The use of Student Engagement Surveys is one example of the individualized attention the yearOne initiative provides Illinois State students.

Student Engagement Surveys

In order to engage individual colleges and university departments in meaningful conversations about student academic engagement, University Assessment Services administers a trio of student engagement surveys to ISU first-year and senior students. These surveys include the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE), and the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE).

What are these surveys and what are their purposes?

NSSE:

The NSSE (National Survey of Student Engagement) surveys are given to first year students and seniors to find out how engaged they are in academic, co-curricular, and social activities.

BCSSE:

The BCSSE (Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement) is administered to students the summer before they enter ISU. BCSSE asks questions which compliment the NSSE and provides information on incoming students’ activities in high school as well as their expectations of their first college year.

FSSE:

The FSSE (Faculty Survey of Student Engagement) asks faculty to respond to questions about their perceptions of student academic, social, and co-curricular engagement. These questions also compliment the NSSE survey and allow for analysis of differences between faculty and student perceptions.

Brief History

University Assessment Services began collecting NSSE data in 2001, one year after the NSSE became available to American Institutions of Higher Education. It also supplemented the NSSE data with enhancing surveys such as the FSSE and BCSSE in 2006.

How the cycle works:

Currently, UAS administers these three surveys on a three-year cycle to maximize the usefulness of the results. The information below shows the years that the different surveys have been/will be administered. The BCSSE was administered to students before they entered ISU during the summer of 2009 and then the NSSE was administered to these same sutdents in their first year of college (in addition to seniors) during the spring of 2010. This has allowed the tracking of student engagement across the transition from high school to college. The FSSE was then administered during the spring of 2011. The BCSSE will be administered during the summer of 2012 to a new group of students before they enter ISU. The NSSE will be administered during the spring of 2013 to these students during their first year, as well as to the NSSE 2010 first-year students when they are seniors to track student engagement across college.

When and how has ISU conducted the surveys?

NSSE:

When - Spring 2001-2005, 2007, 2010

Who takes the survey - First-year students and Seniors

How - Administered Online

Result - 22% response rate in 2010

BCSSE:

When - Summer 2006, 2009, and 2012
Who takes the survey - Incoming first-year students
How - Paper Format during Preview (orientation) sessions
Result - 89% response rate in 2012

FSSE:

When - Spring 2006 and 2011
Who takes the survey - Full-time faculty (NTT and T/TT) teaching undergraduate classes
How - Administered Online
Result - 40% response rate in 2011

How have the results been used?

In past years, UAS has made use of NSSE data to support a multitude of educational and instructional activities on campus. Initiatives which were supported through the surveys include:

The General Education Program
Faculty Development Seminars and Teaching Excellence Series
The FOCUS Initiative
Progressive Measures -
Spring 2011 Vol 6 Issue 2

Where can I find reports on the ISU survey results?

The codebooks and previous reports for NSSE, BCSSE and FSSE are listed below:

Codebooks:

The following codebooks are intended to support discussions about the types of reports available to ISU faculty and administrative personnel from University Assessment Services.