NSSE Annual Results 2013

Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research
1900 East Tenth Street, Suite 419    Bloomington, IN 47406-7512
Phone: (812) 856-5824    Fax: (812) 856-5150    E-mail: nsse@indiana.edu    Web: nsse.iub.edu
                                                                  EMBARGOED
FOR RELEASE NOVEMBER 15, 2012
Contact: Jillian Kinzie
Phone: 812.856.5824
Email: nsse@indiana.edu
Financial Stress Affects Academics for College Students, Survey Finds.
Findings released today illuminate how financial challenges affect college students. A
majority of students surveyed worry about paying for college, and as many as one in three
frequently opt not to purchase required academic materials due to cost. Full-time students
working more than 20 hours per week face the greatest financial stress: three in five said that
their job interfered with their academic performance, yet just as many had considered
working more hours.
The survey also shows that social media can be a mixed blessing. Nine out of ten
students use social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), primarily to connect with friends and
family. Many also use social media in educationally purposeful ways, such as to plan study
groups or complete class assignments. Frequent interaction with peers, faculty, and campus
offices by way of social media corresponded to higher engagement and satisfaction. But
those who used social media during class for nonclass activities had lower grades and were
less satisfied with college.
These findings, released by the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE),
demonstrate the need for colleges and universities to monitor how emerging issues and
trends facing today’s college students affect their ability to thrive and succeed.
The report, Promoting Student Learning and Institutional Improvement: Lessons
from NSSE at 13—Annual Results 2012, details results from a 2012 survey of 285,000 firstyear students and seniors attending 546 U.S. colleges and universities. NSSE’s annual
survey provides diagnostic, comparative information about the prevalence of effective
educational practices at participating bachelor’s degree-granting colleges and universities.
On the eve of launching an updated survey in 2013, NSSE dedicated a part of this
year’s report to revisiting key findings from its first 13 years. New analyses reinforce the
educational benefits of deep approaches to learning—approaches that favor higher-order
thinking over rote memorization, that call on students to integrate knowledge from multiple
sources, and that inspire them to rethink and revise their prior beliefs. Students participating
in high-impact practices such as service-learning and culminating senior experiences (e.g.,
capstone courses and senior theses) showed higher levels of deep approaches to learning.
A core purpose of the NSSE project is to provide actionable information to inform the
improvement of undergraduate education. An updated analysis of multi-year, institution-level
results in student engagement at more than 400 colleges and universities found that more
than half showed positive trends for first-year students, as did more than one-third for
seniors. Only 7-8% evidenced negative trends. Positive trends were found at public as well
as private, and large as well as small institutions.
– continued on back –Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research
1900 East Tenth Street, Suite 419    Bloomington, IN 47406-7512
Phone: (812) 856-5824    Fax: (812) 856-5150    E-mail: nsse@indiana.edu    Web: nsse.iub.edu
“These findings offer compelling evidence that positive change is not only possible, it’s
happening on many campuses. Size and institutional structure are not insurmountable
obstacles. Across the range of institutional types, many faculty and college leaders are taking
up the challenge to improve undergraduate education,” said Alexander C. McCormick, NSSE
director and associate professor of educational leadership and policy studies at Indiana
University Bloomington.
NSSE seeks to refocus the discourse about college quality on what matters for student
learning. “Along with a rich pool of evidence of effective practices, NSSE provides insightful
guidelines for interpretation and productive use of the data,” according to Daniel J. Bernstein,
professor of psychology and director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at The University
of Kansas.
Other noteworthy findings from the 2012 survey and its companion surveys, the
Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) and the Faculty Survey of
Student Engagement (FSSE), include:
       First-year students spent an average of 15 hours per week preparing for class, and
seniors averaged one half-hour more. Those earning grades of A or A- studied about four
more hours per week than their first-year peers with grades of C+ or lower.
      In most fields, full-time seniors devoted about one to two hours less to class preparation
than faculty expected. Engineering majors studied more than faculty expected. But when
asked how much they believe students actually study, faculty estimates in all fields fell
short of student accounts by five to eight hours per week.
      On average, distance education students spent about one hour more per week preparing
for class than their on-campus counterparts.
       Support for learning in college was beneficial regardless of how engaged students had
been in high school. Although high school engagement was related to subsequent
engagement in college, on average, students who experienced a more supportive campus
environment evidenced higher levels of engagement.
       Job opportunities were cited by the majority of seniors among the factors motivating their
choice of major, but this varied by racial/ethnic background and field of study. Students of
color were generally more concerned than Whites about their ability to find a job. Seniors
majoring in science, technology, engineering, and math were more likely than others to
cite job opportunities as a motivating factor.
NSSE’s Annual Results 2012 is sponsored by The Carnegie Foundation for the
Advancement of Teaching.
###
Promoting Student Learning and Institutional Improvement: Lessons from NSSE at 13—Annual Results 2012
can be downloaded from the NSSE Web site (nsse.iub.edu) or ordered for $20.