The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) Institutional Benchmark Report was published in August 2007.  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 2007 results against the 2006 results, provides a trend analysis from 2004, and provides the 2007 results.

2007 to 2006 Benchmark Comparison

The 2007 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 improved their mean score from 53.7 to 54.3 which exceeded the mean scores of all three peer groups.  The seniors' mean score improved from 57.2 to 59.4 which also exceeded the mean scores of all three comparison groups.

2. Active and Collaborative Learning - First-year students' mean score declined from 43.1 to 42.0 which fell within the range of mean scores of the three peer groups.  The seniors' mean score also declined from 49.6 to 48.6 and was below the mean score of all three peer groups.

3. Student-Faculty Interaction - First-year students' mean scores declined from 34.5 to 33.6 which was within the range of mean scores of the three peer groups.  The seniors' mean score improved from 38.6 to 43.1 and fell within the range of mean scores of the three peer groups.

4. Enriching Educational Experiences -First-year students' mean score improved from 25.2 to 28.2 and fell within the range of mean scores of the three peer groups.  The senior's mean score improved from 37.1 to 39.2 and fell within the range of mean scores of the three peer groups.

5. Supportive Campus Environment - First-year students' mean score improved from 61.5 to 65.2 which exceeded the mean scores of all three peer groups.  The senior's mean score also improved from 55.4 to 60.5 and fell within the range of mean scores of the three peer groups.

The following link contains the comparison data and charts:

• 2004 to 2007 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.

• 2007 NSSE Benchmark Report Introduction (PDF)

• 2007 NSSE Benchmark 1 - Level of Academic Challenge (PDF)

• 2007 NSSE Benchmark 2 - Active and Collaborative Learning (PDF)

• 2007 NSSE Benchmark 3 - Student-Faculty Interaction (PDF)

• 2007 NSSE Benchmark 4 - Enriching Educational Experiences (PDF)

• 2007 NSSE Benchmark 5 - Supportive Campus Environment (PDF)

• 2007 NSSE Benchmark - Interpreting the Top 10% and 50% Comparisons (PDF)

• 2007 Comparison with Highly Engaging Institutions (PDF)

• 2007 First-Year Students Detailed Benchmark Statistics and Effective Sizes (PDF)

• 2007 Senior Detailed Benchmark Statistics and Effective Sizes (PDF)

• 2007 Selected Peer Group (PDF)

• 2007 Carnegie Peer Group (PDF)

• 2007 NSSE Benchmark Report in PDF Format