Mapping High-Impact Practices to Advising Research Briefs
Kinzie, J., Keup, J., Holmes, B. Hilliard, K.
Mapping High-Impact Practices to Advising is a research brief series published by the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition in collaboration with the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) with grant funding from the Advising Success Network. This four-issue series explores a range of novel connections between advising and HIPs, elaborating on the multiple ways advising can be transformative in undergraduate education.
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Engagement insights: Survey findings on the quality of undergraduate education--Annual results 2018
National Survey of Student Engagement
This year‘s Annual Results examines how colleges and universities are preparing students for work and careers. Our analyses investigated the importance of educational context—with special attention to major—in shaping students‘ development of workplace-relevant skills such as working with others and solving real-world problems, as well as basic skills valued by employers such as critical thinking and effective writing and speaking. We also asked a subset of respondents a set of targeted questions about their career goals and their use of career planning resources and related activities. Finally, we used results from NSSE‘s Topical Module on First-Year Experiences and Senior Transitions to study seniors planning to take less-traveled paths after college.
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Concluding comments about student transition to higher education
Cole, J. S.

Advancing the study of a movement: The status of methods and measures in first-year experience and student transition research
Kinzie, J.

Expectations and engagement: How liberal arts college students compare with counterparts elsewhere
Gonyea, R. M., Kuh, G. D., Kinzie, J., Cruce, T., & Nelson Laird, T. F.
To learn more about the relationships between students‘ pre-college educational experiences and their expectations for and experiences in the first college year, we turned to data collected via the newly developed Beginning College Survey of Engagement (BCSSE) and the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). The BCSSE, a companion instrument to the NSSE, measures entering students‘ expectations for college (with a focus on participating in educationally purposeful activities). It also collects information about selected high school experiences. The NSSE assesses the extent to which first-year students in college engage in empirically-derived good educational practices and what they gain from their college experience. Thus, we can match entering students‘ responses to the BCSS with their responses to the NSSE at the end of the first year of college to obtain a more accurate picture of what students are like when they start college and what they expect of themselves and their college or university, and compare these responses to what students actually do during their first year of college. A better understanding of these phenomena will be instructive for revising pre-college socialization, orientation, and first-year experience initiatives as well as other efforts designed to enhance student learning and improve persistence and graduation rates. Because the Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts at Wabash College is committed to exploring various facets of and promoting liberal arts educational practices and ensuring that the nature of liberal arts education is better understood, we concentrate on the expectations and experiences of students at baccalaureate liberal arts colleges compared to students at other types of colleges and universities. Three central questions guided this analysis: (1) What do liberal arts college students expect to do during their first year of study in terms of academic, social and other activities? (2) How do the expectations of liberal arts college students compare with their experiences during the first year? (3) How do the expectations and experiences of liberal arts college students compare with those of their peers at other types of institutions?
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Undermatching and the first-year experience: Examining effect heterogeneity
Fosnacht, K.
Academic undermatching, which occurs when a student with the academic credentials to compete for admission to a selective school enrolls at a substantially less-selective institution, has increasingly gained the attention of policymakers and researchers as a potential reason for the nation‘s lower-than-desired college completion rate. The relationship between undermatching and college outcomes, however, is not well understood. Following up on a previous study that found undermatching had mixed effects on outcomes in first-year students‘ engagement, perceived gains, and satisfaction, this study examines if these relationships vary by race/ethnicity, parental education, and gender. Results indicate that the relationship between undermatching and the aforementioned outcomes differed by race/ethnicity and gender but not by parental education. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

The influence of high school engagement and pre-college expectations on first-year student engagement and self-reported learning outcomes at liberal arts institutions
Gonyea, R. M., Kuh, G. D., Kinzie, J., Cruce, T., & Nelson Laird, T.
For nearly three decades, national reports have underscored the need to better prepare students for college-level work. Indeed, making the transition from high school to college is a significant leap for most students (Miller, Bender, Schuh & Associates, 2005). Given concerns about college readiness, the range of expectations that students bring with them about the demands of college-level work, and the obligation of college and universities to do their part in enhancing student success in college, it would be instructive to know what students expect to do in college, their behavioral patterns established prior to entering college, and how students‘ expectations for college and pre-college experiences affect what they do and how much they learn during the first year. Greater understanding about the gaps between prior experiences, expectations and behavior can inform efforts to revise pre-college socialization, orientation, and first-year experience initiatives, as well as other efforts designed to enhance student learning and improve persistence and graduation rates.

Changing Expectations? Trends in Student Engagement Expectations and Academic Beliefs
Cole, James & Kinzie, Jillian
The past several years has presented many challenges to higher education, including how to effectively align campus support services and academic resources to support students. Using data from Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) and National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), this session will illustrate trends in student expectations and beliefs. We will also use data from individual campuses (de-identified) to illustrate changes to their entering student body and the connection to actual behaviors reported several months later on NSSE. Discussion will focus on how campuses can keep abreast of student trends and how to best support student success.

First Year Seminars' Influence on Student Engagement and Belonging
Kinzie, J., & Wenger, K.
First-Year seminars (FYS) have been vigorously studied and found to positively influence persistence, engagement, and student success. This session will explore new research from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) to understand the relationship between seminars and student engagement, intent to return, and sense of belonging, and how results vary by a range of student identities. Even more, new results from NSSE 2022 distinguish the influence of a success skills-based course from an academic first-year seminar. Join us to explore this evidence and discuss what it suggests for efforts to enhance engagement and equity in first-year student success.

Sense of Belonging in the First Year of College
Wenger, Kevin & Cole, James
Studies have demonstrated the important role of sense of belonging to first-year persistence and overall academic success. Using data from the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) and the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), this session will examine entering first-year student expected academic expectations, beliefs, and prior experiences that influence sense of belonging for students near the end of their first-year of college. Results will focus in interventions that can increase social sense of belonging, as well as ways to identify students that may benefit from efforts to increase sense of belonging on their campus.

Sense of Belonging and the First-Year Experience
Cole, Jim; Kinzie, Jillian
With the turmoil and uncertainty of this past year, a students’ sense of belonging is now more critical than ever. This presentation will use NSSE and BCSSE-NSSE combined data to highlight the important connections between sense of belonging, student expectations, intention to persist, quality of relationships with advisors, faculty, and other students, academic engagement, as well as other important aspects of the first-year student experience. This session will include opportunities for discussion and reflection, as well as include current institutional examples of data use.

Entering students' experience: BCSSE for first-year and transfer students
Cole, J., & Kinzie, J.
Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) can now be used to survey your first-year, transfer, and older students. Since 2007, nearly 900,000 entering first-year students at more than 500 institutions have completed BCSSE. The updated web survey now includes questions specifically for incoming transfer and older students. This session will describe how data about entering first-year, transfer, and older students provides comprehensive information about your students‘ experiences. Institutions use BCSSE for academic advising, retention models, faculty and staff development, and other assessment needs. This session will present the new survey, revised reports, and details regarding fall and winter administrations.

Leveraging survey data and predictive analytics to support first-year students
Bombaugh, M., & Cole, J.
This session will discuss the emerging trend of using predictive data to identify and support first-year students. For several years, USF-Tampa has been using an in-house persistence model to identify 10-12% of new first-year students at risk of not persisting to the second year. In Fall 2016, USF incorporated BCSSE data into the predictive model. BCSSE Advising Reports and results are shared with academic advisors, first-year seminar instructors, and housing personnel who provide targeted interventions for these students. BCSSE data not only strengthened the statistical model, but also identified which BCSSE variables were significant predictors of first-year persistence.

Using BCSSE and NSSE to understand first-year student expectations
Cole, J.
Using data from Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) and National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), this session focused on the relationship between entering first-year students‘ expectations and their actual experiences near the end of the academic year. We discussed how the expectations gap relates to the quality of academic experiences and persistence for first-year students. Discussion included how institutions can use BCSSE and NSSE data to understand the expectations and academic experiences of their first-year students.

Linking first-year persistence with help-seeking behaviors and academic perseverance
Cole, J. S.
Using data from Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) and National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), this session will focus on the help-seeking behaviors and academic perseverance of first-year students who seriously considered leaving their institution. Discussion will include how institutions can use BCSSE data to identify these struggling students and NSSE data to understand how these students are using the academic resources on your campus.

Using NSSE as a catalyst for improvement: Lessons from the field
Kinzie, J., Owens, S., & Du, F.
One of the more challenging phases of assessment is taking action on results. This session will explore the latest field-tested lessons from nearly two dozen institutions that have successfully used the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) to improve undergraduate education. Representatives from two institutions will discuss their use of data to improve the first-year experience, and to engage departments in enhancing student learning by creating dashboard displays, infographics, and customized reports. The session will provide an opportunity to learn about approaches employed by institutions that have made effective use of results, and to discuss proven strategies for taking action.

Hanging in the towel: Student considerations for leaving IU
BrckaLorenz, A., & Copridge, K.
In 2015, Indiana University Bloomington (IUB) participated in an administration of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). This survey measures aspects of student engagement, the amount of time and effort students put into their studies and other educationally purposeful activities. Institutions using NSSE data to assess the student experience may investigate the relationships between aspects of engagement and student persistence. In this presentation, we will examine IUB student responses to questions asking about the challenges students faced in their first year, how they chose to get help with their coursework, and what reasons they had if they considered leaving IUB in their first year. Potential solutions for persistence barriers will be discussed.

Using BCSSE to understand financial stress and academic engagement
Cole, J., & Kinzie, J.
Being able to afford a college education is one of the biggest challenges many entering, first-year students will face. This session will focus on understanding the deleterious effects that financial stress has on academic experiences of first-year students. We will explore how financial stress is linked with activities such as expected difficulty learning course material, managing time, and getting needed help. We will discuss how institutions can help facilitate the academic success of students who are experiencing financial stress.

Interventions for first-time students informed with mixed methods analysis
McCormick, E., Beck, C. N., & Cole, J. S.
Using cognitive, non-cognitive and environmental factors, Montana State University developed a program to improve the persistence of at-risk first-time students. Cognitive factors include ACT and SAT scores and high school GPA. The Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement was used to assess non-cognitive factors. Environmental factors include engagement facilitated by the ChampChange program. Results indicate that students who engaged 20 or more times through the ChampChange program were retained 84% compared to 51% of students who engaged only 1-4 times. The aim of this presentation is to present the results of the study and discuss how implications for other campuses.

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology: Assessing the Effectiveness of Campus Programs and Services for First-Year Students and Seniors
In Engagement insights: Survey findings on the quality of undergraduate education—Annual results 2016
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Enduring Effects: The Benefits of Good High School Study Habits Carry Forward into the First College Year
In Engagement insights: Survey findings on the quality of undergraduate education—Annual results 2015
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Service-Learning and the First-Year Experience
In Fostering student engagement campuswide—Annual results 2011
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Entering First-Year College Students
In Experiences that matter: Enhancing student learning and success—Annual report 2007
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Reflective Learning
In Engaged learning: Fostering success for all students—Annual report 2006
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Every Sector Includes Some Institutions That Can Model Effective Educational Practice for Their Peers
In Improving the college experience: National benchmarks of effective educational practice—NSSE 2001 report
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New First-Year Experiences Topical Module
Sarah Hurtado, NSSE Institute Project Associate
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Using BCSSE-NSSE data to assess the effects of learning communities on first-year experiences
Jim Cole, BCSSE Project Manager and NSSE Research Analyst, and Jillian Kinzie, Associate Director, NSSE Institute
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Assessing the first-year experience
Dr. Jillian Kinzie
Recording