National Survey of Student Engagement

Information Security

  • To protect the security of your data, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption is used to encrypt information during transfer.
  • It is important for you to protect against unauthorized access to your registration information. Be sure to close your browser window(s) when you have finished using the interface. Do not share your account credentials.
  • More information on the security of the NSSE computing environment

Enabling Cookies

  • Cookies will be stored on your computer to enable our server to recognize and facilitate communications with your computer.
  • Apart from the School Code, no private or institution (excluding School Code) information will be stored in cookies.

Data Management

  • NSSE project staff will use the data in the aggregate for national and sector reporting purposes and other undergraduate improvement initiatives.
  • NSSE may also make data, in which individual institutions and students cannot be separately identified, available to researchers interested in studying the undergraduate experience.
  • NSSE data can be used for institutional purposes.
  • NSSE results specific to institutions and identified as such will not be made public by NSSE except by mutual agreement between NSSE and each institution.
  • NSSE will never use population file data for any purpose other than the NSSE survey, and will never release contact information to a third party.
  • Confidentiality of student data is a high priority at NSSE. Our use of student data is regulated by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act [FERPA, 34CFR 99.31(a)6(i)], which allows schools to share student data with outside agencies conducting research for the purpose of improving instruction. All student data is handled according to the security and confidentiality policies outlined above, and to provide an additional level of discretion NSSE does not accept student files that include social security numbers. For the full text of FERPA: http://studentprivacy.ed.gov/node/548
  • Consistent with our central research agenda, NSSE keeps population files submitted by schools, the sample files of students selected for the survey, and our respondent database in order to enable longitudinal study of student engagement trends and other analyses that schools may request. Based on past requests for files from schools as well as planned longitudinal data use, files will be kept for the following time frame before being destroyed:
    • Population Files: 5 years
    • Sample Files: 5 years
    • Respondent Database: Permanent, but this does not contain information which would allow any student to be identified once the sample and population files have been destroyed.
  • Consistent with our central research agenda, FSSE keeps files submitted by schools and our respondent database in order to accommodate analyses that schools may request. Based on past requests for files from schools, files will be kept for the following time frame before being destroyed:
    • Population Files: 5 years

Please contact NSSE if you have further questions.