Executive Summary

First-year students at Wake Forest University scored highest on Quality of Interactions, Learning Strategies, and Higher-Order Learning, while comparing favorably to peers at eight administering institutions on most other Engagement Indicators in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). Among all first-year Wake respondents, 94% anticipated returning to Wake Forest the following year. Students indicated spending, on average, two-and-a-half times more hours preparing for class than participating in co-curricular activities.

The NSSE is administered nationally by the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research and provides information about first-year students’ participation in programs and activities that institutions provide for their learning and personal development. This is the first year WFU participated in the NSSE, joining 336 US institutions in 2021.

The NSSE was distributed electronically by the Office of Institutional Research during April 2021 to all of the first-year students (N = 1450). A total of 267 students submitted responses, representing an 18% response rate (estimated margin of error +/- 7.9%). The respondents were not representative of the class when comparing distributions across gender and race/ethnicity status. For example, the responses completed overrepresented the total first-year female population at Wake Forest and underrepresented the total first-year male population. To address some concerns around nonresponse bias, all analyses were performed with post-stratification weights by race and gender.

For each item below, a 95% confidence interval for the difference between groups (e.g. gender) is calculated. If the difference between groups is found to be statistically significant, this analysis reports effect sizes in order to allow one to compare the magnitude of the difference. Each item that is found to have a difference between groups and indicates a large/medium/small effect size is highlighted in the following colors. This report provides a summary of each section (e.g. NSSE Engagement Indicators Comparison) followed by the comparison within the first-year class by gender, race/ethnicity, and first-generation status. (See here for more on survey analysis methodology.)

Size Criteria
Large Effect >= 0.80
Medium Effect >= 0.50
Small Effect >= 0.20

NSSE Engagement Indicators Summary

Due to the large number of individual questions asked and the complexity of assessing specific areas of potential concern, NSSE developed ten Engagement Indicators which group information gathered from numerous items into a more reliable, cumulative measure. Each Engagement Indicator is expressed on a 0 to 60 scale. First, component items are converted to a 60-point scale (e.g., Never=0, Sometimes=20, Often=40, and Very often=60), then averaged together to compute student-level scores.

Wake Forest first-year students scored highest on Quality of Interactions (mean 43.6), Learning Strategies (mean 43.2), and Higher-Order Learning (mean 43.1), and lowest on Student-Faculty Interaction (mean 20.9). With respect to WFU’s comparison group (IR Peer Group), WFU scored above average with at least a small effect in the following categories:

  • Higher-Order Learning: WFU vs IR Peer Group (43.1 vs 40.3)
  • Learning Strategies: WFU vs IR Peer Group (43.2 vs 39.3)
  • Effective Teaching Practices: WFU vs IR Peer Group (41.8 vs 39.0)

First-year students at WFU in 2021 scored differently by gender with a small effect in the following Engagement Indicators:

  • Females typically indicated greater levels of Reflective & Integrative Learning than males (40.3 vs 36.7).
  • Males typically indicated greater levels of Discussions with Diverse Others than females (43.2 vs 39.0).

White students and Under-represented Minority (URM) students scored equally on almost all Engagement Indicators, except for one (small effect size):

  • URM students scored higher than White students in Student-Faculty Interaction (24.1 vs 19.7).

First-generation students and non-first-generation students scored equally on almost all Engagement Indicators, except for one (medium effect size):

  • Non-first-generation students scored higher than first-generation students on Learning Strategies (43.7 vs 35.0).

For the full lists of the Engagement Indicator score comparisons please see the section NSSE Engagement Indicators Comparison.

NSSE High-Impact Practices Summary

Due to their positive associations with student learning and retention, NSSE asks first-year students about six undergraduate opportunities that are considered High-Impact Practices (HIPs). Participation in a High-Impact Practice is reported as the percentage of students who responded “done or in progress” for all HIPs (except service-learning, for which they reported at least “some” of their courses included a community-based project). For first-year students, it is not unreasonable to see small percentages as the respondents have only had two semesters to participate in any activity at this stage.

First-year students at WFU scored fairly equally by gender and first-generation status across all High-Impact Practices. Similarly, white students and URM students scored equally on almost all High-Impact Practices, except for one (medium effect size):

  • A higher proportion of URM students than white students indicated having courses that include a community-based project (51% vs 29%).

Individual Items Summary

Although less reliable than Engagement Indicators, individual questions may provide a closer look at specific issues and notable differences across groups. NSSE consists of two types of items. First, the Respondent Profile presented students with items about their backgrounds and goals. Then, the Frequency Comparison questions asked the regularity with which students engaged in certain activities during their first year at WFU.

Respondent Profile

Among all Wake respondents,

  • 92% indicated that if they were to start again, they would attend the same institution they are currently attending. However, a higher proportion of first-generation respondents indicated that they would not go to the same institution they are now attending if they were to start over than non-first-generation respondents (25% vs 7%).
  • 34% plan to major in STEM and health professions while 23% and 21% chose Business and Social Sciences, respectively.
  • 74% indicated that faculty and staff helped students “very much” or “quite a bit” adapt to the changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • 33% expect to complete a doctoral or professional degree as their highest form of education, while 43% and 22% expect to complete at most a master’s or bachelor’s, respectively.

Frequency Comparison

Some overall highlights from these individual items include:

  • During the current school year at Wake, respondents expected to spend an average of 18.6 hours preparing for class and 7.0 hours participating in co-curricular activities.
  • Majority of respondents indicated having discussions very often or often with people from different races/ethnicities (72%), economic backgrounds (68%), religions (75%), and political views (69%).

First-year students differed in response to a few items by gender. For example, a higher proportion of male respondents reported having discussions with people with political views other than their own than female respondents (85% vs 58%). On the other hand, a higher proportion of female respondents reported asking another student to help understand course material than male respondents (48% vs 27%).

White and URM first-year students differed in response to several items. For example, white students reported working off campus for pay an average of 0.2 hours per week while an average of 2.1 hours per week was reported for URM students. Likewise, white students reported providing care for dependents an average of 0.2 hours per week while an average of 2.1 hours per week was reported for URM students. Additionally, URM students reported spending twice as many hours doing community service or volunteer work than white students (1.4 vs 3.0).

First-generation and non-first-generation first-year students differed in response to several items. For example, non-first-generation students reported spending twice as many hours per week participating in co-curricular activities than first-generation students (7.3 vs 2.7). Furthermore, a higher proportion of non-first-generation students reported asking questions or contributing to course discussions in other ways than first-generation students (75% vs 46%).

For more information, please refer to Individual Items > Frequency Comparison section.

NSSE Engagement Indicators Comparison

WFU vs IR Peer Group

  • \(N^*\): NSSE’s Post-stratification Sample Size. Results weighted by institution-reported sex and enrollment status.
  • Core survey results for Wake Forest first-year students displayed alongside IR Peer Institutions: Boston College, Boston University, Emory University, Lehigh University, Pepperdine University, Syracuse University, University of Richmond, and Washington and Lee University.
WFU
IR Peer Group
Effect Size
Engagement Indicators N* mean sd mean sd d
Higher-Order Learning 197 43.1 12.2 40.3 12.5 0.23
Reflective & Integrative Learning 225 38.6 11.1 37.0 11.8 0.14
Learning Strategies 178 43.2 13.1 39.3 13.6 0.29
Quantitative Reasoning 180 31.6 15.0 30.8 15.2
Collaborative Learning 255 29.3 14.4 32.1 14.7 -0.19
Discussions with Diverse Others 178 40.7 12.7 40.9 13.8
Student-Faculty Interaction 210 20.9 14.2 20.0 14.0
Effective Teaching Practices 194 41.8 11.7 39.0 12.3 0.23
Quality of Interactions 169 43.6 10.8 42.3 11.2
Supportive Environment 170 34.6 13.5 33.4 13.1

WFU By Gender

  • \(n^*\): WFU’s Post-stratification Sample Size
Female
Male
Effect Size
Engagement Indicators n* mean sd n* mean sd d
Higher-Order Learning 113 43.5 12.8 87 42.7 11.0
Reflective & Integrative Learning 124 40.3 10.9 102 36.7 10.9 0.33
Learning Strategies 108 43.3 13.2 74 42.8 12.2
Quantitative Reasoning 108 32.1 15.7 75 32.5 13.8
Collaborative Learning 143 30.8 13.8 114 28.1 14.4
Discussions with Diverse Others 108 39.0 12.1 74 43.2 12.7 -0.34
Student-Faculty Interaction 116 21.2 13.7 96 21.1 14.8
Effective Teaching Practices 111 42.4 12.2 86 40.6 11.1
Quality of Interactions 104 45.1 10.4 73 44.8 11.2
Supportive Environment 102 35.9 13.8 73 32.7 12.4

WFU By Race

  • \(n^*\): WFU’s Post-stratification Sample Size
  • URM: Under Represented Minorities (Black or African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, Two or more races, Nonresident alien)
White
URM
Effect Size
Engagement Indicators n* mean sd n* mean sd d
Higher-Order Learning 138 43.0 12.2 62 43.4 11.7
Reflective & Integrative Learning 154 38.4 11.5 72 39.2 10.1
Learning Strategies 127 43.6 12.0 55 41.9 14.3
Quantitative Reasoning 128 32.3 15.5 55 32.3 13.7
Collaborative Learning 175 29.6 13.8 82 29.6 14.6
Discussions with Diverse Others 127 40.2 12.0 55 41.9 13.7
Student-Faculty Interaction 142 19.7 13.6 69 24.1 14.9 -0.31
Effective Teaching Practices 137 41.5 12.4 60 41.9 10.0
Quality of Interactions 123 44.3 10.8 53 46.4 10.6
Supportive Environment 122 34.1 13.6 52 35.8 12.7

WFU By First-Generation

  • \(n^*\): WFU’s Post-stratification Sample Size
  • First-Generation: Neither parent/guardian holds a Bachelor’s Degree
First-Generation
Non-First-Generation
Effect Size
Scales n* mean sd n* mean sd d
Higher-Order Learning 12 39.4 14.1 188 43.4 11.9
Reflective & Integrative Learning 16 38.9 11.0 210 38.6 11.1
Learning Strategies 12 35.0 12.8 170 43.7 12.6 -0.68
Quantitative Reasoning 12 28.0 10.4 171 32.6 15.2
Collaborative Learning 18 26.1 12.0 238 29.9 14.2
Discussions with Diverse Others 12 43.7 14.9 170 40.5 12.3
Student-Faculty Interaction 15 20.9 15.6 197 21.2 14.1
Effective Teaching Practices 12 40.6 9.9 185 41.7 11.8
Quality of Interactions 12 41.1 7.9 164 45.3 10.9
Supportive Environment 12 33.6 12.7 163 34.7 13.4

NSSE High-Impact Practices Comparison

All WFU Respondents

  • \(n^*\): WFU’s Post-stratification Sample Size

As mentioned above, it is not unreasonable to see an average number of high-impact practices less than one marked for first-year students as the respondents have only had two semesters to participate in any activity at this stage.

All Respondents
Item n* mean sd
Number of high-impact practices for first-year students marked ‘Done or in progress’ or ‘All, Most, or Some’ 181 0.5 0.6
All Respondents
Item Subitem Response n* percent sd
About how many of your courses at this institution have included a community-based project (service-learning)? All/Most/Some 178 36% 0.48
Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate? Internship, co-op, field experience, student teaching, or clinical placement Done/In progress 182 8% 0.27
Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate? Learning community or some other formal program where groups of students take two or more classes together Done/In progress 181 7% 0.26
Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate? Study abroad program Done/In progress 181 2% 0.14
Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate? Work with a faculty member on a research project Done/In progress 181 4% 0.20
Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate? Culminating senior experience (capstone course, senior project or thesis, portfolio, recital, comprehensive exam, etc.) Done/In progress 180 0% 0.06

WFU By Gender

  • \(n^*\): WFU’s Post-stratification Sample Size
  • perc: percent
Female
Male
Effect Size
Item n* mean sd n* mean sd d
Number of high-impact practices for first-year students marked ‘Done or in progress’ or ‘All, Most, or Some’ 106 0.4 0.6 75 0.5 0.6
Female
Male
Effect Size
Item Subitem Response n* perc sd n* perc sd h
About how many of your courses at this institution have included a community-based project (service-learning)? All/Most/Some 104 33% 0.05 74 39% 0.06
Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate? Internship, co-op, field experience, student teaching, or clinical placement Done/In progress 107 8% 0.03 75 7% 0.03
Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate? Learning community or some other formal program where groups of students take two or more classes together Done/In progress 106 6% 0.02 75 8% 0.03
Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate? Study abroad program Done/In progress 106 2% 0.02 75 1% 0.01
Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate? Work with a faculty member on a research project Done/In progress 106 6% 0.02 75 2% 0.02
Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate? Culminating senior experience (capstone course, senior project or thesis, portfolio, recital, comprehensive exam, etc.) Done/In progress 106 1% 0.01 74 0% 0.00

WFU By Race

  • \(n^*\): WFU’s Post-stratification Sample Size
  • perc: percent
  • URM: Under Represented Minorities (Black or African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, Two or more races, Nonresident alien)
White
URM
Effect Size
Item n* mean sd n* mean sd d
Number of high-impact practices for first-year students marked ‘Done or in progress’ or ‘All, Most, or Some’ 127 0.4 0.6 54 0.6 0.6 -0.41
White
URM
Effect Size
Item Subitem Response n* perc sd n* perc sd h
About how many of your courses at this institution have included a community-based project (service-learning)? All/Most/Some 124 29% 0.04 54 51% 0.07 -0.47
Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate? Internship, co-op, field experience, student teaching, or clinical placement Done/In progress 128 7% 0.02 54 9% 0.04
Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate? Learning community or some other formal program where groups of students take two or more classes together Done/In progress 127 7% 0.02 54 9% 0.04
Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate? Study abroad program Done/In progress 127 2% 0.01 54 3% 0.02
Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate? Work with a faculty member on a research project Done/In progress 127 4% 0.02 54 4% 0.03
Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate? Culminating senior experience (capstone course, senior project or thesis, portfolio, recital, comprehensive exam, etc.) Done/In progress 126 0% 0.00 54 1% 0.01

WFU By First-Generation

  • \(n^*\): WFU’s Post-stratification Sample Size
  • perc: percent
  • First-Generation: Neither parent/guardian holds a Bachelor’s Degree
First-Generation
Non-First-Generation
Effect Size
Item n* mean sd n* mean sd d
Number of high-impact practices for first-year students marked ‘Done or in progress’ or ‘All, Most, or Some’ 12 0.5 0.8 169 0.5 0.6
First-Generation
Non-First-Generation
Effect Size
Item Subitem Response n* perc sd n* perc sd h
About how many of your courses at this institution have included a community-based project (service-learning)? All/Most/Some 12 26% 0.12 165 36% 0.04
Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate? Internship, co-op, field experience, student teaching, or clinical placement Done/In progress 12 5% 0.06 170 8% 0.02
Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate? Learning community or some other formal program where groups of students take two or more classes together Done/In progress 12 16% 0.10 169 7% 0.02
Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate? Study abroad program Done/In progress 12 0% 0.00 169 2% 0.01
Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate? Work with a faculty member on a research project Done/In progress 12 11% 0.09 169 4% 0.01
Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate? Culminating senior experience (capstone course, senior project or thesis, portfolio, recital, comprehensive exam, etc.) Done/In progress 12 0% 0.00 167 0% 0.00

Individual Items Comparison

Respondent Profile Comparison

All WFU Respondents

  • \(n^*\): WFU’s Post-stratification Sample Size

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WFU By Gender

  • \(n^*\): WFU’s Post-stratification Sample Size

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WFU By Race

  • \(n^*\): WFU’s Post-stratification Sample Size
  • URM: Under Represented Minorities (Black or African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, Two or more races, Nonresident alien)

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WFU By First-Generation

  • \(n^*\): WFU’s Post-stratification Sample Size
  • First-Generation: Neither parent/guardian holds a Bachelor’s Degree

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