Office of Institutional Research and Planning

Results from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)
University of Kansas, Lawrence Campus


The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) measures the participation of undergraduate students in programs and activities that institutions provide for their learning and personal development. KU uses the results to enhance the educational achievement and experiences of its undergraduate students as NSSE survey questions measure practices by students and institutions that are associated with greater learning and development. In addition, KU was selected to participate in the Documenting Effective Educational Practice, or Project DEEP. The initiative examined the daily operations of educationally effective colleges and universities to learn what they do to promote student success.

Links to the KU DEEP report and Executive Summaries of KU's results can be found below.

Updated October 2010


Background on NSSE Survey

NSSE is administered by the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Education and since its inception in 2000, more than 1.4 million students at nearly 1,200 different 4-year colleges have participated.
NSSE website

2010 NSSE Survey
KU Executive Summaries

Comparisons of KU Results by Year

KU administered NSSE during Spring 2001, 2004, 2007, and 2010. Results consistently show that KU students are well engaged as measured by the five benchmarks of effective educational practice: academic challenge, active/collaborative learning, enriching educational experiences, student-faculty interactions, and a supportive campus environment.


KU Results: 2001-2010

2010 Advising Report, Means

2010 Advising Report, Frequencies

Comparison of KU Results to Other Universities

KU's results are compared to those of other research universities within the AAU and within the same Carnegie classification. On the five benchmarks of effective educational practice, KU freshmen and seniors were very similar to their counterparts at other research universities. KU students reported slightly greater number of interactions with faculty in 2004, 2007, and 2010.


2010 Comparisons

2007 Comparisons

DEEP Project

KU was selected to participate in the DEEP project (2002-2003) that assembled case studies of 20 colleges and universities that had both higher-than-predicted scores on five benchmarks of effective educational practice and higher-than-expected graduation rates. The results of the entire DEEP project are described in the book Student Success in College.


KU DEEP Report (March 2004)

DEEP Project Website (March 2004)

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