A large majority of University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point students reported enjoying positive interactions with faculty members, according to recently released survey findings.
The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) found that 81 percent of first-year students and 86 percent of seniors at UW-Stevens Point positively rated their relationships with faculty. That compares to 77 percent of first-year students and 83 percent of seniors at peer institutions.
Ninety-two percent of UW-Stevens Point seniors discussed career plans with a faculty member or adviser, which is almost 10 percentage points higher than the national results for seniors reported by NSSE. Ninety-six percent of UW-Stevens Point seniors perceived substantial gains in work-related knowledge and skills, compared to 75 percent for seniors nationally in the NSSE survey.
While UW-Stevens Point students ranked their experiences positively, a majority also cited the cost of a college education as an obstacle. Sixty-six percent of the UW-Stevens Point freshmen said the expense of college tuition and fees was their greatest obstacle. This concern over financing a college education is consistent with what is happening on the national scene, where one in five entering students expected paying for college to be “very difficult.”
Other findings in the survey include:
* 58 percent of UW-Stevens Point seniors have participated or plan to participate in an internship, practicum, field experience or clinical assignment, as opposed to only half of all college seniors in the NSSE survey.
* 23 percent UW-Stevens Point seniors had studied abroad, compared to 12 percent of students at peer institutions and 15 percent of the national sample.
* 22 percent of UW-Stevens Point seniors had worked on a research project with a faculty member outside of course of program requirements, compared to 17 percent of students at peer institutions.
* 90 percent of UW-Stevens Point seniors rate their educational experience as good or excellent, compared to 87 percent of students at peer institutions or 80 percent of seniors in the national study.
The NSSE survey collected responses from 416,000 first-year students and seniors attending 673 U.S. colleges and universities.
