Keuka College, an institution with a unique and unmatched emphasis on real-world experience, uses NSSE data to monitor student satisfaction and engagement in key educational experiences. Every year, every undergraduate student at Keuka College completes a Field Period®—a credit- bearing, off-campus learning opportunity that can resemble an internship or may take the form of community service, spiritual exploration, creative endeavor, cultural exploration, or international travel. These experiences are critical, with 94% of the most recently graduating seniors describing Field Period® as important in assisting with their career development and 20% of Field Period® experiences resulting in full-time employment of graduates. A cornerstone of the Keuka College curriculum since 1942, Field Period® is represented in 10% of degree requirements for every undergraduate major. For the college’s first-year students, the First-Year Experience seminar is crucial because it is their first opportunity to learn about the Field Period® process.
While Keuka College has been intentional in supporting its first-year students through traditional methods like orientation and academic advising, institutional stakeholders noticed that NSSE results indicated first-year students reported low quality interactions with students, advisors, faculty, and staff. This finding led to numerous conversations on campus about how best to foster interaction between first-year students and other campus community members, and changes to the curriculum and campus culture were implemented. For example, the first-year experience course was revamped to allow for more opportunity for students to interact with faculty on interesting topics such as Exploration of Multicultural Education, Adventure and Recreation, and Leadership.
In another implemented change, advising and course registration were incorporated into New Student Orientation to encourage engagement with faculty. Additional initiatives are being considered to actively engage students past the first semester through additional revisions of the first-year experience. Also, in the fall of 2016, every incoming student was assigned both a major advisor and a student success advisor, forming a team committed to collaborative and proactive advisement to support each student’s persistence and success. As a participant in NSSE every other year, Keuka College is excited to see if these implemented changes enhance their Quality of Interaction scores.
