Student engagement survey UK pilot – Year 2: HEA

Forwarded from the HEA

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) was designed to measure students’ participation in activities and practices that are known to relate to improvements in learning. It asks about the amount and quality of effort that students invest in their studies, as well as the extent to which their courses and institutions are supportive and encouraging. It was developed and first used in North America in 2000, and has now been adapted and implemented in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Ireland.

In early 2013, nine UK institutions piloted a range of survey questions derived from NSSE. The questions were focused on four key areas:

• Critical thinking. Four questions asked students about the emphasis their coursework placed on a range of mental activities such as evaluating and applying information.

• Course challenge. Three questions focused on how their courses have encouraged them to work hard.

• Collaborative learning. Three questions asked students how often they had interacted with other students in a range of ways.

• Academic integration. Five questions explored students’ interaction with academic staff, participation in class and discussions with others outside class.

8500 students responded, and the report of the first year of the pilot will be published on 6 November 2013 and will be available at www.heacademy.ac.uk/surveys. The report contains analysis of the results, as well as findings from interviews with students about the questions used.

In order to allow more institutions to take part in this project, and to collect more data for research purposes, the project will run again in spring/summer 2014.

Participation in this project allows institutions to ask students about the extent to which they are investing effort in their studies, to identify areas where more encouragement and opportunities to engage may be required. Institutions will be able to benchmark their own results against the aggregate UK results, both at institutional and subject level, to better understand their students’ engagement.

For full information on the pilot and how to be involved, along with all related documentation please see our website at http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/engagement_survey/pilot_call_2014

Kind Regards

Celia

Dr Celia R Brigg

Academic Lead (Business Development)

 celia.brigg at heacademy.ac.uk

The Higher Education Academy, Innovation Way, York Science Park, Heslington, York, YO10 5BR

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