NSSENSSENSSE
A FSSE administration has a variety of options that can help you to increase faculty participation and get the most out of your data and results. Customization includes a variety of options within three broad categories:
Some of these customization choices are required and some are optional. Details for all options are below.
FSSE participating institutions may append up to two FSSE Topical Modules - short sets of questions on designated topics such as academic advising, civic engagement, cultural diversity, and/or writing. Modules allow for deeper exploration of important areas based on campus needs. Participants may add one module for no extra cost, but there is an administrative fee for adding an additional Topical Module. Note that consortium members may only administer one module.
NSSE consortium participants additionally have the opportunity to add parallel consortium questions to a FSSE administration for faculty/instructors. Additional information about NSSE consortia is available on the NSSE consortia page. The NSSE consortium coordinator is responsible for finalizing FSSE consortium questions and recruiting institutions for participation. Participating institutions receive a report of instructional staff responses to these consortium questions as well as faculty responses to consortium questions in their FSSE data file. There is an additional fee for adding consortium questions. See examples of FSSE consortium question sets.
FSSE offers institutions two different options for sending recruitment messages to instructional staff. Institutions can send their own messages, or institutions can elect to have FSSE staff send recruitment messages. Institutions must provide FSSE staff with a population file of instructional staff as part of either option.
Institutions who choose to send their own recruitment messages will be able to send customized messages using their own internal emailing systems. FSSE staff will still require that institutions upload a population file so that they can create customized links to track faculty responses. Although this option has the benefit of internal email systems, your choice of delivery date and time, and your own customized messages, FSSE staff will be unable to provide institutions with information about who has responded to the survey given our promise of confidentiality to respondents. This will likely result in faculty continuing to receive messages despite having already responded to the survey. The survey questionnaire, however, will not allow for duplicate entries from a single personalized link.
Participating institutions have the opportunity to have recruitment messages delivered by FSSE. This option comes with two customized details: a customized signatory on the invitation message and a choice from a selection of recruitment schedules.
We also advise that institutions send a pre-survey announcement. Unlike all other contacts, the Pre-Survey Announcement is sent directly to instructional staff by participating institutions. We recommend that this message be sent one week before the survey officially launches.
Dear {name}:
I am writing to announce that [institution nickname] has chosen to participate in an exciting national initiative.
A number of our students were invited to participate in a national survey that asked them about their college experience, how much time they spend studying, and the types of interactions they have with instructional staff. The results from the study have been used in a variety of ways, including assessment, institutional improvement, and prompting discussion on teaching and learning initiatives.
To gain information on the instructional staff (faculty, instructors, graduate students who teach, etc.) perspective on these issues, I invite you to participate in the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE). FSSE (pronounced “fessie”) is designed to measure instructional staff expectations for student engagement in educational practices that are known to be empirically linked with high levels of learning and development.
For more information about FSSE, including a copy of the survey, please visit fsse.indiana.edu.
Dear [Prefix/First] [Last]:
A number of our students were invited to participate in a national survey that asked them about their college experience, how much time they spend studying, and the types of interactions they have with instructional staff. The results from the study can be used in a variety of ways, including assessment, institutional improvement, and prompting discussion on teaching and learning initiatives.
To prepare for a discussion of the results, I invite you to complete the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement – a corresponding survey sent to members of the community who teach undergraduates and is administered through the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University. This survey will take about 18-25 minutes to finish.
The survey is at: [SURVEY HYPERLINK]
The link above is unique to you. Please do not pass on this email to anyone else. More information about FSSE is at http://fsse.indiana.edu.
Your participation is voluntary, though I hope you will respond.
Thank you very much for considering this important request. I expect that the information you and other instructional staff members provide will help identify areas of strength and improvement, as well as lead to constructive discussions related to teaching, learning, and the quality of [Institution name] students’ educational experience.
Sincerely,
[Signatory lines 1-8]
Dear [Prefix/First] [Last]:
You were recently sent an e-mail inviting you to respond to the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement – a questionnaire like one that many of your students were invited to complete. The information you and other instructional staff (faculty, instructors, graduate students who teach, etc.) provide will help identify areas of strength and improvement that I hope will lead to constructive discussions related to teaching, learning, and the quality of your students’ educational experience.
The survey is at: [SURVEY HYPERLINK]
The link above is unique to you. Please do not pass on this email to anyone else. More information about FSSE is at http://fsse.indiana.edu.
Your participation is voluntary, though I hope you will respond.
Thanks again for considering this request!
Sincerely,
Allison BrckaLorenz, PhD
FSSE Principal Investigator
Associate Research Scientist
Center for Postsecondary Research, Indiana University
Dear [Prefix/First] [Last]:
There is still time for you to respond to the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE) being administered at [Institution Name]. FSSE closely parallels the NSSE questionnaire that many of your students have been invited to take, and we are very interested in seeing independent feedback from instructional staff (faculty, instructors, and/or graduate students who teach) for an instructive complement to the students’ responses. I hope you will be able to provide your input.
The survey is at: [SURVEY HYPERLINK]
The link above is unique to you. Please do not pass on this email to anyone else. More information about FSSE is at http://fsse.indiana.edu.
Thanks again for considering this request!
Sincerely,
Allison BrckaLorenz, PhD
FSSE Principal Investigator
Associate Research Scientist
Center for Postsecondary Research, Indiana University
Dear [Prefix/First] [Last]:
Over the past few weeks, you have received a few emails requesting that you complete the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement. I hope you will be able to participate. This is the last official message you will receive about this year’s FSSE administration.
The survey is at: [SURVEY HYPERLINK]
The link above is unique to you. Please do not pass on this email to anyone else. More information about FSSE is at http://fsse.indiana.edu.
This online survey parallels a national survey recently administered to students at four-year institutions. The results from the study are used in a variety of ways, including assessment, institutional improvement, and prompting discussion on teaching and learning initiatives.
Please complete the survey as soon as possible. Your help is essential to the success of this important national initiative. I also want you to know that your participation is voluntary, though I hope you will respond.
Thank you again for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Allison BrckaLorenz, PhD
FSSE Principal Investigator
Associate Research Scientist
Center for Postsecondary Research, Indiana University
The sending e-mail address for messages is FSSE Survey <noreply@qualtrics-survey.com>. You should not assume that your system will let FSSE messages through! Each year, several institutions’ systems treat our e-mails as spam, which prevents them from reaching their instructional staff. A resource called Preparing for Message Delivery contains information regarding how to prepare your campus email system to receive FSSE messages. Please share that resource with the appropriate information technology staff at your institution to help ensure that FSSE e-mail messages are delivered to your instructional staff.
Institutions have the option to choose which instructional staff they would like to survey. We recommend that institutions select faculty, instructors, and/or graduate students who have taught or are planning to teach at least one undergraduate course during the current academic year. To identify the faculty members to be surveyed, institutions will provide a list containing the prefix or first names, last names, and email addresses of these members. A population file of instructional staff should be created and uploaded per FSSE's population file instructions.
Additionally, institutions may include a grouping variable within their population file submission to conduct analyses specific to their desired faculty grouping. The inclusion of a grouping variable allows institutions to conduct analyses specific to their institution. For example, some schools have opted to use their grouping variable to disaggregate instructional staff responses from multiple campuses. Institutions that submit a grouping variable should pick one that will help them produce results valuable to the institution, but will not identify individual faculty. If your grouping variable does not protect instructional staff confidentiality, the FSSE staff will contact you to discuss options for adjusting your grouping variable.
Yes, you may include a single group variable in your population file. However, there is one case in which your group variable data will not be returned to you: If it can be used to identify individual instructional staff (faculty, instructors, etc.) responses. To ensure instructional staff confidentiality, the grouping variable is reviewed at the time of submission to determine if a sizable proportion of instructional staff respondents are represented in each category. If your grouping variable does not protect instructional staff confidentiality, FSSE staff will contact you to discuss options for returning your grouping variable.
Because faculty identities must remain confidential to their institutions, any personally identifying information cannot be contained in a grouping variable (name, ID number, etc.).
The decision regarding what group to include is left to the institution and should be used to conduct analyses specific to the institution. The following are examples of grouping variables that may work well:
A group variable allows institutions to conduct analyses specific to their institution. For example, some schools have opted to use their group variable to disaggregate instructional staff responses from multiple campuses. Institutions that submit a group variable should pick one that will help them produce results valuable to the institution, but will not identify individual faculty.