Saint Louis University is one of 350 colleges and universities participating in the National Survey of Student Engagement: The College Student Report 2003. This survey focuses on undergraduate experiences, with 1,400 SLU students selected at random to complete it–700 freshmen and 700 graduating seniors.
“The survey helps SLU get the student perspective on their educational experiences,” said Ken Boning, manager of research and planning in the Office of Institutional Study. “We pride ourselves in providing an environment that emphasizes teaching and learning, and we want to see from the students’ perspectives if we’re on target.”
The survey asks students about aspects of their educational experiences, such as the nature and quality of their interactions with faculty members and peers, what they have gained from their classes and other aspects of their college experience. It is an online survey and takes approximately 10 minutes to complete.
E-mails requesting students to participate were sent out around March 20.
As of last week, only 280 of the 1,400 students asked to participate had completed the survey.
This is the third year SLU has participated in the national survey. Results from prior surveys have been analyzed in the context of the five dimensions of the SLU experience.
“These five interrelated dimensions in which SLU strives to engage students contribute to the development of the whole person,” Boning said. “They are scholarship and knowledge, intellectual inquiry and communication, community building, leadership and service, and spirituality and values.”
Boning added that the results are distributed to different areas around the campus, including all the colleges and schools, student services and student development.
“These individuals share these results with their faculty and staff in order to help assess the effectiveness of their programs and determine what changes need to be made in order to meet the needs of their students more effectively,” Boning said.
More information about the NSSE can be found at www.iub.edu/~nsse. Information about SLU’s five dimensions can be found by selecting the “SLU Assessment” link at www.slu.edu/services/ois/.
