What is BCSSE?
The Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement collects data about entering college students' high school academic and co-curricular experiences, as well as their expectations for participating in educationally purposeful activities during the first college year. BCSSE administration usually takes place prior to start of fall classes and is designed to be paired with a NSSE administration at the end of the first college year, providing an in-depth understanding of first-year student engagement on your campus.
How Can I Learn More About BCSSE?
On March 3, 2009 there was a free webinar for people who wanted to learn more about BCSSE. This and other webinars are part of a series hosted by the NSSE Institute. In April and September of last year there were two free webinars for people who wanted to learn more about BCSSE. For those who missed these webinars, a recording in its entirety, along with the downloadable PowerPoint presentation, is available at: http://nsse.iub.edu/webinars/archives.cfm.
How is the BCSSE Survey Administered?
BCSSE is available in either paper- or Web-based formats. Institutions may administer BCSSE as part of new student orientation programs in the summer or during the first two weeks of the fall term, depending on academic calendar and assessment needs.
Why Participate in BCSSE?
BCSSE data can aid the design of pre-college orientation programs, student service initiatives, and other programmatic efforts aimed at improving student learning during the first year of college. BCSSE results, especially when linked with NSSE data, can be used to shape initiatives that align the first-year experience of students with recognized effective educational practices.
BCSSE results may be used in many ways, including:
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What Will a Participating Institution Receive?
BCSSE schools will receive:
- An electronic report containing summary data results
- To see a sample report from 2008, click here
- An advising report for each student who submitted a survey,
- Also with the advising report each institution receives Using your BCSSE Student Advising Report
- A copy of the BCSSE data file so institutions can conduct their own specialized analysis as needed,
- Institutions participating in both BCSSE and NSSE in a given academic year will also receive a BCSSE-NSSE Combined Report and a combined BCSSE-NSSE data file with their NSSE Institutional Report in August of the following calendar year, and
- A codebook that describes the information in the data file.
What Does It Cost?
There are three methods for administering BCSSE surveys: paper, Web, or mixed. Institutions should consider these options carefully and choose the option that will maximize their completion rate. All fees are indicated in US dollars.
Paper Administration
- Early registration fee: $300 (after June 5: $400)
- Fee per survey shipped: $2.50
- Click here to calculate Paper Administration cost
Web Administration
- Early registration fee: $300 (after June 5: $400)
- Click here to calculate Web Administration cost
- Web fees are based on the institution?s estimated first-year enrollment:
| $1.00/student for first 500 students enrolled |
| $0.90/student for next 1,000 students enrolled beyond 500 |
| $0.80/student for next 1,500 students enrolled beyond 1,500 |
| $0.70/student for number of students enrolled beyond 3,000 |
Mixed (Paper and Web)
- Early registration fee: $300 (after June 5: $400)
- Paper fee per survey shipped: $2.50
- Web fees will be as above, based on first-year enrollment minus paper surveys shipped.
- Click here to calculate Mixed-Mode Administration cost
Examples of Participation Costs
| Institution | First-Year Enrollment | Paper Surveys Shipped | Total Costa |
| Institution A (Paper only) |
N/A | 1,200 | $3,300 |
| Institution B (Web only) |
800 | N/A | $1,070 |
| Institution C (Mixed) | 2,000 | 500 | $2,950 |
aAdd $100 for institutions that register after June 5