Winthrop.edu Assessment Header
210 Tillman Hall, Rock Hill, SC  29733  •  803/323-2228  •  803/323-2359 (Fax)   

 

National Survey of Student Engagement:

A Summary Report of Winthrop University Results for 2002

Office of Assessment

August, 2002

Introduction

This report summarizes the results of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) completed by almost 300 Winthrop University students (172 First-year students and 124 seniors) in the Spring of 2002. Winthrop was one of 366 (up from 321 in 2001) four year colleges and universities nationally, and the only public institution in South Carolina that participated in the 2002 NSSE.

The NSSE project surveys undergraduates at four-year colleges and universities to assess the extent to which they engage in a variety of good educational practices. The 2002 year was the third in which the survey was nationally administered and the second in which Winthrop participated. The project is supported by a grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts and cosponsored by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and The Pew Forum for Undergraduate Learning.

The NSSE’s instrument, The College Student Report, consists principally of items related to institutional contributions to student engagement, important college outcomes, and institutional quality. Questions pertain to both student perceptions of the extent to which the institution actively encourages student engagement as well as to student reports of actual behavior. A copy of The College Student Report may be examined on-line at www.indiana.edu/~nsse.

Major sections of this introduction were taken or adapted (with permission) from the NSSE 2002 Overview provided by the National Survey of Student Engagement project.

NSSE 2002 Institutions and Respondents

The NSSE 2002 sample was comprised of 206,844 first-year and senior students who were randomly selected from electronic data files provided by the 366 participating four-year colleges and universities. NSSE sampling procedures call for an equal number of first-year and senior students to be sent the survey with the standard sample size determined by the number of undergraduate students enrolled at the institution. Students at the majority of colleges and universities, including Winthrop were asked to respond to a web version of the survey. In order to obtain as high a response rate as possible, NSSE staff followed up the initial request with a traditional paper version of the questionnaire. NSSE data indicate no significant differences between responses to the web-based versus paper survey.

Profile of NSSE 2002 Institutions

Table 1 below shows the degree to which NSSE 2002 participating institutions approximate the characteristics of the national profile of all four-year colleges and universities. The source of the comparative data is the 1998-1999 IPEDS database, the most recent complete data file available.

Table One

Profile of NSSE 2002 Institutions

NSSE 2002 National
Carnegie Classification
   Doc/Res-Ext 14% 10%
   Doc/Res-Int 9% 8%
   Master’s I & II 44% 43%
   Bac-Liberal Arts 20% 16%
   Bac-General 13% 23%
Sector
   Public 4-year 45% 37%
   Private 4-year  55% 63%

Table 1 shows that NSSE 2002 schools generally mirror the national profile of four-year colleges and universities. However, NSSE 2002 institutions included more Doctoral/Research Universities and Baccalaureate Colleges—Liberal Arts and fewer Baccalaureate Colleges—General as defined by the 2000 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Additionally, Southeastern institutions were somewhat underrepresented in the NSSE sample.

Doctoral/Research Universities and Master’s Colleges and Universities enroll more than three-quarters of all undergraduates. At the same time, ample numbers of smaller, independent colleges also took part in NSSE 2002, insuring that the results would reflect the experiences of a broad cross-section of students attending four-year colleges and universities from both the public and private sector, from all regions of the country and from different types of settings.

Profile of NSSE and Winthrop 2002 Respondents

Table 2 below shows selected respondent characteristics. The first column represents NSSE 2002 respondents; the second column represents the national profile of students at four-year colleges and universities from IPEDS data; the third column shows the profile of Winthrop students who responded to the survey.

Table Two

NSSE 2002 Respondents

NSSE Respondents National  Winthrop
Gender
   Men 34% 42% 18%
   Women 66% 58% 82%
Race/Ethnicity
   African American/Black 6% 12% 25%
   Amer. Indian/Alaska Native 1% 1% 1%
   Asian/Pacific Islander 7% 4% 1%
   Caucasian/White 80% 71% 72%
   Hispanic 7% 6% 1%
   Other 0.1%  -  - 
   Multiple 5%  -  - 
International 5% 3% 1%
Enrollment Status
   Full-time 88% 81% 94%
   Part-time 12% 19% 6%

 Sample Response Rates and Sampling Errors for NSSE 2002 and Winthrop

The average institutional response rate for NSSE 2002 was 41%, with a range from 16% to 89%. Winthrop’s response rate was 33%, which was below the average response rate of 39% for Master’s institutions. However, it should be noted that this response rate indicates the percent of student sampled that responded, not the percent of the relevant student population.

About 55% of the NSSE 2002 respondents completed the paper version of The College Student Report (down from 58% in 2001) and approximately 45% completed it using the Web (up from 36% in NSSE 2000). At Winthrop, 70% of responding students completed the web version and 30% completed the paper version.

Nationally, the NSSE sample included 80,497 students. The 2002 Winthrop sample consisted of 296 students (172 First-year students and 124 seniors).

Estimated sampling errors are given below. These are an estimate of the margin by which the true score on a given item could differ from the reported score (e.g., due to differences between the sample and the total population of students). To interpret the sampling error, assume that 60% of respondents answer "strongly agree" to an item. If the sampling error is +5%, then there is a 95% chance that the true population value is between 55% and 65%.

Sampling Errors

Winthrop University NSSE 2002
Overall 5.2% 0.3%
First Year 6.7% 0.5%
Senior 8.0% 0.5%

 

Winthrop University Results

The following table summarizes the 2002 results for 296 Winthrop students (172 First-year students and 124 seniors). The table includes the following:

Variables

The items from The College Student Report appear in the left column in the same order they appear on the instrument. Response set values are also provided to help you interpret the numbers.

Mean

A mean is an arithmetic average of all responses on a particular item. Means are provided for Winthrop, for other institutions in our Carnegie Classification, and for the NSSE 2002 national sample.

Class

Responses to each item are reported for first-year students and seniors.

Statistical Significance

Items with larger mean differences than would be expected by chance alone are noted with one, two, or three asterisks, referring to three significance levels (.05, .01, and .001). The smaller the significance level, the smaller the likelihood that the difference is due to chance. Please note that statistical significance does not guarantee that the result is substantive or important.

(Please note: if you are viewing an electronic version of this report you may need to enlarge the font size or download and print a hard copy in order to see the asterisks and thus interpret the significance levels).

Effect Size

Effect size indicates the "practical significance" of the magnitude of the mean difference. It is calculated by dividing the mean difference by the mean standard deviation of the comparison group with which the institution is being compared (Carnegie classification or NSSE 2002). In practice, an effect size of .2 is often considered small, .5 moderate, and .8 large. A positive sign indicates that Winthrop’s mean was greater, thus showing (in most cases) an affirmative result for the institution. A negative sign indicates the institution lags behind the comparison group, suggesting that the student behavior or institutional practice represented by the item may warrant attention. An exception to this interpretation is the "coming to class unprepared" item where a negative sign is preferred (i.e., meaning fewer students reporting coming to class unprepared). For some items (e.g., time spent providing care for dependents) results are not necessarily "positive" or "negative."

 

 

 

 

 

Winthrop

Winthrop U compared with

 

 

Master's

NSSE 2002

 

Class

Mean

Master's
Mean

Siga

Effect sizeb

NSSE 2002
Mean

Siga

Effect sizeb

 

Academic and Intellectual Experiences

 

1=never, 2=sometimes, 3=often, 4=very often

 

 

 

Asked questions in class or contributed to class discussions

FY

2.88

2.81

 

 

2.80

 

 

 

SR

3.19

3.11

 

 

3.10

 

 

 

Made a class presentation

FY

2.20

2.27

 

 

2.21

 

 

 

SR

3.09

2.88

**

.26

2.81

***

.33

 

Prepared two or more drafts of a paper or assignment before turning it in

FY

2.98

2.75

**

.24

2.68

***

.30

 

SR

2.61

2.58

 

 

2.50

 

 

 

Worked on a paper or project that required integrating ideas or information from various sources

FY

3.31

3.05

***

.32

3.04

***

.33

 

SR

3.43

3.33

 

 

3.33

 

 

 

Included diverse perspectives (different races, religions, genders, political beliefs, etc.) in class discussions or writing assignments.

FY

2.95

2.70

***

.28

2.71

***

.27

 

SR

2.98

2.74

**

.27

2.73

**

.28

 

Came to class without completing readings or assignments

FY

2.14

2.01

*

.18

2.07

 

 

 

SR

2.27

2.05

***

.32

2.11

*

.21

 

Worked with other students on projects during class

FY

2.39

2.41

 

 

2.34

 

 

 

SR

2.54

2.54

 

 

2.45

 

 

 

Worked with classmates outside of class to prepare class assignments

FY

2.48

2.32

*

.19

2.39

 

 

 

SR

2.67

2.69

 

 

2.72

 

 

 

Put together ideas or concepts from different courses when completing assignments or during class discussions

FY

2.66

2.44

**

.27

2.47

**

.23

 

SR

2.89

2.80

 

 

2.82

 

 

 

Tutored or taught other students (paid or voluntary)

FY

1.67

1.62

 

 

1.67

 

 

 

SR

1.93

1.81

 

 

1.85

 

 

 

Participated in a community-based project as a part of a regular course

FY

1.67

1.43

***

.33

1.42

***

.35

 

SR

1.81

1.62

*

.23

1.59

**

.27