To give more flexibility to institutions to ask their instructional staff questions that are most important to them but keep costs low, FSSE is introducing a fully modular “a la carte” survey experience for 2026. In short, FSSE will now have a very brief core survey, and participating institutions can then choose 4-6 content-focused modules of items from a large bank of item sets.
A Shorter Core Survey
The new FSSE core survey consists of items that have proven beneficial for understanding faculty contributions to and expectations for undergraduate engagement across a wide variety of contexts. Aspects of instructional staff environments, the time they spend on various scholarly activities, employment characteristics, and social identity demographics have all been critical to the work of educational researchers and assessment professionals in understanding effective educational practice.
To what extent to do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
I have the resources I need to do my best teaching (office space, technology, materials, etc.)
The environments (classroom, online, etc.) I teach in are conducive to quality teaching.
I know where to go for help with teaching at my institution.
In a typical 7‐day week, about how many hours do you spend on each of the following?
Response options: 0, 1‐4, 5‐8, 9‐12, 13‐16, 17‐20, 21‐30, More than 30 hours
Teaching activities (preparing, teaching class sessions, grading, meeting with students outside of class, etc.)
Advising students
Research, creative, or scholarly activities
Service activities (committee work, administrative duties, etc.)
What is the general academic discipline of your appointment?
Response options: Arts & Humanities; Biological Sciences, Agriculture, & Natural Resources; Physical Sciences, Mathematics, & Computer Science; Social Sciences; Business; Communications, Media, & Public Relations; Education; Engineering; Health Professions; Social Service Professions; Other disciplines
Note that instructional staff are then asked a more specific follow-up question about their disciplinary appointment. See the full list of options.
During this academic term, does your institution consider you to be employed full‐time or part‐time?
Response options: Full‐time, Part‐time
Does your institution consider you to be an adjunct faculty member?
Response options: Yes, No
Do you hold an administrative position?
Response options: Yes, please specify: ; No
Which of the following best describes your academic rank or title?
Response options: Professor; Associate Professor; Assistant Professor; Instructor; Senior or Master Lecturer; Lecturer; Clinical Professor; Clinical Associate Professor; Clinical Assistant Professor; Clinical Instructor; Clinical Lecturer; Senior Research Professor or Scientist; Associate Research Professor or Scientist; Assistant Research Professor or Scientist; Research Instructor; Professor of Practice, Professional Practice or Artist in Residence; Emeritus faculty; Visiting faculty; Graduate Teaching Assistant Other, please specify:
What is your current tenure status?
Response options: Tenured; On tenure track but not tenured; Not on tenure track, but this institution has a tenure system; No tenure system at this institution
Do you hold a terminal degree (the highest degree awarded)?
Response options: Yes, in the field that I teach; Yes, in a different field; No
At the time you earned your undergraduate degree, what was the highest level of education completed by your parent(s), guardian(s), or those who raised you?
Response options: Did not finish high school; High school diploma or G.E.D.; Attended college but did not complete degree; Associate degree (A.A., A.S., etc.); Bachelor’s degree (B.A., B.S., etc.); Master’s degree (M.A., M.S., etc.); Doctoral degree or professional degree (Ph.D., J.D., M.D., etc.); I prefer not to respond
How would you describe your gender identity? (Select all that apply.)
Response options: Woman; Man; Trans/Transgender; Agender or gender neutral; Demigender; Genderqueer, non-binary, gender non-conforming, or genderfluid; Two-spirit; Cis/Cisgender; Questioning or unsure; Another gender identity, please specify: ; I prefer not to respond
How would you describe your sexual orientation? (Select all that apply.)
Response options: Straight or heterosexual; Bisexual; Lesbian; Gay; Queer; Pansexual or polysexual; Ace, gray, or asexual; Demisexual; Questioning or unsure; Another sexual orientation, please specify: ; I prefer not to respond
How would you describe your race or ethnicity? (Select all that apply.) [Note that item does not appear on Canadian instrument.]
Response options: Asian or Asian American; Black or African American; Hispanic, Latina/o, Latine, or Latinx; Indigenous, American Indian, Native American, or Alaska Native; Middle Eastern, Arab, or North African; Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander; White; Another race or ethnicity; I prefer not to respond
Are you a U.S. citizen or permanent resident? [Note that item does not appear on Canadian instrument.]
Response options: Yes, No
[If answered No] What is your country of citizenship?
Response options: [Pull-down menu]
Do you have a disability or condition that impacts your learning, working, or living activities?
Response options: Yes, No, I prefer not to respond
[If Yes] Which of the following impacts your learning, working, or living activities? (Select all that apply.)
Response options:
Sensory disability
Blind or low vision; Deaf or hard of hearing
Physical disability
Mobility condition that affects walking; Mobility condition that does not affect walking; Speech or communication disorder; Traumatic or acquired brain injury (TBI)
Mental health or developmental disability
Anxiety; Attention deficit or hyperactivity disorder (ADD or ADHD); Autism spectrum; Depression; Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD); Another mental health or developmental disability (schizophrenia, eating disorder, etc.)
Another disability or condition
Chronic medical condition (asthma, diabetes, Crohn’s disease, etc.); Learning disability; Intellectual disability; Disability or condition not listed
A Variety of Content Modules
Although pricing is dependent upon your institution's instructional staff sample size, for a base cost, institutions can choose 4 content modules derived from items on the classic FSSE core survey, the classic FSSE Topical Modules, consortium item sets, or a selection of item sets from our partner assessment project the College + University Teaching Environment.
For institutions that want to add content modules beyond the given 4, additional content modules can be appended per our pricing schedule. Although we advise not adding more than two additional content modules (for a total of 6) given survey length and fatigue, we will have occasional experimental item sets available for no additional cost.
We're in the process of developing cleaner, clearer versions of content module item sets so check back soon for more! Below is a brief summary of the available content modules from the classic FSSE core as well as general topics in the set and previous item numbering from the classic FSSE core. Also, item sets with an asterisk (*) include course-based questions and when chosen, the course characteristics item set will be required (no additional charge; #9, #14-#18, #32).
*Effective Educational Practice (#23-#25, #27-#29)
Teaching time spent, HIP engagement, courseload, Student-Faculty Interaction
Faculty Perceptions of the Student Experience (#1-#2, #4, #22)
Supportive Environment, Quality of Interactions, perceived time spent on various activities, HIP values
For now, current Topical Module item text is on our Topical Module web site. We are working to gather item sets into a more streamlined presentation so check back soon! Also, item sets with an asterisk (*) include course-based questions and when chosen, the course characteristics item set will be required (no additional charge; #9, #14-#18, #32).
Academic Advising
Career and Workforce Development
Civic Engagement
*Experiences with Writing
*Inclusiveness and Engagement with Cultural Diversity
Teaching Professional Development
Transferable Skills
Scholarship of Teaching & Learning
For institutions participating as part of registered consortia, these items sets are now included as part of the content module package. We are working to gather item sets into a more streamlined presentation so check back soon! For now, you can see consortia information on our FSSE Consortium Questions page.
We are also providing institutions with the opportunity to include content modules derived from our partner project, the College + University Teaching Environment assessment project. We are working to gather item sets into a more streamlined presentation so check back soon! For now, we've listed content modules and included topics below.
Processes and Policies: Balance
Work-life balance, workload balance
Processes and Policies: Hiring, Tenure, and Promotion
Equitable hiring, teaching in hiring, equitable review, teaching in review
Professional Relationships
Mentoring, support networks, collegial relationships, respectful environment
Senior leadership, diversity commitment, diverse others
Instructional Staff Wellbeing
Mental health, stress, sense of belonging, identity values
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: All of this customization sounds great, but what if we just want our "usual" FSSE core and a Topical Module or two?
A: Sometimes you just can't top a classic! If the classic FSSE experience worked for you, we'll have an easy "classic" path to add the four classic core content modules to your survey administration, and you can still add additional modules of your choosing after that.
Q: What if we only want a couple content modules, a shorter FSSE experience similar to NSSE Shorts?
A: If you're interested in that, do let us know! We're currently not offering such an option, but we're open to the idea if there's demand for it.
Q: Why is the FSSE pricing so different than it used to be?
A: There are a couple reasons for that. The previous pricing scheme was dependent on an exact count in an institution's population file, and we wanted to be able to simplify and speed up the process of getting early price quotes. It's difficult for institutions to pinpoint exact instructional staff counts ahead of time, but we thought ranges would be easier and more accurate for planning. But going to sample ranges meant having to price administrations in broad bands of sample sizes. We used several years of prior registration and invoicing information to create sample size bands and choose prices for each band that wouldn't be notably more expensive than past prices. We wanted to offer a speedier, more efficient, but not more expensive, way to partner with institutions.
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