From academics to community service and social functions, Santa Clara University (SCU) received exceptionally high marks and praise from their own students in the 2010 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), the most comprehensive assessment of effective practice in higher education.
Since 2000, the NSSE has measured student involvement in key practices related to learning, persistence, and graduation. Each of the 603 four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada that participated in the survey received scores from some 400,000 randomly selected first-year and senior students in five benchmark categories.
SCU scored significantly higher than the national average in all five areas:
| Categories |
SCU Freshmen |
National Freshmen |
SCU Seniors |
National Seniors |
| Level of Academic Challenge |
62.2 |
54.1 |
65.2 |
57.5 |
| Active and Collaborative Learning |
48.2 |
43.7 |
58.2 |
51.4 |
| Student Interaction with Faculty |
37.7 |
35.2 |
48.5 |
42.4 |
| Enriching Educational Experiences |
33.9 |
27.9 |
57.6 |
40.5 |
| Supportive Campus Environment |
67.9 |
62.5 |
65.1 |
59.6 |
An overwhelming number of SCU students were satisfied with their overall educational experience, with 90 percent of freshman students reporting a favorable image of the University and 88 percent of seniors saying they would choose SCU again if they could start their college career over. When asked to what degree studying and spending time on academic work were emphasized, 83 percent of first year students cited substantial emphasis. Read more.