Recently, Allison BrckaLorenz, FSSE Project Manager and Research Analyst; Bridget Yuhas, FSSE Project Associate; and Sarah Hurtado, NSSE Institute Project Associate, presented a webinar on how FSSE demographic data can be used in campus-level research. It first discussed the importance of looking within user institutions to research faculty practices and examine faculty perceptions of the student experience. Next, it provided an overview of the FSSE instrument, what it measures, and its intended uses and audiences. Example research questions that could be explored using FSSE data were included throughout the presentation. A few examples of these are:
- How does faculty emphasis on higher-order learning activities vary by general education requirement?
- How does time spent on scholarly activities vary by tenure status?
- How do faculty course goals vary by years of teaching experience?
- How do faculty expectations for students' time spent preparing for class compare to their perceptions of students' actual time spent preparing for class?
The webinar also discussed the FSSE demographic items and options for the FSSE grouping variable institutions may include in their population file. Examples of analysis that can be done using these demographic items (e.g. faculty rank) were given, as were examples of analysis done by course characteristics (e.g. upper or lower division). Finally, limitations and validity concerns were addressed along with proposed responses to these concerns.
To view the webinar, or check out other past NSSE, FSSE, or BCSSE webinars, please go to the webinar archive. If you have suggestions for future webinars, please let us know at nsse@indiana.edu.