DATE: December 01, 2006

CONTACT: Debbie Jackson, (864) 656-4592
dbj@clemson.edu

WRITER: Teresa C. Hopkins, (864) 656-1222
teresa.hopkins@clemsonews.clemson.edu

Students rank Clemson experience higher than national average

CLEMSON — A supportive, collaborative environment and quality academic advising are some of the reasons for the overall high satisfaction freshmen and seniors have for their Clemson University experience.

Results of the 2006 National Survey of Student Engagement show freshmen and seniors rated their educational experience at Clemson as good to excellent, and report they would attend Clemson again if given the opportunity to start over at any institution. Clemson ranks higher than the average among national doctoral-extensive institutions, according to the report.

“The report confirms what we believed was happening on campus,” said Debbie Jackson, assistant to the president and an associate provost at Clemson. “Students find Clemson a great institution that meets their expectations for academic and social experiences. The Clemson experience may be hard to define, but students recognize and value their time at Clemson and would choose Clemson again, and this time they know what to expect.”

Clemson freshmen report quality academic advising at a higher level than students at the university’s peer institutions. Both freshmen and seniors report the environment at Clemson helps them succeed academically and thrive socially.

College-based academic advising centers and the Academic Success Center are two examples of how Clemson uses the data from the voluntary assessment to make changes and improvements, said Jackson. She said data from past assessments indicated a need for stronger advising on campus.

“This is a voluntary system of accountability,” said Jackson. “In order to be accountable, we need to know what’s going on. The NSSE survey helps us see what improvements may need to be made.”

The information comes from the 2006 “Student Engagement: Pathways to Collegiate Success,” compiled by the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) at the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research. The report was cosponsored by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Pew Forum on Undergraduate Learning. It is based on information from 163,000 first-year and senior students at 472 different four-year colleges and universities.