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
Nationally benchmarked survey widely used across community colleges. Strong psychometric foundation and established administration protocols.
Cautions
Cross-institution comparisons may be affected by sampling differences. Survey fatigue can reduce response rates and data quality. Emphasizes engagement processes over learning outcomes.
The Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) is a national survey designed to measure the quality of undergraduate education in community colleges through the lens of student engagement. Rather than relying on inputs like selectivity or resources, CCSSE defines “quality” in terms of the extent to which students are actively engaged in meaningful educational practices that are linked to learning and persistence.
The instrument collects student-reported data on their academic experiences, time use, and interactions with faculty, peers, and institutional services. These data are organized into five benchmarks of effective educational practice: Active and Collaborative Learning, Student Effort, Academic Challenge, Student-Faculty Interaction, and Support for Learners. Together, these benchmarks capture both in-class and out-of-class behaviors and institutional conditions that shape student learning and success.
A core contribution of CCSSE is its emphasis on benchmarking rather than ranking. It allows institutions to compare their performance to peer colleges and to their own goals for improvement, supporting evidence-based institutional decisionmaking and efforts to redesign learning environments to better support student success.
CCSSE is the community college counterpart to the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), using a similar engagement framework adapted for two-year institutions.
Organization
Collection Category(ies)
Content
Grades
Post secondary
Languages
English
Administration Information
Length
47 items
Access and Use
Developer
The University of Texas' College of Education
Contact
surveyops@cccse.org
Open Access
No
Use in Research
McClenney, K., Marti, C. N., & Adkins, C. (2012). Student engagement and student outcomes: Key findings from. Community college survey of student engagement.
Populations of Validation
Respondents in national administrations of this survey reflect the diversity of community college students, including about 27% first-generation students and 60% working 21+ hours per week, with many also balancing caregiving responsibilities. Most are new to their institution (68% started there), and while educational backgrounds vary, most report a high school diploma as their highest credential.
