Results from the National Survey of Student Engagement 2001 (NSSE)
Western Carolina University freshmen and seniors rated Western higher than comparative master's level institutions for active and collaborative learning and student interactions with faculty according to the National Survey for Student Engagement (NSSE). The NSSE is sponsored by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and The Pew Forum for Undergraduate Learning. The NSSE was conducted last spring semester by Indiana University at the Center for Postsecondary Research and Planning to groups of first-year and senior students among campuses across the nation including Western. For a brief summary click here for the PowerPoint presentation highlighting Western's performance. The graphs provided below show Western's performance benchmarked against all Master's Institutions as well as all institutions nationally on five benchmarking criteria for both Western seniors as well as first-year students. If you have questions about the survey or results, please contact Noelle Kehrberg or Renee Corbin in the University Planning Office at 7239.
The tables below represent the range of institutional scores by deciles for the five benchmarks of effective educational practice for seniors and first-year students. Deciles are percentile scores that divide the frequency of benchmark scores into ten equal groups. A percentile is the point in a distribution at or below which a given percentage of institutional benchmark scores fall. For example, Western's benchmark score on Level of Academic Challenge (58.8) falls between the 80th and 90th percentile (see table below, row 1). Interpreted, this means that 80 to 90 percent of the Master's institutions answering the survey fall below Western's score. The second table compares Western with all institutions taking the survey.
Seniors:
Percentile Scores
for Western Carolina University Seniors compared with Masters
Institutions |
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Percentile Scores
for Western Seniors compared with All Institutions |
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| 0% | 10% | 20% | 30% | 40% | 50% | 60% | 70% | 80% | 90% | 100% | |
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First Year Freshmen:
Percentile Scores
for Western Freshmen compared with Masters Institutions |
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| Level of Academic Challenge | |||||||||||
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| Student Interactions with Faculty | |||||||||||
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Percentile Scores
for Western Freshmen compared with All Institutions |
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| 0% | 10% | 20% | 30% | 40% | 50% | 60% | 70% | 80% | 90% | 100% | |
| Level of Academic Challenge | |||||||||||
| Active and Collaborative Learning | |||||||||||
| Student Interactions with Faculty | |||||||||||
| Enriching Educational Experiences | |||||||||||
| Supportive Campus Environment | |||||||||||