Institutional Planning and Assessment

National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) instrument, The College Student Report, assesses student participation in programs and activities that institutions provide for their learning and personal development. It was developed under the premise that the frequency in which students engage in effective behaviours is an indicator for good educational quality.

The College Student Report asks undergraduate students about how they spend their time, what they feel they have gained from their classes, their assessment of the quality of interactions with faculty and students, and other educationally important activities. Specifically, first-year and senior student behaviours are assessed to determine an institution's level of engagement in 5 key clusters of activities:

Level of Academic Challenge
Active and Collaborative Learning
Student-Faculty Interaction
Enriching Educational Experiences
Supportive Campus Environment

The results provide an estimate of how undergraduate students spend their time and what they gain from attending university, which is an indication of the quality of undergraduate learning on campus.

Institutions can use their data to identify aspects of the undergraduate experience that can be improved (through changes in policies and practices more consistent with good practices in undergraduate education) in order to improve student performance and to help students get the most out of their university experience.

U of S NSSE Multi-year Benchmark Report: 2006, 2008, 2011