NSSENSSENSSE
Through its student survey, The College Student Report, NSSE annually collects information at hundreds of four-year colleges and universities about first-year and senior students' participation in programs and activities that institutions provide for their learning and personal development. The results provide an estimate of how undergraduates spend their time and what they gain from attending college.
NSSE provides participating institutions a variety of reports that compare their students' responses with those of students at self-selected groups of comparison institutions. Comparisons are available for ten Engagement Indicators, six High-Impact Practices, and all individual survey questions. Each fall, NSSE also publishes its Annual Results, which reports topical research and trends in student engagement results. NSSE researchers also present and publish research findings throughout the year.
Bachelor's degree-granting institutions are invited to participate in NSSE to assess the quality of undergraduate education—providing institutions diagnostic, actionable information that fosters and catalyzes evidence-based improvement efforts. NSSE registration opens in late summer and closes in fall for the following spring administration.
252,336 students responded to NSSE in 2022. Approximately 6.5 million students have completed the survey since 2000.
Survey items on The College Student Report represent empirically confirmed "good practices" in undergraduate education. That is, they reflect behaviors by students and institutions that are associated with desired outcomes of college. NSSE doesn’t assess student learning directly, but survey results point to areas where colleges and universities are performing well and aspects of the undergraduate experience that could be improved.
Institutions use their data to identify aspects of the undergraduate experience inside and outside the classroom that can be improved through changes in policies and practices more consistent with good practices in undergraduate education. This information is also used by prospective college students, their parents, college counselors, academic advisors, institutional research officers, and researchers to learn more about how students spend their time at different colleges and universities and what they gain from their experiences.
NSSE's widespread use has spawned several other nationally used instruments including:
Conceived in 1998 as a new approach to gathering information about collegiate quality and piloted in 1999 with funding from The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Read our Origins and Potential written to document the 10-year anniversary of the 2000 survey administration.
The questionnaire was updated in 2013 to develop new measures, refine existing measures, improve clarity, and update terminology.
NSSE is a self-supporting auxiliary unit within the Center for Postsecondary Research (CPR) in the Indiana University School of Education. Other CPR studies and related projects at Indiana University and elsewhere are listed below.