The US National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)

Abstract

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) is a U.S. survey of first and fourth-year students based on known “best practices” in teaching and learning. The survey was originally developed to generate information on academic program quality in response to the growing influence of annual media rankings of institutions. But voluntary participation and institutional desires to keep results confidential have limited its impact in this arena. Through an aggressive media effort of its own, however, NSSE has had a significant impact on public perceptions of how “quality” should be construed in higher education. At the same time, it has given participating institutions an important diagnostic tool for improving their instruction and their educational environments. Since the survey’s inception in 2000, some 840 institutions have participated with over 630,000 student responses compiled. To date, twelve state systems of higher education have participated in NSSE, with the resulting information used as part of state accountability requirements for public higher education. NSSE information is also frequently featured by participating institutions in their required accreditation reviews. NSSE’s concept and approach is readily portable to other national higher education contexts, where more proactive government sponsorship or support might well result in greater policy impact.