1

NSSE: Engaging Experiences for Students Outside the Classroom

Carmen Hewlett

Department of Education, Northern Arizona University

CCHE 687: Professional Development Seminar

Dr. Blue Brazelton

November 13, 2021

 2

The collegiate experience is a vast new world for students fresh out of high school as they have

the freedom to dictate their own education and take control of their learning. This can greatly benefit

individuals because they can study topics that are interesting and unique to themselves rather than a

general education guideline. There can be a few drawbacks to the high levels of freedom for the reason

that students do not have to participate in additional experiences if they do not choose to. The National

Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) found that at Northern Arizona University (NAU) only 17 percent

of first year students participated in projects in the community rather than in the classroom and that by

senior year only 50 percent of students had completed an internship or field experience (2010). This data

suggests that minimal students are learning outside of the classroom through applied experiences. This

can be a highly problematic situation because adults require self-guided experiences to learn (Conner,

n.d.). While the NSSE can provide data suggesting where areas of improvement are needed at NAU, it is

up to the faculty and staff to analyze this data and find solutions.

One area providing the greatest opportunity for growth is the assimilation of students and the

community. By the time students at NAU are ready for graduation, only 57 percent of them have

contributed services to the surrounding community (NSSE, 2010). Engaging with the local area is a

chance for students to learn about culture and grow their interpersonal skills. NAU is located in a smaller

community driven by tourism to support "mom and pop shops" that have a deep-rooted history in

Flagstaff. Many individuals living in the area can provide life advice and mentorship outside of the

classroom. Additionally, only 62 percent of first-year students conversate with others of various religious

or personal backgrounds (NSSE, 2010). Students can learn more through engaging with individuals off

campus and thus grow as people and become more understanding. One way to have this occur is by

having NAU partner with local businesses and events through part-time internships. Faculty can require

internships as small as 20 hours a semester to encourage students to engage with the community. This

will not only assist in improving the lack of community service, but it will also provide education outside

of the classroom through active learning. Active, or self-directed, learning involves the student in the

learning process by asking them to analyze, define, create, and evaluate (Conner, n.d.). This requires the
 3

student to apply knowledge learned in the classroom to real-world experiences. Self-directed learning

allows an individual to pick how they want to expand their knowledge by pursuing opportunities in the

selected education topic. Often times new students struggle to find these opportunities because they do

not have the connections necessary to find work. This is where the faculty and staff can help. As much of

the staff lives in the area and has lived there for some time, they could know businesses in the

surrounding area and what their specialties are. It is just as much a responsibility upon the students to

engage with the community as it is the staff. Administrators are needing to create an action plan not only

to address student engagement, but also how staff can be involved in the process.

One of the reasons staff may not be providing outside learning opportunities is because they do

not know what their students are interested in. The NSSE discovered that only 44 percent of first year

students spent time talking about topics outside of coursework and by senior year 17 percent of the senior

body had never talked with faculty about their career plans (2010). If faculty are not discussing life goals

with their students, then it is difficult to create engagement opportunities students are highly interested in.

Students who are lacking interest in a topic will only passively learn the information and will not keep it

for future use, but if they are passionate about a topic and being challenged mentally, then they will keep

the information for further application and continue to grow as learners (Conner, 2005). Faculty members

have different requirements for office hours, and it can be overwhelming to try and meet with all students

if someone instructs a lecture of over 75 people; however, advisors and program directors have a more

selected niche of students to engage with. Rather than relying on instructors to get to know their students

and provide outside opportunities, support staff can be utilized in more beneficial ways to grow

engagement for students. Only 42 percent of students reported faculty as being available and sympathetic,

yet no information was provided on additional staff (NSSE, 2010). This data suggests that faculty are

focused more on the current class agenda rather than the students in their class. It also suggests that there

is room for growth in what information studies can find.

The NSSE is an excellent starting point in surveying NAU as it provides a benchmark of general

information based on student opinions, but it does not provide specific areas that are lacking or fully
 4

encompass styles of assessment and the variety of data they can provide. By implementing additional

assessments, NAU can have a better understanding of why engagement outside the classroom is lacking

and how to fix it. One of the first steps in improving student engagement is actually tracking levels of

activity outside of the classroom. This could be done by having students sign in every time they are

volunteering or reporting hour sheets after completing an internship or community service. The tracking

data can provide a baseline for what activity already occurs and where numbers can grow. Not only

should classes track outside engagement hours, but also track how often students are visiting faculty and

staff. Although the NSSE reports percentages from NAU students, it does not provide the exact number

of students visiting faculty members for selected programs. Once data has been reported for how many

students are interacting with staff and the community, then a needs assessment should be given to both

the students and the staff. A needs assessment reports what needs exist and how they can be addressed,

but the data is not always reliable because it is self-reported and can often be influenced by desires over

necessities (Brazelton, 2021). Regardless, providing a needs assessment can determine why students may

not be visiting faculty. Some reasons individuals may not be going could be time commitment, lack of

finding a purpose to visit, or lack of connection with their instructors. Although a needs assessment may

not give exact answers for reason, the survey could give ideas for additional assessments needing to be

performed. A needs assessment should also be given to the faculty and staff so that they can report what

they might need in terms of hours and support. Although conceptually it is an innovative idea to have

faculty support students in finding engagement experiences outside the classroom, they may not have the

resources or time necessary to fulfill this goal. All parties need to feel that they have the necessary

components to provide students with opportunities or else growth cannot occur.

Another reason that students may not be engaging in outside experiences is that the current NAU

course evaluation asks only about how the instructor taught the class and not about the subject material or

opportunities in the classroom. The NAU course evaluation form is a satisfaction survey that asks

students whether they agree or disagree with a variety of statements regarding organization and

explanation of materials, learning environment, self-regulated learning, and overall opinion of a course
 5

(NAU, 2013). The survey does mention "self-regulated learning" which is most synonymous with active

learning and an individual pursuit of education. Even though this would be the ideal area to survey

student engagement experiences, all of the assessment questions begin with "my instructor" and none of

them ask about engagement in the community or individual choices. Students could be participating in

these opportunities, but it is not reported due to the style of questioning being an indirect measure. Direct

measures of learning are more self-explanatory and provide compelling evidence for what the student did

and did not learn rather than indirectly providing signs of what a student may have learned (Brazelton,

2021). Rather than having students circle whether they agree or disagree with a statement, there should be

written feedback areas for a student to report what they did or did not do throughout the class. While this

is on the end or course exit survey, there should also be assessments for any capstone experiences and a

standard assessment across the university of student portfolios. Evaluating after capstone will provide

more reliable information and help determine if this prospect should be used again. Additionally, having a

synonymous assessment of portfolios will provide a more realistic evaluation of how many students are

participating in enriching experiences. These more extensive assessments fall under qualitative research

as they do not ask for numerical data; rather they interpret subjective matter and question the naturally

occurring world (Schuh et al., 2001). Students will be asked to describe events, interactions, and

observations from experiences. This will provide information that is more useful in determining if an

experience helped an individual and why.

Ultimately there are a variety of assessments available to determine if students are engaging in

enriching experiences and what qualities of those experiences are beneficial. Although the NSSE provides

various statistics, it does not provide the how and why behind the data that is needed to implement a

change. NAU cannot use the NSSE to thoroughly evaluate their programs, but it can provide a starting

point for an action plan to be formed. An action plan needs clearly defined goals and steps to reach them.

For starters, NAU must implement a variety of assessments such as tracking, needs assessments,

and expansive satisfaction surveys. The implementation of these tools will provide a more realistic idea of

what is lacking in NAU's education. Assessing the classroom first will make it easier to create
 6

opportunities outside the classroom and then assess those. NAU's action plan has to address the deficits of

why engagement opportunities are not being required or created by their faculty and staff. It is an unfair

ask for students to seek out these chances on their own without understanding what could be going on in

their lives and vice versa unrealistic to force instructors to come up with these opportunities if they do not

have the time or resources to do so. By tackling the why behind lacking experiences, NAU can then come

up with a way to create them.

The second phase of the action plan will be the university branching out with the community to

find prospective field work locations. The merging of classroom and surrounding neighborhood will not

only culturally enrich students, but all parties involved in the process. Once opportunities are created, it

will be on the faculty to implement internships and experiences into the curriculum. Instructors and

advisors will need to know what their students want to do in life to provide them the best chance of

growth. By involving student opinion in choosing an internship, there will be a higher likelihood of self-

directed learning and students wanting to learn. After an experience has been established it is vital NAU

evaluate the experience and gain feedback on whether it should be used again and why. Through these

steps NAU could create stronger mentorship opportunities between the university, students, and

community. Additionally, there would be more useful data than the NSSE survey and a truer reflection of

student engagement. Overall, there is a large opportunity for growth, but it will require communication

and partnership from a variety of people.

 7

References

Brazelton, B. (2021). Module 3 types of assessment part I [PowerPoint slides]. Blackboard

Learn@NAU. https://bblearn.nau.edu

Brazelton, B. (2021). Module 3 types of assessment part II [PowerPoint slides]. Blackboard

Learn@NAU. https://bblearn.nau.edu

Conner, M.L. (2005, April 9). Andragogy and pedagogy. Ageless Learner, 1997-2004. Retrieved

from http://agelesslearner.com/intros/andragogy.html

Conner, M.L. (n.d.). Experiential learning in the adult learning process: Seminal work by David

Kolb. Retrieved from http://agelesslearner.com/intros/experiential.html

National Survey of Student Engagement. (2010). The student experience in brief: NAU.

Retrieved from https://bblearn.nau.edu

Northern Arizona University (2013). Fall course evaluation. Retrieved from

https://bblearn.nau.edu

Schuh, Upcraft, & Associates. (2001). Ch 3 qualitative assessment. Assessment Practice in

Student Affairs.