Institutional Research & Assessment

National Survey of Student Engagement, Winter/Spring 2003
Southern Utah University Results

For three years, SUU has participated in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). Administered from the University of Indiana, NSSE assesses the institutional learning environment for undergraduates. In order to represent students at the early and late stages of their college careers, the survey sample at each participating school included both first-year students and seniors. SUU’s latest participation in NSSE was during winter and spring of 2003.
NSSE is one of the most comprehensive, nationally-normed assessment tools available to college and university administrators. Its findings, both from the student survey and from and institutional benchmarking report, issued each November, can help direct continual improvements at an institution.

Institutional response rates for the NSSE student survey in 2003 ranged from 14% to 70%. The overall response rate across institutions was 43%. At SUU, 653 of the 1,593 students included in the sample responded to the survey resulting in a 41% response rate. This summary reports survey results for freshmen and seniors and compares them to results at other master’s universities and at other colleges and universities that participated in NSSE during 2003. All reported differences are statistically significant (p < .05). The Executive Summary includes a brief overview of the findings organized in relation to major initiatives currently underway at SUU. Selected areas of challenge to SUU, such as diversity, are also summarized. A detailed report of the findings follows the Executive Summary.

Contents

Executive Summary
Overall Satisfaction
First-year Experience
     Quality of Advising
Frequency of Active Learning
Reading and Writing
Critical Thinking
Educational and Personal Growth
Special Types of Coursework
Use of Time
College Support of Environment
Quality of Relationships
Conclusions

NSSE 2003 Means Summary Report

Content

Academic, Intellectual, and Social Experiences
     Mental Activities
     Examinations
     Reading and Writing
     Problem Sets
     Homework Problems
     Enriching Educational Experiences

Quality of Relationships
Time Usage
Institutional Environment
Educational and Personal Growth
Academic Advising
Satisfaction

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