RELEASED: August 29, 2001

College recognized in National Survey of Student Engagement

DANVILLE, KY — Centre College received outstanding marks in the 2000 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE).

In the set of “engagement” criteria, Centre was one of the four schools singled out for overall praise in the survey. This area measured level of academic challenge, active and collaborative learning, student interactions with faculty, enriching educational experiences, and supportive campus environment. Centre was one of only four schools among the 420 participating institutions that scored in the top 20 percent in all five of these categories.

Centre also was one of just two schools recognized as a place where students are engaged in “highly intellectually challenging activities.”

And when the results of the NSSE survey are viewed in combination with the current U.S. News and World Report rankings, Centre fares better than any other school evaluated by the two organizations. Of the four schools singled out by the NSSE, Centre has the highest U.S. News and World Report ranking, being among the top-50 national liberal arts colleges.

The NSSE survey is drawing a flurry of national attention in the New York Times, on National Public Radio, in Washington Monthly magazine and in the Los Angeles Times.

Centre College was referenced on the National Public Radio show “All Things Considered,” and in Washington Monthly magazine (http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2001/0109.graham.thompson.html).

The NSSE asks college freshmen and seniors to assess time spent on such areas as: How many hours do they study? How often do they talk to a faculty member or students with different political beliefs? What are some of their outside-the-classroom activities? The survey attempts to measure what happens on campus as opposed to solely what the students did before arriving on campus and the institution’s financial resources.

The NSSE annually surveys undergraduates at four-year colleges and universities to assess the extent to which they engage in a variety of good educational practices. The survey includes items that represent student behaviors that are highly correlated with many important learning and personal development outcomes of college.

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