Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE)
This instrument measures students’ perspectives on the learning environment. The data is used on an institutional-level as an indicator of “engagement and learning community” and can be benchmarked against other Australian Universities
About the Survey
The Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE) is a quality enhancement activity designed to measure student engagement in higher education. Student engagement focuses on students and their interactions with university. Learning is influenced by how students participate in educationally purposeful activities, and how universities and staff generate conditions to stimulate involvement.
The AUSSE is based on the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), an instrument widely used in the United States. The AUSSE was piloted at UQ in 2007, and was conducted again in 2008 and 2009. The AUSSE is a cross‐institutional survey that is managed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). It can be used for benchmarking within and across universities.
The Scales and Items
The AUSSE contains 76 items which are summarised into 6 Engagement Scales and 6 Outcome Measures. These scales are accepted as indicators of level of engagement and are based on evidence indicating that a higher level of engagement is more likely to result in student retention and student learning. It has multiple items relating to aspects of student engagement and demographics which are rated according to various scales and includes open-ended responses on perceptions of positive and negative aspects.
For each of the Engagement Scales and Outcome Measures a score from 0 – 100 is calculated and compared to relevant benchmark groups. In all cases except one a higher score indicates a higher level of engagement or a better outcome. The exception is Departure Intention, where a lower score indicates a better outcome.
Click here to download a sample copy of the AUSSE survey (PDF; 350KB).
Administering the AUSSE
The AUSSE is administered to first- and final-year students annually in the second semester, before the mid semester break. Students receive an invitation to participate in a paper-based or an online survey via TEDI.
The AUSSE Reports
The results of the AUSSE are analysed by ACER. The data is circulated in an aggregated form to the institution and is collated across all participating institutions, in a hard copy and electronic report format.
A full institutional report is available through the Evaluations Services Unit in TEDI. Copies of the institutional executive summary and copies of Faculty Summary reports are also available. To access more detailed reports for UQ on the AUSSE please contact us.
