Colleges and universities are invited to register for NSSE 2026! Regular administrations of NSSE and FSSE enable institutions to assess and track efforts to improve the quality of undergraduate education.
Evolving NSSE with an eye toward connection, contextualization, and customization to re-engage an ever-changing higher education landscape as the premier partner in postsecondary change.
Debuted in 2022, the Early Raw Data Download allows participating institutions to access their NSSE survey data as early as April—months before reports are delivered in August—to get a jump on assessment, planning, and internal reporting. The early raw data include responses to all core survey items, Topical Modules, consortium items, open-text comments, and if applicable, your Custom Item Set. It also includes information provided in your population file.
NSSE Shorts is designed to augment a standard NSSE administration with quick feedback and valuable insights.
Institutions can choose specific item sets from the Topical Modules and the core survey, addressing key areas such as academic advising, career preparation, mental health, perceived learning gains, and more. An optional demographic set is also available to support deeper analysis.
NSSE Shorts is available in fall, winter, and spring for undergraduate students.
In the summer of 2024, NSSE created a new position – the Campus Liaison – to support NSSE’s participating institutions. The Campus Liaison is responsible for providing excellent customer service to NSSE institutions. In addition to answering client questions and addressing client concerns, the Campus Liaison will be a dependable resource for campus contacts during their NSSE administrations. The Campus Liaison specializes in NSSE customization, recruitment, promotion, reporting, and distribution. Clients can expect consistent, timely, and comprehensive communication and guidance from the Campus Liaison for all their NSSE needs!
Perhaps the most popular method for customizing NSSE to institutional needs is appending Topical Modules—short sets of questions on designated topics such as career preparation, civic engagement, and mental health. Over NSSE's past three administrations, 93% of institutions chose to add one or more Topical Modules to the core survey.
NSSE continues to review and update existing Topical Modules to ensure timely, representative responses, as well as to develop new offerings, such as the Mental Health & Well-Being module in 2023 and the several modules updated for 2025.
Traditionally, NSSE sends five recruitment messages to your students during the survey administration period. Now, you have the option to select to send these five recruitment messages directly from your campus during the registration process if you prefer.
NSSE suggests posting individualized survey links in institutional portals and learning management systems as part of your institution's survey recruitment efforts. A document with individual links is provided to all institutions without additional cost.
To give more flexibility to institutions to ask their instructional staff questions that are most important to them but keep costs low, the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (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.
The Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE) complements NSSE by documenting instructional staff perceptions of student engagement and use of effective educational practices. Together, FSSE and NSSE results stimulate productive campus discussions about teaching, learning, and the quality of undergraduate education.
The Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) complements NSSE by providing an in-depth understanding of entering students’ prior academic and co-curricular experiences, as well as their expectations for participating in educationally purposeful activities during the upcoming college year.
