Episode Description
Episode #269 | Still Searching for the NSSE? Reflections on the National Survey of Student Engagement will be recorded on April 24, 2026 at 11 am (EDT).
Every week and sometimes each day. we encounter debates about student engagement and overall learning experiences in higher education. Just open the Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, the Conversation, the New York Times, the Guardian, etc. It does not matter which news resource you are wedded to, there will be someone penning an article that bemoans the passive participation of students in schools, colleges, and universities and any educational setting or environment. And such articles have become even more pervasive in their digital leanring age. Is there data out there that addresses such concerns and debates? Fortunately, there is. In fact, for over two decades, the National Survey of Student Engagement developed and administered at Indiana University (IU) (https://nsse.indiana.edu/nsse/index.html) has collected important information from hundreds of four-year colleges and universities about the first-year and senior students' participation in various programs and activities provided for personal learning and development. The results provide an estimate of how undergraduates spend their time and what they gain from attending college. The NSSE team gathers such data each year from its student survey, The College Student Report. Watch or listen to Episode #269 and learn about the history of the NSSE as well as the current objectives and expanded uses of it. We will also discuss the Center for Postsecondary Research at IU. This panel will include the original developer of the NSSE, Dr. George Kuh, as well as Dr. Leonard Taylor who is currently the Director of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). Also on this episode of SLL will be Dr. Jillian Kinzie, the Associate Director of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) in the Center for Postsecondary Research in the Indiana University School of Education.
Dr. George Kuh is Chancellor's Professor Emeritus of Higher Education at Indiana University (IU). George founded IU’s Center for Postsecondary Research and the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and related instruments for law students, beginning college students, and faculty. He also is the founding director of the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) as well as the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP), the first-ever in-depth look at the factors that help or hinder the careers of graduates of arts-intensive training high schools and postsecondary institutions. At Indiana University, he served as chairperson of the department of educational leadership and policy studies (1982-84), associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Education (1985-88), and associate dean of the faculties for the Bloomington campus (1997-2000).
Dr. Jillian Kinzie is Associate Director, National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), Center for Postsecondary Research, Indiana University School of Education.
She conducts research and leads project activities on effective use of student engagement data to improve educational quality, and serves as senior scholar with the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) project. She is co-author of Transforming Academic Culture & Curriculum: Integrating and Scaffolding Research Throughout Undergraduate Education (2024), Radical Reimagining for Student Success (2023), Delivering on the Promise of High-Impact Practices: Research and Models for Achieving Equity, Fidelity, Impact and Scale (2022), Assessment in Student Affairs (2016), Using Evidence of Student Learning to Improve Higher Education (2015), Student Success in College (2005/2010), and One Size Does Not Fit All: Traditional and Innovative Models of Student Affairs Practice (2008/2014).
She was awarded the NASPA George D. Kuh Outstanding Contribution to Research in 2024 and received the Robert J. Menges Honored Presentation by the Professional Organizational Development (POD) Network in 2005 and 2011. Kinzie earned her PhD from Indiana University in higher education with a minor in women’s studies. Prior to this, she served on the faculty of Indiana University and coordinated the master’s program in higher education and student affairs. She also worked in academic and student affairs at Miami University and Case Western Reserve University.
Dr. Leonard Taylor is the Director of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). Dr. Taylor’s research focuses on investigating and improving how student success commitments are enacted at higher education institutions. Using various organizational theories and methodological approaches, he works to understand and interrogate how administrators, faculty and staff members, and other post-secondary stakeholders use research, data and promising practices to enhance post-secondary outcomes. His work has been funded through the National Science Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Lumina Foundation, College Student Educators International (ACPA), as well as other national and local entities. Dr. Taylor earned his Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership and Policy Development from the University of Minnesota.
More data and resources can be found below.
- The National Survey of Student Engagement, Indiana University: https://nsse.indiana.edu/nsse/index.html
What Does NSSE Do?
Through its student survey, The College Student Report, NSSE annually collects information at hundreds of four-year colleges and universities about first-year and senior students' participation in programs and activities that institutions provide for their learning and personal development. The results provide an estimate of how undergraduates spend their time and what they gain from attending college.
NSSE provides participating institutions a variety of reports that compare their students' responses with those of students at self-selected groups of comparison institutions. Comparisons are available for ten Engagement Indicators, six High-Impact Practices, and all individual survey questions. Each fall, NSSE also publishes its Annual Results, which reports topical research and trends in student engagement results. NSSE researchers also present and publish research findings throughout the year. Bachelor's degree-granting institutions are invited to participate in NSSE to assess the quality of undergraduate education—providing institutions diagnostic, actionable information that fosters and catalyzes evidence-based improvement efforts. NSSE registration opens in late summer and closes in fall for the following spring administration.
Quick Facts
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