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National Survey of Student Engagement: CU-Boulder 2000
Summary of major findings - CU-Boulder vs. AAU Institutions
There is surprisingly little variation among the schools on the scales. This is surprising given that the survey was administered to thousands of students across quite different institutions. While we might expect scales to be less variable than individual items (because aggregate scores or sums are always less variable than individual item scores), the pattern holds true for individual items as well. Items focusing on academic quality (e.g., use of computers, emphasis on cognitive skills) show the least variation across institutions; items focusing on practical academics (e.g., class presentations, senior experience) show the most variation.Students at all AAU institutions generally are satisfied with their education. Students, including those at UCB, rate the academic quality of their institution and their major quite high. Most students at all schools would attend their current university again if given the chance to repeat their education.
A few schools consistently stand out as high achievers. Specifically, institutions "r" and "g" generally score higher than other schools even on scales for which they rate somewhat low. Generally these "academic stars" have high admission standards, high graduation rates, and a low percentage of students working while attending school.
It is likely a combination of student and institution-specific academic factors result in higher NSSE scores for these schools. For example, responses to some items indicate that institutional differences in students’ socioeconomic standing may affect other aspects of students’ experiences. Two schools in particular have unique patterns of response. One, school "r," seems to be a place where students don’t worry much about money and don’t need to work to cover basic expenses; they do expect to graduate in four years or less. This looks like a "traditional" university with privileged students. Another, school "k," has students who report worrying a great deal about money and family, who work to cover basic needs, and who expect their degree to take five years or more. This looks like a more "nontraditional" university with working, less-privileged students. CU-Boulder consistently falls between these two extreme schools on most items in the overall picture that emerges.
Last revision 04/26/02
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cb - l:\ir\survey\nsse\00\report\AAU_summary text2.doc, last updated 5/08/01