DePaul University Academic Affairs > Leadership Resources > Assessment & APRC > Academic Program Review > Additional Resources > Surveys

Surveys

The Advising, Alumni, GSS, and NSSE surveys are used to inform the writing of the Program Profile: Specifically, these surveys speak to the following topics:

Student satisfaction with the quality and rigor of their academic program and its preparation for life after DePaul.	Student satisfaction with advising.
Student perceptions of acquired work-related knowledge and skills: communication (verbal and written), quantitative and analytical skills, etc.	Student engagement in community service, internships, extra-curricular and co-curricular opportunities, research with faculty, etc.
Student perceptions about their exposure to diversity.	Student perceptions about the challenges they face to succeed in their academic programs and competing priorities.
Alumni perceptions of their knowledge and abilities gained in their program at DePaul.

For those departments with fewer respondents, generalizations may not be possible, though the data can serve as a starting point for further self-study. These data could serve as a catalyst for identifying questions for further study. For more information regarding the prompts, please visit the Profile section in the APR Guidebook. For more information on the surveys and for the survey instruments, please visit IRMA's page Reports & Publications - Student Surveys.

The Advising Survey assesses students’ perceptions of their advising experiences in terms of needs and satisfaction with the advising process. This survey is administered to undergraduate students. Sections on the survey include:

1. Background Information - basic demographic information

2. Advising Information - questions about the school's advising system

3. Academic Advising Needs - what topics were discussed with your advisor and how satisfied they were with the assistance received

4. Impressions of your Advisor - students' opinions on the knowledge, approachability and demeanor of advisors

5. Additional Advising Information - more background information on advising at DePaul

The Alumni Outcomes Survey is conducted in conjunction with Academic Program Review, and it assesses the impact of the DePaul education on the personal and professional lives of our alumni. Alumni one, three, and five years out are routinely surveyed as part of the APR process. The sample of this survey includes ALL alumni in these timeframes so as to collect better baseline data for future program reviews. The current survey instrument can be found here and additional information can be found on IRMA's website. For more information, contact Matt Savage in IRMA.

The Graduating Student Exit Survey (GSS) assesses student perceptions of the following areas:

1. Student gains related to the university's institutional and programmatic learning goals

2. Student satisfaction with university experiences and resources

3. Future plans of DePaul's graduating seniors

The GSS was designed to serve as a primary tool for the University's ongoing outcomes assessment initiatives. IRMA annually surveys graduating seniors on their perceived gains in areas specified by DePaul’s Institutional Learning Goals, as well as their satisfaction with various aspects of their undergraduate experience. This survey, created in conjunction with the following departments:

Enrollment Management
Alumni Relations
Teaching, Learning, & Assessment
Institutional Research & Marketing Analytics (IRMA)

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) assesses the extent to which colleges and universities engage in practices, and support environments, that contribute to student learning. This survey is administered every three years to first year and senior undergraduates, though only responses from seniors are included in this report.

NSSE assesses empirically-supported 'good practices' and behaviors associated with desired outcomes in undergraduate education. Results, thus, identify areas of accomplishment and areas that need improvement as it pertains to the undergraduate experience, with the goal of improving the holistic education experience of undergraduate college students.

NSSE characterizes student engagement as…

1. the time and effort students put into their studies and educationally purposeful activities, and

2. how postsecondary institutions deploy resources, organize curricula, and organize learning opportunities.

It focuses primarily on four themes that correspond with ten engagement indicators:

Themes	Engagement indicators
Academic Challenge	Higher-order Learning, Reflective & Integrative Learning, Learning Strategies, Quantitative Reasoning
Learning with peers	Collaborative Learning, Discussion with Diverse Others
Experiences with faculty	Student-Faculty Interaction, Effective Teaching Practices
Campus environment	Quality of Interactions, Supporting Environment

(For more information, see NSSE's Engagement Indicators)

For more information about DePaul's use of NSSE, please visit IRMA's survey resource page (log-in may be required). For more information on NSSE (its history, use, general), please visit the NSSE Website.