(11/11/08)
First-year and senior students at Millsaps College are highly engaged in their education, academically challenged and enjoy strong student-faculty interactions, according to the 2008 National Survey of Student Engagement.
The recently released survey results showed Millsaps students care about their education and felt faculty members set high expectations for student performance, said Dr. Richard A. Smith, senior vice president and dean of the college.
“Students learn more when they are intensely involved in their education and asked to think about what they are learning in different settings,” Smith said. “The NSSE survey is further proof that Millsaps is an elite, rigorous institution in a caring, nurturing environment.”
The national survey provides feedback on the challenge of academics, active and collaborative learning, student-faculty interaction, enriching educational experiences and supportive campus environment.
Responses from 260 randomly selected Millsaps students show 99 percent of freshman and 98 percent of seniors report that their overall education experiences were good or excellent, 95 percent of first-year students feel that the college places a substantial emphasis on academics and by their senior year 68 percent of students have participated in some form of internship, field experience or clinical assignment.
The 2008 NSSE report is based on information from nearly 380,000 randomly selected first-year and senior students at 722 four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. The report, Promoting Engagement for All Students: The Imperative to Look Within, provides an overview of survey findings and points to accomplishments as well as areas where improvement is needed.