester who were first-year students (freshman < 30 credits) in the fall. Senior students – attended both fall and spring semester who are likely to graduate in the Spring (90 credits or more in fall who had not applied for fall graduation).

4. What Can NSSE Tell Me? NSSE doesn’t assess student learning directly, but survey results point to areas where Dixie is preforming well and also notes aspects of the undergraduate experience could be improved. NSSE data helps Dixie identify aspects of the undergraduate experience inside and outside the classroom that can be improved through changes in policies and practices more consistent with good practices in undergraduate education.

5. Where is the NSSE Data? • On the Institutional Research Website: http://www.dixie.edu/ir/nsse_reports.php • Institutional Research (IR) • Dixie Facts • NSSE Reports • The NSSE was conducted at Dixie in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013. NSSE is now going to a 3 year cycle, conducted again in 2016.

6. NSSE’s Updated Instrument • In 2013, the NSSE updated their survey: • Questions • 22% No change • 23% New questions • 27% Rewritten (major) • 28% Modified (minor) • Benchmarks of Effective Educational Practice (5) to Engagement Indicators and High Impact Practices (10)

7. NSSE Engagement Indicators – Academic Challenge • Academic Challenge • Higher-Order Learning • Reflective & Integrative Learning • Learning Strategies • Quantitative Reasoning • Previous Benchmark: Level of Academic Challenge

8. NSSE Engagement Indicators – Learning with Peers • Learning with Peers • Collaborative Learning • Discussions with Diverse Others • Previous Benchmark: Active and Collaborative Learning

9. NSSE Engagement Indicators – Experiences with Faculty • Experiences with Faculty • Student-Faculty Interaction • Effective Teaching Practices • Previous Benchmark: Student-Faculty Interaction

10. NSSE Engagement Indicators – Campus Environment • Campus Environment • Quality of Interactions • Supportive Environment • Previous Benchmark: Supportive Campus Environment

11. NSSE Engagement Indicators – High-Impact Practices • High-Impact Practices • Learning Community • Service-Learning • Research with a Faculty Member • Internship or Field Experience • Study Abroad • Culminating Senior Experience • Previous Benchmark: Enriching Educational Experiences

12. How is NSSE Data Presented? • It compares Dixie’s students (both first-year and senior) to: • Rocky Mt. Public – Public institutions in the Rocky Mountain Region • Carnegie Class – Institutions in our same Carnegie Classification (Baccalaureate/Associate’s Colleges) • NSSE 2013 – All institutions that took the NSSE in 2013

13. Where to Start, Option 1 • Review the Engagement Indicators report to see how Dixie is performing against the comparison group; find area’s that need improvement (use the Overview tab/sheet) • For example: Experiences with Faculty (Theme), Student Faculty Interaction (Engagement Indicator)for FY is significantly lower than Carnegie Class and NSSE 2013

14. Option 1 Report View

15. Where to Start, Option 2 • Review the Major Field Report Within-Institution to see how you compare to other majors; find areas that need improvement (use the EI FY, EI SR and HIP tabs/sheets) • For example: Arts & Humanities has the lowest mean score for FY in Academic Challenge (Theme) Learning Strategies (Engagement Indicator)

16. Option 2 Report View

17. Where to Start, Option 3 • Review the Major Field Report by major area (e.g. Business) to look for significance; find areas that need improvement (use the EI FY, EI SR, HIP tabs/sheets) • For example: Business, Learning with Peers (Theme) Collaborative Learning (Engagement Indicator) for FY is significantly lower compared to Rocky Mt Public, Carnegie Classification, and NSSE 2013

18. Option 3 Report View

19. Where Can I Access NSSE Questions by Theme? The Engagement Indicators report (the tabs/sheets are coded by Theme and Population, e.g. AC_FY is Academic Challenge First-Year) Under each Theme, the Engagement Indicator is listed followed by the NSSE question

20. View NSSE Questions by Theme

21. NSSE Questions Alternatives • NSSE questions by major compared to the other majors across the institution • Major Field Report Within-Institution (use the FREQ SR, FREQ FY, STATS FY, STATS SR, RP FY, and RP SR tabs/sheets) • NSSE questions by major compared to Other Institutions (in the same major) • Major Field Report by major area (e.g. Business) (use the FSC FY, FSC SR tabs/sheets)

22. NSSE Survey • The NSSE Instrument can be accessed here: • http://nsse.iub.edu/html/survey_instruments.cfm • Past years instruments are located on the right of the screen.

23. Uses for NSSE Data? In what ways can you see using NSSE data, now that you know more about NSSE?

24. Questions Questions for me? Please let me know if you would like me to come and present NSSE data.