The University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point participated in
the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) in the spring of 2001. The survey was distributed—in both paper and
web versions—to a random sample of 350 first-year students who initially
enrolled at UWSP fall 2000 and 350 seniors who had applied for May 2001
graduation. First-year students
returned 201 surveys and seniors returned 223 for an overall response rate of
62%. The following tables compare the
mean responses of UWSP students to public masters degree granting institutions
(PMGDI). The tables are organized
according to NSSE’s “five areas of effective educational practice.” Additional information is located at http://www.iub.edu/~nsse.
[The single sample
t-test is used to test for statistical significance. A ++ after a mean indicates that UWSP is significantly
higher than public masters, p < .05.
A -- indicates the UWSP mean is significantly lower.]
|
|
1st
Year |
Senior |
||
|
UWSP |
PMGDI |
UWSP |
PMGDI |
|
|
Preparing for
class per week (studying, reading, writing, rehearsing, and other activities
related to your academic program) |
3.99++ |
3.60 |
4.22++ |
3.87 |
|
Number of assigned textbooks, books, or book-length
packs of course readings |
3.20 |
3.17 |
3.01 |
3.11 |
|
Number of written papers or reports of 20 pages or more |
1.13 |
1.23 |
1.61 |
1.61 |
|
Number of written papers or reports of between 5 and 19
pages |
2.06-- |
2.22 |
2.60 |
2.52 |
|
Number written papers or reports of fewer than 5 pages |
3.33++ |
3.11 |
3.31++ |
3.03 |
|
Coursework emphasized analyzing the basic elements of an
idea, experience or theory |
2.99 |
2.99 |
3.12 |
3.22 |
|
Course work emphasized synthesizing and organizing
ideas, information, or experiences into new, more complex interpretations and
relationships |
2.66 |
2.70 |
2.93 |
2.96 |
|
Course work emphasized making judgments about the value
of information, arguments, or methods |
2.72 |
2.73 |
2.78 |
2.87 |
|
Course work emphasized applying theories or concepts to
practical problems or in new situations |
2.85 |
2.85 |
3.09 |
3.13 |
|
Worked harder than you thought you could to meet an
instructor’s standards or expectations |
2.52 |
2.56 |
2.61 |
2.69 |
|
Campus environment emphasized spending significant
amounts of time studying and on academic work |
3.06 |
3.05 |
2.95-- |
3.05 |
|
|
1st
Year |
Senior |
||
|
UWSP |
PMGDI |
UWSP |
PMGDI |
|
|
Asked questions
in class or contributed to class discussions |
2.63 |
2.69 |
2.96 |
3.07 |
|
Made a class presentation |
2.04 |
2.13 |
2.86 |
2.84 |
|
Worked with other students on projects during class |
2.50 |
2.49 |
2.65 |
2.62 |
|
Worked with classmates outside of class to prepare class
assignments |
2.13 |
2.18 |
2.95++ |
2.70 |
|
Tutored or taught other students |
1.34-- |
1.53 |
1.86 |
1.75 |
|
Participated in a community-based project as part of a
regular course |
1.17-- |
1.31 |
1.58 |
1.58 |
|
Discussed ideas from your readings or classes with
others outside of class (students, family members, co-workers, etc.) |
2.60 |
2.63 |
2.94 |
2.85 |
|
|
1st
Year |
Senior |
||
|
UWSP |
PMGDI |
UWSP |
PMGDI |
|
|
Discussed grades or assignments with an instructor |
2.27-- |
2.49 |
2.76 |
2.76 |
|
Talked about career plans with a faculty member or
advisor |
2.20++ |
2.07 |
2.64++ |
2.36 |
|
Discussed ideas from your readings or classes with
faculty members outside of class |
1.51-- |
1.65 |
1.99 |
1.97 |
|
Worked with faculty members on activities other than
coursework (committees, orientation, student-life activities, etc.) |
1.39 |
1.42 |
1.98++ |
1.74 |
|
Received prompt feedback from faculty on your academic
performance (written or oral) |
2.53 |
2.48 |
2.74 |
2.74 |
|
|
1st
Year |
Senior |
||
|
UWSP |
PMGDI |
UWSP |
PMGDI |
|
|
Participating in co-curricular activities
(organizations, publications, student government, sports, etc.) |
2.14 |
2.00 |
2.47++ |
1.93 |
|
Had serious conversations with students that have
different religious beliefs, political opinions, or personal values |
2.76 |
2.75 |
2.91++ |
2.72 |
|
Had serious conversations with students of a different
race or ethnicity |
2.14-- |
2.51 |
2.24-- |
2.55 |
|
Used electronic technology (list-serve, chat group,
internet, etc.) to discuss or complete an assignment |
2.72++ |
2.46 |
2.77 |
2.69 |
|
Campus environment encouraged contact among students
from different economic, social, and racial or ethnic backgrounds |
2.37 |
2.43 |
2.03-- |
2.31 |
Supportive
Campus Environment
|
|
1st
Year |
Senior |
||
|
UWSP |
PMGDI |
UWSP |
PMGDI |
|
|
Campus environment provided the support you need to help
you succeed academically |
3.05++ |
2.89 |
2.81 |
2.76 |
|
Campus environment helped you cope with your nonacademic
responsibilities (work, family, etc.) |
2.06 |
1.99 |
1.85 |
1.76 |
|
Campus environment provided the support you need to
thrive socially |
2.37++ |
2.22 |
2.24++ |
2.00 |
|
Quality of relationships with other students on a scale
from 1 to 7, 1 being worst and 7 being best |
5.65 |
5.57 |
5.87++ |
5.69 |
|
Quality of relationships with faculty members on a scale
from 1 to 7, 1 being worst and 7 being best |
5.39 |
5.24 |
5.64++ |
5.43 |
|
Quality of relationships with administrative personnel
and offices on a scale from 1 to 7, 1 being worst and 7 being best |
5.02++ |
4.80 |
4.89++ |
4.52 |
First-year students at UWSP score significantly higher than public master
degree granting institutions on seven of the thirty-four index
items--significantly lower on five items.
UWSP Seniors score
significantly higher on eleven items--significantly lower on two items. While there are many positive outcomes in
these data, UWSP believes that it can substantially improve on these
results.
To achieve such improvement, Academic Affairs
and Student Affairs have jointly set up an ad hoc committee to study
questions of student success and retention and develop an action plan to
address them. Specifically, the
committee will: 1) Identify key factors affecting retention efforts at UWSP
based on NSSE results and other institutional data. 2) Identify 4-5 reasonable strategies that would have the
potential of increasing the retention of first-year students at UWSP. 3) Design an action plan for each strategy
and present them to the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and
the Assistant Chancellor for Student Affairs for action. 4) Evaluate the impact of the strategies
that are implemented.