Survey to focus on quality of student life

By INGA LUKAVICIUTE

A national survey intends to question 4,000 Fresno State students about various aspects of their student life.

Fresno State is one of 530 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada participating in a National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) about their educational life.

A reminder to fill out the 29-question survey was sent to randomly selected Fresno State undergraduates: 2,000 first-year students and 2,000 seniors.

The survey is a nationwide attempt to identify how engaged students are in their education and what areas need improvement, said Dennis Nef, interim dean of undergraduate studies.

The survey is designed to improve the educational experience for Fresno State undergraduate students.

“By improving the educational process, students will be better educated when they leave,” Nef said.

Students should see improvement in student-faculty interaction, faculty availability for students and learning communities as a result of the survey, Nef said.

Fresno State participated in the same project in 2002. Information generated by the current survey will be used to compare Fresno State to other universities.

“We will be looking at the data to see how far we have come,” Nef said.

The survey focuses on five major areas of students’ experiences while at the university: academic excellence, interaction between students and faculty, campus environment, active and collaborative learning, and enriching educational experiences.

The 2002 survey placed Fresno State below average in the first three areas and average in the last two, Nef said.

From all participating institutions in 2002, Fresno State placed in the 20th percentile in academic excellence, 30th percentile in student and faculty interaction category and in the 10th percentile in campus environment. In the active and collaborative learning, and enriching education experiences categories, Fresno State placed in the 50th percentile, Nef said.

The survey data will be shared with the office of institutional research at Fresno State and used in discussions in staff meetings and committees, Nef said.

According to Nef, several iPods will be given away as prizes in a drawing for Fresno State students who fill out the survey.