1. Closing the Experience Gap March 30, 2017to
Close the Experience Gap
NSSE & FSSE to
Closing the Experience Gap
March 30, 2017

2. What is Student Engagement?
What students do – Time and energy devoted to studies and other educationally purposeful activities What institutions do – Using resources and effective educational practices to induce students to do the right things Educationally effective institutions channel student energy toward the right activities
Development of Concept of Student Engagement
C. Robert Pace (1970s)
Pioneer of looking at the entire student experience versus just looking at test scores or grades to assess student learning.
Explored students’ academic and social experiences in college – and assessed the quality of effort students put forth in their educational experiences
Alexander Astin (Hired by Pace at UCLA in 1980s)
Promoted theory of student involvement
Amount of learning taking place directly proportional to quantity and quality of energy invested in educational activities
Vincent Tinto (Also in the 1980s)
Retention model – focus on greater social and academic integration, both formal and informal processes -> greater satisfaction -> more likely to stay
Ernest Pascarella & Patrick Terenzini
Examined impact of college experience.
Arthur Chickering and Gamson (1980s analysis of hundreds of studies over several decades)
Good practice in undergraduate education includes: 1) Student-faculty contact, 2) Cooperation among students, 3) Active learning, 4) Prompt feedback, 5) Time on task, 6) High expectations, 7) Respect for diverse talents and ways of learning
George Kuh (1990s – idea 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 2

3. Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education
Student-faculty contact
Active learning
Prompt feedback
Time on task
High expectations
Experiences with diversity
Cooperation among students
Chickering, A. W. & Gamson, Z. F. (1987). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. AAHE: Bulletin, 39 (7), 3-7. 3

4. Goals of NSSE Project Goals of Assessment:
Focus conversations on undergraduate quality
Enhance institutional practice and improvement initiatives
Foster comparative and consortium activity
Provide systematic national data on “good educational practices”
Goals of Assessment:
Accountability
Continuous Improvement
Utilize available data collected by FLC every two years

5. Faculty Survey of Student Engagement
College faculty survey that measures faculty expectations for student engagement in educational practices that are empirically linked with student learning and development 5

6. FSSE Survey Content How often faculty use effective teaching practices
The importance faculty place on increasing institutional support for students
How much faculty encourage students to collaborate
The importance faculty place on various areas of learning and development
The nature and frequency of faculty-student interactions
How faculty members organize their time, both in and out of the classroom
Opportunities to engage in diverse perspectives

7. NSSE Engagement Indicators
Meaningful Academic Engagement Themes
Engagement Indicators
Higher Order Learning
Reflective & Integrative Learning
Learning Strategies
Quantitative Literacy
Academic Challenge
Learning with Peers
Collaborative Learning
Discussions with Diverse Others
Experiences with Faculty
Student-Faculty Interaction
Effective Teaching Practices
Student – Faculty Interaction
Quality of Interactions
Supportive Environment
Campus Environment 7

8. NSSE 2016 Results for Fort Lewis College
Overall results compared to peer groups for each Engagement Indicator.

9. NSSE 2016 Results for Fort Lewis College
Overall results compared to peer groups for each Engagement Indicator.

10. Adding Context to NSSE with FSSE
1. Locate items on the FSSE-NSSE Combined Report which you are satisfied or dissatisfied with your NSSE results.
2. Find the analogous items on FSSE.
3. Compare the two sets of responses on these items.
4. Consider what the differences between student and faculty responses reveal about the quality of the student experience on these factors at your institution. Are any of these differences surprising?
5. How might your institution address the differences in responses on your selected items? Is action necessary? If so, what might be a few first steps to begin discussions of these results among campus constituents?
Group Discussion
How well do your faculty know your students? Do faculty attitudes and behaviors shed any light on student responses to NSSE? Because both beliefs and assumptions play a role in shaping expectations and actions, it is helpful to account for them when trying to understand something as complex as the undergraduate experience. The following questions are a reflection activity to help frame contexts to consider, understand what results mean, and disseminate the findings.
1. Using the FSSE-NSSE Combined Report, found in your NSSE Institutional Report, locate items on which you are satisfied or dissatisfied with your NSSE results. List those items briefly, along with their scores, below.
2. To look more deeply into these topics, find the analogous items on FSSE. List those items briefly, along with their scores, below.
3. Next, compare the two sets of responses on these items. Please note that subtracting faculty response percentages from student response percentages will not yield any useful data. Instead, we’ll use the FSSE results to add context to your NSSE results by examining these faculty perspectives. Note any relationships, connections, or discrepancies between student behaviors and faculty actions.
4. Consider what the differences between student and faculty responses reveal about the quality of the student experience on these factors at your institution. Are any of these differences surprising?
5. How might your institution address the differences in responses on your selected items? Is action necessary? If so, what might be a few first steps to begin discussions of these results among campus constituents?

11. Collaboration for Student Success
Faculty are encouraged to take greater ownership for student engagement and heightened expectations for increasing student success But, these objectives can be most effectively addressed by a range of campus stakeholders –administration, trustees, student affairs, IR, finance and business affairs, and students themselves View student engagement results as an opportunity to collaborate with other units to address campus concerns

12. References
BrckaLorenz, Allison and Bridget Yuhas Adding Context to the NSSE with the FSSE, Webinar January 12, year=2016&grouping= FSSE Data User’s Guide,