The University of Dayton (UD) is one of the nation’s 10 largest Catholic universities and Ohio’s largest private university, with an enrollment of 6,800 full-time undergraduates and more than 70 academic programs in arts and sciences, business administration, education and allied professions, engineering, and law. UD participated in NSSE in 2004, 2005, and 2007, which will allow the institution to identify student engagement trends over time and support evaluation of responses by subgroups of students who completed the survey both in their first-year and senior years. NSSE results along with other assessment data will help the University draw a more complete picture of its students and programs.
Academic divisions and departments have used NSSE analyses to identify areas of strength and possible areas of concern. Divisional deans received reports of student engagement results in specific colleges as compared to all other students at the institution and for individual departments compared to other students in the division. By drilling down into the data, institutional leaders gained a profile of their students in various majors as well as a comparison to students in other departments and divisions. For example, the institution examined differences in the level of engagement for first-year students who persisted at the university with that of those who withdrew. The findings were not surprising—students who persisted at the institution spent more time with instructors, felt they got more feedback on assignments, and participated more frequently in classes. These data helped define a basic core of experiences that contributed to students’ success. The School of Engineering at UD used NSSE data to assess their approach to first-year advising. When comparing student ratings of advising on NSSE prior to and after program changes, the school decided to keep the new advising system for now. They will continue to monitor students’ ratings on advising.
