NSSE 2005: Student Perceptions of Enriching Educational Experiences Kathryn Doherty, Ed.D. January 18, 2006

Overview  What can NSSE tell us about students who responded?  What are NSSE Enriching Educational Experiences?  What can we learn from NSSE results?

What information does NSSE provide?  Identifies institutional strengths and areas for improvement  Allows benchmarking against peers and national results  Compares student experiences by demographic groups

NSSE Project Scope  Almost 1000 different colleges and universities  From 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada  Data from more than 880,000 students  Institutions include historically black colleges & universities, Hispanic serving institutions, tribal colleges, and single gender colleges YearColleges/ Universities

Some Peer Institutions  Frostburg State Univ.  Morgan State Univ.  Salisbury University  California State Univ. Fresno  Florida A&M University  James Madison Univ.  Longwood University  Montclair State Univ.  Southern Illinois Univ. Edwardsville  SUNY-Potsdam  Texas A&M University  University of Wisconsin Stout

NSEE 2005 Related to Towson  543 TU first-year students  702 senior students  808 of these students started here and 437 transferred in  120 peer institutions GroupSample Size Response Rate Towson292743% Peers73,36831% Masters118,48235% NSSE266,72637%

What Do We Know About Students Who Responded to NSSE  27% male and 73% female  8% belong to fraternity or sorority  5% are student athletes  89% are full time  35% live on campus

More Information About Students  66% say they are motivated to succeed  16% identify race/ethnicity other than “white”  96% participated in orientation  54% have never used career advising

Enriching Educational Experiences

NSSE Benchmarks  Five clusters or benchmarks of effective educational practice  Generated through data collected from 225,000 randomly selected students from 518 institutions in NSSE 2005  Based on research about student success, engagement, and retention

NSSE Benchmark Clusters  Active and Collaborative Learning  Enriching Educational Experiences  Level of Academic Challenge  Student Faculty Interaction  Supportive Campus Environment

EEE Definition  Complementary learning opportunities  Occur in and out of class  Augment academic programs  Include diversity experiences, use of technology, experiential learning opportunities, and co-curricular activities

EEE Items From NSSE  Using an electronic medium to discuss or complete assignments  Having serious conversations with students  Engaging in community or volunteer service  Completing foreign language coursework

More EEE Items From NSSE  Participating in practica, internships, field experiences, co-ops or clincals  Doing independent study or self-designed major  Studying abroad  Completing senior capstone  Participating in co-curricular activities

EEE Benchmark Score  Weighted average of student level benchmark scores  Calculated from all student responses on EEE items  Compares first and senior year response  Provides scores for comparison groups and “top performing” schools

Enriching Educational Experiences (Mean Student Response for All EEE Items)

Enriching Educational Experience Score: First Year/Senior

Enriching Educational Experience Score: Started Here/Transfer

Enriching Educational Experience Score: On-Campus/Off-Campus

Enriching Educational Experience Score: Co-Curricular Participation

Enriching Educational Experience Score: Would/Would Not Come Again

Enriching Educational Experience Score: Overall Educational Experience at Towson

Co-Curricular Participation

Hours Per 7 Day Week Participating in Co- Curricular Activities: All Respondents

Hours Per 7 Day Week Participating in Co- Curricular Activities: First Year/Seniors

Hours Per 7 Day Week Participating in Co- Curricular Activities: Started Here/Transfer

Hours Per 7-Day Week Spent in Co-Curricular Activities: Would/Would Not Attend Again

Students Who Participate in No Co-Curricular Activities: Hours Worked  43% of students who work NO hours off- campus participate in NO co-curricular activities  55% of students who work NO hours on- campus participate in NO co-curricular activities  32% of students who responded work NO on-campus or off-campus hours and participate in NO co-curricular activities

Student Who Participate in NO Co-Curricular Activities: Race/Ethnicity

Other EEE Items

This Year, How Often Have You Done Each of the Following: “Often/Very Often” Used an electronic medium (listserv, chat group, Internet, instant messaging, etc.) to discuss or complete an assignment 62% Had serious conversations with students of a different race or ethnicity than your own 53% Had serious conversations with students who are very different from you in terms of their religious beliefs, political opinions, or personal values 52%

Students Responding “Often” or “Very Often” – First Year/Senior

Students Responding “How Often” - Started Here/Transfer

Students Responding “Often” or “Very Often” - Would/Would Not Attend Again

This Year, Have You Done or Do You Plan to Do the Following: “Plan to Do/Done” Community service or volunteer work68% Foreign (additional) language coursework41% Culminating senior experience (capstone course, thesis, project, comprehensive exam, etc.) 40% Study abroad25% Practicum, internship, field experience, co-op experience, or clinical assignment 18% Independent study or self-designed major18%

Students Responding “Plan to Do” or “Done” – First Year/Senior

Students Responding “Plan to Do” or “Done” – Started Here/Transfer

Students Responding “Plan to Do” or “Done” – Would/Would Not Attend Again

Conclusions

Things to Think About  Positive increase from First Year to Senior Year  Similar results for native and transfer students  Perception of EEE goes up as co-curricular participation goes up  Engaged students more likely to “definitely” come again  Engaged students more likely to rank overall educational experience as “Good” or “Excellent”  Co-curricular areas have clear and positive impact on student experience

More Information  Kathy Doherty AD