Compared with students at other colleges and universities across the nation, Elon University students are much more likely to study abroad, make class presentations, write papers, complete internships and work closely with faculty members on projects outside of class. Those are among the findings of the 2008 National Survey of Student Engagement, released Nov. 10.
Ninety-six percent of graduating seniors lastyear praised Elon University for their overall experience, arate exceeding the national average of 85 percent.
That information and more is contained in the 2008 NationalSurvey of Student Engagement (NSSE), the most comprehensiveassessment of effective practices in higher education, whichincludes data from 380,000 students at 722 four-year collegesand universities.
Elon has won consistent praise for its decision to share its NSSE data on a special open Web site. The site, which is updated annually, details the full Elon results at http://www.elon.edu/nsse
Elon students gave high marks to theirexperiences on each of five benchmarks of excellence:
- Level of academic challenge
- Active and collaborative learning
- Student-faculty interaction
- Enriching educational experiences
- Supportive campus environment
A total of 1,038 Elon freshmen and seniors participated in the2008 NSSE survey, now in its ninth year. Based on survey resultsof freshmen, Elon had its highest scores in the followingcategories:
- Wrote more than 10 papers or reports of fewer than 5 pages
- Made a class presentation
- Wrote more than 4 papers or reports between 5 and 19 pages
- Completed foreign language coursework
- Spent more than five hours/week participating in co-curricular activities
Based on survey results of seniors, compared with otherinstitutions, Elon had its highest scores in thesecategories:
- Did a practicum, internship, field experience or clinical assignment
- Wrote more than 4 papers or reports between 5 and 19 pages
- Studied abroad
- Completed a capstone senior experience
- Spent more than five hours/week participating in co-curricular activities
The 2008 NSSE report, which is sponsored by The CarnegieFoundation for the Advancement of Teaching, was released Nov. 10th. The study provides information to students and parents inthe college search process and gives campuses insight intoeffective teaching and student learning. Full details of thereport can be found on the NSSE Web site at: http://nsse.iub.edu.
The NSSE survey asked randomly selected freshmen and seniorskey questions about their educational experiences. Use thelinks to the left to view Elon student responses to selected2008 survey questions, compared with the figures from otherschools in the survey.