Alan Donnelly & Dr Helen Kay

1. UK Engagement Survey (UKES): Findings
of Sheffield Hallam’s 2014 Pilot Survey
Dr Helen Kay
Alan Donnelly
SHU Learning and Teaching Conference 2015
Sheffield Hallam University
25th June 2015

2. Engagement Surveys at SHU
2011 - Piloted a SHU engagement survey
• 18,184 students, 24% response rate
2013 - Faculty of Development and Society Engagement Survey
• Level 4
• 819 students, 40% response rate
2014 - Participated in the 2nd year Pilot of UKES
• Level 5 students
• 5,967 students, 24% response rate
• NSS questions added
2015 - UKES
• Level 4 & 5
• Data collection is ongoing
• NSS questions added

3. "The NSSE is specifically designed to assess the extent to
which college students are engaged in empirically vetted
good practices in undergraduate education... the greater
students' engagement in or exposure to these educationally
effective practices in college, the greater their development -
or so the logic goes."
(Pascarella, Seifert & Blaich, 2010)
National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)

4. Rationale
• To acquire feedback on how students are engaging with their
learning and challenged by their studies.
• To benchmark the University's levels of student engagement
against other higher-education institutions.
• To link UKES data to other institutional records to explore the
link between engagement and other relationships, for example,
academic achievement and student satisfaction.

5. 0%
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Percentageofrespondents
Chart Title
SHU Sector (without SHU data)
UKES 2014 Survey Results: Level 5 Students

6. Engagement andAcademicAchievement
Item Scale
Correlation
coefficient
Come to taught sessions prepared (e.g. completed
assignments, readings, report, etc.)
Course challenge .26*
Asked questions or contributed to course
discussions in other ways Academic integration
.22*
Explained course material to one or more students Collaborative learning .21*
During the current academic year, to what extent has
your course challenged you to do your best work? Course challenge
.19*
Worked with other students on course projects or
assignments Collaborative learning
.17*
Combined ideas from different modules when
completing assignments
Reflective and integrative
learning
.16*
Applying facts, theories, or methods to practical
problems or new situations Higher-order learning
.16*
Thinking critically and analytically Skills development 15*
Correlations between UKES items and academic achievement
*Items which were significantly related to academic achievement (p < .05)

7. Reflecting on theAnalysis
• The findings indicate that Level 5 students at Sheffield Hallam
are more positively engaged with their learning when compared
with their peers in the sector.
• The extent to which students feel they have been challenged by
their course, were prepared for their class and interacted with
their peers are indicators of academic achievement.
• Pascarella and Terenzini (2005) reported that students' level of
academic challenge and extent of collaborative learning are
closely related to educational gains. These aspects are also
outlined in Chickering and Gamson's (1987) 'Seven principles of
good practice in undergraduate education'.

8. Analysing Data from Different Sources
Item Scale
Correlation
coefficient
During the current academic year, to what extent has
your course challenged you to do your best work?
Course challenge
.46*
Solving complex real-world problems Skills development .41*
Exploring the knowledge base of your discipline
actively, critically and creatively
Engagement with
research
.41*
Being an informed and active citizen Skills development .39*
Speaking clearly and effectively Skills development .38*
Learning how knowledge is created in your subject
Engagement with
research
.38*
Writing clearly and effectively Skills development .37*
Thinking critically and analytically Skills development .37*
Being innovative and creative Skills development .37*
Correlations between UKES items and overall satisfaction
*Items which were significantly related to overall satisfaction (p < .05)

9. Future Considerations
• To examine whether there are notable differences in attainment
and engagement between specific groups of students.
• To monitor changes in student engagement from first year to the
second year and beyond.

10. References
Boone, H. N., & Boone, D. A. (2012). Analyzing likert data. Journal of
Extension, 50(2), 1-5.
Chickering, A .W. & Gamson, Z. F. (1987). Seven Principles for Good
Practice in Undergraduate Education. Racine, WI : The Johnson
Foundation Inc.
Pascarella, E .T. & Terenzini, P. (2005). How college affects students: a
third decade of research, Volume 2. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Pascarella, E. T., Seifert, T. A., & Blaich, C. (2010). How effective are the
NSSE benchmarks in predicting important educational outcomes?. Change:
The Magazine of Higher Learning, 42(1), 16-22.

11. Questions and Discussion