NEWS 3
May 4, 2011
Western uses National Survey of Student Engagement to gage student opinion
Freshmen, senior students asked to participate in national survey on Western’s performance, programs and academics. Jake Logan | News Editor
The thought of how freshmen and senior students at Western would rate their school is something that is on the minds of Western Administration and the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). According to NSSE, the group “annually collects information at hundreds of four-year colleges and universities about student participation in programs and activities that institutions provide for their learning and personal development. The results provide an estimate of how undergraduates spend their time and what they gain from attending college.” The survey is only open to freshmen and senior students, targeting those who are entering the school and leaving the school. The survey also provides additional useful information such as giving “participating institutions
a variety of reports that compare their students’ responses with those of students at self-selected groups of comparison institutions.” The survey asks questions such as, “in a typical week, how many homework problem sets do you complete? About how many hours do you spend in a typical 7-day week doing homework. . . . preparing for class. . . [and] working for pay on/off campus? Overall, how would you evaluate the quality of academic advising you have received at your institution?” Most importantly, it inquires, “If you could start over again, would you go to the same institution you are now attending?” Deborah Diehm the Assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs, explained that this survey is important for Western and will be shown to the school’s
board of accreditation, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). “Western Oregon University has to prove that [it’s students] diploma is worth more than a piece of paper and this survey is just one tool we use to prove that to the NWCCU,” said Diehm. “NSSE is a survey the Western Oregon University takes part in every three years,” said Diehm going on to explain that the survey is information sent to the NWCCU, so that Western will keep their accreditation intact and up to date. “[The survey] only takes 15 minutes,” said Diehm. The survey is conducted by Indiana University and is completely confidential. “We can see the results of the survey as a whole, [but] not an
individual’s answers,” said Diehm. Besides keeping Western’s accreditation, it is also a tool for Western to compare and place itself among other similar universities, such as Eastern Oregon University and Southern Oregon University. “We use the NSSE to compare ourselves to other similar universities that have the same number of students, public, and master’s programs. “In 150 years we have never continued to do things the same way,” said Diehm, adding that the school uses the survey to see what changes need to be made for continuous success as a university. For any questions about the NSSE, contact Deborah Diehm: e-mail: diehmd@wou.edu, call at 503-838-8423, stop by her office in the Werner Center in Student Affairs Office.
Quick Facts on NSSE • Primarily open to freshmen and senior students. • Takes only 15 minutes to complete. • Student identities will not be given to the school, and the survey will only give averages to the answers. • Students have the right to refuse to take the survey. • The school uses this as a tool to keep their accreditation through the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. • Links to the survey have been sent to student e-mail accounts. • The survey is also available at http://www.nssesurvey.org/index. cfm?loginid={loginid} For student with special needs, an alternate form is available in the Office of Disability Services, and can be contacted at 503-838-8250
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