Echoes

Spring 2003

Study Shows Rose-Hulman A Leader At Challenging, Involving Students

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology received higher average scores than peer institutions and national colleges and universities in a nationwide survey that evaluated how involved students are in the educational process. The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) compared average scores of 135,000 first-year and senior students at 613 four-year colleges and universities who evaluated five areas of their educational experience. Students were surveyed about the level of academic challenge, active and collaborative learning, student-faculty interaction, enriching educational experiences and supportive campus environment at their schools.

Student engagement represents the combination of the effort students devote to educationally sound activities and what colleges do to prompt students to take advantage of those activities.

Rose-Hulman received a benchmark score determined by a response from first-year students that was higher in all five categories than national universities, general baccalaureate institutions and participating private engineering colleges that are members of the Association of Independent Technological Universities (AITU).

Rose-Hulman's highest score from first-year students was 70.2 for supportive campus environment, which was 10 points higher than the score earned by national universities and AITU members, and 7.3 points higher than general baccalaureate schools.

First-year students and seniors ranked Rose-Hulman higher than national universities, AITU member schools and general baccalaureate institutions in four of the five categories. In the only category Rose-Hulman did not lead, it was less than a half point behind the national, AITU and baccalaureate institutions in the scores seniors gave in the enriching educational experiences category.

"These national benchmark scores are another indication that Rose-Hulman is a leader in undergraduate education in engineering, math and science," said Rose-Hulman President Samuel Hulbert.

Sixty-three percent or 449 of all first-year and senior students at Rose-Hulman participated in a web-based version of the NSSE survey.

This is the third year NSSE has been conducted. It does not rank institutions. The report is co-sponsored by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Pew Forum on Undergraduate Learning.