DESSE includes survey items in 15 focus areas.
Focus Areas
Academic Advising and Planning
Academic Challenge
Active and Collaborative Learning
Barriers to Persistence
Career Counseling
Course Taking
Getting Started
Goals
Instructor Expectations
Motivation and Preparedness
Sense of Belonging
Stigma
Student Effort
Student-Faculty Interaction
Support Services
The documents below outline the survey items associated with each focus area for the corresponding DESSE administration.
Focus Areas for 2026 DESSE Survey
Focus Areas for 2025 DESSE Survey (Field Test)
