Teaching honors courses: Perceptions of engagement from the faculty perspective.
Miller, A., Silberstein, S., & BrckaLorenz, A.
Research suggests that honors students are more likely to be engaged in some, but not all, aspects of the college experience, although there is less information available from the faculty perspective. This study presents findings from the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE), comparing various engagement-related practices between faculty who teach honors courses and those who do not. Along with core FSSE items, this study uses responses from 1,487 faculty members at 15 institutions on two items about teaching honors courses. A series of ordinary least squares regression analyses suggest that faculty who teach honors courses are more likely to encourage engagement in the areas of studentâ??faculty interaction, learning strategies, and collaborative learning, even after controlling for other demographic and institutional variables. These findings are considered within the context of existing research and theory, connecting knowledge from higher education and gifted education.
Full version

Teaching honors courses: Perceptions of engagement from the faculty perspective
Miller, A., Silberstein, S., & BrckaLorenz, A.
Research suggests that honors students are more likely to be engaged in some, but not all, aspects of the college experience, although there is less information available from the faculty perspective. This study presents findings from the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE), comparing various engagement-related practices between faculty who teach honors courses and those who do not. Along with core FSSE items, this study uses responses from 1,487 faculty members at 15 institutions on two items about teaching honors courses. A series of ordinary least squares regression analyses suggest that faculty who teach honors courses are more likely to encourage engagement in the areas of student–faculty interaction, learning strategies, and collaborative learning, even after controlling for other demographic and institutional variables. These findings are considered within the context of existing research and theory, connecting knowledge from higher education and gifted education.
Full version

Reassessing disparities in online learner student engagement in higher education
Paulsen, J., & McCormick, A. C.

International student engagement: An exploration of student and faculty perceptions
Wang, R. & BrckaLorenz, A.
An increasing number of faculty have brought up questions and concerns about supporting international students’ academic engagement and success. However, little is known about faculty’s approaches to international student engagement and how they may differ from international students’ self-reported engagement at four-year institutions. Using data from the National Survey of Student Engagement and Faculty Survey of Student Engagement, both large-scale and multi-institutional datasets, this study explores international student engagement in learning strategies, collaborative learning, and student-faculty interaction as well as international student engagement from the perspectives of faculty and students. Recommendations on supporting international student engagement from an individual faculty level, department level, and institutional level are discussed.
Full version

Do high achieving students benefit from honors college participation? A look at student engagement for first-year students and seniors
Miller, A. L., & Dumford, A. D.

The who, what, and where of learning strategies
Dumford, A. D., Cogswell, C. A., & Miller, A. L.

Participation in undergraduate research at minority-serving institutions
Haeger, H., BrckaLorenz, A., & Webber, K.
This research used a national dataset to examine factors associated with participation for underrepresented minority (URM) students, benefits of participation at minority-serving institutions, and examples of programs that work to decrease barriers for URM participation in UR. Findings showed that Latino and first-generation students participated in UR less than White peers, but students at Minority Serving Institutions who participated in research with a faculty member reported using more learning strategies, increased collaboration, and having more experience with quantitative reasoning than students not participating in an UR experience.
Full version

Creative coursework exposure: Enhancing college student engagement across disciplines
Miller, A. L.
Previous research suggests that creativity training can be effective in academic settings and that teachers, in particular, can have an impact on creativity (Scott et al., 2004). Furthermore, incorporating creativity into classroom activities and assignments can encourage student engagement in the educational process (Halpern, 2010). This study extends research on creativity and student engagement in higher education, using data from the “Senior Transitions” topical module of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). Responses from over 61,000 seniors at 266 different U.S colleges and universities were used to explore how exposure to creative coursework can predict student engagement in a variety of areas. NSSE‘s measure of creative coursework includes items on generating new ideas, taking risks without fear of penalty, evaluating multiple approaches to problems, and inventing new methods. Ordinary least squares regression models were conducted to determine the effect of creative coursework exposure on NSSE‘s established measures of student engagement: reflective and integrative learning, higher-order learning, use of learning strategies, collaborative learning, diverse discussions, student-faculty interaction, effective teaching practices, quality of interactions, and supportive environment. The results suggest that creative coursework is a significant positive predictor of student engagement, even after controlling for sex, transfer status, enrollment status, first-generation status, age, SAT/ACT, race/ethnicity, major, grades, percentage of online courses, control (private/public) and size. Potential reasons for these patterns of results will be discussed. These findings can help to inform curricular and programming enhancements for college students across all major fields, enriching their educational experiences through exposure to creative coursework.

A comparison of international students’ engagement and faculty perceptions of international student engagement
Wang, R., & BrckaLorenz, A.
With the exponential growth of international students pursing degrees at U.S. colleges and universities, an increasing number of faculty and staff have brought up questions and concerns about supporting international students‘ academic engagement and success. Although prior studies have explored the educational experiences of international students in the US, only a small number of them have investigated international student engagement at four-year institutions. Little is known about faculty‘s approaches to international student engagement and how they may differ from international students‘ self-reported engagement. Using large-scale and multi-institutional survey datasets, this quantitative study aims to explore international student engagement in learning strategies, collaborative learning, and student-faculty interaction, and to compare international student engagement from the perspectives of faculty and students. Recommendations on supporting international student engagement from an individual faculty level, department level, and institutional level are discussed in the end.

Maintaining inequality: An analysis of college pathways among women at large public institutions
Tukibayeva, M., Ribera, A. K., Nelson Laird, T. F., & BrckaLorenz, A.
Armstrong and Hamilton (2013) proposed a framework of three college pathways—party, professional, and mobility—that lead to economically unequal postgraduation outcomes and vastly different college experiences for female students. Using data from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), we examined the responses from 42,504 women seniors at 183 four-year large public institutions to identify how the potential income of their college major choice relate to the pathways. We found that the economic advantage of major choice is not equally distributed among students: party pathway students selected the least lucrative college majors, professional pathway students selected the most lucrative majors, and first-generation students on all pathways tended to select majors with less potential income than their peers with college-educated parents. Students on the three pathways also engaged differently in three measures of academic engagement (three of the ten NSSE Engagement Indicators): Reflective and Integrative Learning, Learning Strategies, and Student-Faculty Interaction.

Learning online: Unintended consequences for engagement?
Dumford, A. D., & Miller, A. L.
A rapidly increasing number of colleges and universities are looking for ways to deliver course content online. This paper investigates the effects of taking courses through an online medium on students‘ engagement using data from the 2015 administration of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). A series of 10 OLS regression analyses, controlling for certain student and institutional characteristics, suggested several significant effects of taking online courses for first-year students as well as seniors. Students taking more courses using an online medium showed higher use of learning strategies and quantitative reasoning yet lower collaborative learning, student-faculty interactions, effective teaching practices, discussions with diverse others, and quality of interactions. The change in these engagement indicators based on the percentage of classes taken online reveals that the online environment might encourage certain types of engagement but not others.

Learning strategies in high school and first year in college
Mu, L., & Cole, J.
Due to the different academic demands on students between high school and college, high school students transitioning to college often experience unanticipated academic difficulty. One consistent factor for academic success in high school and college is an effective use of learning strategies. However, given the varying academic demands, it is not clear how consistently students engage in the effective use of learning strategies across these two environments. The stability of these learning strategies across these two domains is relatively unknown. The research questions for this study are 1. Does the use of learning strategies change from high school to the first year in college? 2. Do individual students change their learning strategy use after entering college? 3. Is an institution's academic environment associated with individual students' leaning strategy use?

Gifted education at the college level: Are faculty who teach honors courses really more engaging?
Miller, A. L., & Silberstein, S. M.
This study presents findings from the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE), comparing various engagement-related practices between faculty who teach honors courses and those who do not. Along with core FSSE items, this study uses responses from 1,487 faculty members at 15 institutions on two experimental items about teaching honors courses. A series of OLS regression analyses suggest that faculty who teach honors courses are more engaging in the areas of student-faculty interaction, learning strategies, and collaborative learning. Additional analyses for high-impact practices also suggest that faculty who teach honors courses are more likely to work with undergraduates on research, and to think that it is important for students to participate in learning communities, study abroad, and research with faculty.

Do high achieving students benefit from honors college participation? A look at student engagement for first-year students and seniors
Miller, A. L., & Dumford, A. D.
This study investigates findings from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), comparing various aspects of student engagement between Honors College and general education students. Responses from 1,339 Honors College students and 7,191 general education students across 15 different universities suggest a positive impact for Honors College participation on reflective and integrative learning, use of learning strategies, collaborative learning, diverse discussions, and student-faculty interaction for first-year students, even when controlling for other student and institutional characteristics. For senior students, Honors College participation suggested more frequent student-faculty interaction. Potential experiential and curricular reasons for these differences are discussed.

Direct and indirect effects of engagement on grades
Gonyea, R., Cole, J., & Rocconi, L.
Grades are perhaps the best predictor of a attaining a college diploma. Using NSSE data from nearly 20,000 first-year and senior students in 2012 and matched year-end grades from 42 participating institutions, the authors tested path models to determine the direct and indirect effects of student background, engagement, and campus environment on end of year grades. Total effects on GPA show that time spent studying, the use of learning strategies, and courses where faculty used effective teaching strategies had positive overall effects on grades. Coursework involving quantitative reasoning had a negative effect, probably due to the added rigor of STEM courses.

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.

The who, what, and where of learning strategies
Miller, A. L., Lambert, A. D., & Ahonen, C.
This study uses data from the National Survey of Student Engagement and the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement to explore whether there is congruence for academic disciplines in the student use and faculty encouragement of learning strategies. OLS regression models also suggest demographic and environmental predictors of student learning strategies.

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.

Mindset Matters
In Engagement insights: Survey findings on the quality of undergraduate education—Annual results 2016
Full version

Motivating Students to Do Their Best Work
In Engagement insights: Survey findings on the quality of undergraduate education—Annual results 2015
Full version

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
Full version

Learning Strategies
In A fresh look at student engagement—Annual results 2013
Full version

Introducing the Updated NSSE Survey for 2013
In Promoting student learning and institutional improvement: Lessons from NSSE at 13—Annual results 2012
Full version

Learning Strategies by Major Category
In Fostering student engagement campuswide—Annual results 2011
Full version

Learning Strategies of First-Generation Students
In Fostering student engagement campuswide—Annual results 2011
Full version