The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) is administered nationally by the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research and supplies information about students’ participation in programs and activities that institutions provide for their learning and personal development. This is the third year WFU has participated in the NSSE, joining 382 US institutions in 2025.
The NSSE was distributed electronically by the Office of Institutional Research during the Spring of 2025 to all first-year students (N = 1,363). A total of 247 students submitted responses, representing an 18% response rate. Across all survey questions, the minimum margin of error was \(\pm\) 6.3% and the maximum margin of error was \(\pm\) 14.8%. The respondents were not representative of the first-year class when comparing distributions across sex and race/ethnicity; for example, the respondents underrepresented the proportion of White males (21% vs 35%) in the WFU first-year population. To address some concerns around nonresponse bias, all analyses were performed with post-stratification weights by sex and race/ethnicity.
As part of the NSSE, Engagement Indicators were combined with related questions to assess engagement in academic challenges, learning with peers, experiences with faculty, and the campus environment. WFU first-year students scored highly on several NSSE Engagement Indicators, including Quality of Interactions and Effective Teaching Practices. On all Engagement Indicators, Wake Forest first-year students scored similarly or higher than peers at 34 administering institutions.
For each item below, a statistical test for the difference between groups (e.g., sex) 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 with at least a small effect size is highlighted using the colors in Figure 1. This report provides a summary of each section (e.g., Engagement Indicators) followed by the comparison within WFU first-year students by sex and race/ethnicity. Comparisons by survey year (2025 vs 2023) are also provided where possible, as some survey content was revised between administrations. (See here for more on survey analysis methodology.)
| Size | Criteria |
|---|---|
| Large Effect | ≥ 0.80 |
| Medium Effect | ≥ 0.50 |
| Small Effect | ≥ 0.20 |
Figure 1. Interpretation of effect sizes with corresponding colors
Due to the large number of individual questions asked and the complexity of assessing specific areas of potential concern, NSSE developed ten Engagement Indicators to provide a more reliable, cumulative measure of areas of notable interest. Each Engagement Indicator is comprised of component items which are converted to a 60-point metric (e.g., Never=0, Sometimes=20, Often=40, and Very Often=60) and averaged together to compute student-level scores.
First-year students at WFU reported the strongest engagement in supportive interpersonal relationships (score: 45), effective teaching practices that promote learning (score: 43), and active engagement with course material (score: 42). They reported the lowest levels of engagement in interactions with faculty (score: 27).
Compared to students at 34 peer institutions, WFU first-years responded similarly or more positively to all Engagement Indicators. With a small effect size, WFU students more frequently reported experiencing effective teaching methods that promote student learning (43 vs 40), exercising the ability to use and understand numerical data (35 vs 32), and interacting with faculty (27 vs 24) than peer respondents.
WFU first-year respondents scored similarly by sex, race/ethnicity, and survey year (WFU respondents in 2025 vs 2023) to nearly all Engagement Indicators. With a small effect size, female students viewed WFU as placing greater importance on services and activities that support their learning and development (41 vs 37) than male students, and White students reported higher engagement in working with peers to solve problems and deepen their understanding of course content (36 vs 32) than Underrepresented Minority (URM) students.
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). For first-year students, it is not unreasonable to see small participation rates, as the respondents have only had two semesters to participate in any activity at this stage.
Overall, 55% of WFU first-year students responded that at least some of their courses have included a community-based service component. First-year respondents reported similar participation across all HIPs by sex, race/ethnicity and survey year.
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 to create a respondent profile. Among all WFU first-year 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 first-year respondents, 90% felt comfortable being themselves, and 88% felt valued at Wake Forest. In a typical week, students reported on average spending the most time preparing for class (16 hours) and relaxing and socializing with friends (12 hours).
WFU first-years responded differently to several individual items by sex. Among the differences and with a small effect size, male students reported more frequently working with faculty on activities other than coursework (45% vs 25%), acquiring job- or work-related knowledge and skills (71% vs 51%), and having instructors use examples or illustrations to explain difficult points (90% vs 77%) than female students.
By race/ethnicity, several significant differences in first-year responses were detected, all with small effect sizes. A larger proportion of URM students reported having evaluated what others have concluded from numerical information (71% vs 53%). A smaller proportion of URM students reported having explained course material to one or more students (45% vs 62%) and asked another student to help them understand course material (42% vs 58%).
Several differences were found in first-year responses by survey year, all with small effect sizes. Some of these differences were related to engaging with other students who are different from them, with 2025 respondents engaging less frequently than 2023 respondents. Also in 2025, a higher proportion of respondents felt that the institution provided support for overall well-being (86% vs 76%).
For the full results and comparisons, please see the Individual Items section below.
Wake Forest included two Topical Modules with this year’s survey. The Academic Advising Module asks students to reflect on their experiences at WFU with academic support resources and their interactions with academic advisers. The First-Year Experiences Module focuses on academic perseverance, help-seeking behaviors, and institutional commitment.
Among all first-year respondents, a higher proportion tended to seek help from an adviser assigned to them than from those where the student had to initiate interaction, such as a success or academic coach (99% vs 49%). Roughly three-quarters or more of all first-years indicated that interactions with all available resources (e.g., university staff, faculty, family, friends, etc.) were at least somewhat helpful when discussing their academic interests, course selections, academic performance, or future plans.
WFU first-years responded similarly to all items on the Academic Advising Module by sex. By race/ethnicity, there were several differences. With a medium effect size, a larger proportion of URM students met with career (87% vs 57%) and student services staff (91% vs 64%), and they more frequently reached out regarding their academic progress or performance (96% vs 76%) than White students. With a small effect size, more URM students met with academic (94% vs 79%) or peer advisors / mentors (81% vs 62%).
Among all WFU first-year respondents, 99% reported that their instructors were open to their ideas and contributions during class discussions, while 26% reported having serious considerations of leaving the institution during the current school year.
WFU first-years responded similarly to all items on the First-Year Experiences Module by sex and race/ethnicity, except for one. With a small effect size, a larger proportion of URM students reported engagement with the Office of Financial Aid (45% vs. 23%) compared to White students.
For the full results and comparisons, please see the Topical Modules section below.
Academic Advising
First-Year Experiences
Academic Advising
First-Year Experiences
Academic Advising
First-Year Experiences