2006 National Survey of Student Engagement

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2006National Survey of Student Engagement

• Dr. Stephen Thorpe
• Director of Institutional Research
• Widener University

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National Survey of Student Engagement

• Evaluates the extent to which freshmen and senior
  students engage in educational practices
  associated with high levels of learning and
  development

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Effective Educational Practices

• Student-faculty contact
• Active learning
• Prompt feedback
• Time on task
• High expectations
• Cooperation among students
• Respect for diverse talents and ways of learning

Chickering and Gamson. (1987). Seven principles
of good practice in undergraduate education.
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Response Rates _at_ Widener

• Survey conducted in Spring, 2006
• Web-based, with email invitations sent to all
  freshmen and seniors
• 27 of freshmen responded
• 34 of seniors responded
• Respondents are representative of the overall
  freshman/senior classes

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Benchmarks of Engagement

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

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Academic Challenge Benchmark
Challenging intellectual and creative work is
central to student learning and collegiate
quality. Colleges and universities promote high
levels of student achievement by emphasizing the
importance of academic effort and setting high
expectations for student performance.
The Benchmark scores for Widener freshmen and
seniors were significantly higher than our
Carnegie peers and all NSSE institutions.
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Academic Challenge BenchmarkSignificant
Differences

• Widener freshmen wrote more papers of 5-19 pages,
  spent more time preparing for class, and enrolled
  in courses that required making judgments and
  applying theories.
• Widener seniors wrote significantly more
  papers/reports and experienced coursework that
  required synthesis and organization of ideas,
  information, experiences.

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Active/Collaborative Learning Benchmark
Students learn more when they are intensely
involved in their education and asked to think
about what they are learning in different
settings. Collaborating with others in solving
problems or mastering difficult material prepares
students for the problems they will encounter
daily during and after college.
The Benchmark scores for Widener freshmen and
seniors were significantly higher than our
Carnegie peers and all NSSE institutions.
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Active/Collaborative LearningSignificant
Differences
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Student-Faculty Interaction Benchmark
Students learn firsthand how experts think about
and solve practical problems by interacting with
faculty members inside and outside the classroom.
As a result, their teachers become role models,
mentors, and guides for continuous, life-long
learning.
The Benchmark scores for Widener freshmen and
seniors were significantly higher than our
Carnegie peers and all NSSE institutions.
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Student/Faculty InteractionSignificant
Differences
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Enriching Educational Experiences
Complementary learning opportunities enrich
academic programs. Internships, community
service, and senior capstone courses provide
opportunities to integrate and apply knowledge.
The benchmark score for Widener freshmen was
comparable to the average benchmark nationally.
The benchmark score for seniors at Widener was
significantly higher than our Carnegie peers and
for all NSSE participants.
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Educational ExperiencesSignificant Differences
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Supportive Campus Environment
Students perform better and are more satisfied at
colleges that are committed to their success and
cultivate positive working and social relations
among different groups on campus.
The benchmark scores for freshmen and seniors at
Widener were comparable to the average benchmarks
for our Carnegie peers and all NSSE participants.
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Campus EnvironmentSignificant Differences
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Contact InformationDr. Stephen ThorpeDirector
of Institutional Research610-499-4117
swthorpe_at_widener.edu