General
What is CCSSE?
The Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) is a research-based tool that helps community and technical colleges understand students’ experiences with learning, engagement, and support. CCSSE focuses on institutional practices and student behaviors associated with student learning, persistence, and success.
Why focus on student engagement?
What students do during college—and how colleges support their learning—can influence whether students achieve their educational goals. CCSSE helps colleges understand how students spend their time, interact with faculty and peers, experience academic challenge, use support services, and balance college with responsibilities outside the classroom
What does CCSSE measure?
CCSSE captures students’ experiences with:
- Academic challenge and expectations
- Active and collaborative learning
- Student effort and study behaviors
- Student-faculty interaction
- Academic advising and planning
- Support for learning and student success
- Relationships with faculty, staff, and other students
- Educational goals and responsibilities outside college
Is there a version of CCSSE for faculty?
Yes. Colleges participating in CCSSE may also administer the Community College Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (CCFSSE).
CCFSSE asks faculty about their teaching practices, how they spend their professional time, and their perceptions of students’ educational experiences. Comparing CCSSE and CCFSSE results can help colleges identify areas of alignment and difference between student and faculty perspectives.
Getting Started
How much does CCSSE cost?
CCCSE bases CCSSE participation fees on fall headcount enrollment for students age 18 and older, as reported through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). A base fee chart is available for review, and additional information is provided in the CCCSE Pricing Guide.
Colleges may also be eligible for discounts through joint survey participation or statewide systems. Contact CCCSE for detailed pricing information.
Who should I contact with questions?
For questions about CCSSE administration, reporting, or participation, contact surveyops@cccse.org.
Administration
How is CCSSE administered?
Colleges may administer CCSSE using one of the following approaches:
- A paper survey administered in randomly selected credit courses
- An online survey completed in randomly selected in-person courses using students’ personal devices or devices provided by the college
- An online survey distributed more broadly to eligible students
CCCSE works with participating colleges to determine the approach that best supports participation and data quality.
When is CCSSE administered?
CCSSE is administered during the spring academic term, typically from February through April.
How long does the survey take to complete?
The online survey takes most students approximately 20 minutes to complete. Colleges using the paper survey should allow up to 45 minutes for administration.
Special-Focus Items & Customization
What are CCSSE special-focus items?
Each CCSSE administration includes a set of items exploring a topic of current importance to community colleges. Results from these annual special-focus items are included in the college’s reporting.
Can colleges add custom survey items?
Yes. For an additional fee, participating colleges may add up to 15 custom survey items.
Colleges may select items from CCCSE’s Additional Items Catalog, develop their own items, or use a combination of both. Many colleges find that five to 10 focused items meet their needs while limiting the additional time required to complete the survey.
Colleges participating in a consortium may need to coordinate custom items with CCCSE staff and the consortium leader.
What is a CCSSE consortium?
A consortium is a group of three or more colleges with shared interests, characteristics, or locations that participate in CCSSE for the purpose of sharing and comparing results.
Consortium participation allows colleges to:
- Administer a common set of custom survey items
- Receive consortium-level comparisons in their reporting
- Examine shared priorities across participating institutions
Participation in a CCSSE consortium does not carry an additional consortium fee, although fees may apply for custom items.
Results
When do colleges receive CCSSE results?
Colleges receive results by July 31 following the spring administration.
How are results accessed?
All results are delivered through flexible data dashboards and downloadable data files for institutional use.
What results do participating colleges receive?
Results include:
- College-level results
- CCSSE benchmark results
- National and like-sized college comparisons
- Options for examining results by student characteristics
- Results from annual special-focus items
- Results from custom survey items, when applicable
- CCFSSE results for participating colleges
- A downloadable student respondent data file and codebook
Colleges participating as part of a consortium will also receive consortium comparisons.
What are the CCSSE benchmarks?
CCSSE benchmarks combine groups of related survey items into broad measures of student engagement. The benchmarks are:
- Active and Collaborative Learning
- Student Effort
- Academic Challenge
- Student-Faculty Interaction
- Support for Learners
Benchmarks allow colleges to examine patterns in their results and compare their performance with that of other participating colleges.
Who has access to a college’s CCSSE results?
Access is provided to the college president and designated institutional contact. Colleges determine how results are shared internally.
Data & Privacy
Are student identifiers included in CCSSE reporting?
Student identifiers are not displayed in the CCSSE dashboard or institutional results. CCCSE protects student privacy and provides institutional results through secure reporting and data-delivery processes.
Can colleges disaggregate results by student characteristics?
Yes. The CCSSE dashboard will allow colleges to examine differences across available student characteristics. Disaggregated results can help colleges identify variations in students’ experiences and determine where additional attention may be needed.
How are oversample results delivered?
Oversample records are included in the college’s downloadable data file. Colleges seeking additional analysis of oversample results may contact CCCSE; additional fees may apply.
