In the coming weeks, freshman and senior students will receive an e-mail from Chancellor Shields for the National Survey for Student Engagement (NSSE). This survey is used to help gauge campus climate, improve student experience and education.
The NSSE is a nationwide survey taken by hundreds of four-year colleges and universities across the United States. Each university is compared to a similar school to benchmark items such as student preparedness, academic obstacles, course availability and acceptance of student diversity.
UW-Platteville has participated in the NSSE for the last decade, and it is one of many ways that the university assesses campus climate. The survey is conducted every three years, so that the same set of freshmen who took the survey get another opportunity to reflect on their experience as they enter their senior year in school.
The NSSE asks a minimum 25 questions in multiple choice form. Some examples of questions you might find on the NSSE are, “Have you expressed your opinion about a political or community issue in a public forum?” “How strongly do you agree or disagree with the statement ‘My institution fosters an environment in which persons of all genders are respected?’” Students takeing the survey should also expect various questions about obstacles to academic progress, such as money and finances, family obligations, motivation and advising.
All responses to the survey are confidential and will only be released in a composite form.
According to a recent e-mail, the university encourages all students who have the opportunity to take the survey. Students are “incentivized” to take the survey with a monetary offer. The first 300 students who complete the survey are entered in a raffle for $100, and all students who take the survey before May 15, 2020 are entered in a raffle for $50.
Results from previous surveys have been used by administrators with the help of campus faculty and staff to gauge the quality of the college experience for students. The Exponent will continue to cover this year’s survey in future issues.