Encouraging Student-Faculty Interaction
The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Grand View University (Grand View) was launched in 2005 with Title III grant funds. The Title III activity director/learning specialist was charged with directing programs to improve the retention and achievement of Grand View students. One of the assessment tools funded in the Title III grant was NSSE. The Title III grant allowed Grand View to increase awareness of the uses of the data for assessment as well as promote NSSE results to senior administration for use in strategic planning and benchmarking. Grand View also administers the Noel-Levitz College Student Inventory (CSI) and results from this survey are well embedded in their assessment protocols.
NSSE results have been great conversation starters across campus constituencies resulting in the formation of a team to move beyond simply reviewing the assessment data. Using findings from focus groups with students, the team discovered that first-year students felt Grand View provided a very supportive campus environment; whereas seniors felt that the institution was not providing enough help for them to succeed academically. Another disappointing NSSE result concerned the less than desirable percentage of seniors who indicated they would choose to attend Grand View if they could start over again.
A major initiative motivated by Grand View’s NSSE results is the Faculty-Student Engagement program that encourages faculty and staff members to engage with their students in educationally purposeful activities outside of the classroom such as field trips, cultural activities, academic support sessions, and attendance at conferences. Mini-grants are available to faculty for special programs that are based on specific learning outcomes. For example, an English professor hosted a dinner in her home for students in her cross-cultural communications class, featuring foods from a variety of ethnic traditions, while education students were funded to attend the Iowa Teachers Conference.
Looking ahead, Grand View is determining how to continue to use NSSE results in its assessment plan and has decided on a three-year participation cycle. Grand View is implementing a new core in 2012 and plans to analyze NSSE results over time to assess the impact of the curricular changes on students. The institution is also reviewing the best ways to incorporate NSSE results into its 2014 reaccreditation self-study for the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).
