The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) is administered nationally by the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research and provides information about students’ participation in programs and activities that institutions provide for their learning and personal development. This is the second year WFU has participated in the NSSE, joining 473 US institutions in 2023.
The NSSE was distributed electronically by the Office of Institutional Research during the Spring of 2023 to all seniors (N = 1,301). A total of 286 students submitted responses, representing a 22% response rate (estimated margin of error \(\pm\) 6.4%). The respondents were not representative of the senior class when comparing distributions across gender and race/ethnicity; for example, the responses completed overrepresented the proportion of White female students (50% vs 39%) in the WFU senior population. To address some concerns around nonresponse bias, all analyses were performed with post-stratification weights by gender and race/ethnicity.
WFU seniors scored highly on several NSSE Engagement Indicators including Effective Teaching Practices, Higher-Order Learning, and Quality of Interactions. On all Engagement Indicators, Wake Forest seniors scored similarly or higher than peers at 32 administering institutions. Among all respondents, 92% evaluated their overall educational experience positively, and 86% indicated that if they could start over again they would attend WFU.
For each item below, a statistical test for the difference between groups (e.g. gender) is performed. If the difference between groups is found to be statistically significant, this analysis reports effect sizes to allow one to compare the magnitude of the difference. Each item that is found to have a difference between groups and indicates at least a small effect size is highlighted in the following colors. This report provides a summary of each section (e.g. Engagement Indicators) followed by the comparison within WFU seniors by gender, race/ethnicity, and first-generation status. Comparisons by survey year (2023 vs 2021) are also provided, but please note that the COVID-19 pandemic likely more heavily affected responses in 2021. (See here for more on survey analysis methodology.)
| Size | Criteria |
|---|---|
| Large Effect | ≥ 0.80 |
| Medium Effect | ≥ 0.50 |
| Small Effect | ≥ 0.20 |
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-point scale (e.g. Never=0, Sometimes=20, Often=40, and Very Often=60) and then averaged together to compute student-level scores.
WFU seniors scored highest on Effective Teaching Practices (45), Higher-Order Learning (43), and Quality of Interactions (43), and lowest on Student-Faculty Interaction (32). WFU seniors scored higher than students at 32 peer institutions with a small effect size on the following Engagement Indicators:
By gender, WFU seniors scored differently on several Engagement Indicators. With a medium effect size, women indicated higher levels of Reflective and Integrative Learning than men (44 vs 38). With a small effect size, women also scored higher on Learning Strategies (42 vs 37), Higher-Order Learning (45 vs 41), and Supportive Environment (36 vs 32).
WFU seniors scored similarly by race/ethnicity on all except one Engagement Indicator. With a small effect size, URM students scored higher than White students on Student-Faculty Interaction (35 vs 30).
First-generation and non-first-generation WFU seniors scored similarly across all Engagement Indicators.
WFU seniors by survey year scored differently on three Engagement Indicators, likely at least partially due to the COVID-19 restrictions in 2021. Respondents in 2023 scored higher than respondents in 2021 on Collaborative Learning (39 vs 33), Student-Faculty Interaction (32 vs 26), and Effective Teaching Practices (45 vs 41) with a small effect size.
For the full results and comparisons please see the Engagement Indicators section below.
Due to their positive associations with student learning and retention, NSSE asks 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).
Overall, WFU seniors were most likely to participate in an internship or field experience (75%). Conversely, WFU seniors reported participating in a learning community or similar formal program (27%) the least out of all HIPs.
WFU seniors reported similar participation rates across most HIPs by gender. With a small effect size, more women participated in an internship or field experience (82% vs 67%) or a study abroad program (58% vs 44%) than men.
By race/ethnicity, a few differences were observed among WFU seniors. With a small effect size, a larger proportion of White students reported participating in an internship or field experience (80% vs 64%) or a study abroad program (56% vs 41%), while a larger proportion of URM students reported working with a faculty member on a research project (58% vs 42%).
No differences were observed in HIP participation rates between first-generation and non-first-generation WFU seniors.
By survey year, WFU seniors reported similar participation rates across all HIPs.
For the full results and comparisons please see the High-Impact Practices section below.
The NSSE presents students with items about their backgrounds and goals. Among all WFU respondents,
For the full results and comparisons please see the Respondent Profile section below.
Although less stable than Engagement Indicators, responses to individual survey questions may provide a closer look at specific issues and notable differences across groups.
Among all WFU senior respondents,
Many differences among WFU seniors by gender were observed. With a medium effect size, a larger proportion of women reported perceived gains in speaking clearly & effectively (91% vs 64%) and indicated that WFU as an institution frequently provided opportunities to be involved socially (82% vs 56%) than men. With a small effect size, a larger proportion of women also reported perceived gains in thinking critically (99% vs 88%), being an informed & active citizen (75% vs 53%), and writing effectively (93% vs 78%). Additionally, men reported spending more hours per week relaxing and socializing (15 vs 11).
By race/ethnicity, WFU seniors responded differently across several individual questions. With a small effect size, a larger proportion of URM students reported perceived gains in understanding people from other backgrounds (78% vs 59%), working effectively with others (94% vs 82%), and developing a personal code of ethics (86% vs 73%). Additionally, with a medium effect size, White students on average spent more hours per week participating in co-curricular activities (10 vs 7).
Several differences in responses between first-generation and non-first-generation WFU seniors were found. With a large effect size, a larger proportion of first-generation students reported perceived gains in speaking effectively (100% vs 77%). With a medium effect size, a smaller proportion of first-generation students reported feeling like part of the community at this institution (65% vs 86%). Also with a medium effect size, first-generation students on average reported spending more hours per week working for pay on campus (8 vs 4), while non-first-generation students reported spending more hours per week participating in co-curricular activities (9 vs 6).
Several differences were found in senior responses by survey year. Many of these differences, unsurprisingly but encouragingly, reflected students’ opportunity to work collaboratively with peers and faculty more frequently in 2023 than students could during their senior year with the COVID restrictions in 2021. Additionally, with a small effect size, a smaller proportion of 2023 seniors reported feeling comfortable being themselves at this institution (86% vs 95%) than 2021 seniors.
For the full results and comparisons please see the Individual Items section below.
Wake included two Topical Modules with this year’s survey. The Inclusiveness & Engagement with Cultural Diversity (ICD) Module asks students to reflect on their experiences at WFU with inclusive teaching practices, intercultural learning, participation in diversity-related programming, and their perceptions of WFU’s institutional values regarding diversity. The Senior Transitions Module focuses on students’ post-graduation plans, confidence in skill development, and perceived links between their major and future plans.
Among all WFU senior respondents,
WFU seniors differed by gender for many items on the ICD Module. With a medium effect size, a larger proportion of men than women felt a supportive environment at WFU for disability status (58% vs 31%), racial/ethnic identity (65% vs 40%), and citizenship/immigration status (63% vs 38%). With a small effect size, a smaller proportion of women felt WFU as an institution emphasized taking allegations of discrimination or harassment seriously (44% vs 66%).
By race/ethnicity, WFU seniors also differed in responses to multiple items. With at least a small effect size, a larger proportion of URM seniors participated in a diversity-related club (49% vs 16%) or the activities of centers related to specific groups (42% vs 23%) during the current school year. A smaller proportion of URM seniors indicated the environment at WFU was supportive of students’ racial/ethnic identities (63% vs 46%), gender identities (63% vs 46%), disability statuses (54% vs 38%), and economic backgrounds (48% vs 33%).
First-generation and non-first-generation WFU seniors responded similarly for most topics on the ICD Module. With medium effect size, a smaller proportion of first-generation seniors felt that WFU provides a supportive environment for students’ religious affiliations (46% vs 72%).
By survey year, a larger proportion of seniors in 2023 felt that WFU provides a supportive environment for students’ religious affiliations (70% vs 57%) than seniors in 2021.
Among all senior respondents,
By gender, WFU seniors responded similarly to all but three items. With a small effect size, men felt more confident in their entrepreneurial skills (53% vs 34%) and financial and business management skills (55% vs 39%) than women. Conversely, women felt more confident in their ability to write clearly (96% vs 83%).
WFU seniors also responded similarly to most items by race/ethnicity. With a small effect size, White students felt more confident in their networking and relationship-building skills (82% vs 61%) and leadership skills (88% vs 75%).
First-generation and non-first-generation seniors responded similarly to all items on the Senior Transitions Module.
WFU seniors responded similarly to all but one item by survey year. Relative to 2021, a smaller proportion of students in 2023 planned to be self-employed, an independent contractor, or a freelance worker someday (7% vs 16%).
For the full results and comparisons please see the Topical Modules section below.
Inclusiveness and Engagement with Cultural Diversity
Senior Transitions
Inclusiveness and Engagement with Cultural Diversity
Senior Transitions
Inclusiveness and Engagement with Cultural Diversity
Senior Transitions
Inclusiveness and Engagement with Cultural Diversity
Senior Transitions
Inclusiveness and Engagement with Cultural Diversity
Senior Transitions