The importance of taking time to complete the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) is to help build student awareness on campus.

“If only a few students respond then the report is not accurate,” said Erin Frew, interim assistant provost for assessment and student learning on the Colorado State University-Pueblo campus.

The NSSE survey is given to a random number of freshman and seniors on college campuses across the country.

The survey is used to gather important information regarding students on campus who are starting college as freshman and senior students who are graduating, Frew said. The information surveyed is: level of academic challenge, active and collaborative learning, student-faculty interaction and supportive campus environment, and enriching educational experiences.

The NSSE Survey is used to establish the needs of the students and to watch the advancement and progress of freshman students on campus through a four-year time period. The results are compared to other four-year universities across the country.

“They compare our results to other campuses that are similar in size and academics,” Frew said.

CSU-Pueblo pays for the students to take the survey.

“Every three years we pay for the survey because it gives us a sense of student feedback,” Frew said.

The information collected will be posted on the school’s assessment Web site, which is http://www.colostate-pueblo.edu/assessment/Pages/default.aspx later this summer.

The information collected is used in a number of ways to help benefit the students, staff and faculty on campus, Frew said. Examples of the data collected goes to how we can help campus programs and academic programs, how we can change the students experiences and general education, and it may help the Associated Students’ Government to modify programs or start new programs on-campus.

“Currently as of March 3, only 22 percent of students selected to take the survey have completed the survey,” Frew said. “The students need to understand the survey is important and that it helps everybody on campus.”

There are several incentives for participating and completing the survey. The prizes are awarded every Friday until March 26.

List of prizes won:
• Feb. 5 – $200 to Storm Bailey who won a $100 in cash
• Feb. 25 – $200 in value for a ski trip to Wolf Creek through the Outdoor Pursuits Office
• Feb. 19 – Ipod Touch and a full ski package was won
• Feb. 26 – $100 in cash

Prizes for the month of March:
• March 5 – $100 in cash and $125 gift card to the bookstore on campus
• March 12 – $125 gift card to the bookstore on campus
• March 19 – $100 in cash
• March 26 – $100 in cash

The drawings will conclude on Friday, March 26. All participating freshmen and seniors are eligible for the drawings once the survey is completed. Sample questions asked on the survey are: Asked questions in class, worked harder than you thought you could to meet an instructor’s standards or expectations, your relationships with other students, relationships with faculty and staff members.

Frew encourages freshman and senior students to stop and take a few minutes to read their campus e-mail and if they are selected to participate in the NSSE survey they should go to the URL site and complete the survey.

Students can check to see if they have been selected by going to the site: http://nssesurvey.org/login.cfm.