We are pleased to announce that the 2025 administrations of NSSE and FSSE have launched and are in the field. 395 (NSSE) and 69 (FSSE) participating institutions are administering surveys customized to their specific needs!
Participating colleges and universities selected customization options to tailor both student recruitment efforts and survey content. Campuses customized recruitment message content, including signatories and subject lines, and opted to post survey links for students in their portal/learning management system. Survey content is customizable by adding additional questions via NSSE's Topical Modules or by participating in a consortium, as well as choosing from among four different open-ended questions on the final page of the survey. Institutions also have the option of customizing their open-ended question, too.
Quick facts on the 2025 administration:
- NSSE 2025 institutions will have access to raw live data downloads in the spring before receiving their data reports in the fall.
- FSSE 2025 institutions have access to interactive Qualtrics dashboards, which update as participating faculty complete the survey.
- Almost all (91%) of participating NSSE institutions elected to use at least one Topical Module.
- The Academic Advising Topical Module continued to be the most popular NSSE Topical Module - chosen by 31% of module-participating institutions in 2025.
- Incentives are vital to encouraging student response, and this year 66% of participating NSSE institutions are using incentives, and among those institutions, 53% used drawings for gift cards.
- Both NSSE and FSSE now offer participating institutions the option to send their own survey invitation messages.
- NSSE offered a Nonresponder Outreach Service for soliciting feedback from standard NSSE administration nonresponders by using much shorter surveys; 57 institutions are participating in this new option!