The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) Institutional Benchmark Report was published in August 2012.  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 2010 Carnegie Classification is "Master's Colleges and Universities (larger programs)".

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 2012 results against the 2011 results, provides a trend analysis from 2004, and provides the 2012 results.

2011 to 2012 Benchmark Comparison

The 2012 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 improved  from 54.6 to 57.3 which was above the mean score of the selected peer group and above the mean scores of the Carnegie peer group and the NSSE peer group.  The seniors' mean score decreased from 60.3 to 59.5 which was below the mean score of the selected peer group and above the mean score of the Carnegie peer group and the NSSE peer group .

2. Active and Collaborative Learning - First-year students' mean score improved from 40.6 to 42.7 which is below the range of mean scores of the three peer groups.  The seniors' mean score declined from 51.2 to 47.1 which is below the mean score of all three peer groups.

3. Student-Faculty Interaction - First-year students' mean scores improved from 33.5 to 40.5 which was above the range of mean scores of all of the peer groups.  The seniors' mean score increased from 40.0 to 43.7 and was below the mean score of the selected peer group and the same as the mean score for the Carnegie peer group and above the mean score of the NSSE peer group.

4. Enriching Educational Experiences -First-year students' mean score improved from 24.6 to 28.7 and was below the mean score of the selected peer group and above the means scores of the Carnegie and NSSE peer groups.  The senior's mean score declined from 37.5 to 35.4 and was below the range of mean scores for all of the peer groups.

5. Supportive Campus Environment - First-year students' mean score improved from 62.7 to 66.4 which was below the mean score of the selected peer group and above the mean scores of the other two peer groups.  The senior's mean score declined from 62.7 to 59.0 which was below the range of mean scores of all three peer groups

The following link contains the comparison data and charts:

• 2004 to 2012 MSU Mean Comparison Trend

• 2004 to 2012 NSSE12 Multi-Year Benchmark Report

2012 MSU Benchmark Ranking

The results for the 2009 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.

• 2012 NSSE Benchmark Report Introduction

• 2012 NSSE Benchmark 1 - Level of Academic Challenge

• 2012 NSSE Benchmark 2 - Active and Collaborative Learning

• 2012 NSSE Benchmark 3 - Student-Faculty Interaction

• 2012 NSSE Benchmark 4 - Enriching Educational Experiences

• 2012 NSSE Benchmark 5 - Supportive Campus Environment

• 2012 NSSE Benchmark - Interpreting the Top 10% and 50% Comparisons

• 2012 Comparison with Highly Engaging Institutions

• 2012 First-Year Students Detailed Benchmark Statistics and Effective Sizes

• 2012 Senior Detailed Benchmark Statistics and Effective Sizes

• 2012 Selected Peer Group

• 2012 Carnegie Peer Group

• 2012 NSSE Benchmark Report in PDF Format