NSSE changes in 2024 include modified end-of-survey open-text prompts, and additional updates to Greek-letter participation (made more inclusive of both social and service organizations in 2023) and gender identity items (which included new response options and were updated to a “select all that apply” format in 2023). We also substantially updated the Inclusiveness & Engagement With Cultural Diversity, Civic Engagement, Senior Transition, HIP Quality, and Information Literacy modules.

For more information and a complete list of changes by survey year, visit this page in the Survey Instruments section of our website.

Approximately 1 million first-year and senior students from 373 institutions (362 in the US, 5 in Canada, and 6 in other countries) were invited to participate in NSSE 2024. Of this population, 187,229 students responded to the survey. First-year and senior students were about equally represented among the respondent population.

NSSE’s sampling methodology calls for either a census of all first-year and senior students or a random selection of an equal number of students from each group, with sample sizes based on total undergraduate enrollment. Census recruitment is available via email, in which students get a survey invitation and up to four reminders.

Unless noted otherwise, the results presented below are from 349 institutions—344 in the US and 5 in Canada—that participated in NSSE 2024. Due to nonstandard details of their participation, 24 institutions are not represented. In these summary tables, and in the Institutional Report 2024, only data for census-administered and randomly sampled students are included. NSSE 2024 U.S. respondents profiled here include 89,335 first-year (50%) and 89,254 senior (50%) respondents.

Lesson Learned, Problem Solved

As reported in last year’s Overview, some participating NSSE institutions experienced an unexpected disruption in recruitment email delivery. The root cause turned out to be the quarantining of an Indiana University server by an overly zealous email security organization. Fortunately, due to various steps taken in preparation for NSSE 2024, institutions did not experience any email delivery interruptions again. To achieve this, NSSE increased the number of email delivery servers from two to four, partnered with an email delivery expert, MXtoolbox, to monitor blocklists, and gradually increased email delivery volume to avoid triggering security systems. Additional steps to maximize response rates involved refining an early warning dashboard system to quickly detect delivery issues as well as allowing schools to send recruitment emails and text messages on their own.

Large national survey providers face an increasingly challenging email delivery landscape as email service providers like Microsoft and Google continually improve their security systems to prevent spam and malicious activity. NSSE will continue to closely monitor these shifts in order to maximize student response.

U.S. Participating Institutions

NSSE 2024 participating institutions and students reflect the diversity of bachelor’s-granting colleges and universities in the US with respect to institution type, public or private control, size, region, and locale (Table 1). A searchable list of participating institutions is on the NSSE website.

Table 1: Profile of NSSE 2024 U.S. Institutions and Respondents and Bachelor’s-Granting U.S. Institutions and Their Students

Institutional Response Rates

The average response rate for U.S. NSSE 2024 institutions was 23%, a three-point decline from last year. The highest response rate among U.S. institutions was 81%, and about 35% of institutions achieved a response rate of 25% or higher. Higher average response rates were observed for small-size institutions and at institutions that offered incentives for survey participation (Table 2).

Sixty-two-percent of institutions chose to offer a survey incentive. On average, these institutions had a 26% institutional response rate, eight percentage points higher than those who did not offer an incentive. Institutions also had the option to use their learning management system or student portal to recruit students. In 2024, 99 U.S. institutions chose this option, and the average share of respondents who accessed the survey this way was 38%.

Table 2: NSSE 2024 U.S. Participation and Response Rates by Undergraduate Enrollment and Use of Incentives

Survey Customization

Participating institutions may append up to two additional question sets in the form of NSSE Topical Modules or consortium questions (for institutions sharing a common interest and participating as a NSSE consortium) (Table 3). Of the eleven modules available in 2024, the most widely adopted was Academic Advising (Table 4).

U.S. Respondent Profile

Table 5 displays selected demographic and enrollment characteristics of NSSE 2024 U.S. respondents alongside all U.S. bachelor’s degree-seeking students for comparison using IPEDS-defined institutional and student characteristics. NSSE reports use weights as appropriate to correct for disproportionate survey response related to institution-reported sex and enrollment status at each institution. Note that in 2023, NSSE included new and updated questions pertaining to student identities. These expanded items are presented and available in institution data files and reports.

Table 5: Characteristics of NSSE 2024 U.S. Respondents and Undergraduate Population at All U.S. Bachelor’s Degree-Granting Institution