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Fall Check-In

Fall Check-In

New in 2025! BCSSE nows offer three brief surveys to help colleges and universities collect actionable data regarding students' experiences.

Each check-in will be 10 items or fewer and students will be told it will take 1 minute or less to complete. An option institutions can choose is to provide their students with an institution-specific link or email at the end of the survey if they need more information or assistance. View all 3 Check-In's as they appear online or click on each survey box below.

Less than 1 minute to complete
Can be anonymous or student-specific
Opportunity to link to BCSSE data
Data and reports available live, 24/7

The September Check-In includes items about what students are excited about, looking forward to, and their optimism. It also asks the student if they need an any additional information.

1. How are things going so far this semester?
Response options: 3=Happy face; 2=Neutral face; Sad face=1

2. Are you optimistic about the fall semester?
Response options: Yes=3; Somewhat=2; No=1

3. Are you excited about:
Response options: Yes=3; Somewhat=2; No=3

a. Making new friends?
b. Participating in campus activities?
c. Attending athletic events?
d. Attending classes and learning?
e. Meeting professors?
f. Learning about career opportunities?
g. Are you considering withdrawing from school?
h. Response options: Yes=3; Somewhat=2; No=1

4. What is your class level?
Response options: First-year, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, Other

<Canadian version>
4. What is your current year of study in university?
Response options: 1st year, 2nd year, 3rd year, 4th year, Other

5. Would you like more information about or assistance with:
(Select all that apply)
_ Advising
_ Career services
_ Campus activities
_ Financial concerns
_ Health services
_ Mental health services
_ Other: _________________
<If any selected above, this will appear below>

6. Please provide the best email address to reach you. ________________________

End of survey message:
Thank you for participating! We hope you have a great Fall Semester.

NOTE: The local institution will designate a contact who will receive the email that contains the students email and the selections for question 6. The institution will be instructed that the designated contact must be a staff member who is authorized to receive personal student information and who will act promptly and appropriately to the student request for more information. Only the email address provided by the student and responses to question 6 will be provided to the designated contact.

The October Check-In is very similar to the check-in offered in October 2024. It still asks students about their concerns, emotional health, financial concerns, safety, with an added question about academic progress.

1. How are things going so far this semester?
Response options: Happy face=3; Neutral face=2; Sad face=1

2. Are you concerned about:
Response options: Yes=3; Somewhat=2; No=1
a. your personal safety on campus?
b. your mental health?
c. your academic progress? (New for 2025)
d. having adequate food or housing?
e. being able to afford to stay in college?

3. Are you considering withdrawing from school?
Response options: Yes=3; Somewhat=2; No=1

4. What is your class level?
Response options: First-year, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, Other

<Canadian version>
4. What is your current year of study in university?
Response options: 1st year, 2nd year, 3rd year, 4th year, Other

End of survey message:
<Insert school name here> is here to help.
Please contact us if you need any assistance.
Contact: <Insert campus URL or email>

The November Check-In asks students about their plans to return after the December break. Also includes items about academic progress/performance and their overall satisfaction.

1. How did things go this semester?
Response options: Happy face=3; Neutral face=2; Sad face=1

2. This semester, are you satisfied with:
Response options: Yes=3; Somewhat=2; No=1
a. your academic performance?
b. the quality of teaching?
c. availability of your professors for out-of-class support?
d. campus environment and support services?

3. Which support services did you use:
(Select all that apply)
_ Writing Center
_ Counseling and Wellness
_ Math Center
_ Career Center
_ Academic Success Center
_ Personal Health
_ Peer Tutoring
_ Other: ____________________
_ Academic Advising
_ Did no use any support services

Note: Only the associated "helpful" item(s) will appear below for each item selected above item; skip to 4 if “Did no use any support services” selected.

Response options: Yes=3; Somewhat=2; No=1
Was the Writing Center helpful?
Was the Math Center helpful?
Was the Academic Success Center helpful?
Was Peer Tutoring helpful?
Was Academic Advising helpful?
Was Counseling and Wellness helpful?
Was the Career Center helpful?
Was Personal Health services helpful?

4. Do you plan to return after the December break?
Response options: Yes=3; Not sure=2; No=1; Not applicable (e.g., graduating)=9

Note: Show only if “No” or “Not sure” selected; skip to 5 if “Yes” or “Not applicable” selected

4a. Why are you considering not returning after the December break? (Select all that apply)
_ Transferring to another school
_ Financial constraints
_ Not happy here
_ Personal well-being or health issues
_ Getting (got) a job
_ Family issues
_ Poor academic performance
_ Other: ____________________
_ Campus climate

5. What is your class level?
Response options: First-year, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, Other

<Canadian version>
5. What is your current year of study in university?
Response options: 1st year, 2nd year, 3rd year, 4th year, Other

End of survey message:
Thank you for participating! We hope you had a great Fall Semester.

What is the cost?

The costs below are for each survey selected. The cost for each Check-In survey for currently registered BCSSE 2025 schools ranges from $250 to $1470. The costs for schools not currently registered for BCSSE 2025 ranges from $450 to $1674.

Registration for schools wishing to participate only in Check-In surveys will open later this spring. Schools registering for BCSSE 2025 can add on these Check-In options at the time of BCSSE registration.

Total Undergraduate Enrollment	BCSSE 2025 Schools	All Other Schools
up to 500 students	$250	$450
501 to 1,000 students	$335	$535
1,001 to 2,000 students	$500	$700
2,001 to 3,000 students	$830	$1,030
3,001 to 4,000 students	$1,165	$1,365
more than 4,000 students	$1,470	$1,674

Administration

It is administered to students locally by each campus. Options for administration include, posting links to student portals, advising/faculty encouragement to complete, using email, and providing opportunities in class for student to complete.

Why Participate

Institutions can use data from these surveys to:.

Provide support or assistance directly to students. For example, data/reports can be provided to academic advisors for students expressing concern about their academic progress. Another example is to reach out to students who express concerns regarding mental health. All of the data and reports are available in real-time, 24/7. This allows staff to reach out to students when assistance is most needed.
Provide summative reports regarding the campus mood and climate. For example, a report for student affairs can include what students are excited about in September and looking forward to. Student affairs can respond in real-time with programming and services that build on this enthusiasm. Another example is a report regarding students’ feeling safe on campus, particularly if a campus event just occurred that may cause a sense of fear or uncertainty.
Provide comparative summative results by other institution types. This would allow an institution to gauge whether their student experiences are part of a larger trend or if something unique that is happening on their campus.
Connect student responses on the check-in surveys with their prior BCSSE responses and future NSSE responses (if available). Specialized reports will provide detailed information to the campus regarding patterns and relationships with incoming characteristics and their subsequent experiences later in the fall. Also, connecting with NSSE provides additional context to help understand student engagement and success later in the spring.

Complete, raw data files will be provided to all campuses. When possible, the data files will include linked BCSSE and NSSE data.

How it works

Institutions can choose to use student-specific links, institution-specific links, or a combination of both.

Institution-specific links will provide summary results and data using dashboards that are available 24/7. Summary results can answer questions such as, "What are the primary concerns with our new students this fall?" and "Where are do we to allocate resources based on student concerns?" Student responses using the institution-specific only links will be anonymous. Student ID and name are not collected.

Student-specific links will provide summary results and data using dashboards that are available 24/7. The dashboards provides immediate access to data needed for staff (e.g., advisors) to reach out to students who may need some assistance. The data also also connect to the responses students provided on BCSSE earlier in the summer/fall (if available). Institutions using student-specific links will also get summary reports. Student responses using the student-specific links are not anonymous.

Fall Check-In

Fall Check-In

The September Check-In Survey

The October Check-In Survey

The November Check-In Survey

What is the cost?

Administration

Why Participate

How it works

Evidence-Based Improvement in Higher Education resources and social media channels