Student involvement at UW-Whitewater continues to rise

December 8, 2006

Figures gathered from the 2006 National Student Engagement Survey (NSSE) show University of Wisconsin-Whitewater students are above the average in getting involved on campus.  This is the sixth year UW-Whitewater has participated in the survey with outstanding results.

On a national level, the NSSE report is based on information from 523 four-year colleges and universities.  The NSSE study, "Engaged Learning: Fostering Success of All Students," gives schools an idea of how well students are learning and what they put into and get out of their undergraduate experience.

Locally, UW-Whitewater and other universities in the UW System are evaluated based on survey questions answered by university students comparing first-year student results to those of senior students.  The results of the survey directly relate to the academic strategic plan for UW-Whitewater involving the five areas for student engagement: programs and learning, the community, diversity and global perspectives, regional engagement and professional and personal integrity. 

"This is something we have been tracking for years," said Institutional Researcher Edward Furlong.  "The data is really nice because we are able to see exactly what areas of the strategic plan students are excelling in."

Some figures gathered from this year's survey comparing UW-Whitewater to other UW System schools include:

• 31 percent of students reported that they spend more than 5 hours a week on co-curricular activities compared to 25 percent at other universities.
• 70 percent of students participated in community service or volunteer work compared to 65 percent at other universities.
• 42 percent of students had serious conversations with students of another race compared to 33 percent at other universities.

Highlighted in the survey was an emphasis on programming and learning.  Since 2001, students speaking with advisors and receiving instruction about career plans rose 27 points.  Also, the quality of advising students reported receiving, rose 23 points and the ability to help cope with nonacademic responsibilities increased by 20 points.