Custom Reports to Shape Expectations for Student Engagement
The University of Northern Iowa (UNI), in Cedar Falls, IA, has participated in NSSE annually since 2006. The campus has shared their NSSE results in a number of ways; here, we highlight three most recent examples.
In 2010, UNI completed a Foundations of Excellence® a self-study, to look within their first-year students’ experience, as part of their accreditation review with the Higher Learning Commission. UNI reviewed nine dimensions of the first-year experience, using NSSE results among over 200 other sources of data when evaluating key performance indicators. Within the self-study they identified areas where they could improve and measures that would be used to track progress; these later informed the development of an action plan to improve first-year student learning.
One response to the self-study was to develop and measure first-year learning outcomes. For example, FY Outcome #1 states, “By the end of the first year, students will be able to articulate and examine their personal values.” NSSE items used to track progress toward this outcome include “During the current school year, how often have you examined the strengths and weaknesses of your own views on a topic or issue?” and “During the current school year, how often have you learned something that changed the way you understand an issue or concept?”
Another response to the self-study was to develop a first-year requirement called First-Year Cornerstone—a two-semester, six-credit course sequence that focuses on integrated communication, student success, and civility. First-Year Cornerstone credit counts toward general education requirements and is both writing and speaking intensive. It is taught by faculty, with purposeful and systematic assistance from student affairs professionals, academic learning center staff, and library professionals. NSSE results are shared with new instructors in training to teach Cornerstone to help them better understand who the first-year students are. During training, they are asked, “How many of our first-year students live on campus?” and “How many of our students work for pay off campus?” NSSE results for first-year students including residential status, employment status, and enrollment status. Using student responses to these and other NSSE items as part of the training helps to emphasize meaningful, frequent student-faculty interaction as key to an integrated learning environment in the course. Because FY outcomes are mapped to First-Year Cornerstone, UNI is able to use NSSE and Mapworks data to compare students who take the course with those who do not. For students in the course, NSSE results are also used to track these NSSE Engagement Indicators: Discussions with Diverse Others and Student-Faculty Interaction.
A second area for use of NSSE results at UNI is to provide information related to the campus diversity goals. Results for the NSSE Engagement Indicator, Discussions with Diverse Others, are used to map progress on key performance indicators (KPIs) such as “Educate all students to ensure that they are prepared to live and work successfully in a diverse world.” To track progress on this KPI, campus data are paired with results for the following NSSE item:
During the current school year, how often have you had discussions with people from the following groups: from a race or ethnicity other than your own, with religious beliefs other than your own, and with political views other than your own.
The KPIs are posted on the campus website, on an interactive web page where faculty and staff are able to view KPIs, select progress benchmarks, and review data and progress. The results are also shared at the annual town hall meeting on diversity and inclusion, with results displayed at a booth for others to see.
Finally, UNI is incorporating NSSE results into other initiatives across campus. UNI has used NSSE results as indicators to track progress on their strategic plan. Academic advisors use NSSE item-level results as part of the assessment plan for their office. The campus has used NSSE’s Report Builder to dig deeper into the data, looking at results for specific student populations such as first-generation compared to non-first-generation students. Information from NSSE and the writing Topical Module has been shared with the University Writing Committee. NSSE results have also been shared with the president’s cabinet and his Executive Management Team. UNI’s NSSE data use demonstrates the intentional integration of relevant NSSE results into the work of specific campus audiences and committees to inform initiatives, assess outcomes, and demonstrate educational strengths.
