Assessment at WMU
Picture of a diverse group of students smiling at the camera, including the words "NSSE Amplifies our students' voices"

NSSE

National Survey of Student Engagement

Thank you to all of the students who participated in the NSSE for Western! We're truly grateful to everyone who took the time to provide us with your thoughtful feedback, and for sharing with us about your educational experiences both in and outside of the classroom as you participate in the WMU community. By sharing your voice, you are helping to make positive change at Western for all students now and in the years to come. 

To view the reports from our most recent survey administration in spring 2025, if you are interested in learning more about the survey, and/or if you have any questions, contact Karen Stokes Chapo.

Office of Institutional Effectiveness
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5253 USA
(269) 387-0399

What is the NSSE?

WMU participates in the NSSE about every three years to learn about first-year and senior students' participation in programs and activities that provide for their learning and personal development. The results provide an estimate of how undergraduates spend their time and what they gain from attending college. We can then compare our results to the hundreds of four-year colleges and universities who also participate in the survey. By doing this comparison, we can then identify aspects of the undergraduate experience inside and outside the classroom that can be improved through changes in policies and practices more consistent with good practices in undergraduate education.

This information can also be used by prospective college students, their parents, college counselors, academic advisors, institutional research officers, and researchers to learn more about how students spend their time at WMU as well as at other colleges and universities and what they gain from their experiences.

Select highlights from the WMU 2025 NSSE

To learn more about the NSSE go to About NSSE, NSSE: Evidence-Based Improvement in Higher Education: Indiana University.

WMU participated in the NSSE in 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2022 and 2025. If you are interested in reviewing the results, and/or if you have questions, please contact us and we'll be happy to assist you.