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National Survey of Student Engagement

Otis College foundation and senior students participate in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE).

The survey is based on decades of student engagement research and generates important data on how students engage with their academic studies and faculty, co-curricular activities, and best educational practices, including high-impact practices. NSSE offers valuable information on comparative educational institutions and it is an important assessment tool that helps us identify areas where we are preforming well and where the undergraduate experience can be improved.

First-year students and seniors were surveyed in Spring 2016. Otis College achieved a 45% participation rate which was almost 11 points higher than other art and design colleges and 20 points higher than all colleges nationally.

Overall, the NSSE results demonstrate that upon graduation, Otis College consistently achieves a very high degree of student engagement compared to peer institutions.

Otis College first-year students most appreciated:

  • Collaborative Learning
  • Student-Faculty Interactions
  • Quality of Interactions within the campus environment


Otis College seniors most appreciated:

  • Collaborative Learning
  • Student-Faculty Interactions
  • Community-based projects
  • Institution emphasis on helping you manage your non-academic responsibilities
  • Institution emphasis on providing support to help students succeed academically
  • Quality of interactions with other students