National Survey Of Student Engagement Research Articles

Assessing the Psychometric Properties of Quality Experience in Undergraduate Research Using Item Response Theory

Undergraduate research, recognized as one of the High-Impact Practices (HIPs), has demonstrated a positive association with diverse student learning outcomes. Understanding the pivotal quality factors essential for its efficacy is important for enhancing student success. This study evaluates the psychometric properties of survey items employed to gauge the quality of undergraduate research, including alignment with Kuh and O’Donnell’s (2013) eight HIP characteristics, alongside assessments of reliability, validity, and generalizability across demographic groups. The study assesses the validity and reliability of these measures at both the scale and item levels using data from the National Survey of Student Engagement’s (NSSE) HIP Quality Topical Module. The methodological approaches employed include Exploratory Factor Analysis, Parallel Analysis, Item Response Theory, and Differential Item Functioning (DIF). Our findings uncover a misalignment between NSSE’s HIP Quality module items and HIP characteristics, leading to the identification of seven subscales instead of eight. Nevertheless, four subscales—Reflective and Integrative Learning, Real-World Applications, Interactions with Others, and High-Performance Expectations—emerge as valid indicators of undergraduate research experiences. While specific items yield valuable insights at the item level, refinement is recommended for others. Despite the identification of two items exhibiting DIF, their negligible effect sizes suggest that major revisions are unwarranted solely on DIF grounds. This study offers recommendations for item refinement, including the incorporation of new items, wording updates, and tailored utilization of assessment tools within educational institutions. These recommendations are intended to empower educators and researchers to effectively capture the quality dimensions of students’ undergraduate research experiences, thereby fostering their academic success.

Fostering Digital Communities

As online education expands, fostering digital communities that support networked learning becomes imperative. However, many universities lack comprehensive digital strategies to facilitate engagement and connections in distributed environments. This research examines the development of an inaugural digital master plan at a university where half of the student population is online. Guided by Moore's theory of interactions (1989) and Garrison's Community of Inquiry framework (2017), the plan aimed to enable meaningful student-to-content, student-to-instructor, and student-to-student interactions. The digital master plan was designed to provide high-level guidance on the intentional and purposeful use of the educational technologies, tools, platforms, and systems necessary for a robust online learning experience. It creates a cohesive vision and strategy for the digital learning experience, just as a campus master plan aligns the physical learning spaces. The digital master plan leverages the Community of Inquiry framework as a key reference point in its comprehensive gap analysis. The collaborative process involved multiple methods to assess gaps in the university’s infrastructure including: National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) data, three internal surveys, an external diagnostic analysis and plan, and audits of the learning management system's tools and usage. Quantitative data provided insights into student perceptions, while qualitative findings explored the depth of social relationships and learning networks enabled through digital platforms. Throughout the process, the research team aimed to understand the social learning processes that support how learners develop and utilize technology to learn and foster a sense of belonging (Garrison, 2017). The process harnesses the natural motivations underpinning social network formation - namely information sharing, support seeking, and sense of belonging. Further, it operationalizes these motivations to achieve CoI's high-order learning community goals. Analysis revealed key gaps related to: clearly defining and measuring online student success, expanding engagement opportunities in courses, leveraging technologies to facilitate connections, building a collaborative faculty culture, and improving communication. In response, the final digital master plan put forth five recommendations focused on these priority areas. Implementation and evaluation of digital platforms aligned to the recommendations indicate positive impacts on online students' sense of connectedness, learning experience, and academic performance. This research makes important theoretical and practical contributions by developing a replicable institutional process for assessing and strategically enhancing a digital ecosystem to foster networked learning. The digital master plan provides guidance for the adoption of social technologies and pedagogies to increase community, connectivity, and collaboration. As online education continues to expand, insights from this case study can inform strategic digital planning efforts at other universities striving to overcome transactional distance and cultivate impactful virtual learning communities.

Student Engagement Variations across Institutions and Disciplines: Findings from Azerbaijan

Although student engagement has been a widely researched area known to improve student learning and a topic of scholarly debate for many decades now, this has yet to be the case in Azerbaijan. Data from the National Survey of Student Engagement, conducted among 433 undergraduate students of the 18-23 age range (M = 21.37, SD = 1.43) at eight universities in Azerbaijan, allowed us to examine variations in the conditions meant to foster student engagement, as well as students’ perspectives on improving their educational experiences. Specifically, we looked at differences related to academic challenges, learning with peers, teacher experiences, and campus environment. Student engagement varied across disciplines. Small universities in the capital city provided better collaborative learning conditions. However, students at regional universities were more satisfied with the quality of student-faculty interactions. Nonetheless, students saw a strong need for fundamental changes in higher education in Azerbaijan, focusing on improving the quality of teachers, teaching and the curriculum. The study provided an overview of student engagement variations across institutions and disciplines and how students conceptualise necessary improvements in student experiences. Institutional leaders must understand the variations for seeking essential changes in the HE system to effectively accommodate students’ needs and expectations.

The fraternity/sorority experience revisted: The relationships between fraternity/sorority membership and student engagment, learning outcomes, grades, and satisfaction with college

Fraternities and sororities are an important part of American higher education. However, some scholars question the value of fraternities and sororities. Recent research on the educational outcomes of fraternity/sorority membership is limited, with more research focused on health and safety issues. The present research addresses the gap in the literature by examining the direct and indirect relationships among fraternity/sorority membership, student engagement, and college outcomes using structural equation modeling and data from the 2017 administration of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). Results revealed fraternity/sorority membership had significant, positive direct relationships with student engagement and strong positive indirect relationships with self-reports of learning, and acting through student engagement. Moreover, despite being less diverse than students in general, fraternity/sorority members reported higher levels of interaction with people different from themselves than did other students. In addition, the largest positive effects were generally found for first-year students, arguing against deferring recruitment until the second semester or second year. Membership in a fraternity or sorority was negatively related to self-reported grades, particularly for males and seniors.

Exploring the Peer Tutor Experiential Learning Process

While peer tutoring is a valued experiential activity, little is known about the peer tutoring experience and its relationship to desired 21st century outcomes of college. This paper features the results from a multi-institution study of the characteristics and benefits of peer tutoring for tutors. The National Survey of Student Engagement was administered along with a set of experimental questions specifically designed to interrogate the process of peer tutoring at 30 four-year institutions. In general, peer tutors who identified as seniors in college showed patterns of engagement and gains in learning and personal development that exceeded substantially those of their non-tutor counterparts, especially for those who received training and feedback from supervisors. The findings have implications for tutoring program administrators, experiential educators, and others to enhance the effects of peer tutoring and other experiential learning activities.

Effects of Project-based Learning on Students' Learning Performance and Engagement in Computer Science

Attention has been drawn to the benefits of integrating project-based learning (PjBL) into educational curricula to enhance student engagement. This study investigated how well project-based learning fosters student engagement and achievements in computer science courses. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were used for this experiment. A total of 60 first year undergraduate students included in the study were divided into the two following groups: experimental group (n=30) and control group (n= 30). National Survey of Student Engagement’ (NSSE) based on Coates’ five-dimensional framework theory of student engagement was used to collect the data. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the pretest scores between the experimental group and the control group (p >0.05) before the intervention. However, after the experiment, the post test scores of the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group (p <0.01), indicating an improvement in engagement. The mean grades and mean engagement of the experimental group were also higher compared to the control group. The difference in engagement between the experimental group before and after the intervention was statistically significant (Z=-3.522, p <0.05), with the median data after intervention being higher than before. Specifically, students engaged in project-based learning (PjBL) were more actively involved in self-perception and self-worth compared to students in traditional learning settings. These findings suggest that highly contextualized project-based learning has a positive impact on student engagement and achievements.

Educational Aspirations of Diverse Groups among Undergraduate Statistics Majors

Understanding the educational aspirations of diverse groups among statistics majors provides insight into the discipline of statistics. This study utilizes multi-institution data from the 2019 and 2020 administrations of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) to explore educational aspirations for statistics majors through comparisons to other major types as well as among gender identity and race/ethnicity in a sample of 225,892 seniors, including 521 majoring in statistics. Preliminary results from a series of chi-squared analyses suggest that while other STEM majors are more likely to aspire for doctoral or professional degrees, statistics majors are more likely to aspire for a master’s degree. However, among the statistics majors there were no significant differences in educational aspiration by gender identity and race/ethnicity.

That’s your cue: Comparing male and female students’ perceptions of social norms around involvement on campus

Co-curricular activities have been shown to impact many measures of academic success, such as academic self-confidence, leadership abilities, identity development, personal development, and student thriving. Borrowing from established research paradigms on pluralistic ignorance, the current study sought to explore whether first-year and senior students' perceptions of themselves and others vary when it comes to attending and participating in campus activities and whether sex has an impact on those perceptions. Using data from the 2018 National Survey of Student Engagement, the study included 10,512 students attending 33 institutions. The results suggest significant differences across the sexes and within reference group (self vs. other) for attending campus activities and participating in co-curricular activities. These findings can help guide faculty, advisors, and administrators to better understand how students' perceptions of peer co-curricular activities might relate to their own, and how those perceptions might affect their behavior positively and negatively.

Investigating the Future of ‘Engineer of 2020’ Attributes: Moving from Access to Engagement & Sense of Belonging

Using data from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), this study seeks to explore the presence and relevance of NAE’s ‘Engineer of 2020’ competencies and key student learning outcomes (SLOs) among samples of undergraduate engineering majors (UEMs). Data were analysed using a battery of statistical tests assessing UEMs achievement of NAE SLOs, the extent to which SLO achievement in NAE domains influence UEMs’ key outcomes (e.g., grades, satisfaction) and sense of belonging. Follow-up tests explored meaningful differences among groups by race, gender, disability status, to name a few. Implications for future engineering education policy, practice, pedagogy and research are highlighted.

Unlocking Undergraduate Student Success: A Study of High-Impact Practices in a Comprehensive and Diverse College

This study examines undergraduate senior students’ participation in high-impact practices (HIPs) and the relationship of that participation with engagement indicators, perceived gains, and overall satisfaction, as well as institutional outcomes of persistence and graduation based on race/ethnicity, first-generation status, and low-income status. Drawing on multiple years of data from 1,482 undergraduate seniors who completed the 2015 through 2019 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and enrolled in a comprehensive four-year state college, this study indicates that HIP participants reported higher levels of engagement, perceived gains, and overall satisfaction. Participation in HIPs is also positively related to improved persistence or graduation, particularly for racially minoritized students. While overall participation patterns were similar regardless of race/ethnicity or first-generation status, low-income students had higher participation rates in HIPs and participated in more kinds of HIPs as compared to their non-low-income counterparts. Implications of implementing and increasing access to HIPs for enhancing student success in similar institutions are discussed.

Relevant, practical and connected to the real world: what higher education students say engages them in the curriculum

ABSTRACT The discourse on preparing job-ready graduates has led to calls for more authentic methods of teaching and learning that allow higher education students to enhance their employability. The literature identifies authentic approaches to teaching as those that situate learning in contexts that correspond to the ‘real world’. However, little is known about whether, or how, students in Irish higher education view their learning as authentic. Drawing on Ireland’s national survey of student engagement, this paper examined the free text responses of 93,743 students over a five-year period when asked what their institutions could do to improve engagement in their learning. Using both an automatic content and manual analysis, it was found that the theme of ‘work’ was strongly represented in the data. Strongly connected to ‘work’ were the concepts ‘real world’, ‘real life’ and ‘group’ with students requesting learning that was relevant, practical, and job- or career-related. While group learning was seen in a positive light, students valued projects that were connected to the world of work. In contrast to the literature, these students don’t frame their narratives in terms of ‘authentic’ learning, rather they speak of learning that has real-world relevance. The paper concludes with suggestions for institutions.

Understanding student success in higher education in Azerbaijan: the role of student engagement

ABSTRACT Research on student engagement in higher education (HE) has addressed the conceptualisation, measurement and criticism of the phenomenon over the last two decades, predominantly in Western countries. The conceptualisation of student engagement has received little attention in countries of a lengthy association with the Soviet realm. This study investigated student engagement in Azerbaijani universities using the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) tool, under licence granted by Indiana University in 2018, to gather data. The survey was conducted among more than 430 students at eight Azerbaijani universities to explore what universities do to engage their students in learning. After a preliminary examination of the data for reliability, only the data from urban universities comprising 266 students were considered suitable for further analysis. The data were analysed to look at descriptive statistics and to identify linkages between student activities and student outcomes in Azerbaijan through bivariate correlation and regression analysis. The study revealed that, according to the NSSE categories, a supportive student environment and the quality of interactions, combined under the campus environment theme, and student–faculty interactions were essential elements for student learning, success, satisfaction and engagement in academically challenging practices.

The deficient factual basis of the main explanatory models of dropout in higher education

In the last 40 years in much of the western world dropout rates in higher education have remained almost unchanged. Although student retention seems to be the most studied and discussed aspect, nearly every empirical study on the causes of dropout in higher education and even more the impact of retention actions carried out by universities, in most cases have achieved modest results. This paper argues that this fact finds its explanation, to a certain extent, in the nature of the methodological approaches and factual supports of the empirical studies that most of those actions were based on. In this regard, there are strong arguments and empirical evidence that reveal the deficient nature of the factual basis of the most accepted models, theorizations and measurements on dropout in higher education. Among them are those that underlie the models proposed in 2012 by Vincent Tinto and Adam Seidman, the two main current references on the subject. The most significant questions point to the low reliability of the inferences produced from the application of surveys, especially the national survey of student engagement, very recurrently applied throughout the western world in empirical studies on dropout in higher education.

Social media usage in relation to their peers: Comparing male and female college students' perceptions

Administrators at many higher education institutions are capitalizing on the pervasive use of social media, but there are still disagreements about whether or not the use of social media has a positive impact on college students. With the wide use of social media and its possible effects, understanding students’ perceptions of their own social media usage in reference to their peers has implications for research and practice. With the research paradigm on pluralistic ignorance as a guide, this study used a subset of data from the 2018 online administration of the National Survey of Student Engagement, which contained responses from 5025 first-year students and 5487 seniors attending 33 institutions throughout the United States, with a majority being of traditional age (less than 24 years old). For both first-years and seniors, the results demonstrate that students perceive others to be posting and viewing social media more frequently than themselves, and this effect is even more pronounced for males. There was also a main effect for sex, such that females perceived both themselves and other students to be posting and viewing social media more frequently than males. These findings add nuance to the social media usage of college students, a topic that is continuously expanding as technology changes. These findings can help guide faculty, advisors, and administrators to better understand how students’ perceptions of peers’ social media usage might relate to their own, and consider how those perceptions of their classmates might affect their own behavior in both positive and negative ways.

Pattern of Out-of-Class Activities of Korean University Students: Latent Profile Analysis

This study examined how HIP participation patterns differ among students in different Korean universities. Moreover, this study explored whether there is an association between the likelihood of a student belonging to a specific group and their individual characteristics along with their university’s supportive campus environment. This study analyzed the data from the 2019 wave of the Korean-NSSE (National Survey of Student Engagement), and the samples included 12,784 college seniors from 112 institutions. Furthermore, it employed latent profile analysis and multinomial logistic regression. As a result, this research identifies five distinctive HIP participation patterns. Family income and student-faculty interaction levels determine which group a student belongs to. For example, economically disadvantaged students tend to belong to a group with lower participation in study abroad programs. Finally, the supportive campus environment was strongly associated with being a member of actively participating groups compared to being in a less engaged group.

IMPACT OF TEACHERS’ INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES ON STUDENTS’ ENGAGEMENT AND ACADEMIC SELF-EFFICACY: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ONLINE VS ON-CAMPUS LEARNING PROCESS

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of teachers’ instructional practices on students’ engagement and academic self-efficacy in online versus on-campus classes at the university level. This study used a quantitative survey design. The target population for this study was students of higher education enrolled in universities in the year 2020-2022, meaning that these students have experienced both online and on-campus learning. Convenience sampling was adopted in this study. 285 higher education students took part in this study. The research instruments in this study included three scales: a self-developed questionnaire titled the Teachers’ Instructional Practices Scale, Student Engagement Scale, and the National Survey of Student Engagement and Academic Self-efficacy Scale. Validity was established through expert opinion, while pilot testing was conducted to establish the reliability of the instruments, which was found to be (.92). The results indicate a significant relationship between teachers’ instructional practices and student engagement and academic self-efficacy. The study also concluded that there was a significant difference between teachers’ instructional practices during online and on-campus learning. The study recommends that future research be conducted on a large scale to highlight the importance of blended learning in Pakistan. Keywords: Instructional Practices, Student Engagement, Academic Self-efficacy, Higher Education, Online Education, On-campus Education.

Connecting creativity, confidence, and unconventional career plans

ABSTRACT Previous research suggests that creativity training is effective in academic settings, and that creative skills are increasingly important for success within unconventional careers such as self-employment or starting a business. This study extends research on creativity and entrepreneurial training in higher education, using data from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). Responses from over 64,000 seniors at 274 different U.S. colleges and universities were used to explore whether exposure to creative coursework and confidence in creative thinking skills can predict future entrepreneurial career plans. The results of binary logistic regression models suggest that creative coursework and confidence in creative ability are significant positive predictors of future plans for self-employment and starting a business, even after controlling for demographic and institutional characteristics. These findings can help to enrich educational experiences within higher education, informing curricular enhancements and career advising for students across all disciplines.

The Adaptation of National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) into Turkish: A Validity and Reliability Study

Bu çalışmanın amacı yükseköğretimde öğrenci bağlılığını ölçmeye yönelik geliştirilen Yükseköğretim Öğrenci Bağlılığı Ölçeği’nin (YÖBÖ) Türk dili ve kültürüne uyarlamasını gerçekleştirmek ve ölçeğin geçerlik ile güvenirliğini test etmektir. Araştırma 450 öğretmen adayı üzerinde yürütülmüştür. Ölçeğin uyarlanma sürecinde sırasıyla çeviri geçerliği, dil ve anlam geçerliği, içerik geçerliği, yapı geçerliği ve güvenirlik analizi çalışmaları yapılmıştır. Elde edilen bulgular neticesinde YÖBÖ’nün uyarlaması yapılan orijinal ölçekte olduğu gibi yükseköğretimdeki öğrenci bağlılığını on boyutlu bir yapı olarak ölçebildiği doğrulanmıştır. Ölçek için elde edilen geçerlik ve güvenirlik sonuçlarına göre, ölçeğin Türkçe formunun orijinali gibi kabul edilebilir düzeyde geçerlik göstergelerinin bulunduğu ve yeterli güvenirlik katsayılarına sahip olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Sonuç olarak YÖBÖ’nün, yükseköğretimdeki öğrenci bağlılığını ölçebilecek güvenilir ve geçerli bir ölçme aracı olduğu ortaya konmuştur.

Thai Menschenbild: A Study of Chinese, Thai, and International Students in a Private Thai University as measured by the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)

Thai Higher Education (Thai HE) is changing, due to international reform. This paper presents data collected in a longitudinal study carried out in Thailand during 2017–2018 using the US version of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and qualitative interviews. We offer a case study about the cultures and engagement of three groups of students found at an international private university in Thailand. The groups studied were international students, Chinese students in a mixed Thai/English curriculum and Thai students studying in Thai, all situated in a Thai HE institutional community. The (NSSE) was administered to 179 students: 89 in an International College, 54 Chinese students and 36 Thai students, as a control. Our results showed different attitudes toward studying, teachers, memorisation, participation, critical thinking, and empathy. This paper concludes with a discussion of how students in an international university in Thailand arrange themselves socially, and why this matters.

A comparative analysis of institutional commitment: are business students different?

ABSTRACT In management education, research combining job design and institutional commitment theory with management students’ co-creation of their learning is underdeveloped. Some findings suggest identifiable differences between different courses of study based on relationship quality and student loyalty approach. However, much of the current research has not explored degree-focused applications of concepts, so job design theory’s core elements could better suit the university business student population. This manuscript makes a significant new contribution through testing a conceptual job design model using structural equation modelling (SEM), which includes antecedents of institutional commitment, an important indicator for retention. The study found autonomy and task significance have an important relationship with commitment for general university students. These relationships did not exist as such for business students. Therefore, special consideration of business students is required to enhance retention. Implications are enhanced by leveraging data (i.e. National Survey of Student Engagement) currently gathered by most universities.