How UNF Uses NSSE Data to Improve the Student Experience 

UNF’s 2009 NSSE results pointed out areas of strength (the senior year experience), areas in need of improvement (the freshman year experience), and areas where we are improving (the Enriching Educational Experiences benchmark), a likely result of Transformational Learning Opportunities).

2009 NSSE results  also showed that UNF seniors reported being more engaged in their studies, and with campus life, than freshmen.  These data helped the university to redesign the UNF Freshman Experience including changes in our residency policy, first-year curriculum, and student life. 

Results from the 2012 NSSE will be paired with results from the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE), administered to freshmen in fall 2011, providing an in-depth understanding of first-year student engagement at UNF.  BCSSE and NSSE results will be used in combination with existing institutional data to answer institutional research questions about retention and writing, for example: 

• How does engagement, both in high school and in the first year of college, impact likelihood of enrolling for a second year? 
• How do expectations of college affect the likelihood of enrolling for a second year? 
• What kinds of engagement experiences during the first year are most effective in preventing attrition of students whose high school engagement and/or expectations of college put them at high risk of leaving? 
• What are the high school experiences and college expectations of entering freshmen with respect to writing, and how do they correlate with success in college-level writing-intensive courses? 
• To what extent do students think they are prepared for college-level writing? What curricular or advising interventions would help those students who feel least prepared?  

In addition, a summary of the most recent NSSE results is posted on UNF's College Portrait website, in the Student Experiences section.