Institutional Surveys

University Assessment Services administers the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) every three years. NSSE collects information from first-year and senior students about their engagement with academic and co-curricular experiences. Insights from NSSE have highlighted the importance of belonging in retention, modeled retention, used AI to find sentiments for open-ended NSSE questions, and aligned NSSE outcomes with career outcomes. A suite of other surveys are administered in other years. More information:

NSSE 2026 Promotional Materials

NSSE digital flier

Locations: Milner library, Housing & Dining, Bone Student Center

NSSE Slides

NSSE Announcements

NSSE App Notification

App notification

NSSE News Story

Coming soon

NSSE Social Media

Coming soon

2026 Administration Dates

Message 1: Tuesday, March 17
Message 2: Monday, March 23
Message 3: Thursday, April 2
Message 4: Wednesday, April 8
Message 5: Tuesday, April 14
Survey closes May 11

NSSE DOs and DON'Ts

DO tell students results will be used to provide insights on how student academic and co-curricular experiences can be improved at ISU.
DO describe NSSE results as “confidential." DO NOT describe NSSE results as "anonymous." Demographic data are collected for disaggregation purposes, but personally identifiable data are not disclosed with the results.
DO emphasize that NSSE is optional. Do not make participation conditional or require participation.
DO NOT offer extra credit or special treatment for participation in NSSE.
DO contact Ryan Smith at rlsmith@ilstu.edu if you are uncertain how to answer a question about NSSE.
IRB approval letter

Institutional Survey Framework

	Pre college	First year	While enrolled	Graduation	Post-graduation
Surveys	ASQ or BCSSE	NSSE (FY)	Gen ed NSSE (SR) Birdtracks Misc: health, advising, etc.	Exit survey	Alumni survey
Non survey data	Demographics Academics	Demographics Academics	Demographics Academics	Demographics Academics	PSEO Steppingblocks
Variables	Expectations Prior experiences	Engagement Belonging	Engagement Gen ed learning outcomes	Engagement Satisfaction	Labor-market outcomes

*Academic program level only

Institutional Survey Schedule: 2025-26

Survey	Survey Contact	Survey Contact(s)	Audience	Fall	Spring	Summer
MISO survey	Administrative Technologies	Carla Birckelbaw	Students, Staff		Feb 5 - Feb 18
CORE Alcohol and Other Drug Survey	Health Promotions & Wellness, University Assessment Services	Kerri Calvert, Derek Meyers	Students		Feb 9 - March 7
National survey of student engagement (NSSE)	University Assessment Services	Ryan Smith	Students		March 17 - April 3
NSSE Generative AI Use & Perceptions	Adaptive Edge Inst., University Assessment Services	David Giovagnoli, Ryan Smith, Rachel Sparks	Students		Late March - April (tentative)

NSSE Framework

NSSE cohorts

Engagement Survey Results

NSSE Data Reports:
- NSSE 2023 Reports: Snapshot | Administration Summary | Engagement Indicators | Frequencies & Statistical Comparisons | High Impact Practices | Multi-year Report | Pocket Guide | Respondent Profile | Comparison Groups
- NSSE 2023 Project Management Guide | NSSE 2023 Response Rate Report
- 2020 Seniors: Discplinary Area / College Reports with institutional comparisons: CAS-Humanities / CAS-Social Sciences / CAS-Math & Nat. Sciences / CAST / COB / COE / MCN / WKCFA / Provost Programs
- 2020 First-year: Discplinary Area / College Reports with institutional comparisons:CAS-Humanities / CAS-Social Sciences / CAS-Math & Nat. Sciences / CAST / COB / COE / MCN / WKCFA
- 2020 Snapshot
- 2020 Engagement Indicators
- 2020 High Impact Practices
- 2020 Frequencies (First-year and senior)
- 2020 Student Comments - What one change would most improve the educational experience at this institution, and what one thing should not be changed?
- 2020 Inclusiveness and Cultural Diversity Module
- 2019 Snapshot
- 2019 Engagement Indicators
- 2019 High Impact Practices
- 2019 Frequencies (First-year and senior)
- 2019 Student Comments-Please describe the most significant learning experience you have had so far at this institution.
- 2019 Civic Engagement Module
- 2018 BCSSE - 2019 NSSE Combined Report
- 2016 (Senior)
- 2016 (First-year)
- 2013 (Senior)
- 2013 (First-year)
- 2010
BCSSE Data Reports:
- 2021 (Transfer) / 2021 (Transfer - first generation)
- 2021-22 First-year Student Experiences with COVID in High School / Future Concerns (authored by the Assessment Advisory Council)
- 2020 (First-year) / 2020 (Transfer)
- 2019 (First-year) / 2019 (Transfer)
- 2018
- 2015
- 2012
FSSE:
- 2011
- 2014
- 2017

More detailed reports and data are available by contacting University Assessment Services.

How the Results Have Been Used

Assessment Dashboards

See the assessment dashboards website and explore the data.

Presentations

Leveraging involvement and collaboration to cultivate belonging - RSO / Student Affairs Executive leadership presentation (Ryan Smith & Erin Thomas): Presentation | Activity