National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) demonstrates DePaul’s impact on understanding of diversity
In the VISION twenty12 strategic plan, DePaul aims to be a model of diversity and to affirm the “central place of diversity in the university’s mission and institutional culture.” Student responses to the 2008 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)[1] show that DePaul students are much more likely than students at other urban universities to say their college experience has contributed to their understanding of diversity.
Do students feel, because of their experiences at the institution, that they have developed in their understanding of diversity?
If students believe that DePaul puts an emphasis on interacting with diverse groups, and students are taking advantage of opportunities to do so, what impact has that had on student development? The NSSE asks students to rate on a four-point scale the extent to which their experiences at their institution have contributed to their personal development in understanding people of diverse backgrounds. The figure to the right shows the percentage of seniors who responded “quite a bit” and “very much” to this item. Over the past six years, a growing percentage of DePaul’s seniors indicate their experiences have had an impact on their development in this area. In 2008, nearly three-quarters of DePaul seniors responded in this way, compared to only 55% of seniors at other urban institutions. These differences are notable in that they distinguish DePaul from peer institutions in the outcomes of students’ experience of diversity on campus.
The survey also highlights the emphasis the university places on diversity and the opportunities for engagement afforded students at DePaul. For a university to be a model of diversity, its students should believe that the institution places an emphasis on diversity in the student experience. Is diversity something the university emphasizes? The NSSE shows that DePaul students are much more likely than students at other urban universities to say their institution emphasizes student interaction with those of diverse backgrounds.
Do students think the institution emphasizes diversity?
The NSSE asks students to indicate the extent to which they feel their institution emphasizes encouraging contact among students from different economic, social, racial or ethnic backgrounds.
The figure to the left shows the difference between DePaul and our urban peers in the NSSE Consortium in the percentage of students who responded “quite a bit” and “very much” to this item. A considerably higher percentage of DePaul students than students at other urban universities believe their university places an emphasis on interaction among diverse groups of students. In 2008, nearly two-thirds of DePaul seniors reported such an emphasis at DePaul, compared to less than half of the seniors at the other urban universities. Responses to the NSSE illustrate DePaul’s distinctive commitment to being a model of diversity.
The survey also highlights opportunities for engagement afforded to students at DePaul and the impact these experiences have.
Do students have opportunities to interact with others from diverse backgrounds?
The NSSE asks students to indicate how often in the last year they engaged in serious conversations with persons different from themselves, in terms of race/ethnicity and in terms of religion, politics or personal values. The figures show the percentage of seniors who replied “often” and “very often” to these items. DePaul students reported more frequent meaningful contacts with students different from themselves than did students at other urban universities. Also, over the last three years, the difference between DePaul and our urban peers has been growing.
The NSSE (commonly referred to as the “nessie”) collects information annually from first-year and senior students across the nation and measures the extent to which students engage in educational practices that have been empirically linked to various outcomes such as persistence and graduation. DePaul has been an active participant in the NSSE for more than five years. One feature of participating in NSSE is the ability to join a consortium of institutions that share a common trait and receive data about institutions within the consortium for comparative purposes. DePaul is a member of the Urban University consortium. The NSSE is administered during the winter quarter. Only the responses of the seniors are included in this summary.