Student Engagement: Understanding It; Measuring It; and Grasping the Implications George D. Kuh

1. Student Engagement: Understanding It; Measuring It; and Grasping the Implications George D. Kuh University of Illinois September 24, 2004

2. Overview • Context for Assessment • NSSE Origins • NSSE Framework and Status • Current Activities & Next Steps

3. Advance Organizers • How do we know we’ve been successful with our students?

4. Advance Organizers • What kind of information about student learning and institutional effectiveness is compelling and useful for guiding improvement efforts?

5. Advance Organizers • Why do we want the data? • What do we plan to do with the results? • Who is expected to see and use the data?And for what purposes?

6. Working Definition • Assess: (v.): to examine carefully • Assessment is the systematic collection, review, and use of information about educational programs undertaken for the purpose of improving student learning and development (Palomba & Banta, 1999, p. 4)

7. Assessment’s Twin Purposes • Improvement • Accountability

8. History • 1970s: Press for evaluation – prove worth of services rendered • 1980s: Reform reports: • “A Nation at Risk” • “Involvement in Learning” • 1990s: Regional accreditors require evidence of student learning • AAHE Principles of Assessment • AAHE/ACPA/NASPA “Powerful Partnerships”; other reports • 2000: Assessment here to stay

9. National Policy Uses • State performance indicators • State-by-state comparisons

10. “It's an embarrassment that we can tell people almost anything about education except how well students are learning.” Patrick M. Callan, National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education

11. National Policy Uses • State performance indicators • State-by-state comparisons • Educating the public about what matters to collegiate quality, student learning and educational effectiveness

12. Campus Policy Uses • Document performance • Determine efficacy of programs and practices • Allocate resources • Prioritize improvement efforts

13. NSSE Origins • February 1998 -- Pew Trusts convenes working group • College rankings and collegiate quality

14. What Do We Need to Know? • What constitutes quality in undergraduate education? • How might we measure quality? • What types of evidence of quality would be helpful in guiding improvement efforts?

15. NSSE Origins • Survey students to assess key aspects of college experience • 1998 Design Team

16. Lessons from the Research • What matters most to desired outcomes is what students do, not who they are • A key factor for student learning is the quality of effort students devote to educationally purposeful activities

17. What Really Matters in College:Student Engagement “The research is unequivocal: students who are actively involved in both academic and out-of-class activities gain more from the college experience than those who are not so involved.” Ernest T. Pascarella & Patrick T. Terenzini, How College Affects Students

18. Lessons from the Research • What matters most is what students do, not who they are • A key factor is the quality of effort students expend • Educationally effective institutions channel student energy toward the right activities

19. Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education(Chickering & Gamson, 1987) • Student-faculty contact • Active learning • Prompt feedback • Time on task • High expectations • Respect for diverse learning styles • Cooperation among students

20. Two Components of Student Engagement • What students do -- time and energy devoted to educationally purposeful activities • What institutions do -- using effective educational practices to induce students to do the right things

21. NSSE Origins • 1999 -- Pew funds two field tests (fall & spring)

22. NSSE Origins • 1999 -- Pew funds two field tests • 2000 -- Pew awards $3.3 million multi-year grant to IU Center for Postsecondary Research to launch NSSE

23. NSSE Core Activities: Institutional Improvement Public Advocacy Documenting Good Practice

24. National Survey of Student Engagement(pronounced “nessie”)Community College Survey of Student Engagement(pronounced “sessie”) College student surveys that assess the extent to which students engage in educational practices associated with high levels of learning and development

25. The College Student Report Student Behaviors Institutional Actions & Requirements Student Learning & Development Reactions to College Student Background Information

26. NSSE www.iub.edu/~nsse

27. NSSE www.iub.edu/~nsse

28. NSSE www.iub.edu/~nsse

29. NSSE www.iub.edu/~nsse

30. NSSE Project Scope • 600,000 students from 850+ different schools • 68% of 4-yr undergraduate FTE • 50 states, Puerto Rico, Canada • 70+ consortia

31. NSSE Evolution

32. State & University Consortia California State UU of Missouri CUNY U of New Hampshire Connecticut New Jersey U of Hawaii U of North Carolina Indiana U South Dakota Kentucky Texas A&M Maryland U of Texas U of Massachusetts U of Wisconsin West Virginia

33. Effective Educational Practices Level of Academic Challenge Active & Collaborative Learning Student Faculty Interaction Supportive Campus Environment Enriching Educational Experiences

34. NSSE Administration • Centrally administered by third party • Spring term • Random samples of first-year & senior students • Administration modes: • Paper • Web-only • Web +

35. What have we learned so far from NSSE?

36. Grades, persistence, and engagement go hand in hand

37. Is faculty salary related to: • student-faculty interaction? No (-.03) • active/collaborative learning? No (-.04)

38. Academic reputation is not related to: • active & collaborative learning • student-faculty interaction • supportive campus environment

39. Does institutional size matter to engagement? Yes, size matters. Smaller is generally better.

40. Benchmark Scores for All Students by Undergraduate Enrollment

41. Academic Challenge, Active Learning, Student-Faculty Interaction by Enrollment

42. Student engagement varies more within than between institutions.

45. Worth Pondering • How do we reach our least engaged students?

46. Who’s more engaged? • Women • Fraternity & sorority members • Full-time students • Students who live on campus • Students with diversity experiences • Learning community students

47. Student Engagement Quiz What percent of seniors say that their peers at least occasionally cut and paste material from the WWW without attribution? (a) 19% (b) 39% (c) 51% (d) 67% (e) 89% e. 89%

48. What Can We Do? Administrators Faculty Members Students

49. Prospective Students Media Alumni Parents Public Advocacy Accred. Bodies Fund- raising State Policy Makers Focus on “Right Things” Governing Boards Performance Indicators

50. NSSE & Accreditation Tool Kit Linking Criteria Other Uses