NSSE Institutional Report Guide

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Printable Version

Information on this page in PDF format.

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Accessing Your Results

NSSE provides three ways to access your results online—all via the secure Institution Interface.

  • Download zip files with respondent data (in both SPSS and Excel formats) and institutional reports from the “Data & Reports” table.
  • From the same table, access your Administration Summary, Selected Comparison Groups, and Online Institutional Report (a user-friendly way to access and view your NSSE reports in a web browser).
  • Interact with the Report Builder, a web-based tool for creating reports tailored to student and institutional characteristics of your choosing (updated in the fall).

NSSE Overview

A profile of participating institutions and respondents including response rates, trends in customization options, and related information.

Survey Instruments

View the core NSSE items (US and Canadian) and Topical Modules in two forms, as a more readable and condensed list of items, and in the online format as it appears to students. View annual survey item changes since 2013. Also available is informed consent language.

Engagement Indicators

Information about the ten NSSE Engagement Indicators organized within four themes, including component items, details about their creation and scoring, and interpreting results.

High-Impact Practices

Information about the six High-Impact Practices collected by NSSE, including item wording, scoring, and interpreting results. The updated HIP Report (2023) features more student identities in the participation table.

Data Codebooks

Codebooks detail all questions, scales, derived variables, variable names, response options, and coding information represented in your survey data (including institution-provided & survey administration variables).

Student Comment Prompts

Information about NSSE's open-ended prompts, your students' comments and datafile, and tips and examples for using students' opinions in assessment.

Helpful Video Resources

A Guided Tour of Your NSSE Institutional Report

Bob Gonyea is your guide for a comprehensive tour of NSSE reports and data. Discover how to access your reports, navigate their features, and leverage them to their fullest potential. Get started with confidence and unlock valuable insights!

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NSSE Campuswide Mapping, Part I

Jillian Kinzie discusses the importance of connecting NSSE data to the people and how NSSE's campuswide mapping tools aid in this effort.

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NSSE Campuswide Mapping, Part II

Kevin Wenger walks us through the process of accessing and using the NSSE Campuswide Mapping tools discussed in Part I.

Watch Tutorial

How Institutions Use NSSE Data

Read how campuses use their NSSE results to improve the undergraduate experience. This page introduces a range of data-use resources beginning with the introductory guide, Using NSSE Data, which broadly describes approaches to using NSSE results and reports.

Lessons From the Field

Lessons From the Field is a repository of in-depth institutional examples of NSSE data use.

NSSE Data Use in Brief

The short series presents institutional examples organized by specific themes: Topical Modules to advance institutional goals, High-Impact Practices, specific student populations, and enhancing educational practice.

Analysis Resources

Syntax and tips for working with NSSE data.

NSSE Data Users Guide

Suggestions and worksheets for sharing NSSE results with others.

Accreditation Toolkits

Learn how to use NSSE results in your institution’s national, regional, and professional accreditation efforts.

Tips for More Inclusive Data Sharing and Analysis

Designed to help campuses work with data from small student populations, this guide offers tips and resources for analyzing and comparing the experiences reported by these students. Be sure to make use of new student-reported variables for gender identity, sexual orientation, Greek-letter organizations (US only), and ZIP code (US only).

A NSSE Data User's Guide: Sense of Belonging

In 2020, NSSE added a trio of items to assess students' sense of belonging. This guide highlights how to examine data, including variation by student background, and how results can inform institutional action.

Displaying NSSE Results on Institution Websites

Posting standard NSSE-generated reports, such as the Snapshot can be helpful. View how institutions can go a step further by displaying results in interactive, accessible formats for internal and external audiences.

Sharing and Disseminating NSSE Results

Examples and user-generated tips for sharing NSSE data with different audiences.

NSSE Item Campuswide Mapping

Find connections between NSSE results and the interests of campus units as well as ways to facilitate data sharing, campuswide involvement, and action on NSSE results.

Publications and Presentations

Find NSSE-related publications, recent presentations, and scholarly papers.

Webinars & Tutorials

Free interactive and on-demand webinars. More than 40 available for viewing on the NSSE channel, and more tutorials on NSSE's YouTube site.

Response Rates: FAQ

Answers to commonly asked questions about response rates and interpreting survey results.

Conceptual Framework

Introduces the concept of student engagement and the origins and developments in NSSE’s history over two decades. Check out the brief resource, "A Friendly Introduction to Student Engagement".

Psychometric Portfolio

A collection of evidence developed by NSSE to support the uses and interpretations of results.

NSSE Essentials: A Synthesis of NSSE's Contributions

Series documenting what we have learned - NSSE's essential contributions to the field - over two decades surveying millions of college students.

Annual Results: Engagement Insights

Engagement Insights: Survey Findings on the Quality of Undergraduate Education is a yearly online publication of new findings and approaches to the data, including faculty insights and new examples of institutional data use.

NSSE Sightings: Our Research Blog

Engagement research should not be hard to find! NSSE Sightings is a blog featuring our latest scholarly publications, conference presentations, findings from webinars, institutional assessments, and other topics by CPR staff.

Foundational Approaches to Practice: Project DEEP Briefs—Promoting Student Success

A series from NSSE’s early years based on in-depth examination of 20 Project DEEP schools with higher-than-predicted graduation rates and demonstrated approaches to student success.

Contact us!

NSSE staff are a great resource to help you with any questions about making use of your data and reports.

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