Sharing NSSE Results in a Video
Memorial University in Newfoundland Canada created an attractive and informative video introducing NSSE and the interpretation of their NSSE 2020 results, focusing on data that captured the attention of the ad-hoc committee of faculty and staff who were formed to review and interpret their 2020 results.
Memorial participates in NSSE every three years, having done so for the first time in 2008, and shares highlights of its results and a report from the NSSE Review Committee Fall 2020 on the Centre for Institutional Analysis and Planning website.
The ad-hoc committee review of results emphasized engagement as a priority in the institution’s Teaching and Learning Framework and goals for their learner-centered culture. With a 38% response rate, the committee felt confident identifying Memorial’s successes and areas for improvement, while simultaneously considering how the results align with the priorities in their Teaching and Learning Framework. The committee found it was most meaningful to use the Canadian Comprehensive Universities as a comparison group, since these universities hold similar characteristics to that of Memorial.
The committee identified notable successes including: students’ overall satisfaction; the quality of their interactions with faculty; and their experiences with academic advising and learning support services. For example, Memorial students are more satisfied with their experiences than students in the comparison group, with 80% of first-years and 83% of fourth-year students rating their educational experience as “excellent” or “good”. They also report a higher quality of interaction with faculty and with academic advisors than students in the comparison group.
While it’s important to acknowledge and celebrate successes it’s even more important to understand where there is room to grow. Three areas to improve engagement include: high-impact practices (HIPs); first-year experiences; and diversity. In 2020 NSSE data, HIPs appear relatively strong for fourth year students, but less so for first-year students. These results suggest that incorporating HIPs into first-year courses and curricula could be a priority. Memorial’s first-year students appear to be working less with their classmates on things like team projects and assignments, and participating less in classroom discussions. These results suggest that first-year students may require greater support to engage meaningfully with their peers, and that instructional practices should be designed to help students transform their course preparation into active learning, promoting opportunities for greater participation, interaction and cooperation. A third area of focus to improve student engagement at Memorial is diversity. Students report having fewer diverse interactions, yet the majority indicate that their university experiences have contributed to their knowledge, skills and personal development in understanding people of other backgrounds. Given this information, it would be valuable to further investigate curricular strategies that support students’ experiences with and understandings of diversity, and to create meaningful opportunities for more students to work and engage with diverse others.
NSSE results provide Memorial with a gauge for success and a helpful guide for strengthening students’ educational experience.
