New Content for NSSE 2023

NSSE staff focused heavily on reviewing the core questionnaire for the 2023 administration, with a critical eye toward inclusion and equity. In consultation with internal and external experts, we implemented a series of edits, both large and small, to help ensure that students see themselves reflected in response options and make the survey more relevant for today’s undergraduates

Below is a summary of these edits with a brief rationale for changes; we also include an update about an experiment related to religious identity questions. As always, we welcome your feedback and ideas for making NSSE a more useful tool for understanding engagement at your institution.

 

During the current school year, about how often have you had discussions with people from the following groups?

1. People of a race or ethnicity other than your own
2. People from an economic background other than your own
3. People with a sexual orientation other than your own
4. People from a country other than your own

During the current school year, about how often have you had discussions with people from the following groups?

1. People of races or ethnicities other than your own
2. People from economic backgrounds other than your own
3. People with sexual orientations other than your own
4. People from countries other than your own

In these items about interactions across difference, we wanted to subtly respect the multiple identities that people hold by using plural terms such as “races or ethnicities.”

What is the highest level of education completed by your parents (or those who raised you)?

Response options: Did not finish high school, High school diploma or G.E.D., Attended college but did not complete degree, Associate’s degree (A.A., A.S., etc.), Bachelor’s degree (B.A., B.S., etc.), Master’s degree (M.A., M.S., etc.), Doctoral or professional degree (Ph.D., J.D., M.D., etc.)

What is the highest level of education completed by your parent(s), guardian(s), or those who raised you?

Response options: Did not finish high school, High school diploma or G.E.D., Attended college but did not complete degree, Associate’s degree (A.A., A.S., etc.), Bachelor’s degree (B.A., B.S., etc.), Master’s degree (M.A., M.S., etc.), Doctoral or professional degree (Ph.D., J.D., M.D., etc.), I prefer not to respond

To be more inclusive of backgrounds where the term “parents” is not an appropriate frame of reference, we removed the parenthetical and inserted a list of more comprehensive options reflecting varied family and household configurations. The “I prefer to not respond” option was also added. While skipping a question is always possible, this option allows a response. No changes have been made to the US or Canadian response options for this question.

What is your gender identity?

Response options:

• Woman
• Man
• Another gender identity, please specify:
• I prefer not to respond

How would you describe your gender identity? (Select all that apply.)

Response options:

• Woman
• Man
• Agender or gender neutral
• Demigender
• Genderqueer, non-binary, or gender non-conforming
• Genderfluid
• Two-spirit
• Cis/Cisgender
• Trans/Transgender
• Questioning or unsure
• Another gender identity, please specify:
• I prefer not to respond

Revisions to this item about gender identity aimed to provide more nuanced options for students with trans or gender non-conforming identities. We generated a longer list of gender identities from the prior year responses students entered in this item to describe their gender identity. We also re-ordered the categories to reflect the expected number of responses from largest to smallest based on previously collected data from past NSSE administrations.

Which of the following best describes your sexual orientation?

Response options:

• Straight (heterosexual)
• Bisexual
• Gay
• Lesbian
• Queer
• Questioning or unsure
• Another sexual orientation, please specify:
• I prefer not to respond

How would you describe your sexual orientation? (Select all that apply.)

Response options:

  Straight or heterosexual
  Bisexual
  Lesbian
  Gay
  Queer
  Pansexual or polysexual
  Ace, gray, or asexual
  Demisexual
  Questioning or unsure
  Another sexual orientation, please specify:
  I prefer not to respond

We provided more options for students on the sexual orientation item based on common entries in the past-year question’s write-in box. Changing the item to “select all that apply” honors the fluid and complicated nature of sexuality. And, as with the sexual orientation item we ordered response options in terms of the expected number of responses in each category from largest to smallest based on previously collected data.

How would you describe yourself? (Select all that apply.)

Response options:

American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Hispanic or Latina/o
Middle Eastern or North African
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
White
Another race or ethnicity
I prefer not to respond (exclusive)

How would you describe yourself? (Select all that apply.)

Response options:

Asian
Black or African American
Hispanic, Latina/o, Latine, or Latinx
Indigenous, American Indian, Native American, or Alaska Native
Middle Eastern or North African
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
White
Another race or ethnicity
I prefer not to respond (exclusive)

In this item about students’ racial or ethnic identification, revisions aimed to be more inclusive and respectful of group self-identification. We expanded the descriptions for “Indigenous, American Indian, Native American, or Alaska Native” and “Hispanic, Latina/o, Latine or Latinx” to be more inclusive of the different ways individuals in these groups identify. We also removed the potentially othering language for Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander respondents.

*On the Canadian version of the NSSE survey, this Race/Ethnicity item remains unchanged from its current version. To view the current item on the Canadian survey, visit the NSSE website here.

Are you a member of a social fraternity or sorority?

Response options:

• Yes
• No

To which of the following social or service Greek letter organizations do you belong? (Select all that apply.)

Response options:

Interfraternity Conference (IFC)
National Panhellenic Council (NPC)
National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC, The Divine 9)
United Greek Council (UGC) or Multicultural Greek Council (MGC)
Another Greek letter organization, please specify:
None, I am not a member of a Greek letter organization

Changes to the item about involvement in Greek letter organizations better reflect organizations that  are not recognized as “social” fraternities or sororities. This more nuanced view of participation provides a more comprehensive view on Greek life.

Annual experimentation is central to NSSE’s goal of making data informed decisions about NSSE’s content and administration practices. NSSE’s participation agreement indicates that NSSE will set aside a very small fraction of an institution’s survey sample for experimental purposes. The size of this experimental sample total no more than .3% or thirty students, whichever is less. For the upcoming administration, we plan to test the following two questions related to religious identity with the experimental sample.

How would you describe your religious identity or belief system? (Select all that apply.)

Response options:

Agnostic
Atheist
Buddhist
Christian
Hindu
Jewish
 Muslim
Spiritual, but unrelated to any specific religious identity or belief system
Another religious identity or belief system, please specify:
I have no particular religious identity or belief system
I prefer not to respond

In your own words, how would you describe your religious identity or belief system?

NSSE acknowledges that religious identity plays a significant role in the college experiences of many undergraduates. Collecting more information about this aspect of student identity can complement other demographic information NSSE gathers, thereby facilitating institutional efforts to become more equitable and welcoming to students from a wide array of backgrounds and lived experiences.