Respondent Profile - NSSE 2009
A total of 571 first-year students and 571 seniors completed NSSE in 2009. The overall response rate was 29%, with 29% of first-year students responding and 29% of seniors surveyed responding. A basic demographic breakdown of respondents looks like this:
- 70% Female & 30% Male - First-year students
- 61% Female & 39% Male - Seniors
- First-year students were 81% White/non-Hispanic, 6% Black/African American, 4% Asian American/Pacific Islander, 0% American Indian, 0% Mexican/Mexican American/Puerto Rican, 0% Other Hispanic or Latino, 2% Multiracial, 1% Other, and 4% indicated they preferred not to respond
- Senior students were 80% White/non-Hispanic, 8% Black/African American, 3% Asian American/Pacific Islander, 1% American Indian, 0% Mexican/Mexican American/Puerto Rican, 1% Other Hispanic or Latino, 1% Multiracial, 1% Other, and 5% indicated they preferred not to respond
- 81% of first year students live on campus, while 91% of seniors live off campus
The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) is an annual survey administered at colleges and universities nationwide that assesses the extent to which students engage in educationally effective activities. The guiding premise is that student participation in these activities at reasonable levels is a meaningful proxy for collegiate quality.