Helping Students Make Informed Choices About College
Category: Pathways to and Through Postsecondary
Instrument Overview
Expert Notes AvailableView expert commentary on strengths and cautions for this instrument
Strengths
Updated survey includes basic needs and access to support services.
Cautions
Less applicable for four-year universities or advanced students.
The Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE) is a student survey designed to help community and technical colleges understand students’ experiences during the earliest weeks of college. Developed by the Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCCSE) at The University of Texas at Austin, SENSE is administered to newly enrolled students during the fourth and fifth weeks of the fall term. The survey focuses on students’ experiences from the time they decide to attend college through their first weeks on campus. It measures areas connected to student engagement and early persistence, including early connections, academic planning, college readiness, engaged learning, support networks, and students’ expectations and aspirations.
SENSE was created as a “front-door” diagnostic tool to help colleges improve first-year student success, course completion, and persistence beyond the first term. Colleges use the survey to identify strengths and gaps in onboarding, advising, instruction, and student support services. In 2025, CCCSE released a major update to the survey that expanded its focus to include students’ basic needs security, learning modality preferences, and access to academic and student support resources. SENSE results are reported through benchmark areas that help institutions compare student experiences over time and guide school improvement efforts aimed at supporting entering students.
Organization
Collection Category(ies)
Content
Grades
Post secondary
Languages
English
Administration Information
Length
43 questions
Access and Use
Developer
UT Austin Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCCSE)
Contact
Link to contact info for CCCSE: https://cccse.org/contact-cccse
Open Access
Yes
Use in Research
https://cccse.org/sites/default/files/SENSE_2007_Preliminary_Findings.pdf
Napoles, G. F. (2009). Factors associated with engagement levels among entering and returning Hispanic college students.
Psychometrics (additional guidance)
Psychometric References
Bush, V. B. (2014). DETERMINING THE RELIABILITY AND USE OF THE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT SURVEY OF ENTERING STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AS A TOOL TO PREDICT STUDENT SUCCESS IN A LARGE URBAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT (Doctoral dissertation, University of North Texas).
Populations of Validation
Large urban community college district
