Posted 7:14 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012
When UW-La Crosse seniors were asked if they would choose the same school again if they could start their college career over, nearly 90 percent said yes.
About 95 percent of UW-L seniors and 94 percent of first-year students would rate their experience at UW-L as good or excellent.
Those are just a couple of results from the 2011 National Survey of Student Engagement, which provides a benchmark to measure various aspects of students’ college experience. Questions measure everything from the level of academic rigor to the supportive nature of the campus environment.
“We like to think we do many things well, but we are always interested in hearing from our students about how we can improve,” says UW-L Chancellor Joe Gow. “This NSSE is a very rich source of information.”
In spring 2011 about 2.1 million students at more than 750 colleges and universities nationwide were invited to report their college experience in the NSSE survey. At UW-L it was sent online to about 2,200 first-year students and about 1,800 seniors. About 50 percent of each group responded.
Results on a variety of measures were compared with other UW System schools, peer schools and all other schools nationwide who took the NSSE.
In the case of providing a “supportive campus environment,” UW-L first-year and senior students rated their university significantly higher than the average ranking of students from all other colleges and universities.
The survey results also show UW-L students say they participate in study abroad and physical fitness activities more on average than all other students who took the NSSE.
Some results showed a need for improvement. For instance, UW-L scored lower than the average of other schools who took the NSSE — yet similar to other UW-Comprehensives — when measuring the level of student-to-faculty interaction for first-year students.
“This is why it’s so important to continue to attempt to lower our student to faculty ratio,” explains Gow. “And we are concerned because state budget cuts are making it difficult to do that.”
The lower score could also be due to a few large, first-year student lectures where it may be more difficult to connect with faculty. In addition, the first year is a transitional year for students and they are learning how to interact with their college instructors, which may be different from how they connected with their teachers in high school, says Patrick Barlow, UW-L assessment coordinator. However, by their senior year, UW-L students are on par with comparison groups in student-to-faculty interaction. A UW-L 100 course is one way for first-year students to build skills in transitioning to college life early on.
NSSE results are used to determine what types of programs and initiatives would benefit students and to improve general education curriculum, says Barlow.
UW-L students have taken the NSSE seven times since 2001. Students will take the survey again in spring 2014.
“This is not just something we do to see how great we are doing. It’s part of the university’s active approach to understanding our impact on students,” says Barlow. “The university will continue to mine these results to understand how we can continue to improve.”
More NSSE data will be released in the Campus Connection in coming months through a series of graphs. Stay tuned. View more NSSE results and explanations.
NSSE information is also part of the data used to develop UW-L’s college portrait.
Further questions on UW-L’s NSSE survey can be directed to Patrick Barlow at 785-6867 or pbarlow@uwlax.edu.
Results on a variety of measures were compared with other UW System schools, peer schools and all other schools nationwide who took the NSSE.
In the case of providing a “supportive campus environment,” UW-L first-year and senior students rated their university significantly higher than the average ranking of students from all other colleges and universities.
The survey results also show UW-L students say they participate in study abroad and physical fitness activities more on average than all other students who took the NSSE.
Some results showed a need for improvement. For instance, UW-L scored lower than the average of other schools who took the NSSE — yet similar to other UW-Comprehensives — when measuring the level of student-to-faculty interaction for first-year students.
“This is why it’s so important to continue to attempt to lower our student to faculty ratio,” explains Gow. “And we are concerned because state budget cuts are making it difficult to do that.”
The lower score could also be due to a few large, first-year student lectures where it may be more difficult to connect with faculty. In addition, the first year is a transitional year for students and they are learning how to interact with their college instructors, which may be different from how they connected with their teachers in high school, says Patrick Barlow, UW-L assessment coordinator. However, by their senior year, UW-L students are on par with comparison groups in student-to-faculty interaction. A UW-L 100 course is one way for first-year students to build skills in transitioning to college life early on.
NSSE results are used to determine what types of programs and initiatives would benefit students and to improve general education curriculum, says Barlow.
UW-L students have taken the NSSE seven times since 2001. Students will take the survey again in spring 2014.
“This is not just something we do to see how great we are doing. It’s part of the university’s active approach to understanding our impact on students,” says Barlow. “The university will continue to mine these results to understand how we can continue to improve.”
More NSSE data will be released in the Campus Connection in coming months through a series of graphs. Stay tuned. View more NSSE results and explanations.
NSSE information is also part of the data used to develop UW-L’s college portrait.
Further questions on UW-L’s NSSE survey can be directed to Patrick Barlow at 785-6867 or pbarlow@uwlax.edu.