National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) Seniors Results 2021

Executive Summary

Seniors at Wake Forest University scored highest on Quality of Interactions 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 senior Wake respondents, 88% indicated that if they could start over again they would go to the same institution they are now attending. Many students reported spending considerably more time 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 seniors’ 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 seniors (N = 1309). A total of 179 students submitted responses, representing a 14% response rate (estimated margin of error +/- 9.7%). The respondents were fairly representative of the class when comparing distributions across gender, race/ethnicity, and first-generation status. 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 senior 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 seniors scored highest on Quality of Interactions (mean 44.2) and Higher-Order Learning (mean 42.3) and lowest on Student-Faculty Interaction (mean 26.1). With respect to our comparison group (IR Peer Group), WFU scored above average with at least a small effect in the following categories:

• Quantitative Reasoning: WFU vs IR Peer Group (35.9 vs 32.7)
• Quality of Interactions: WFU vs IR Peer Group (44.2 vs 40.3)
• Supportive Environment: WFU vs IR Peer Group (34.4 vs 30.1)
• Effective Teaching Practices: WFU vs IR Peer Group (41.5 vs 38.8)

Senior students at WFU in 2021 scored fairly equally by gender, race and first-generation status across all Engagement Indicators. 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 seniors 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).

Senior students at WFU scored fairly equally by race and first-generation status across all High-Impact Practices. On the other hand, female students and male students scored differently with a small effect in the following High-Impact Practices:

• A higher proportion of female students than male students indicated having a learning community or some other formal program where groups of students take two or more classes together (29% vs 14%).
• A higher proportion of female students than male students indicated having participated in a study abroad program (67% vs 49%).

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 final year at WFU.

Respondent Profile

Among all Wake respondents,

• 88% indicated that if they were to start again, they would attend the same institution they are currently attending.
• 79% indicated that faculty and staff helped students “very much” or “quite a bit” adapt to the changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 36% expect to complete a doctoral or professional degree as their highest form of education, while 43% and 21% expect to complete at most a master’s or bachelor’s, respectively.
• A higher proportion of female students expect to complete either a Master’s or Doctoral or professional degree than male students (87% vs 69%).

Frequency Comparison

Some overall highlights from these individual items include:

• During the current school year at Wake, respondents expected to spend an average of 15.9 hours preparing for class and 9.1 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 (69%), religions (70%), and political views (71%).

Seniors differed in response to several items by gender. For example, a higher proportion of male respondents than female respondents indicated analyzing numerical and statistical information as a perceived gain (91% vs 69%). On the other hand, female respondents reported spending three times as many hours working for pay on campus than male respondents (4.7 vs 1.4).

White and URM seniors differed occasionally on specific items. For example, a higher proportion of white students than URM students reported an institutional emphasis on spending significant amounts of time studying and on academic work (91% vs 70%).

First-generation and Non-first-generation seniors differed occasionally on specific items. For example, non-first-generation students reported spending twice as many hours per week participating in co-curricular activities than first-generation students (9.4 vs 4.5).

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 senior 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	128	42.3	13.4	40.4	12.8
Reflective & Integrative Learning	141	40.4	11.8	38.9	12.2
Learning Strategies	119	39.1	14.8	37.3	14.2
Quantitative Reasoning	122	35.9	16.0	32.7	16.2	0.2
Collaborative Learning	159	32.7	15.1	34.1	14.3
Discussions with Diverse Others	121	40.3	13.7	40.8	13.6
Student-Faculty Interaction	130	26.1	16.7	25.2	15.2
Effective Teaching Practices	129	41.5	13.0	38.8	12.5	0.22
Quality of Interactions	116	44.2	9.8	40.3	11.3	0.35
Supportive Environment	116	34.4	13.2	30.1	13.0	0.33

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	70	43.2	12.8	57	41.2	14.3
Reflective & Integrative Learning	78	42.0	10.7	62	38.1	12.6
Learning Strategies	64	41.1	12.5	54	36.3	16.5
Quantitative Reasoning	68	33.7	15.3	54	37.8	16.3
Collaborative Learning	91	33.5	15.7	68	32.8	14.4
Discussions with Diverse Others	66	41.0	12.2	54	39.1	15.1
Student-Faculty Interaction	73	26.3	14.9	55	25.1	18.2
Effective Teaching Practices	71	41.4	11.2	57	40.9	14.8
Quality of Interactions	63	44.4	8.1	52	43.6	11.7
Supportive Environment	63	35.2	12.3	52	33.3	13.8

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	96	42.4	13.6	30	41.9	13.1
Reflective & Integrative Learning	104	40.2	12.2	36	40.7	10.4
Learning Strategies	89	38.8	15.2	30	39.2	12.9
Quantitative Reasoning	91	35.9	16.7	31	34.7	13.3
Collaborative Learning	117	32.8	15.1	42	34.4	15.2
Discussions with Diverse Others	89	40.9	13.7	31	38.1	13.1
Student-Faculty Interaction	97	26.0	16.9	32	25.3	14.8
Effective Teaching Practices	96	40.7	13.3	31	42.5	11.4
Quality of Interactions	87	44.4	9.8	28	42.8	10.0
Supportive Environment	87	34.0	13.8	28	35.4	10.1

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	8	38.5	13.3	119	42.5	13.5
Reflective & Integrative Learning	9	39.6	11.7	131	40.4	11.8
Learning Strategies	8	33.2	10.0	111	39.3	14.9
Quantitative Reasoning	8	31.6	16.8	114	35.8	15.8
Collaborative Learning	9	29.0	7.4	150	33.5	15.4
Discussions with Diverse Others	8	44.0	12.9	113	39.9	13.6
Student-Faculty Interaction	9	26.6	15.5	120	25.7	16.5
Effective Teaching Practices	8	41.9	9.9	120	41.1	13.1
Quality of Interactions	8	46.0	3.8	107	43.9	10.1
Supportive Environment	8	32.5	9.4	107	34.5	13.2

NSSE High-Impact Practices Comparison

All WFU Respondents

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

	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’	119	2.9	1.4

			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	114	48%	0.50
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	119	74%	0.44
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	118	22%	0.42
Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate?	Study abroad program	Done/In progress	118	59%	0.49
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	116	42%	0.50
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	116	49%	0.50

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’	64	3.1	1.4	54	2.6	1.3	0.37

			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	63	49%	0.06	51	47%	0.07
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	64	77%	0.05	54	71%	0.06
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	63	29%	0.06	54	14%	0.05	0.39
Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate?	Study abroad program	Done/In progress	63	67%	0.06	54	49%	0.07	0.38
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	63	44%	0.06	53	40%	0.07
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	63	50%	0.06	53	47%	0.07

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’	89	2.9	1.3	30	3	1.7

			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	86	44%	0.05	28	58%	0.09
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	89	75%	0.05	30	72%	0.08
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	89	19%	0.04	29	32%	0.09
Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate?	Study abroad program	Done/In progress	89	61%	0.05	29	52%	0.09
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	89	41%	0.05	28	47%	0.09
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	89	47%	0.05	28	54%	0.09

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’	8	3.2	1.1	111	2.9	1.4

			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	8	57%	0.18	106	47%	0.05
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	8	60%	0.18	111	75%	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	8	11%	0.11	110	23%	0.04
Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate?	Study abroad program	Done/In progress	8	68%	0.17	110	58%	0.05
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	8	51%	0.18	109	42%	0.05
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	8	77%	0.15	109	47%	0.05

Individual Items Comparison

Respondent Profile Comparison

All WFU Respondents

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

WFU By Gender

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

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)

WFU By First Generation

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