The data and resulting institutional reports that are produced via CCCSE surveys are owned by each participating college, and said colleges allow CCCSE to analyze and report the data in aggregate form.
In accessing the CCCSE online reporting systems, the user agrees to the following policy positions regarding responsible and appropriate uses of the survey data:
- CCCSE supports uses of survey data for benchmarking effective educational practices and for targeting and monitoring progress in quality improvement. CCCSE does not support the use of student engagement survey results for the purpose of ranking community and technical colleges. Such uses would obscure complex dimensions of institutional performance and student behavior.
- Because of differences in institutional focus, student characteristics, and resources, comparisons of survey results from two single institutions serve little constructive purpose and may in fact be wholly inappropriate. CCCSE reporting tools therefore provide group comparisons, using aggregated data from at least three institutions.
- Appropriate interpretation of survey data should take into account the institutional context (mission, size, urbanicity, program mix, and so on) as well as the characteristics of a particular institution's student population—for example, the proportions of full- vs. part-time students, traditional college-age vs. nontraditional-age students, students who are academically underprepared as they enter the institution, and students with various educational goals.