Indirect Assessment

Norfolk State University annually participates in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE).  In addition to the core questions from NSSE as related to student opinions about the extent that NSU has exposed the students to reading and writing skills, the institution will participate in the NSSE topical module on Experiences with Writing.  Comparative data on freshmen and senior students’ opinions about the scope of their experiences with reading and writing at NSU will be tracked annually for the whole term of the CREW QEP. 

Key questions related to CREW from the NSSE instrument (2017) include the following:

During the current school year, about how often have you done the following?

1. Prepared two or more drafts of a paper or assignment before turning it in. 
2. Come to class without completing readings or assignments.

There are four responses to these questions, including Never, Sometimes, Often, and Very often.  It is expected that 75 percent and 5 percent of senior students will respond “Often” or “Very often” to those questions by the end of this QEP administration. 

During the current school year, how much has your coursework emphasized the following?

1. Analyzing an idea, experience, or line of reasoning in depth by examining its parts.
2. Evaluating a point of view, decision, or information source. 

There are four responses to these questions, including Very little, Some, Quite a bit, and Very much.  It is expected that the percentage of senior students responding “Quite a bit” or “Very much” to those questions will be, at least, 88 percent by the end of this QEP.

Table 13.  Baseline Data for 2017, NSSE Instrument 2017, Q.4 c & d

NSSE Instrument 2017, Q.4 c & d	Freshmen 2017	Seniors 2017	Seniors 2024 (Expected)
Analyzing an idea, experience, or line of reasoning in depth by examining its parts (% Quite a bit /Very much)	69	78	88
Evaluating a point of view, decision, or information source (% Quite a bit /Very much)	75	76	88

 

During the current school year, to what extent have your instructors done the following?

1. Provided feedback on a draft or work in progress. 
2. Provided prompt or detailed feedback on tests or completed assignments.

There are four responses to these questions, including Very little, Some, Quite a bit, and Very much.  It is expected that the percentage of faculty perceived by senior students to be providing prompt feedback “Quite a bit” or “Very much” will increase to 75 percent within this QEP administration.

 

During the current school year, about how many papers, reports, or other writing tasks of the following lengths have you been assigned? (Include those not yet completed.)

1. Up to 5 pages. 
2. Between 6 and 10 pages.
3. 11 pages or more.

There are seven level of responses to these questions, including None, 1-2, 3-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20, More than 20 papers.  It is expected that the percentage of senior students who indicated writing 6-10 papers or reports of different lengths (in pages) during the school year will be, at least, 75, 50, and 25 percent, respectively, by the end of this QEP administration.

During the current school year, about how often have you done the following?

1.  Identified key information from reading assignments.

There are four responses to the above question, including Never, Sometimes, Often, and Very often.  It is expected that the percentage of senior students responding “Often” or “Very often” to this question will be, at least, 90 percent by the end of this QEP administration.

About how many hours do you spend in a typical 7-day week doing the following?

1.  Preparing for class (studying, reading, writing, doing homework or lab work, analyzing data, rehearsing, and other academic activities?

There are eight responses to the above question, including: 0, 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20, 21-25, 26-30, More than 30.  It is expected that, at least, 75 percent of senior students will say they prepare for class for 16 hours or more by the end of this QEP administration. 

 

Of the time you spend preparing for class in a typical 7-day week, about how much is on assigned reading?

There are five responses to this question, including Very little, Some, About half, Most, and Almost all.  It is expected that at least 75 percent of senior students will respond that they spend “About half” or more of their time on assigned reading by the time this QEP is concluded in 2024.

How much has your experience at this institution contributed to your knowledge, skills, and personal development in the following areas?

1. Writing clearly and effectively.
2. Thinking critically and analytically

There are four responses to these questions, including Very little, Some, Quite a bit, and Very much.  By the end of this QEP administration, it is expected that, at least, 90 percent of senior students will affirmatively answer “Quite a bit” or “Very much.”

In addition to these core questions from the NSSE survey, NSU will participate each year in NSSE’s topical module on Experiences with Writing, beginning in spring 2019. This indirect assessment will provide longitudinal data over the term of the QEP to evaluate students’ perception of how the QEP has accentuated their performances in close reading and effective writing. Year-to-year results of the survey will be used for making continuous improvement over the life of the QEP.