NSSE, IECA, and Student Engagement

November 9, 2009 | no comments

by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA, from the IECA Conference in Charlotte, NC

There is an article worth reading in today’s USA Today that explores the National Survey of Student Engagement, or NSSE, research conducted by Indiana University. The research, based on surveys of more than 2 million students on 443 college campuses over ten years, examines the critical issue of how ENGAGED students are…in their studies, their university, and with the faculty. The premise behind the research is direct: the more engaged a student is, the more successful they are likely to be.

The NSSE studies are dramatically different from traditional research or evaluations of campuses, and that difference is one that educational consultants have been talking about for years. NSSE has been a featured topic at IECA conferences in recent years. For example, a Middle States Evaluation Team may ask a university how many books are in its library or how many opportunities for artistic exploration exist. NSSE research asks students how much they USE the library, how many books they’ve read and whether they have attended an art show, performance piece, or music demonstration on campus.

NSSE research is often used by universities where such research is conducted as a way to better understand how engaged a student is, and what can be changed to enhance opportunities. Many colleges cited in the USA Today piece spoke about major research projects, innovative group projects, and freshman year programs, all designed to better connect students to the faculty, to the college, and each other.

Student engagement is harder to quantify, of course, than say, how large a school’s endowment is or what the admission yield is. That is why those surveys of so called “top schools” like U.S. News and World Reports often use criteria that may sound impressive but matter little to the student or may have little impact on a student’s success.

How then does a family come to understand the importance of engagement, and even more importantly, locate schools that would engage their own child? After all, what will engage a dynamic, inquisitive, science-oriented student is not the same for a shy, bookish, socially conscious teen. The answer is an educational consultant. Members of the Independent Educational Consultants Association visit college campuses regularly, they look at the NSSE research, and they talk to students.

NSSE identifies five keys to engaging students that all families should keep in mind while exploring college choice: (1) A campus should support both academic and social opportunities for students; (2) A college should provide a rich complement to academic offerings like international study, service learning, internships; (3) Faculty should be student-focused and allow for interaction; (4) Learning should be collaborative and active (NSSE explores, for example, whether students memorize facts or engage in analysis); and (5) Coursework should be intellectually challenging and foster creativity.