National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)

The NSSE is a national survey that asks freshmen and seniors to reflect back on their experiences and behaviors during their first and final years at Northern Kentucky University. Northern Kentucky University uses the NSSE to examine the levels of student engagement for the freshmen and senior classes.

The NSSE explores student engagement from two perspectives; what students do and what institutions do. The first is the extent to which students are engaging in educationally purposeful activities (e.g., hours studying per week, asking questions in class, synthesizing information across courses, etc.). The NSSE examines these types of activities because there is research that suggests engaging in these types of activities will have a positive impact on student outcomes (i.e., persistence, graduation, and overall academic achievement). The second approach examines the extent to which NKU has policies and practices in place that help guide students towards these types of educationally purposeful activities. Educationally effective institutions are able to channel students’ energy towards these types of activities.

Northern Kentucky University has participated in this national survey across a number of administrations since 2001 as part of a consortium formed by the Kentucky Council on Post-secondary Education (CPE). The consortium consists of every public institution in Kentucky and CPE uses the benchmark scores as a gauge to understand freshmen and senior student experiences. It is also used as an indicator under question four of the CPE’s Key Indicators of Progress toward Post-secondary Reform, "Are we preparing Kentuckians for life and work?"

2005 NSSE Survey Results and Analysis

2007 NSSE Survey Results and Analysis

2009 NSSE Survey Results and Analysis

National Survey of Student Engagement- NSSE

Kentucky's eight public universities participated in the 2003 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) as part of a consortium organized by the Council. The NSSE examines the extent to which colleges use their resources to promote effective teaching and learning.

Quick Facts About the Survey

Project:	National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)
Project Support:	The NSSE was launched with support from The Pew Charitable Trusts and is currently self-supported through institutional participation fees. Project research is also supported by grants from Lumina Foundation for Education and the Center for Inquiry in the Liberal Arts at Wabash College.
Survey Name:	The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)
NSSE Director:	Alexander C. McCormick
Survey Design:	National design team chaired by Peter Ewell, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems
Administration:	Indiana University Center for Post-secondary Research in cooperation with the Indiana University Center for Survey Research
Objectives:	The National Survey of Student Engagement(NSSE) is designed to obtain, on an annual basis, information from scores of colleges and universities nationwide about student participation in programs and activities that institutions provide for their learning and personal development. The results will provide an estimate of how undergraduates spend their time and what they gain from attending college. Survey items on The College Student Report represent empirically confirmed "good practices" in undergraduate education. That is, they reflect behaviors by students and institutions that are associated with desired outcomes of college. Institutions will use their data to 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. This information is also intended for use by prospective college students, their parents, college counselors, academic advisers, institutional research officers, and researchers in learning more about how students spend their time at different colleges and universities and what they gain from their experiences.