NSSE Information

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) collects information from first year and senior students about the characteristics and quality of their undergraduate experience including,

  • Indicators that reflect on the multi-dimensional nature of student engagement
  • Experiences with educational practices that have been shown to be linked with learning and student success
  • Perceptions of the degree of support from the college environment
  • Perceptions of personal and educational growth since starting college  

The NSSE was developed and is administered by the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research.  For more information please visit the website at nsse.indiana.edu

For more information on NSSE data and reports at KSU, please contact the Office of Institutional Research at data@kennesaw.edu.

If you have been invited to take part in the NSSE, please go to the Student Affairs website for more information on participating in the survey. 

Survey Content

Interactive Dashboards

NSSE Engagement Indicators capture the multi-dimensional nature of student engagement.  Each indicator is an average based on responses to three to eight survey items.  Responses to individual items are transformed to a scale that ranges between 0 and 60.  For example, responses of “never”, “Sometimes”, “Often” and “Very often” for an item are assigned values of 0, 20, 40 and 60 respectively. The overall indicator score is based on the average across the component items.  A score of 0 for a particular engagement indicator means that the student responded “never” to each of items for that indicator while a score of 60 means that the student responded “Very often” to each item.  NSSE has organized the ten engagement indicators within four engagement themes as shown below in the table.

Theme Engagement Indicators
Academic Challenge
  • Higher-Order Learning
  • Reflective & Integrative Learning
  • Learning Strategies
  • Quantitative Reasoning
Learing with Peers
  • Collaborative Learing
  • Discussions with Diverse Others
Experiences with Faculty
  • Student-Faculty Interaction
  • Effective Teaching Practices
Campus Environment
  • Quality of Interactions
  • Supportive Environment

Additional information about the NSSE Engagement Indicators including psychometric properties can be found at National Survey of Student Engagement.

The NSSE Engagement Indicators Dashboards consists of four separate dashboards:

  • Overall Engagement Indicators - Displays scores for a selected engagement indicator for First Year and Senior students
  • Engagement Indicators by Comparison Group – Displays scores for a selected engagement indicator across categories of a selected comparison group variable for either First Year or Senior students.
  • Engagement Items – Displays frequencies and percentages of responses to individual items for a selected engagement indicator for either First Year or Senior students.
  • All Engagement Indicators by Comparison Group – Displays scores for all Engagement Indicators across categories for a selected comparison group variable for either First Year or Senior students.

    • For quick reference, hovering over the icon provides descriptions of variables that can be used to make comparisons or be used as filters.

    • Tables or graphs with fewer than 10 cases are suppressed for privacy.

    • The dashboards are independent; selections on one dashboard have no effect on the other dashboards.

    • For the IPEDS Race/Ethnicity: KSU, “Other” includes American Indian or Alaskan, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and Undeclared

    • Be aware that in the Engagement Indicators by Comparison Group dashboard, the reference lines for the NSSE Top 10%, NSSE Top 50% and KSU Average Weighted Mean, are determined only by the selected engagement indicator and first-year or senior status.  

Reports

Report Name Description Report Links
Administration Summary Overview of KSU's NSSE administration, including sampling details, response rates, sampling errors, and customization choices.
Selected Comparison Groups Details of KSU's comparison groups and the list of institutions in each group, including those for Topical Modules and consortia.
Snapshot Four-page summary of your institution’s key findings for Engagement Indicators, High-Impact Practices, academic challenge, high/low performers, perceived gains and satisfaction.
Engagement Indicators Results on NSSE's 10 Engagement Indicators including statistical comparisons with three comparison groups and item-level results.
High-Impact Practices Results on student participation in six High-Impact Practices, so-called because of their positive associations with student learning and retention.
Frequencies and Statistical Comparisons Respondent counts, percentages, and mean comparisons for all survey items (except demographics) for KSU students and comparison groups.
Pocket Guide Report A Pocket Guide to Choosing a College: NSSE Answers from Students reports KSU’s results paired with questions from the Pocket Guide.
Respondent Profile Respondent counts and percentages for all demographic questions for KSU and three core survey comparison groups.