University Surveys

Conducting surveys provides Western Illinois University an opportunity to obtain input on a variety of issues. This input is a valuable tool in providing information to facilitate decision making in conjunction with Western's commitment to continuous improvement. While most surveys are campus based and driven by local issues and interests, Western also participates in a number of national surveys that help Western assess itself in comparison with other universities nationwide. This website helps make the campus and external community aware of Western's survey efforts and provides easy access to survey results and trends.

National benchmarking survey efforts include:

Local survey efforts include:

 

National Benchmarking Surveys

National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE, "Nessie")

The NSSE measures the actual experiences students report regarding their academic and personal development. With Western's commitment to the core values of Academic Excellence, Educational Opportunity, Personal Growth, and Social Responsibility, the NSSE provides an excellent benchmarking tool to measure progress in achieving our strategic planning goals. Western Illinois University first became involved with the NSSE in Spring 2005, piloting the effort with a sample of freshmen and senior students. Beginning in Spring 2006, Western has committed to annual NSSE participation and expanded its reach to include all freshmen and senior students.

Making Achievement Possible (MAP)

MAP is an assessment system that enhances a student’s ability to make a successful transition to college. MAP enables student success by providing customized, relevant information to students and by alerting faculty/staff so that they can initiate proactive intervention to reduce a student’s risk of failure and to help students get the most out of their college experience. In Fall 2007, Western Illinois University was one of nine colleges to pilot the new online version, MAP-Works. Fall 2008 will see MAP-Works advance to a full-scale national benchmarking instrument, with Western again participating.

Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE, "Fessie")

A companion to the NSSE, the FSSE measures how engaged faculty think their students are in their academic and personal development. A key factor is where there are "gaps" between what faculty perceive and what students report, providing an opportunity for improvement to narrow the gap. Western Illinois University first participated in Spring 2007, and has established an alternate-year participation schedule with Spring 2009 being the next administration period.

Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE, "Bessie")

The "little sister" of NSSE, the BCSSE measures the expectations new freshmen students. The results can then be compared with their later NSSE responses to assess how well student expectations were realized, providing Western with an important yardstick to help ensure that our students are not only prepared for the academic and personal experiences they will encounter in college, but also that Western effectively meets these expectations. Western Illinois University participated in this effort, initially in Fall 2005, and then during the summer orientation periods in 2006 and 2007.

 

Local Surveys

First Year Experience Surveys

In Fall 2005, Western initiated an new, and unique First Year Experience program for all incoming freshmen. The program is designed to help students successfully make the transition from high school to college life, both in terms of greater academic rigor and a greater personal independence. Surveys each semester help evaluate the success of the FYE program and suggest areas of improvement in meeting student needs and helping to ensure their success. The results of survey efforts for the first three years, through Spring 2008, of Western's development if its unique FYE program are provided on a semester by semester basis, including trends related to improvement efforts.

Graduating Senior Surveys

Each year students nearing graduation are asked to complete a survey about their satisfaction with various aspects of academic life and personal development. In Fall 2005, these surveys moved to an online format to facilitate collection of data and sharing of results to that issues could be addressed and improvements made. The traditional survey questions were refined beginning with Spring 2008 graduates in an effort to collect more meaningful information to help provide a culture of evidence for academic Colleges and Departments, as well as the University as a whole, to utilize in their assessment and improvement efforts.

Special Request Surveys

Online surveys help ascertain input on a variety of topics throughout the year. All surveys must meet Western's Institutional Review Board guidelines. University groups wishing to conduct online surveys for the purpose of gaining valuable information in support of decision making can contact survey@wiu.edu to discuss online survey development and deployment.

Ongoing, Current, & Upcoming Surveys

Local Survey Results - Academic Year 2008-2009

Archived Survey Results