University of Delaware Builds Strategy Around NSSE
By: Steven Feldman, NSSE Institute Graduate Assistant
For two decades, the University of Delaware has administered the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) on a three-year cycle, with the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness playing a central role in managing the survey and disseminating its results. While NSSE reports are not publicly accessible and remain behind a secure institutional firewall, they are actively used across campus to inform decision-making, support departmental reviews, and guide conversations about the student experience.
One of the most significant evolutions in Delaware’s NSSE practice has come through the work of Sophie Tullier, Director of Student Life Assessment, Data Analytics & Research. Sophie has aligned all student life surveys, including NSSE, on a shared timeline, ensuring that each department undergoing a six-year program review has access to two cycles of NSSE data. Using the CAS (Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education) standards as a foundation, she has developed focused reports on key themes such as belonging and career readiness for units like Disability Support Services and Student Services for Athletes. These reports help departments demonstrate how they meet national standards and provide comparative data they wouldn’t otherwise have, especially when their own internal program/department surveys only reach students who use their services, whereas NSSE reaches broader student audiences.
Sophie describes her approach as “centralizing measurement, not assessment.” Rather than asking every unit to design its own surveys, she encourages them to interpret existing NSSE data to inform their work. This reduces survey fatigue, respects students’ time and labor, and leverages NSSE’s robust, validated question bank. The university also uses NSSE data to foster broader conversations. After administering the American College Health Association (ACHA) Well-being Survey, Sophie plans to host town halls focused on topics like food insecurity and hazing, using NSSE data to triangulate insights and deepen discussions. These events are designed not just to share data, but to spark meaningful dialogue about student experience and institutional response.
Benchmarking is another key benefit of NSSE at Delaware. By comparing its results to peer institutions, the university can validate its strengths in areas like undergraduate research and community engagement, while identifying opportunities for growth. NSSE data also supports accreditation efforts, providing evidence of how Delaware designs and delivers the student experience in alignment with Middle States Commission on Higher Education standards. As Heather Kelly, Senior Director of Institutional Research & Data Science, explains, “Benchmarking is extremely valuable to ensure the experience UD offers is as good, if not better, than our comparator institutions.”
Transparency remains a challenge, particularly when it comes to communicating how NSSE data leads to action. While some efforts have been made to include examples of data-informed changes in survey invitations, tracking the full impact of NSSE across units is complex. Still, there are clear examples of NSSE informing institutional decisions, such as evaluating the impact of the new Center for Intercultural Engagement, which opened between survey cycles and showed promising shifts in student perceptions of campus climate.
Ultimately, the University of Delaware’s approach to NSSE demonstrates how a long-standing survey can be leveraged not just for reporting, but for strategic alignment, departmental support, and institutional learning. By integrating NSSE into the fabric of student life assessment, Delaware offers a compelling model for other institutions seeking to make the most of their engagement data.
