University to launch student and faculty surveys

03/21/2023 

SUNY Cortland will conduct two annual surveys starting around Wednesday, April 5, one for first-year students and seniors, and a second for university instructors.

First-year students and seniors will be invited to participate in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), a valuable source of information to shed light on the student experience, including time and effort students put into their studies and other educationally purposeful activities. SUNY Cortland has been using the NSSE to assess student engagement since 2008, and the results have been used in accreditation studies and other assessment efforts.

Students to be contacted — first-year students and seniors — will receive email invitations and periodic reminders from an NSSE address with instructions on how to participate in the approximately 20- minute online survey. NSSE administrators have optimized the survey for smartphones and tablets.

Students who complete the survey by Wednesday, May 3, will have a chance to win an Amazon or ASC gift card. Participation is voluntary, but greatly encouraged.

Around the same time, course instructors will be invited to complete the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE), which complements the NSSE by providing corresponding faculty perspectives of student engagement. This survey should also take about 20 minutes to complete.

“These surveys are important because they are direct measures of the experience in and out of the classroom,” said Stuart Daman, interim director of Institutional Research and Analysis (IRA).

“We use these benchmarks as indicators of our progress in supporting students.”

Results of previous NSSE and FSSE surveys can be found on the IRA’s webpage.

Questions about the NSSE or FSSE can be directed to Daman at 607-753-5565.