Expectations for Engagement: What 1st-year Students and Transfers Say
Cole, J. S., & Kinzie, J.
Understanding entering student expectations is critical to assure that staff can align appropriate institutional resources for each student. This session will include how the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) provides comprehensive information about your entering first-year and transfer student’s prior academic experiences, as well as their expectations and beliefs regarding the upcoming academic year. Participants will learn how other institutions use BCSSE for academic advising, retention efforts, faculty and staff development, and other activities. Participants will be encouraged to share their campuses current practices and how BCSSE could facilitate best practices on their campus.
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With retention, the key is "act locally"
Cole, J. S., Gonyea, R. G., & Rocconi, L.
The authors build on retention theory to show how data from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) can be used to understand and potentially affect retention. Emphasizing the fact that solutions must be local and taking into account the unique characteristics of an institution, they highlight the ways in which retention outcomes can be improved by considering multiple variables that impact performance.
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Reflections on the state of student engagement data use and strategies for action
Kinzie, J., Cogswell, C. A., & Wheatle, K. I. E.
Although the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) collects responses from hundreds of participating colleges and universities every year, its ultimate goal is not to collect data but to catalyze improvement in undergraduate education. Launched in 2000 by the Pew Charitable Trusts in response to growing national and local pressures for higher education to focus on measures of education quality and for colleges and universities to engage in meaningful improvement, the NSSE has become a leader in a campaign to focus attention on a number of relatively clear characteristics of effective environments for teaching and learning. The NSSE‘s process indicators related to good practices in undergraduate education provide diagnostic information about concrete activities that can guide interventions to promote improvement. By 2014, more than 1,500 institutions had participated in the NSSE, and over 4.5 million students had completed the questionnaire. In addition, the launch of two complementary instruments, the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE) and the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE), have furthered efforts to encourage the use of data for improvement by equipping institutions with information about faculty perceptions and entering students‘ expectations for engagement. Given these noble goals and all the student engagement data, what impact has the NSSE had on the use of data for improvement on campuses? And what lessons does this work suggest for the improvement agenda in higher education?
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A survey of college-bound high school graduates regarding circadian preference, caffeine use, and academic performance
Cole, J. S.

Estimating college student behavior frequencies: Do vague and enumerated estimation strategies yield similar results?
Cole, J. S., & Korkmaz, A.

Refreshing engagement: NSSE at 13
McCormick, A. C., Gonyea, R. M., & Kinzie, J.
Thirteen years ago, 276 bachelor's-granting colleges and universities inaugurated a new approach to assessing college quality by participating in the first national administration of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). The timing was right. Policymakers were growing increasingly impatient with an ongoing yet unsustainable pattern of cost escalation, skepticism was building about how much students were learning in college, and regional accreditors were ratcheting up their demands on colleges and universities to adopt assessment for purposes of improvement. Meanwhile, higher education's leaders were frustrated by the crude metrics dominating the discourse about college quality. It's been said that a dean at one of those early-adopting institutions enthusiastically proclaimed: “Finally, a test I actually want to teach to!”NSSE introduced a simple yet effective reframing of the quality question: ask undergraduates about their educationally purposeful experiences. It incorporated several important design principles: emphasize behaviors that prior research found to be positively related to desired learning outcomes; emphasize actionable information—behaviors and experiences that institutions can influence; standardize survey sampling and administration to ensure comparability between institutions; provide participating institutions with comprehensive reports detailing their own students' responses relative to those at comparison institutions, plus an identified student data file to permit further analysis by the institution. NSSE was administered to first-year students and seniors, opening a window on quality at these “bookends” of the undergraduate experience. In addition to reporting item-by-item results, the project created summary measures in the form of five “Benchmarks of Effective Educational Practice” that focused attention on key dimensions of quality in undergraduate education: level of academic challenge, active and collaborative learning, student-faculty interaction, enriching educational experiences, and supportive campus environment. The new survey caught on fast. Annual participation now numbers 600–700 institutions, for a cumulative total of more than 1,500 colleges and universities in the US and Canada. What started as a bold experiment in changing the discourse about quality and improvement in undergraduate education—and providing metrics to inform that discourse—is now a trusted fixture in higher education's assessment landscape. High rates of repeat participation offer compelling testimony of the project's value. Of the first group of 276, 93 percent administered the survey in NSSE's tenth year or later. The Web-based survey is now offered as a census of first-year students and seniors, permitting disaggregated analyses by academic unit or demographic subgroup. In 2013, some 1.6 million undergraduates were invited to complete the survey, providing both valuable information for more than 620 participating campuses and a comprehensive look at student engagement across a wide variety of institutions. The 2013 administration marks the first major update of the survey since its inception. In the following pages, we summarize what we've learned over NSSE's first 13 years, why we're updating the survey, and new insights and diagnostic possibilities represented by these changes. Although NSSE's companion surveys, the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE) and the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE), are incorporating parallel changes, here we focus on the changes to NSSE.
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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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Top college choice among students’ sexual orientations
Fassett, K. T., & Pike, G. R.
This paper aims to examine college enrollment trends of queer students using Perna’s (2006) conceptual model of student college choice focusing on aspects of capital and the recruitment of these students. The research questions of the study are: what differences exist between students selecting their top institution by sexual orientation, and how do social factors influence queer students selecting these institutions? Data from the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) paired with the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) for students entering college in 2017 and 2018.

Top college choice differences among students' sexual orientations
Fassett, K., & Pike, G.
This paper aims to examine college enrollment trends of queer students using Pernaâ??s (2006) conceptual model of student college choice focusing on aspects of capital and the recruitment of these students. The research questions of the study are: what differences exist between students selecting their top institution by sexual orientation, and how do social factors influence queer students selecting these institutions? Data from the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) paired with the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) for students entering college in 2017 and 2018.

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.

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 First Year Student Success
Cole, James and Kinzie, Jillian
Sense of belonging influences student persistence and success. Findings from NSSE 2022 and BCSSE 2021 reveals that while most first-year students feel comfortable being themselves, feel valued, and feel part of the community at their institution, differences exist for marginalized subpopulations. In this session, we review findings in an interactive discussion, introduce publicly available data visualization, and offer examples of how institutions have used their data to assess and influence belongingness. Discussion will focus on identifying actions practitioners can take to influence belonging for marginalized student populations on their campus.

Expectations for engagement? What 1st year students and transfers say
James Cole and Jillian Kinzie
Understanding entering student expectations is critical to assure that staff can align appropriate institutional resources for each student. This session will include how the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) provides comprehensive information about your entering first-year and transfer student's prior academic experiences, as well as their expectations and beliefs regarding the upcoming academic year. Participants will learn how other institutions use BCSSE for academic advising, retention efforts, faculty and staff development, and other activities. Participants will be encouraged to share their campuses current practices and how BCSSE could facilitate best practices on their campus.

NSSE's 3rd Decade: Highlighting New Emphases in Assessment and Student Engagement
BrckaLorenz, Allison; Cole, Jim; Gonyea, Robert; Kinzie, Jillian; McCormick, Alex; Sarraf, Shimon
The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) is excited to enter our 3rd decade of assessment to improve educational quality and student outcomes. This session will highlight NSSE's suite of surveys – the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE) and Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) and new emphases, including survey items on effective teaching and sense of belonging and data visualization tools. We'll also introduce enhancements including Topical Modules to assess inclusiveness and cultural diversity, advising, and quality in online education and HIPs

Recovering Equilibrium for Student Engagement, Learning and Success
Kinzie, Jillian
As we continue to operate in a disrupted undergraduate experience, what should colleges and universities have front of mind to foster equitable student learning and success? Decades of research affirms that learning mindsets, such as sense of belonging, purpose and expectations for success and support, can increase studentsâ?? likelihood of retention and success. In addition, studentsâ?? experiences in collaborative learning, High-Impact Practices (HIPs) and advising can enhance learning. These factors are perhaps more critical than ever as we seek to ensure success for all students. This session draws on recent data from the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) regarding students entering college in 2021 and findings from the 2021 administration of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) to highlight vital student success practices. The importance of disaggregated data to explore quality and differences by student subpopulations will also be discussed.

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.

Identifying and helping students develop confidence and growth mindset
Cole, J., & Holmes, B.
Self-efficacy and growth mindset research suggests that entering first-year students with a high degree of academic confidence are more engaged during their first year of college, set higher academic goals, and generally are more academically successful. This session will discuss general principles that can help enhance student confidence and growth mindset. We will also use strength-based advising as a guide to discuss how to best serve incoming students who may be lacking in academic confidence and feelings of helpless regarding their academic performance. This session will culminate with examples advisors may use from the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) survey to inform practice.

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.

Maximizing survey data for outreach, assessment, programming, and beyond
Miller, A. L., & Dumford, A. D.
This presentation provides a variety of real-life examples of how institutions have used survey data collected from students, faculty, and alumni within multiple contexts. Examples are drawn from institutions participating in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE), the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE), and the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP). The types of data use cover numerous categories: sharing on campus; recruitment; academic and career advising; publicity, alumni relations, and donor outreach; planning, assessment, and accreditation; program and curricular change; and advocacy and public policy. Attendees will learn about ways that they can optimize the use of available survey data for many different audiences, allowing the institutional research office to serve as a bridge that connects other stakeholders with available data.

Maximizing survey data for outreach, assessment, programming, and beyond
Miller, A. L., & Dumford, A. D.
This presentation provides a variety of real-life examples of how institutions have used survey data collected from students, faculty, and alumni within multiple contexts. Examples are drawn from institutions participating in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE), the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE), and the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP). The types of data use cover numerous categories: sharing on campus; recruitment; academic and career advising; publicity, alumni relations, and donor outreach; planning, assessment, and accreditation; program and curricular change; and advocacy and public policy. Attendees will learn about ways that they can optimize the use of available survey data for many different audiences, allowing the institutional research office to serve as a bridge that connects other stakeholders with available data.

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 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.

Building academic strengths: Using BCSSE to identify and support students with low confidence
Cole, J., & Ribera, A.
A brief description of the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) will be followed by a discussion of connections between student success, self-efficacy, and academic confidence; strength-based advising; and ways to use BCSSE data to enhance first-year students' academic confidence.

You hold the questions; who holds the data? Professional advisors collaborating with data handlers to assess student engagement and advising
Ribera, A., & Broderick, C.
Using data from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), session participants will learn of strategies to collaborate with data handlers on their campus to assess student engagement and academic advising. After a brief overview of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE), as well as the popular NSSE academic advising module, participants will work in small groups to identify how data from these surveys can be used to better understand the impact of advising on student success. This session will also include strategies to collaborate with data handlers on their campus to assess student engagement and academic advising. Presenters will lead a discussion about ways to forge campus partnerships and encourage impactful dialogue on the improvement of academic advising and student engagement.

Using the updated NSSE to support evidence-informed improvement and accreditation
Kinzie, J.
The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and its affiliated surveys, FSSE and BCSSE, provide a fresh look at engagement, including insights about learning with technology, quantitative reasoning, and learning strategies. This presentation highlights findings, including those from the survey's new Topical Modules, and illustrates effective uses of NSSE results in accreditation as well as approaches to supporting evidence-informed improvement.

Using BCSSE and NSSE data to investigate college readiness
Cole, J.S., & Cogswell, C.A.
Traditional indicators of college readiness mainly focus on subject-specific high school academic preparation. However, they do not reflect the students‘ readiness to be meaningfully engaged during their first-year of college. With data from the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) and the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), we investigated the connection between high school and first-year academic engagement and the role of advisors to facilitate student engagement.

A fresh look at student engagement for accreditation and improvement
Kinzie, J.
The updated National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), and its affiliate surveys, FSSE and BCSSE, provide a fresh look on engagement, including insights about learning with technology, quantitative reasoning, and learning strategies. This session will highlight findings, and demonstrate effective uses of NSSE results in accreditation self-studies and quality improvement.

Minding the Student-Faculty Expectations Gap
In Engagement Insights: Survey Findings on the Quality of Undergraduate Education—Annual results 2017
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Using BCSSE to Better Understand Student Success
In Engagement Insights: Survey Findings on the Quality of Undergraduate Education—Annual results 2017
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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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Expected Versus Actual Grades: The Role of Engagement and Time on Task (BCSSE)
In Bringing the institution into focus—Annual results 2014
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Sleep Preferences and Engagement (BCSSE)
In Bringing the institution into focus—Annual results 2014
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High School Engagement and Campus Support
In Promoting student learning and institutional improvement: Lessons from NSSE at 13—Annual results 2012
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Difficulty Paying for College
In Fostering student engagement campuswide—Annual results 2011
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BCSSE and FSSE
In Major differences: Examining student engagement by field of study—Annual results 2010
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BCSSE and FSSE
In Assessment for improvement: Tracking student engagement over time—Annual results 2009
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BCSSE
In Promoting engagement for all students: The imperative to look within—2008 results
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Part-Time and Working Students
In Engaged learning: Fostering success for all students—Annual report 2006
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Reflective Learning
In Engaged learning: Fostering success for all students—Annual report 2006
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BCSSE-FSSE-NSSE Institutional Examples
In Engaged learning: Fostering success for all students—Annual report 2006
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Orientation to BCSSE 2022: Updates and Administration
Jim Cole
Recording

Using BCSSE to Respond to COVID: Institutional Examples and Preparations for Fall 2022
Jim Cole, Ryan Padgett, and Alana Olschwang
Recording

Supporting CSU GradInitiative 2025: NSSE-BCSSE Follow-up
Jillian Kinzie and Jim Cole NSSE and BCSSE Project Staff
Recording

CSU and BCSSE: Introduction to administration, reports and data use
Presenters: Jim Cole, BCSSE Project Manager
Recording

Introduction to BCSSE 2019
Jim Cole, BCSSE Project Manager
Recording

Overview of BCSSE 2019 Updates
Jim Cole
Recording

An Overview of BCSSE 2017 Updates and Data Uses
Jim Cole, BCSSE Project Manager and Research Analyst
Recording

Examining Engagement for Small Populations
Allison BrckaLorenz, FSSE Project Manager and Sarah Hurtado, NSSE Institute Project Associate
Recording

Connecting Campus Units to NSSE Results
Jillian Kinzie, Associate Director, NSSE Institute and Jim Cole, BCSSE Project Manager, Research Analyst
Recording

Using BCSSE and NSSE to Help Retention Efforts
Jim Cole, BCSSE Project Manager & NSSE Research Analyst
Recording

An overview of BCSSE 2013
Jim Cole, BCSSE Project Manager and NSSE Research Analyst
Recording

Using BCSSE and NSSE data to investigate first-year student financial stress and engagement
Jim Cole, BCSSE Project Manager and NSSE Research Analyst
Recording

Engagement readiness of first-year students
Jim Cole, BCSSE Project Manager and NSSE Research Analyst, and Wen Qi, BCSSE Project Associate
Recording

Engagement experiences of student-veterans
Jim Cole, BCSSE Project Manager and NSSE Research Analyst
Recording

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
Recording

Using BCSSE data for faculty development: Do faculty really know their students?
Jim Cole
Recording

Using BCSSE data: Understanding that student expectations are important
Dr. James Cole
Recording

Using your BCSSE-NSSE data
Dr. James Cole and Kevin Guidry
Recording

Introduction to BCSSE
Dr. Jim Cole
Recording