General
What is DESSE?
The Dual Enrollment Survey of Student Engagement, or DESSE, is an online survey that helps colleges understand how high school students experience college courses taken for both high school and college credit.
Why focus on the dual enrollment student experience?
Enrollment and outcome data can tell colleges who participates in dual enrollment and whether students complete their courses. DESSE provides additional information about how students experience college-level learning, relationships, advising, support, belonging, and preparation for future education and career opportunities.
What does DESSE measure?
DESSE examines students’ experiences with:
- Access to and preparation for dual enrollment
- College-level teaching and learning
- Academic expectations and student effort
- Relationships with instructors and peers
- Advising and academic planning
- Academic and student supports
- Belonging and inclusion
- Barriers to participation and success
- Education and career goals
Getting Started
How much does DESSE cost?
CCCSE bases its DESSE membership fees on enrollment data reported through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). A base fee chart is available for review. Additional pricing details for your college are available through the CCCSE Pricing Guide.
How does a college register?
Registration for DESSE is open from late summer through October 31 prior to the administration.
If you have any questions about registration, please email info@cccse.org.
Who should I contact with questions?
For questions about DESSE participation or administration, contact surveyops@cccse.org.
Administration
Which students are eligible to participate?
DESSE is designed to be shared with all high school students who are concurrently enrolled in credit courses at the college during the spring term administration window.
How is DESSE administered?
DESSE is administered online in a format compatible with both computers and mobile devices. Students will need individual codes, provided to CCCSE by the Survey Coordinator, to access the survey.
When is DESSE administered?
DESSE is intended to be administered in a three to four week window that can start as early as 4 weeks into the spring semester and ending no later than the May deadline.
How long does the survey take to complete?
The survey takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Can a high school participate independently?
No. DESSE is framed around students experiences with a given college, therefore the college must be the entity participating in the survey.
Modules & Customization
What modules are included with DESSE?
Beginning with DESSE 2027, all participating colleges will receive one standard module of CCCSE’s choice and the opportunity to add one custom module. See Options and Rates.
Can colleges customize DESSE?
Yes. Colleges may develop a custom module to explore institution-specific priorities (additional fees apply to custom modules).
Results
When do colleges receive their results?
Colleges receive results by August 15 following the spring administration.
What results do participating colleges receive?
Results include:
- Weighted college-level results
- Cohort comparison data
- Options for disaggregating results and examining relationships among survey items
- Access to a student respondent data file
How are results accessed?
All results are delivered through flexible data dashboards and downloadable data files for institutional use.
Who has access to a college’s DESSE 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 with DESSE data?
Raw data files with student identifiers are available through a secure portal.
Can colleges disaggregate results by student characteristics?
Yes, results allow colleges to examine differences across student groups, supporting analysis and action.
