Certification Toolkits

Introduction and Rationale for Using NSSE and CUTE in the Seal of Excelencia Application

The Excelencia in Education initiative’s mission is to improve Latino student success in higher education. Colleges and universities pursuing the Seal of Excelencia can use NSSE and College + University Teaching Environment (CUTE) data to demonstrate how they are intentionally serving Latino students on their campus.

NSSE results are meaningful indicators of educational quality and can be useful in planning as well as for documenting institutional effectiveness, guiding improvements, and assessing their impact. NSSE data show the levels of engagement of various types of students in effective educational practices during their first and last years of college. Thus, NSSE results are a direct indicator of what students put into their education and an indirect indicator of what they get out of it.

Printable Version

Information on this page in PDF format plus an item-level table mapping NSSE and CUTE items to Excelencia Seal criteria

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Faculty perspectives are also important to student success. CUTE results provide institutions with areas that institutions are doing well or could improve in providing supportive environments for quality teaching. CUTE data can inform initiatives to hire, retain, and support diverse faculty as well as provide resources and assistance for faculty to create inclusive environments that support student success.

NSSE results help answer key questions related to institutional policies and programs associated with high levels of student engagement and learning. Excelencia encourages institutions to focus on self-evaluation and formative reviews that guide improvement efforts. So, rather than fashion self-studies as a stand-alone document for one-time use, these standards have begun to feature more elements of strategic planning and program evaluation that can be useful in identifying areas in which institutions wish to improve.

NSSE and CUTE results are especially valuable for this purpose because they are actionable and can be analyzed by subgroups of respondents. That is, NSSE and CUTE data point to aspects of student, faculty, and institutional performance that institutions can do something related to the curriculum, pedagogy, instructional emphases, and campus climate for Latino students and faculty. In addition, because NSSE allows a school to compare itself to others, the results often point to areas where improvement may be desired.

Specific applications of student engagement and campus climate information could range from minimal use, such as including results in a Seal of Excelencia application, to systematically incorporating results over several years to demonstrate the impact of improvement initiatives on Latino student and faculty behavior and the efficacy of modifications of policies and practices.

NSSE as a Tool for Documenting Student Success Outcomes

Here are several examples of how student engagement information links to Excelencia goals related to documenting Latino student success:

Used systematically over time, NSSE provides data that illustrate (a) that a college or university is using assessment to determine the extent to which it is meeting its educational objectives; (b) whether current institutional goals remain appropriate; and (c) if various areas of teaching and learning need improvement.
Institutions can benchmark their performance against select peer comparison groups, their Carnegie classification category, and NSSE national norms.
Information about student engagement and
institutional effectiveness provides evidence of efforts to meet standards and continuously improve.
NSSE results can yield insights into widely held assumptions about the nature of students and how they use the institution’s resources for learning.
Student engagement results are intuitively accessible and understandable by different groups of stakeholders, on and off campus.

This toolkit provides suggestions for incorporating NSSE into Seal of Excelencia applications.

NSSE, CUTE, and Seal of Excelencia Application Timelines

NSSE and CUTE results can be used in many components of the Seal of Excelencia application and recertification processes. When and how often to collect and integrate student engagement and faculty climate data in the Seal of Excelencia application and recertification processes are decisions facing all colleges and universities wanting to accelerate Latino student success. The answers will vary, depending on several factors. Some schools want to collect student engagement and faculty climate information to establish a baseline. Ideally, this is done three to five years before preparing the Seal of Excelencia application. This way, the institution has enough time to analyze, interpret, and disseminate the results to appropriate audiences, identify areas for improvement, act in these areas, and administer the survey in subsequent years to demonstrate whether student, faculty, and institutional performance are moving in the desired direction. Other institutions will establish different timelines to meet their self-study objectives. The appropriate NSSE and CUTE participation cycle for your school depends on how you intend to use your data.

A substantial number of schools have gathered student engagement and faculty climate information multiple times, suggesting they may be comparing the results over time to estimate areas in which student and faculty performance is changing. It may also indicate that some of these colleges are carefully monitoring trends in student learning and faculty teaching processes over time to make certain that institutional performance remains at the desired level. Because legitimate reasons vary for schools using NSSE and CUTE at different intervals, the best answer to how frequently an institution should obtain student engagement and faculty climate data depends on the needs of a given college or university.

What If Recertification Is Around the Corner?

For most institutions, their Seal of Excelencia recertification happens on a yearly basis to maintain their certification. In this case, NSSE and CUTE can still provide valuable data to schools even for a single year. Keep in mind that schools must register for NSSE by October, for CUTE by December, the surveys are administered during the spring semester, NSSE results are provided to schools in August, and CUTE results are available immediately during data collection.

This timeline offers institutions baseline data to demonstrate educational strengths and weaknesses and results to corroborate institutional evidence. In addition, subsequent NSSE and CUTE administrations can be used to evaluate institutional improvement efforts outlined in the Seal of Excelencia application. The NSSE and CUTE Administration Timeline below provides guidelines for scheduling NSSE and CUTE participation for use of results in re/certification.

NSSE and CUTE Administration Timeline
Time	Action
Year 1: Summer-Fall	Create budget for Seal of Excelencia re/certification processes, including NSSE and CUTE administration fees Register for NSSE before mid- to late-October deadline; register for CUTE before December deadline
Year 1: Fall-Winter	Customize NSSE by choosing modules or joining consortia Prepare NSSE and CUTE administration and promotional materials such as population files, recruitment messages, incentives Coordinate delivery of recruitment messages with campus IT staff Working groups review NSSE and CUTE results from previous administrations for Seal of Excelencia application/recertification processes
Year 2: Winter-Spring	Administer NSSE survey; send reminder messages to nonrespondents
Year 2: Late Spring	Administer CUTE survey; send reminder message to nonrespondents; receive immediate results Customize NSSE reports by choosing comparison groups, major field groups, and other reporting options Survey administrations for NSSE and CUTE close mid-May
Year 2: Summer-Fall	NSSE Institutional Report (August) delivery and data files available from NSSE Institution Interface Major Field Report available for download (October)

Mapping NSSE and CUTE Items to Excelencia Criteria

Specific Excelencia Criteria

Institutions can use NSSE results to demonstrate their strategies for serving and retaining Latino students, identifying areas needing support, and implementing targeted interventions. By analyzing disaggregated engagement data, institutions can tailor their retention efforts to address specific challenges faced by Latino students.

NSSE data can help assess the financial needs of Latino students and the effectiveness of financial support programs, guiding the development of strategies to ensure access to necessary resources. This includes evaluating the amount of time students spend working on- and off-campus for pay, and students’ perception of support for managing their non-academic responsibilities (work, family, etc.)

CUTE results can be used to assess and improve the representation of Latino faculty, administration, and staff. Institutions can use these data to develop strategies for recruiting, hiring, and retaining Latino personnel, ensuring that the campus environment reflects the diversity of the student body and supports Latino student success.

NSSE results can evaluate the effectiveness of programs supporting Latino student completion and post-completion success, identifying barriers and developing strategies to help students graduate and transition into their careers. Institutions can use these data to track progress and make informed decisions to enhance completion rates.

NSSE and CUTE data can inform leadership decisions, ensuring that institutional strategies and practices align with the goal of serving Latino students and evaluating the effectiveness of leadership initiatives. This includes using NSSE and CUTE data to support strategic planning and demonstrate a commitment to Latino student success.

Criteria in Effect 2024

Seal of Excelencia Application (2024 edition). Excelencia in Education. This mapping reflects the latest revision of the 2024 Seal of Excelencia Application.

Seven Data Tips for Student Success

1. Student engagement results provided by NSSE are one direct indicator of what students put into their education and an indirect indicator of what they get out of it.

2. NSSE items can be useful in analyzing resources and appraising the effectiveness of the institution in fulfilling its mission, including aspects that reflect special mission (HSI, HBCU, Women’s College, etc.) Measures included in NSSE’s educational gains items ask about the extent to which students’ experiences at the institution have contributed to their knowledge, skills, and personal development in important dimensions for student learning and success. Measurement of these experiences could be used to demonstrate the achievement of the institution’s mission and goals.

3. NSSE and CUTE data are actionable in that they point to aspects of student and performance institutions can address related to the curriculum, pedagogy, instructional emphases, and campus climate. In addition, because NSSE benchmarks allow a school to compare itself to others, the results often point to areas where improvement may be desired.

4. Both the NSSE and CUTE surveys ask a variety of questions (social demographics, student characteristics, faculty employment information, etc.) that can be used to disaggregate data. Not only do such questions allow for institutions to showcase the programs and practices that support Latino students and faculty, but they allow for the examination of engagement and climate within subpopulations of the Latino community.

5. The CUTE survey measures faculty experiences and supports in creating inclusive learning environments that support diverse students. Combined, NSSE and CUTE results can help identify areas of strength as well as aspects of the undergraduate experience that may warrant attention and stimulate discussions on improving teaching, learning, and the quality of students’ educational experience.

6. Share NSSE and CUTE results with appropriate campus community members to help make the most of findings. For example, distribute NSSE results on the experience of Latino students to academic support services and Latino cultural centers. Data regarding the degree to which Latino students report the institution helps them cope with nonacademic responsibilities and succeed academically and their satisfaction with advising can be used to demonstrate adequate provision of services to meet students’ learning and personal development needs.

7. NSSE and CUTE results can help assess the degree to which the institution encourages contact among students from different economic, social, and racial or ethnic backgrounds and the extent to which students report that their experiences at the institution have contributed to their knowledge, skills, and personal development in understanding people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Results also can demonstrate institutional effectiveness in responding to the increasing diversity in society through educational and co-curricular programs.

NSSE and CUTE Demographic Items & NSSE Topical Modules

In addition to the survey items shown in the following table, the NSSE and CUTE surveys contain demographic items that may be of value for examining practices by student and faculty subpopulation and for exploring the influence of institutional conditions and student and faculty characteristics.

Customization options on the NSSE survey include Topical Modules—short sets of questions on topics such as career and workforce preparation, first-year experiences and senior transitions, and inclusiveness and engagement with cultural diversity. Responses to these items may help with the assessment of practices and provide evidence of quality in specific areas of student experience.

Additional Information

NSSE

This document, examples of how institutions have used NSSE data, and research reports related to NSSE data and institutional assessment are available on the NSSE Institute website.

CUTE

This document, information about the CUTE assessment project, and results reports using CUTE data are available on the CUTE website.