Respondent Characteristics	Population Characteristics
Gender:
Male	30%	45%
Female	70%	55%
Race/Ethnicity:
Minorities	7%	10%
Caucasian/White	88%	86%
Foreign	2%	1%
Unknown	3%	3%
Class Level:
Freshman	56%	48%
Senior	44%	52%
Enrollment Status:
Full-time	95%	94%
Part-time	5%	6%
College:
Arts and Sciences	23%	29%
Academic Enhancement	9%	6%
Business Administration	9%	14%
Education and Human Development	34%	30%
Health and Human Services	12%	10%
Musical Arts	6%	3%
Technology	7%	9%

	BGSU		Peer Universities
	Freshman	Senior	Freshman	Senior
	%	%	%	%
Preparing for class:
0 hour/week	0	0	1	0
1-5 hours/week	16	15	19	21
6-10 hours/week	29	36	29	29
11-20 hours/week	34	27	36	34
21-30 hours/week	15	19	13	12
more than 30 hours/week	5	4	3	5
Working for pay on campus:
0 hour/week	82	62	77	69
1-5 hours/week	2	8	4	3
6-10 hours/week	4	10	8	11
11-20 hours/week	12	14	8	10
21-30 hours/week	0	5	2	3
more than 30 hours/week	0	1	1	3
Working for pay off campus:
0 hour/week	83	43	79	47
1-5 hours/week	4	9	4	5
6-10 hours/week	2	4	4	6
11-20 hours/week	4	12	6	16
21-30 hours/week	4	20	6	13
more than 30 hours/week	3	12	2	13
Participating in co-curricular activities:
0 hour/week	34	32	38	45
1-5 hours/week	43	37	33	29
6-10 hours/week	10	13	14	14
11-20 hours/week	8	9	12	7
21-30 hours/week	5	5	1	3
more than 30 hours/week	2	3	2	1
Relaxing and socializing:
0 hour/week	0	2	1	2
1-5 hours/week	16	26	19	28
6-10 hours/week	25	29	27	26
11-20 hours/week	34	32	33	31
21-30 hours/week	14	6	11	8
more than 30 hours/week	11	4	9	4
Providing care for dependents living with you:
0 hour/week	83	76	86	70
1-5 hours/week	12	11	6	9
6-10 hours/week	1	1	3	5
11-20 hours/week	3	6	2	4
21-30 hours/week	1	2	2	3
more than 30 hours/week	0	4	1	9
Commuting to class:
0 hour/week	14	3	10	6
1-5 hours/week	71	63	71	66
6-10 hours/week	8	18	13	18
11-20 hours/week	5	12	4	7
21-30 hours/week	1	1	1	1
more than 30 hours/week	1	3	0	1

As shown on the table above, roughly two-thirds of students, both at BGSU and the peer universities, spent 6-30 hours per week preparing for class or relaxing/socializing, and 5 hours or less per week commuting to class or participating in co-curricular activities (organizations, campus publications, student government, social fraternities or sororities, intercollegiate or intramural sports, etc). Most of them don't spend any time working for pay on campus and don't have obligations to care for their family members. Seniors, however, spent significantly more hours working for pay but less time relaxing than did freshmen (see the chart above). They were also more likely to spend more time caring for their dependents and commuting to class . BGSU seniors spent more time than the seniors in the peer institutions participating in extracurricular activities.

Within BGSU, part-time students and students in College of Technology spent much more time per week working for pay off campus than did full-time students and students in the other colleges. Minority students as well as students in College of Health and Human Development were more likely to spend more than 30 hours per week providing care for dependents than were European American students as well as the students in the other colleges.

ACADEMIC AND INTELLECTUAL EXPERIENCES

Twenty-two questions in this section of the survey ask students about the frequency of various experiences including class related participation and activities, working relationships and dialogue between students and faculty as well as among students, course-related use of technology, and paid or voluntary academically related service.

In your experience at your institution during the current school year, about how often have you done each of the following? (Percent "Very Often" or "Often")

About 80% or more of BGSU respondents (both freshmen and seniors) indicated that they often or very often work on a paper or project that required integrating ideas or information from various sources, use e-mail to communicate with their instructors, and complete their readings or assignments before coming to class. Another half or more of them reported that they frequently prepare two or more drafts of a paper or assignment before turning it in, include diverse perspectives in class discussions or writing assignments, receive prompt feedback from faculty on their academic performance, ask questions in class or contribute to class discussions, discuss grades or assignments with an instructor, use an electronic medium to discuss or complete an assignment, and work harder than they thought they could to meet an instructor's standards or expectations. Less than 30% of BGSU respondents claimed that they often or very often tutor other students, participate in a community-based project as part of a regular course, discuss ideas from their reading or classes with faculty members outside of class, and work with a faculty member on activities other than coursework.

Compared with the students (both freshman and senior) at peer universities, BGSU students were less likely to have serious conversations with students who are very different from them in terms of their religious beliefs, political opinions, or personal values. Compared with the freshmen in the peer institutions, BGSU freshmen were less likely to work with classmates outside of class to prepare assignments, but much more likely to work on a paper or project that required integrating ideas or information from various sources, use email to communicate with their instructors, and prepare two or more drafts of a paper or assignment before tuning it in. Compared with the seniors in peer universities, BGSU seniors were less likely to discuss ideas from their readings or classes with their fellow students, friends, or family members outside of class.

Within BGSU, seniors, in general, are having more engaging experiences than are freshmen. Compared with freshmen, seniors were not only more engaged with faculty in terms of career advising, discussing grades or assignments, receiving prompt feedback on their academic performance, and working with faculty members on activities other than coursework, but also much more likely to make a class presentation, ask questions in class or contribute to class discussions, work with other students on projects or assignments during and outside of class, put together ideas or concepts from different courses when completing assignments or during class discussions, tutor or teach other students, and use an electronic medium to discuss or complete an assignment. The only activity on the survey that they were significantly less likely to do than freshmen is preparing two or more drafts of a paper or assignment before turning it in.

European American students were more likely than minority students to use email to communicate with their instructors. Male students were more likely than female students to claim that they never work harder than they thought they could to meet an faculty's standards or expectations. Males and minority students, however, were more likely than their counterparts to have serious conversations with students who are very different from them in terms of their religious beliefs, political opinions, or personal values.

Among the respondents in the seven colleges, Musical Arts students were most likely to ask questions in class or contribute to class discussions and have serious conversations with different background students; Education and Human Development students were most likely to participate in a community-based project as part of a regular course; Technology students were least likely to work on a paper or project that requires integrating ideas or information from various sources. Students in the College of Business Administration, College of Musical Arts, College of Technology, and College of Education and Human Development were more likely than the students in the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Academic Enhancement, and College of Health and Human Services to claim that they often work with classmates outside of class to prepare class assignments.

READING, WRITING, HOMEWORK, AND EXAMINATIONS

During the current school year, about how much reading and writing have you done?  

In a typical week, how many homework problem sets do you complete?  

 To what extent have your examinations during the current school year challenged you to do your best work?

Like the students in the peer universities, in a typical week, the majority of BGSU students solve four or fewer homework problems that take them more than an hour each to complete as well as 1-4 sets of problems that take them less than an hour each to finish. Most of them read 20 or fewer assigned books as well as 10 or fewer not assigned books per year. Students seemed more likely to write papers or reports of 19 pages or fewer instead of 20 pages or more. The mass majority of them agreed that the examinations they took last year have challenged them to do their best work.

Within BGSU, seniors read more unassigned books for personal enjoyment or academic enrichment and wrote more papers or reports of 20 pages or more per year than did freshmen. Students in the College of Business Administration and College of Technology read fewer assigned textbooks, books, or book-length packs of course than did the students in other colleges.

MENTAL ACTIVITIES

During the current school year, to what extent has your coursework emphasized the following mental activities?
(Percent "Quite a Bit" or "Very Much")

Most of the students reported that their coursework emphasized all the activities listed on the survey. Coursework for BGSU freshmen placed more emphasis on synthesis when compared with the freshmen in peer universities.

Full time students and students in the College of Academic Enhancement were more likely than part time students and the students in the six other colleges to indicate that their coursework emphasized in memorization.

ARTS, WELLNESS, SPIRITUALITY, AND REFLECTIVE LEARNING  ACTIVITIES

Several new questions appeared on this year's survey, which focused on student's arts, wellness and spiritual activities as well as reflective learning, a component of deep or integrative learning. The table below presents the findings.

During the current school year, about how often have you done each of the following?
(Percent "Often" or "Very Often")

	BGSU		Peer Universities
	Freshman	Senior	Freshman	Senior
	%	%	%	%
Attended an art exhibit, gallery, play, dance, or other theater performance	28	23	26	23
Exercised or participated in physical fitness activities	63	48	60	56
Participated in activities to enhance your spirituality	23	28	27	31
Examined the strengths and weaknesses of your own view on a topic or issue	41	57	48	56
Tried to better understand someone else's views by imagining how an issue looks from his or her perspective	54	60	61	64
Learned something that changed the way you understand an issue or concept	53	54	61	63

About half or more of the survey respondents reported frequently exercising, examining the strengths and weaknesses of their own view on a topic or issue, trying to better understand someone else's views by imagining how an issue looks from his or her perspective, and learning something that changed the way they understand an issue or concept. Approximately one in four students frequently attended an art exhibit, gallery, play, dance, or other theater performance, as well as activities to enhance their spirituality.

Within internal groups, freshmen reported exercising more often but examining the strengths and weaknesses of their own view on a topic or issue less frequently than seniors. Musical Arts students were most likely to attend arts activities among the students in the seven colleges. While female students were more likely to say that they sometimes attended an arts activity, male students were more likely to claim that they either never attended an arts activity or participated it very often.

ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES

Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate from your institution?
(Percent "Have Done" or "Plan to Do")

Like the undergraduates at peer universities, BGSU undergraduates were more likely to complete a practicum, internship, field experience, co-op experience, or clinical assignment and to participate in community service or volunteer work than to do the other activities listed on the table above. Seniors, in general, were more likely than freshmen to do an independent study or self-designed major. BGSU students, both freshman and senior, however, were less likely than the students in peer universities to take a foreign language coursework. In addition to that, BGSU freshmen were also less likely to study abroad and BGSU seniors were less likely to do a culminating senior experience when compared them with their counterparts in the peer universities.

Within BGSU, full-time students were more likely than part-time students to do volunteer work and participate in learning community activities. While part time students were more likely to indicate that they have done a practicum, internship, field experience, co-op experience, or clinical assignment, full time students were more likely say that they plan to do these activities before they graduate from BGSU.

Female students were more likely than male students to participate in a community service work but less likely to do an independent study or self-designed major. Minority students were more likely than European American students to study abroad as well as to take a foreign language course.

Arts and Sciences students were most likely to take foreign language courses among the students at the main campus. Students in the College of Health and Human Services, College of Academic Enhancement, and College of Education and Human Development were more likely than the students in the other four colleges to do community service or volunteer work. Students in the College of Education and Human Development and College of Technology were more likely to do a practicum, internship, field experience, co-op experience, or clinical assignment than were the students in the other colleges.

EDUCATIONAL AND PERSONAL GROWTH

To what extent has your experience at this institution contributed to your knowledge, skills, and personal development (Percent "Quite a Bit" or "Very Much")?

BGSU students overall give their college experience considerable credit with respect to most aspects listed on the table above, especially in the areas of acquiring a broad general education, writing clearly, thinking critically, using computing and information technology, and working effectively with others.

Compared with their counterparts at peer universities, BGSU freshmen were more likely to declare that their college experience contributed quite a bit or very much to their writing skill, using computers, working effectively with others, and developing a personal code of value and ethics; BGSU seniors were more likely to claim that their college education helped them a lot in terms of understanding themselves, learning effectively on their own, and contributing to the welfare of their community.

Within BGSU, freshmen were more likely than seniors to say that they learned a lot from their voting in local, state, or national elections. BGSU seniors, on the other hand, were more likely than freshmen to say that they gained a lot in terms of working effectively with others, learning effectively on their own, acquiring job/work-related knowledge/skills, solving complex real-world problems, and contributing to the welfare of their community. They were also more likely than freshmen to think that their college education helped them understanding themselves better.

OPINIONS ABOUT YOUR SCHOOL

This portion of the survey asked students to express their opinions about the institution they were attending. Specifically, students were asked about 1) the extent to which they perceived that several aspects of students' development are emphasized, 2) their relationships with others, and 3) the quality of academic advising and the overall educational experience they had at their school. Results are summarized below.

1. Emphasis

To what extent does your institution emphasize each of the following? (Percent "Quite a Bit" or "Very Much")

Students, both at BGSU and in the peer universities, feel that their university emphasized academic work more than other activities listed on the survey. Freshmen, in general, were more likely than seniors to report that their school not only provided "very much" or "quite a bit" of the support they needed to help them succeed academically, but also the support they need to thrive socially. They were also more likely than seniors to indicate that their school helped them to cope with their non-academic responsibilities, encouraged them to attend campus events as well as to contact with students who were from different economic, social, and racial backgrounds.

Compared with freshmen in the peer universities, BGSU freshmen were more likely to say that their institution emphasized six out of seven aspects of students' development that listed on table above.

Within BGSU, full time students were more likely than part time students to point out that BGSU encouraged them to attend campus events and activities. Students in the College of Academic Enhancement, College of Health and Human Services, College of Education and Human Development, and College of Arts and Sciences were more likely than the students in the three other colleges to claim that BGSU emphasized spending significant amounts of time studying and on academic work.

2. Quality of Relationships

Please rate your relationships with people at your institution:

Students, both at BGSU and in the peer universities, were more likely to feel that their fellow students were friendly and supportive, and their faculty members were available, helpful, and sympathetic than to feel that their administrative personnel and offices were helpful, considerate, and flexible. BGSU students seemed to have  a more positive feeling about their administrative personnel and offices than did students in the peer universities.

3. Quality of Academic Advising and Overall Educational Experience

Overall, how would you evaluate the quality of
academic advising you have received at your institution?

How would you evaluate your entire 
educational experience at your institution?

	BGSU		Peer Universities
	Freshman	Senior	Freshman	Senior
	%	%	%	%
Poor	1	1	1	2
Fair	10	10	9	14
Good	59	55	60	53
Excellent	30	34	29	31

If you could start over again,
would you go to the same institution you are now attending?

	BGSU		Peer Universities
	Freshman	Senior	Freshman	Senior
	%	%	%	%
Definitely no	3	4	4	6
Probably no	10	16	13	16
Probably yes	40	39	41	40
Definitely yes	47	42	42	38

The majority of the BGSU and peer university students evaluated the quality of academic advising as well as their entire educational experience as good or excellent, and most of them would go to the same institution again if they could. Like the students at peer universities, BGSU seniors gave lower ratings to the quality of academic advising than did freshmen. 

Students in Academic Enhancement, the College of Business Administration, College of Health and Human Services, and College of Arts and Sciences were more likely to report that the academic advising they received at BGSU was good or excellent than were students in the other colleges. Full time and European American students were more likely to say that they'd attend BGSU if they could start again than were part time and minority students. Technology students were least likely to enroll BGSU again among the students in the seven main campus colleges,

BENCHMARK REPORT

The NSSE staff provided the Office of Institutional Research with a Benchmark Report for BGSU based upon responses of BGSU students to the NSSE 2005 survey. Students' responses were grouped into five categories representing effective educational practice: (1) Level of Academic Challenge, (2) Active and Collaborative Learning, (3) Student Interactions with Faculty Members, (4) Enriching Educational Experiences, and (5) Supportive Campus Environment. NSSE responses were formed into five summative scales along these dimensions and the five actual institutional engagement scores for BGSU students were compared with the averages scores of our selected peers. Results are shown below.

BENCHMARK MEAN COMPARISONS*

Benchmark	BGSU				Peer Universities
	2000	2001	2003	2005	2005
First Year Students
Level of Academic Challenge	49.9	51.9	52.9	54.4	50.9
Active and Collaborative Learning	39.6	39.1	38.7	40.9	40.2
Student-Faculty Interaction	30.1	35.1	35.8	34.6	32.0
Enriching Educational Experiences	43.1	49.7	49.1	25.4	26.2
Supportive Campus Environment	58.3	58.8	59.0	63.6	57.4
Seniors
Level of Academic Challenge	48.6	52.2	55.4	54.0	56.3
Active and Collaborative Learning	48.4	46.7	50.8	52.5	52.1
Student-Faculty Interaction	35.9	37.9	42.5	42.8	43.9
Enriching Educational Experiences	38.7	41.2	42.4	37.3	41.5
Supportive Campus Environment	53.1	51.7	55.2	55.8	54.8

* Each benchmark was put on a 100-point scale. * Please note that the method for calculating the benchmark scores changed in 2005; comparisons should not be made with earlier years. Source: National Survey of Student Engagement, The College Student Report, Indiana University Center for Post-Secondary Research & Planning

Seniors, both at BGSU and in the peer universities, marked higher scores in Active and Collaborative Learning, Student-Faculty Interaction, and Enriching Educational Experiences than did first year students. First year students, on the other hand, marked higher score in Supportive Campus Environment than did seniors.

BGSU first year students reported higher levels of engagement in four out of five areas than did the first year students in peer universities. BGSU seniors, however, had scores lower in three out of five areas than did their counterparts.  

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

BGSU undergraduate students, in general, were actively engaged with their academic activities at the University. They spent about the same amount of time as the students in the peer universities on different tasks, and did roughly the same number of readings, writings, and homework as their peers last year. Two-thirds of the undergraduates claimed that the coursework they have had emphasized all the mental activities listed on the survey, and 80% or more of them indicated that the examinations they have taken challenged them to do their best work. More than half of the undergraduates feel that they have worked harder than they thought they could to meet an instructor's standards or expectations. Besides being involved with the regular coursework, the great majority of BGSU students have done or plan to do volunteer work as well as practicum, internship, field experience, co-op experience, or clinical assignment. Half of them exercise often or very often.

All stakeholders in higher education expect that the college experience will lead to growth in knowledge, skills and dispositions. Undergraduate students at BGSU have indicated that the institution has provided them with such growth, especially in the areas of  acquiring a broad general education, writing clearly, thinking critically, using computing and information technology, working effectively with others, and learning effectively on their own.

Most of the undergraduate students had good perceptions of BGSU. Two-thirds of them agreed that BGSU not only emphasized the importance of academic work and provided "quite a bit" or "very much" of the support they need to help them succeed academically but also encouraged them to attend campus events and other activities. As for the relations with others, the majority of them feel that their fellow students are friendly and supportive, their faculty members are available and helpful, and the administrative personnel and offices are considerate and flexible. Eighty-nine percent of the undergraduates evaluated their entire educational experience at BGSU as good or excellent, and the majority of them would go to BGSU again if they could start over again.

There are some differences in the survey results between groups. Of particular concern may be the differences between BGSU and our peers as well as between BGSU freshmen and BGSU seniors.

Difference between BGSU Freshman and BGSU Senior (10% or more difference):

• Seniors, in general, reported having more engaging academic and intellectual experiences than did freshmen. They were not only more likely to read more unassigned books and write more papers or reports of 20 pages or more than were BGSU freshmen, but also more likely than freshmen to make a class presentation, ask questions in class or participate class discussions, use an electronic medium to discuss or complete an assignment, work with others on projects and assignments during and after class, put together ideas or concepts from different courses when completing assignments or during class discussions, tutor other students, do independent study or have a self-designed major, receive prompt feedback from faculty, talk about career plans with a faculty member or advisor, and work with faculty members on activates unrelated to coursework.

• Seniors spent more time working for pay and commuting to class, but less time relaxing and exercising than did freshmen. They were also less likely than freshmen to prepare two or more drafts of a paper or assignment before turning it in.

• Seniors more often examined the strengths and weaknesses of their own view on a topic or issue than did freshmen.

• While freshmen were more likely to say that their BGSU experiences contributed a lot in their voting in local, state, or national elections, seniors were more likely to say that they gained quite a bit or very much from their BGSU experiences in terms of learning effectively on their own, acquiring job/work-related knowledge/skills, and contributing to the welfare of their community.

• Freshmen were more satisfied than seniors with the academic advising they received at BGSU. They were also more likely than their counterparts to claim that BGSU emphasized attending campus events, encouraging contact among students from different economic, social, and racial or ethnic background, helping them cope with their non-academic responsibilities, and providing the support they need to help them succeed academically and thrived socially.

Difference between BGSU Students and the Students in Peer Universities (about 10% or more difference):

• Compared with students (both freshmen and seniors) in peer universities, BGSU students were

• more likely to feel that the administrative personnel and offices of their institution were helpful, considerate and flexible.

• less likely to take a foreign language course, and to have serious conversations with students who are very different from them in terms of their religious beliefs, political opinions, or personal values.

• Compared with freshmen in peer universities, BGSU freshmen were

• more likely to work on a paper or project that required integrating ideas or information from various sources, use e-mail to communicate with their instructors, and prepare two or more drafts of a paper or assignment before tuning it in.

• more likely to say that their coursework emphasized synthesizing and organizing ideas, information, or experiences into new, more complex interpretations and relationships, and that their institution emphasized attending campus events and activities, encouraging contact among students from different economic, social, and racial/ethnic backgrounds, and providing the support they need to help them succeed academically and thrive socially.

• more likely to feel that their college experience contributed quite a bit or very much to their writing and computing skills, working effectively with others, and developing a personal code of value and ethics.

• less likely to study aboard and to work with classmates outside of class to prepare class assignments.

• Compared with seniors in peer universities, BGSU seniors were

• more likely to participate in co-curricular activities, and to think that they gained a lot in learning effectively on their own, understanding themselves, and contributing to the welfare of their community through their college experience.

• less likely to write papers or reports of 20 pages or more per year, to do a culminating senior experience, and to discuss ideas from their readings or classes with others (students, family members, coworkers, etc.) outside of class.

• less likely to say that they learned something that changed the way they understand an issue or concept.