Institutional Research & Assessment

First-year Experience

Multiple responses throughout the survey from first-year students highlight a major challenge for SUU. NSSE findings reflect poorly on the experience of freshmen at SUU. Not only are levels of satisfaction and faculty/staff relationships significantly below master’s peer and NSSE institutional averages, but the “effect size” or practical significance shows SUU lagging behind peer and national institutions persistently in a number of key areas. (Effect size is calculated by dividing the mean difference by the standard deviation. An effect size of .2 is small, .5 moderate, and .8 large.) On the 2003 survey, three responses from first-year students showed a positive effect size; 25 responses were negative. Illustrative examples of areas lagging behind at SUU are summarized in Table 1.

Table 1: Examples of First-year Student Responses, Areas Lagging Behind Peers

Indicator	Master's Peer Effect Size	NSSE Schools Effect Size
Had serious conversations with students of a different race or ethnicity than your own	-0.24	-0.32
Analyzing the basic elements of an idea	-0.25	-0.33
Synthesizing and organizing ideas or information into more complex interpretations and relationships	-0.31	-0.39
Making judgments about the value of information	-0.23	-0.26
Number of assigned textbooks, books, or book-length packs of course readings	-0.36	-0.44
Number of written papers or reports between 5 and 19 pages	-0.25	-0.29
Relationships with faculty members	-0.21	-0.23
Participating in co-curricular activities	-0.22	-0.31
SUU providing the support needed to help you succeed academically	-0.24	-0.28
Encouraging contact among students from different economic, social and racial or ethnic backgrounds	-0.25	-0.29
Helping you cope with your non-academic responsibilities (work, family, etc.)	-0.25	-0.27
Acquiring a broad general education	-0.33	-0.37
Thinking Critically and analytically	-0.34	-0.41
Evaluation of academic advising	-0.21	-0.26
Overall evaluation of the educational experience	-0.31	-0.38

| NSSE 2003 | Institutional Research |