Student Engagement at Towson: NSSE 2005

Telling and Selling the StoryKathryn Doherty, Ed.D.

January 11, 2006

Overview

What is college student engagement? What is NSSE? How can NSSE help us Tell the Story about

Towson? How can NSSE help us Sell the Story about

Towson?

What Really Matters in College Student Engagement

Impact of college is largely determined by individual effort.

Students are not passive recipients of institutional efforts to “educate” or “change” them.

Important to focus on ways in which an institution can shape its academic, interpersonal, and extracurricular offerings to encourage student engagement.

Pascarella & Terenzini. (2005). How college affects students: A third decade of research

NSSE Project Scope

Almost 1000 different colleges and universities

50 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada

Data from more than 880,000 students

Institutions include Historically Black Colleges & Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges, and all female and all male colleges

Year Colleges/

Universities

2001 321

2002 366

2003 437

2004 473

2005 529

NSSE 2005 Institutionsby Carnegie Classification

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Doc/Res-Ext Doc/Res-Int Master's Bac-LA Bac-Gen

All 4-YearSchools

NSSESchools

What does NSSE tell us?

Identifies institutional strengths and areas for improvement Allows benchmarking against peers and national results Compares first-year and senior student experiences Links information about student engagement to the teaching-

learning environment

NSEE 2005 at Towson

543 TU first-year students (19% of first year students)

702 senior students (17% of seniors)

808 started here and 439 transferred in

120 peer institutions

529 colleges and universities

Group Sample Size

Response Rate

Towson 2927 43%

Peers 73,368 31%

Masters 118,482 35%

NSSE 266,726 37%

Telling the Story: NSSE Summary

Results

Students say their educational experience at Towson is

good or excellent

First-Year

More than 86% comparable to national results

Seniors

More than 80% while nationally 88%

Most Towson students would probably or definitely come here again

First-Year

More than 82% comparable to national results

Seniors

More than 72% while nationally 82%

Many Towson transfer students would probably or definitely come here again

First-Year Transfer

More than 81% comparable to first years who started

here

Senior Transfer

More than 69% while 77% for seniors

who started here

Arts and Humanities

Business

EducationOther

Sciences

Professional

Social Science

What Are Our Students Majoring In?

What Else Are Our Students Doing?

84% Practicum, internship, field experience, co-op experience or clinical assignment

66% Community service or volunteer work

41% Culminating senior experience

40% Learning community

39% Foreign language coursework

23% Study abroad

22% Research project with faculty member

18% Independent study or self-designed major

Beyond Academics, What Does Towson Contribute?

72% 68%

53%45% 45%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Workingeffectively with

others

Learningeffectively on own

Understandingself

Understandingpeople of other

racial and ethnicbackgrounds

Solving complexreal-worldproblems

How Do Towson Students See Themselves?

85%

27% 27%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

I do more than what isexpected of me

I do just enough work toget by

I am not highlymotivated to succeed

What NSSE Tells Us: First Year Students

What do we know about our first- year students?

Towson Peers Master’s NSSE

Female 76% 69% 71% 67%

White 80% 68% 71% 72%

Full-time 99% 93% 94% 95%

19 or younger 98% 82% 85% 86%

How Committed are First Year Students: Would They Come

Again?

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

FY

TU

Peers

NSEE

Students Responding "Probably Yes" or Definitely Yes"

How Do First Year Students Evaluate Academic Advising?

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

First Year

TU

Peers

NSSE

Students Responding "Good" or "Excellent"

How Do First Year Students Evaluate Their Educational

Experience?

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

First Year

TU

Peers

NSSE

Students Responding "Good" or "Excellent"

First-Year Perception of Academic Emphasis at Towson

First-Year Students say TU emphasizes…

83% Using computers in academic work

83% Acquiring a broad general education

77% Thinking clearly and analytically

71% Using computing and information technology

69% Writing clearly and effectively

69% Spending significant amounts of time studying and on academic work

What NSSE Tells US: Senior Students

What do we know about our senior students?

Towson Peers Master’s NSSE

Female 70% 69% 70% 67%

White 79% 69% 72% 72%

Started here 42% 49% 54% 61%

Most grades As or Bs

94% 93% 94% 94%

How Committed are Seniors: Would They Come Again?

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

TU

Peers

NSSE

Senior

Students Responding "Probably Yes" or Definitely Yes"

How Do Seniors Evaluate Academic Advising at Towson?

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

TU

Peers

NSSE

Senior

Students Responding "Good" or "Exce llent"

How Do Seniors Evaluate Their Entire Educational Experience?

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

TU

Peers

NSSE

Senior

Students Responding "Good" or "Excellent"

Seniors Increasingly Find Towson a Supportive Campus Environment

40%

45%

50%

55%

60%

2001 2002 2005

First Y ear Seniors

Most seniors have learned a lot!Seniors say TU contributed at least quite a bit to…

81% Thinking critically and analytically

79% Acquiring a broad general education

75% Working effectively with others

75% Using computing and information technology

70% Writing clearly and effectively

69% Speaking clearly and effectively

69% Learning effectively on your own

68% Acquiring job or work-related skills

More Than 50% of Seniors Are Involved In Community Service Or

Volunteer Work

First-Year

More than 26% but, nationally,

42%

Seniors

More than 51% but, nationally,

64%

But 60% of Seniors Do Not Participate in Any Co-Curricular

Activities

Hours Per 7-Day Week Participating in Co-Curricular Activities

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

None 1 to 5 hours 6 to 30 hours

Seniors

Peers

Masters

NSSE

What NSSE Tells Us: Transfer Students

What do we know about our transfer students?

TU

TransferTU

First-YearTU

Senior

Female 66% 76% 70%

White 76% 80% 79%

Full-time 76% 99% 82%

Age 19 or younger 23% 98% --

Most grades As or Bs 92% 93% 94%

Transfer Students Less Certain about TU Experience

Students Responding "Good" or "Excellent"

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Overall, how wouldyou evaluate the

quality of academicadvis ing you have

received at thisins titution?

How would youevaluate your entire

educationalexperience at this

ins titution?

Started Here

Transfer

And Transfer Students Somewhat Less Likely to Attend Again

Students Responding "Probably Yes" or "Definitely Yes"

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

If you could start overagain, would you go to the

same institution you arenow attending?

Started Here

Transfer

Transfer Students Working More, Commuting, and Providing Care

0 8

Providing care fordependents

Working for pay oncampus

Participating in co-curricular activities

Commuting to class

Working for payoff campus

Relaxing andsocializing

Zero More than Thirty

Started here

Transfer

And Finding It More Difficult to Pay for College and Make New Friends

0 7

Make new friends

Get help withschool work

Pay for collegeexpenses

Keep up withschool work

Manage time

Not at all difficult Very difficult

Started Here

Transfer

What NSSE Tells Us: By College

Where Are Our Students?

0% 5% 10% 15% 20%

Undecided

CSM

COFAC

CBE

CHP

COE

CLA

Where Are Our Transfer Students?

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

Undecided

CSM

COFAC

CHP

CBE

COE

CLA

Would Students Attend Again?

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

CBE

COE

COFAC

CSM

CHP

CLA

Students Responding "Probably Yes" or "Definitely Yes"

How Do Students Evaluate Academic Advising at Towson?

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

CBE

COE

COF

CSM

CHP

CLA

Proportion of Students Responding "Good" or "Excellent"

How Do Students Evaluate Their Overall Educational Experience

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

CBE

COE

COF

CSM

CHP

CLA

Proportion of Students Responding "Good" or "Excellent"

Telling the Story: Meeting Middle States Standards

NSEE and the Standards

Standard 12 – General Education

Standard 13 – Institutional Activities

Standard 14 – Student Learning Assessment

12. General Education: Towson Students Show Strong Computer Literacy Skills

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

FY SR FY SR FY

Used an electronic medium(listserv, chat group , Internet,

instant messaging, etc.) to

Used an electronic medium(listserv, chat group , Internet,

instant messaging, etc.) to

Usingcomputing and

information

TU

Selected Peers

NSSE 2005

But Other Areas Need To Grow

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

FY SR FY SR FY SR

Acquiring a broadgeneral education

Writing clearly andeffectively

Speaking clearly andeffectively

TU

Selected Peers

NSSE 2005

13. Towson Students Above Mean In Experiential Learning

0%

20%

40%

60%

SR FY SR

Pract icum, internship, fieldexperience, co-op

experience, or clinicalassignment

Part icipate in a learning community or some otherformal program where groups of students take two or

more classes together

TU

Selected Peers

NSSE 2005

But Other Areas Need To Grow

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

Work on a researchproject with a faculty

member outs ide ofcourse or program

requirements

Study abroad Independent s tudy orself-designed major

Culminating seniorexperience (capstone

course, thesis , project,comprehensive exam,

etc.)

TU TU Selected Peers TU NSSE 2005

14. Student Learning: Towson Students Above Mean In Facts And Applications

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

FY SR FY

Memorizing facts , ideas , or methods from yourcourses and readings so you can repeat them in

pretty much the same form

Applying theories orconcepts to practicalproblems or in new

TU

Selected Peers

NSSE 2005

But Other Areas Need To Grow

2.50

2.75

3.00

3.25

3.50

FY SR FY SR

Analyzing the basic elements of an idea,experience, or theory, such as examining aparticular case or s ituation in depth and

Synthesizing and organizing ideas , information,or experiences into new, more complex

interpretations and relationships

TU Selected Peers NSSE 2005

Telling the Story: Achieving Effective Educational

Practices

NSSE Benchmarks for Effective Educational Practices

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

Towson Level of Academic Challenge Close to NSSE Comparisons

30%

40%

50%

60%

Towson Peers Masters NSSE

First-Year Seniors

Student-Faculty Interaction on the Rise at Towson

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

2001 2002 2005

First Year Seniors

Towson Students Increasingly Engaged in Active Learning

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

2001 2002 2005

First Year Seniors

Supportive Campus Environment Compares Well with Peers

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Towson Peers Masters NSSE

First-YearSeniors

Telling the Story:Benchmarks Illustrate

Some Growth Over Time

Student Faculty Interaction Demonstrates Growing Relationships

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

2001 2002 2005

First Year

Seniors

Active and Collaborative Learning Steadily Increasing

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

2001 2002 2005

First Year

Seniors

Supportive Campus Environment Shows Some Gain

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

2001 2002 2005

First Year

Seniors

Level of Academic Challenge Remains Consistent

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

2001 2002 2005

First Year

Seniors

Selling the Story: Towson 2010 –

Working for Excellence Everyday

Towson Students Are Building Stronger Relationships With Faculty

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

Remote Helpful

Faculty Staff

But Towson Seniors Seek Even Better Relationships

Describe the quality of your relationships with people at your institution. 1=unfriendly, unsupportive, sense of alienation; 7=friendly, supportive, sense of belonging

TU Peer Masters NSSE

Relationships with other students 5.40 5.69 5.70 5.68

Relationships with faculty members 5.31 5.57 5.67 5.64

Relationships with administrative personnel and offices

4.18 4.61 4.67 4.63

Towson Students Rate Academic Advising Good or Excellent

First-Year

More than 73%, comparable to national results

Seniors

More than 52% while nationally

almost 71%

But Some Seniors Have a Different Experience

How Would You Evaluate the Quality of Academic Advising at Your Institution?

60% 65% 70% 75% 80% 85% 90%

TU

Peers

Masters

NSSE

Proportion of Seniors Responding "Good" or "Excellent"

Almost 25% of First-Year Students Participate in More then 5 Hours of

Co-Curricular Activities a Week

First-Year

More than 23% but, nationally,

31%

Seniors

More than 14% but, nationally,

28%

But Almost Half of Seniors Never Attended an Art Exhibit, Gallery,

Play, Dance, or Theater Performance

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

NSSE

Masters

Peers

TU

And Transfers Have More Difficulty Paying for College and Making New Friends

0 7

Make new friends

Get help withschool work

Pay for collegeexpenses

Keep up withschool work

Manage time

Not at all difficult Very difficult

Started Here

Transfer

Selling the Story: Next Steps from NSSE

Moving from Telling to Selling with NSSE

Telling the story of fulfilling our mission

Focusing on the student experience and student success

Identifying and acting on opportunities for improvement

Selling the story of success and growth

Fulfilling Our Mission: Positive Results from NSSE

Recognized for quality and value

Focused on teaching Providing a broad range

of opportunities Acquiring intellectual

skills for success

The Student Experience: NSSE Highlights Many Areas

Sustaining position among peers Meeting external standards Promoting effective educational practices Increasing supportive environment

Opportunities for Improvement (OFIs): NSSE Provides Roadmap

Advising, particularly for seniors and transfers

Co-curricular participation, especially for seniors

Transfer engagement and involvement

Selling the Story: Linking NSSE Results to Strategic Goals

Enrollment Management, Growth and Mix: OFIs by more effectively meeting the academic and student life needs of seniors and transfer students

Partnership Philosophy: OFIs by assuring a more responsive organizational structure for seniors and transfer students

Resources for Success: OFIs by enhancing target retention initiatives

Selling the Story: Using Assessment to Document Results

Identify key OFIs from NSSE results

Design and implement improvements and track implementation

Determine assessment methods to measure improvements

Collect and analyze assessment data on impact of improvements

Sell the story with results from improvement data