Students can have a strong academic experience at their college or university despite the selectivity ranking of the school, according to a Thursday report by the National Survey of Student Engagement at Indiana University Bloomington.
The report, titled “Bringing the Institution into Focus – Annual Results 2014,” gathered feedback about undergraduate educational experience from college freshmen and seniors to reach conclusions that will better student learning and success, according to a Thursday press release.
“They [schools] are actually interested in learning about the quality of their students’ experiences,” said Jillian Kinzie, associate director of the Indiana University Center of Postsecondary Research. “The idea is that institutions might use these results to learn more about their students’ experiences and improve on areas that do not match what they claim for their students.”
Differences between the different tiers for teaching practices and student-faculty interaction were not very significant, meaning that attending a more selective school does not assure “a superior educational experience,” the report stated.
Chris Daly, a professor of journalism in the College of Communication, said varying individual experiences and the priorities of higher-ranking schools may explain the findings of the NSSE report.
“It sounds paradoxical, but it makes perfect sense to me,” he said. “The reason for that, [at] the most highly rated, selective universities, the primary value is on the professors, scholarship and publishing. Teaching is secondary at best.”
The quality and seriousness of faculty members helps to further students in their academic studies, Daly said.
“BU is choosing better and better students, and professors try to challenge those students intellectually, so the conditions are there, and a lot depends on the individual student and their own education,” he said.
Full-time faculty averaged 9 hours per week preparing for their classes, close to 10 hours per week teaching and an additional 17 hours per week on other instructional activities, such as grading and meeting with students outside of class, the report stated.
Joseph Wippl, a professor of the practice of international relations in the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, said BU has a strong classroom structure that encourages faculty and students to interact with each other.
“The classes tend to be small, so the interaction tends to be very strong,” he said. “I have mentored a couple hundred students since I have been here… [BU] is student-oriented and teaching-oriented… It really emphasizes teaching and emphasizes the accumulation of knowledge and being able to think critically.”
Faculty who devoted more time to teaching improvement had higher expectations for their students’ learning, spent less class time lecturing, interacted more with students and more often used effective teaching practices, the report stated.
Several students said they agree that BU gives students the resources to make the most out of their educations.
Chrissie Chinebuah, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said faculty interaction helps engage students.
“I like it better when classes are interactive,” she said. “It’s not just the professor talking at the students, but discussing with them, asking them questions. Not testing what they know, but rather, getting them to expand their thinking and to be interested in the subject.”
Jesse Caron, a sophomore in CAS, said professors and advisors have the opportunity to impact students in their academic and professional careers, an impact that is not affected by the college’s selectivity ranking.
“The advisor is important because a lot of students come in undecided, and they need some guidance,” he said. “[There are] as many opportunities as there are to find out what you are interested in.”
Laura Nassiff, a sophomore in the School of Hospitality Administration, said a college experience is more about what a student makes of their academic program than what college or university they choose to attend.
“Each person is an individual, and they will experience their college experience in a different way from another person,” she said. “The first year that you’re here makes a big impact on how the rest of your college experience is going to go, so if you decide to be open minded and join a lot of activities and become active within the school’s community, hopefully you will have a positive experience.”