The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) Institutional Benchmark Report was published in August 2008.  This report uses five "benchmark" indicators to rank Mountain State University (MSU)  against three different groups: Selected Peers; Carnegie Peers; and the NSSE national norm.  MSU's 2005 Carnegie Classification is "Master's Level I".

The results of this survey should be used to identify areas for improvement in MSU's curriculum, pedagogical practices, student-faculty interaction, community involvement, diversity interaction and student support.

MSU began using NSSE in 2004.  The information provided here compares MSU's 2008 results against the 2007 results, provides a trend analysis from 2004, and provides the 2008 results.

2008 to 2007 Benchmark Comparison

The 2008 administration of NSSE allows a mean comparison to see what improvements we have made on these benchmarks.  The results of this comparison are as follows:

1. Level of Academic Challenge - First-year students' mean score declined from 54.3 to 53.9 which exceeded the mean scores of the Carnegie and NSSE peer groups.  The seniors' mean score declined from 59.4 to 59.1 which exceeded the mean scores of all three comparison groups.

2. Active and Collaborative Learning - First-year students' mean score declined from 42.0 to 40.7 which was slightly below the range of mean scores of the three peer groups.  The seniors' mean score improved from 48.6 to 50.6 and was below the mean score of all three peer groups.

3. Student-Faculty Interaction - First-year students' mean scores improved from 33.6 to 36.2 which was within the range of mean scores of the three peer groups.  The seniors' mean score improved from 43.1 to 43.7 and fell within the range of mean scores of the three peer groups.

4. Enriching Educational Experiences -First-year students' mean score declined from 28.2 to 27.1 and fell within the range of mean scores of the three peer groups.  The senior's mean score declined from 39.2 to 38.8 and was below the range of mean scores of the three peer groups.

5. Supportive Campus Environment - First-year students' mean score declined from 65.2 to 59.3 which was below the mean scores of all three peer groups.  The senior's mean score also improved from 60.5 to 62.9 which exceeded the range of mean scores of the three peer groups.

The following link contains the comparison data and charts:

• 2004 to 2008 MSU Mean Comparison Trend

2007 MSU Benchmark Ranking

The results for the 2007 benchmark report compares MSU against a selected peer group, a Carnegie peer group and the NSSE national norm and are presented in the links below along with NSSE's introduction. The details for each benchmark shows both MSU's standing and survey items that determined the benchmark score.

• 2008 NSSE Benchmark Report Introduction (PDF)

• 2008 NSSE Benchmark 1 - Level of Academic Challenge (PDF)

• 2008 NSSE Benchmark 2 - Active and Collaborative Learning (PDF)

• 2008 NSSE Benchmark 3 - Student-Faculty Interaction (PDF)

• 2008 NSSE Benchmark 4 - Enriching Educational Experiences (PDF)

• 2008 NSSE Benchmark 5 - Supportive Campus Environment (PDF)

• 2008 NSSE Benchmark - Interpreting the Top 10% and 50% Comparisons (PDF)

• 2008 Comparison with Highly Engaging Institutions (PDF)

• 2008 First-Year Students Detailed Benchmark Statistics and Effective Sizes (PDF)

• 2008 Senior Detailed Benchmark Statistics and Effective Sizes (PDF)

• 2008 Selected Peer Group (PDF)

• 2008 Carnegie Peer Group (PDF)

• 2008 NSSE Benchmark Report in PDF Format