The following tables summarize the average amount of assigned writing by related-major category. Results are displayed for the updated NSSE (results for NSSE 2014) and original NSSE (results for NSSE 2012). Please note that given revisions to the writing items in the updated NSSE, the writing estimates are not comparable across survey versions.
Updated NSSE (Since 2013)
SPSS Syntax: Amount of Writing by Related-Major Category – Updated NSSE (Since 2013)
To estimate the number of pages of assigned writing, the average number of writing assignments of a given page-length was multiplied by an approximate number of pages for the assignment type (see Estimating Number of Pages Written for calculation details). The SPSS syntax linked above allows you to recreate these findings from
Original NSSE (2000-2012)
SPSS Syntax: Amount of Writing by Related-Major Category – Original NSSE (2000-2012)
To estimate the number of pages of assigned writing for the original version of NSSE, the average number of assignments of a given page-length was multiplied by the mid-points of the page ranges (with 25 pages used for papers of 20 pages or more). The SPSS syntax linked above allows you to recreate these findings from your NSSE data file.
| Average Number of Written Pages by Related-Major Category (NSSE 2014) | ||
|---|---|---|
| First-Year | Senior | |
| Arts & Humanities | 49 | 81 |
| Biological Sciences, Agriculture, & Natural Resources | 47 | 66 |
| Physical Sciences, Mathematics, & Computer Science | 44 | 56 |
| Social Sciences | 52 | 89 |
| Business | 48 | 73 |
| Communications, Media, & Public Relations | 50 | 81 |
| Education | 46 | 84 |
| Engineering | 46 | 88 |
| Health Professions | 43 | 69 |
| Social Service Professions | 47 | 87 |
Original NSSE (2000-2012)
SPSS Syntax: Amount of Writing by Related-Major Category – Original NSSE (2000-2012)
To estimate the number of pages of assigned writing for the original version of NSSE, the average number of assignments of a given page-length was multiplied by the mid-points of the page ranges (with 25 pages used for papers of 20 pages or more). The SPSS syntax linked above allows you to recreate these findings from your NSSE data file.
| Average Number of Written Pages by Related-Major Category (NSSE 2012) | ||
|---|---|---|
| First-Year | Senior | |
| Arts & Humanities | 91 | 141 |
| Biological Sciences | 86 | 122 |
| Business | 90 | 145 |
| Education | 86 | 136 |
| Engineering | 81 | 135 |
| Physical Sciences | 79 | 111 |
| Professional | 83 | 127 |
| Social Sciences | 96 | 160 |
| Other | 88 | 132 |
| Undecided | 82 | -- |