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WIU Home > University Surveys > Discontinuedsurveys > FSSE Spring 2007
Faculty Survey of Student Engagement - 2007 Campus Results
About FSSE
A companion to the NSSE, the FSSE measures how engaged faculty think their students are in the academic and personal development. A key factor are where there are "gaps" between what faculty perceive and what students report, providing an opportunity for improvement to narrow the gap.
The FSSE is designed to evaluate how faculty members perceive the level of effective student engagement, both in terms of faculty expectations and faculty perceived realities. When compared with NSSE data collected from student, it enables a college to look at discrepancies between how involved faculty think students are in effective student engagement practices and how involved students report themselves as being. Where discrepancies exist that are important to mission of the institution, strategies can be developed to help address concerns.
In addition, the FSSE asks faculty to self-report the time they spend on teaching, research/creative, and service activities, as well as the format/teaching style of their typical undergraduate class. The FSSE also asks faculty about the extent to which their students are prepared to contribute to society, and the willingness of faculty to adapt their teaching efforts to meet the learning styles of today's undergraduate students.
Gap Analysis - Comparison of Faculty Perceived (FSSE) and Student Reported (NSSE) Levels of Effective Student Engagement
In spring 2007, all 862 of Western's full-time and part-time faculty were asked to participate in the confidential on-line FSSE. Of these, 362 of faculty who teach primarily undergraduate students responded, generating the findings summarized below. A downloadable PDF is also provided.
Note that a 0.5 level was utilized to determine the
most significant gap between student reporting and faculty perception of
student activity.
Academic and Intellectual Experiences
Faculty perception and student report of effective student engagement was similar with respect to Academic and Intellectual Experiences, with the greatest differences being:
- Students reported a lower rate of receiving prompt feedback from faculty on their academic performance than did faculty said they provided.
- Students reported a higher frequency of conversations with other students who have very different religious beliefs, political opinions, or personal values, than faculty perceived they did.
- Students reported more frequently discussing their classes or readings with others outside of class, such as other students, family members, or co-workers, than faculty perceived they did.
|
(1=Never, 2=Sometimes, 3=Often, 4=Very often)
|
Student Reported Level of Engagement | Faculty
Perception of Student Engagement |
| Worked harder than you thought you could to meet an instructor's
standards or expectations |
2.56 |
2.41 |
| Asked questions in class or contributed to class discussions |
2.95 | 2.63 |
| Made a class presentation |
2.46 | 2.12 |
| Worked with other students on projects during class
|
2.48 | 2.37 |
| Worked with classmates outside of class to prepare
class assignments |
2.46 | 2.31 |
| Tutored or taught other students (paid or voluntary) |
1.72 | 1.67 |
| Participated in a community-based project (e.g., service learning)
as part of a regular course |
1.67 | 1.64 |
| Discussed ideas from your reading or classes with others outside of
class (students, family members, co-workers, etc.) |
2.59 | 2.09 |
| Discussed grades or assignments with an instructor |
2.76 | 2.70 |
| Talked about career plans with a faculty member or advisor |
2.40 | 2.40 |
| Discussed ideas from your readings or classes with faculty members
outside of class |
1.98 | 2.10 |
| Received prompt feedback from faculty on your academic performance
(written or oral) |
271 | 3.30 |
| Worked with faculty members on activities other than coursework
(committees, orientation, student life activities, etc.) |
1.85 | 1.84 |
| Used an electronic medium (listserv, chat group, Internet, instant
messaging, etc.) to discuss or complete an assignment |
2.58 | 2.45 |
| Had serious conversations with students of a different race or
ethnicity than your own |
2.39 | 2.06 |
| Had serious conversations with students who are very different from
you in terms of their religious beliefs, political opinions, or personal
values |
2.59 | 2.05 |
Mental Activities
Faculty perception and student report of effective student engagement was similar with respect to all Mental Activities parameters analyzed, with the biggest (though less than 0.5 gap) being that students felt their coursework emphasized applying theories or concepts to practical problems or in new situations than faculty did.
|
(1=Very little,
2=Some, 3=Quite a bit, 4=Very much)
|
Student Reported Level of Engagement | Faculty
Perception
of Student Engagement |
| Coursework emphasizes memorizing facts, ideas, or
methods from your courses and readings so you can repeat them in pretty
much the same form |
2.83 | 2.73 |
| Coursework emphasizes analyzing the basic elements of an idea, experience, or theory, such as examining a particular case or situation in depth and considering its components | 2.93 | 2.68 |
| Coursework emphasizes synthesizing and organizing
ideas, information, or experiences into new, more complex
interpretations and relationships |
2.74 | 2.51 |
| Coursework emphasizes making judgments about the
value of information, arguments, or methods, such as examining how
others gathered and interpreted data and assessing the soundness of
their conclusions |
2.81 | 2.49 |
| Coursework emphasizes applying theories or concepts to practical problems or in new situations | 3.04 | 2.58 |
Reading and Writing
Faculty perception and student report of effective student engagement was similar with respect to Reading and Writing, with the greatest difference being:
- Students reported a higher number of assigned texts, books, or book-length packs of course readings than did faculty.
|
(1=None, 2=1-4, 3=5-10, 4=11-20, 5=More than 20)
|
Student Reported Level of Engagement | Faculty
Perception
of Student Engagement |
| Number of assigned textbooks, books, or book-length packs of course
readings |
3.10 | 2.59 |
| Number of written papers or reports of 20 pages or more
|
1.46 | 1.58 |
| Number of written papers or reports between 5 and 19 pages
|
246 | 2.25 |
| Number of written papers or reports of fewer than 5 pages
|
3.21 | 2.77 |
Time Usage
Faculty perception and student report of effective student engagement was differed considerably with respect to Time Usage:
- Faculty perceived students as spending less time studying and preparing for class than students reported.
- Faculty perceived students as spending more time participating in co-curricular activities, and especially in relaxing and socializing than students reported.
|
(1=0, 2=1-5, 3=6-10, 4=11-15, 5=16-20, 6=21-25, 7=26-30, 8=More
than 30)
|
Student Reported Level of Engagement | Faculty
Perception of Student Engagement |
| Hours per 7-day week spent preparing for class (studying, reading,
writing, doing homework or lab work, analyzing data, rehearsing, and
other academic activities) |
3.82 | 2.90 |
| Hours per 7-day week spent participating in co-curricular activities
(organizations, campus publications, student government, social
fraternity or sorority, intercollegiate or intramural sports, etc.) |
2.43 | 3.30 |
| Hours per 7-day week spent relaxing and socializing (watching TV,
partying, etc.) |
4.00 | 5.16 |
Institutional Emphasis
Faculty perception and student report of effective student engagement was similar with respect to all Institutional Emphasis parameters analyzed, with the biggest (though less than 0.5 gap) being that students felt the institution emphasized spending significant amounts of time studying and on academic work, than faculty did.
|
(1=Very little,
2=Some, 3=Quite a bit, 4=Very much)
|
Student Reported Level of Engagement | Faculty
Perception
of Student Engagement |
| Spending significant amounts of time studying and on academic work |
2.92 | 2.47 |
| Providing the support you need to help you succeed academically |
2.90 | 2.99 |
| Helping you cope with your non-academic responsibilities (work,
family, etc.) |
2.05 | 2.27 |
| Providing the support you need to thrive socially |
2.31 | 2.34 |
| Encouraging contact among students from different economic, social, and racial or ethnic backgrounds | 2.55 | 2.58 |
Quality of Relationships
Faculty perception and student report of effective student engagement was similar with respect to all Quality of Relationships parameters analyzed, with the biggest (though less than 0.5 gap) being that students evaluated their relationship with administrative personnel and offices more positively, than faculty expected they would.
|
(1=Unfriendly, Unsupportive, Sense of Alienation to 7=Friendly,
Supportive, Sense of Belonging)
|
Student Reported Level of Engagement | Faculty
Perception
of Student Engagement |
| Relationships with other students |
5.58 | 5.27 |
| Relationships with faculty members |
5.38 | 5.25 |
| Relationships with administrative personnel and offices |
4.79 | 4.34 |
Enriching Educational Experiences
Faculty perception of the importance of Enriching Educational Experiences and student reporting on their having or planning to participate in these experiences was similar.
- Faculty considered participating in a practicum, internship, field experience, co-op experience, or clinical assignment to be the most important of the analyzed enriching educational experiences. This was matched by the highest percentage, 77%, of students having participated or planning to do so in this type of experience.
- Student participation was second highest, 71%, in community service or volunteer work, while this experience was a distant third place behind a culminating senior experience in terms of faculty sense of importance.
|
(1=Not important, 2=Somewhat important, 3=Important, 4=Very
important)
|
Students
Who Have or Plan To |
Faculty Value of Importance |
| Work on a research project with a faculty member outside of course
or program requirements |
29% | 2.56 |
| Practicum, internship, field experience, co-op experience, or
clinical assignment |
77% (#1) |
3.32 (#1) |
| Community service or volunteer work |
71% (#2) |
2.70 |
| Foreign language coursework |
29% | 2.62 |
| Study abroad |
20% | 2.29 |
| Participate in a learning community or some other formal program
where groups of students take two or more classes together |
29% | 2.38 |
| Culminating senior experience (capstone course, thesis, project,
comprehensive exam, etc.) |
37% | 3.04 (#2) |
