LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Nov. 13, 2007)—Bellarmine University ranked above its peer institutions in a recent national survey of student satisfaction. A recent USA Today article, which announced the results of the 2007 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), indicates that Bellarmine students rank their school higher than the national average in all 10 of the benchmarks.
The survey includes five different categories with two scores in each category, making a total of 10 benchmarks. The scores represent first-year students’ opinions and seniors’ opinions. The categories include:
Level of academic challenge
Active and collaborative learning
Student-faculty interaction
Enriching educational experiences
Supportive campus environment
NSSE is designed to obtain, on an annual basis, information from hundreds of colleges and universities nationwide 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. Survey items on NSSE represent empirically confirmed "good practices" in undergraduate education. That is, they reflect behaviors by students and institutions that are associated with desired outcomes of college.
For further commentary and more information on NSSE, consult the Web sites for NSSE and USA Today.
NSSE was conceived in early 1998 and supported by a grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts. A successful pilot in 1999 involving more than 75 selected colleges and universities led to the inaugural launch in the spring of 2000. This year, 610 colleges and universities participated in the survey. NSSE is housed at the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research in Bloomington, Ind.