Students Report High Levels of Academic Rigor on NSSE Survey

Four out of five Saint Anselm students would return to the college, according to the spring 2008 National Survey of Student Engagement, or NSSE. At least 774 colleges and universities participated in the survey. NSSE was first administered in 2000, in order to access the extent to which students are engaged in effective educational practices, and to determine what students gain from their college experiences. This survey was given to freshmen and senior students, and was created to better understand students' and assess student engagement in various areas of college life.

There are five benchmarks of educational activities that the survey studies: level of academic challenge, active and collaborative learning, student-faculty interaction, enriching educational experiences , and supportive campus environment.

"One recent use of the NSSE results is to help monitor our strategic planning process, said Tiffany Parker, institutional research analyst for the college, told the Crier. "NSSE benchmark scores are among the indicators used to help track our progress on the plan."

The results are also used by faculty and administrative departments.

"In 2008 about 350 students responded to the survey: 198 first years 151 seniors," Parker said. "In terms of results, with level of academic challenge we are pretty much consistent with our Carnegie Peers (other 4 year liberal arts institutions). The survey uses three comparison groups within the survey: they compare Saint Anselm to Catholic Colleges and Universities, Carnegie Peers, as well as Selected Peers.

While Saint Anselm first year students reported a higher level of academic challenge in comparison to first year students at other Catholic colleges, "[Saint Anselm] first year students and the seniors rate academic challenge almost identically."

The NSSE survey is used by institutions nationwide, with at least 774 colleges participating in the survey.

"Because NSSE is becoming so widespread USA Today has picked up on this as an alternative to the U.S. News and World Reports rankings," Parker said. "On the USA today website you can find the NSSE results. Schools can voluntarily release the results; about 400 schools have done so."

"The NSSE really focuses on the student educational experience instead of statistics on alumni and the number of students in classes," Parker explains. "This tells you what they do in classes and how they interact with their peers and what their academic experience is like."

Compared to students at other, similar institutions, more Saint Anselm College students completed foreign language coursework than did students at other Catholic Colleges, As well as participated in community-based projects as part of a course more than their peers. Ninety-five percent of Saint Anselm seniors reported that the college emphasizes studying and academic work, which is higher than their peers reported. Saint Anselm first-year students reported writing more short papers than did their peers.

But according to the NSSE results, Saint Anselm students performed lower than our peers in other areas. Students gave fewer presentations and did not work with others, either in or out of class, as often as students at other institutions. Seniors wrote fewer short papers (5 pages or less) than did students at Carnegie or Aspirant institutions. Freshmen students reported talking to faculty less frequently than did students at other institutions about career plans. Saint Anselm students also reported that they had serious conversation with students of another race or ethnicity less frequently than did students at other comparison institutions.

The results show cultural and civic trends, too. Saint Anselm students reported more value and spiritual development, as well as awareness of civic responsibilities, than their peers. Overall, students understand the mission of the college, and 80 percent would return to Saint Anselm because they feel they receive a valuable education. The study also shows a need to track diversity-related questions in future administrations of the survey.