Updated October, 2007

The National Survey of Student Engagement was administered during each spring 2000-2007 to first-year students and seniors.

The questions asked students how and where they spent their time, the nature and quality of their interactions with faculty members and peers, and what they gained from their classes.

The following report compares data from Houghton College first-year students (N= 173)  and seniors (N= 192) from  over 100 other Carnegie Peers such as Barnard, Beloit, Colgate, Franklin & Marshall, Grove City, Juniata, Russell Sage, Ursinus, etc. (N= FY 18,927 and SR 15,602).

First-Year Student NSSE Benchmarks
 Houghton
College
 Carnegie
Peers
 Diff
Level of Academic Challenge

Spring 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
2004
2005
2006
2007

50.6
55.0
56.2
55.3
56.4
54.6
55.9
54.6

55.3
57.2
57.7
57.9
57.9
57.0
57.4
56.0

-4.7
-2.2
-1.5
-2.6
-1.5
-2.4
-1.5
-1.4
Active and Collaborative Learning
Spring 2000
 2001
 2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
38.5
40.3
41.3
42.4
41.9
42.9
44.3
42.9
44.5
44.0
44.0
44.2
45.1
44.4
44.6
44.8
-6.0
-3.7
-2.7
-1.8
-3.2
-1.5
-0.3
-1.9
Student-Faculty Interactions
Spring 2000
 2001
 2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
26.9
32.0
34.7
36.4
31.2
34.2
31.4
32.2
35.5
39.7
41.1
42.4
37.2
36.7
36.1
37.0
-8.6
-7.7
-6.4
-6.0
-6.0
-2.5
-4.7
-4.8
Enriching Educational Experiences
Spring 2000
 2001
 2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
54.0
61.8
61.0
62.9
29.1
29.4
30.5
29.9
57.4
64.0
64.4
65.7
30.5
30.6
30.4
30.1
-3.4
-2.2
-3.4
-2.8
-1.4
-1.2
-0.1
-0.2
Supportive Campus Environment
Spring 2000
 2001
 2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
63.6
66.9
68.3
71.0
68.6
68.9
65.7
67.3
64.1
64.3
64.5
65.6
66.7
64.3
64.6
64.2
-0.5
+2.6
+3.8
+5.4
+1.9
+4.6
+1.1
+3.1



Senior NSSE Benchmarks
 Houghton
College
 Carnegie
Peers 		Diff
Level of Academic Challenge
Spring 2000
 2001
 2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
56.0
60.7
61.1
60.0
60.7
59.4
61.0
60.0
57.6
60.5
61.0
61.1
61.4
61.1
61.3
60.3
-1.6
+0.2
+0.1
-1.1
-0.7
-1.7
-0.3
-0.3
Active and Collaborative Learning
Spring 2000
 2001
 2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
49.1
51.4
51.3
50.3
51.6
54.0
50.6
52.4
52.5
52.1
51.7
51.8
53.7
53.4
53.8
53.1
-3.4
-0.7
-0.4
-1.5
-2.1
+0.6
-3.2
-0.7
Student-Faculty Interactions
Spring 2000
 2001
 2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
40.4
45.0
47.9
44.6
44.3
48.3
47.6
46.1
47.6
50.6
50.9
51.5
52.5
51.3
51.4
50.5
-7.2
-5.6
-3.0
-6.9
-8.2
-3.0
-3.8
-4.4
Enriching Educational Experiences
Spring 2000
2001
 2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
49.8
55.8
53.7
52.8
48.8
51.0
55.0
53.1
52.1
56.0
56.2
57.3
51.2
51.3
52.6
50.4
-2.3
-0.2
-2.5
-4.5
-2.4
-0.3
+2.4
+2.7
Supportive Campus Environment
Spring 2000
 2001
 2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
67.7
67.5
64.4
68.5
63.7
64.7
60.5
64.0
60.9
61.7
61.8
62.6
63.2
61.4
62.6
62.5
+6.8
+5.8
+2.6
+5.9
+0.5
+3.3
-2.1
+1.5