NSSE is Coming to JSU

02/09/2012


The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) will soon hit our campus and 760 other colleges and universities in the US and Canada. While it’s easy to ignore surveys, this one is short but has the potential to actually make a difference in the quality of undergraduate education here and elsewhere because it asks the kinds of questions that matter to student learning and institutional effectiveness. How much reading and writing is required? How often do students interact with other students who are from different backgrounds and cultures? How good is the academic advising? How many students work with faculty members on research and other activities?

Jacksonville State University is interested in knowing how and where students spend their time, the nature and quality of their interactions with faculty members and peers, and what they have gained from their classes and other aspects of their college experience. JSU will use the answers to these questions to figure out where to try to improve teaching and learning and other aspects of campus life. The survey is kind of like an anonymous suggestion box and those who can make changes for the better need to hear from the broad cross-section of students who were randomly selected to participate. The survey takes less than 15 minutes to complete via the web.

NSSE is administered by the Center for Postsecondary Research in the Indiana University School of Education. At Jacksonville State University, NSSE is sponsored by the Office of the President, the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, the Office of Counseling and Disability Support Services, and the Student Government Association (SGA).

Look for more information displayed around campus with posters, table toppers and hand-outs.  And if you are among the freshmen or seniors chosen to participate, take 15 minutes out of your day and complete the survey.  You’ll be automatically entered into a drawing for a gift certificate to Best Buy, a JSU book bag, or a JSU jump drive.  More than 200 students will win!! Check out the SGA’s website for more information, http://sga.jsu.edu/ or contact the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, (256) 782-5109 orthma@jsu.edu.