Survey shows Gallaudet prepares students for success in barrier-free and supportive environment

Gallaudet University received its highest scores to date in five key areas based on a survey of senior-level students for the 2012 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). Those key areas include the Level of Academic Challenge, Active and Collaborative Learning, Student-Faculty Interaction, Enriching Educational Experiences, and Supportive Campus Environment. In the categories of Active and Collaborative Learning, Student-Faculty Interaction, and Enriching Educational Experiences, Gallaudet seniors ranked the university significantly higher than did students at peer universities.

Particularly noteworthy were senior responses showing their involvement in activities which enrich their education. For example, 89 percent of seniors reported participating in co-curricular activities while at Gallaudet.

In terms of faculty-student interactions, 96 percent of seniors discussed their career plans with faculty members and 73 percent of first year students spent time with faculty members on activities other than coursework compared to 93 percent and 72 percent, respectively, in the NSSE 2010 report.

“Faculty-student interaction in a bilingual, barrier-free environment is part of the Gallaudet Advantage, an experience students will get at no other place in the world at any other time in their lives, said President T. Alan Hurwitz. The vast majority of senior-level students surveyed said Gallaudet provided them with substantial support for their academic success and our faculty and staff should be very proud of that.”

NSSE results also show that 85-87 percent of seniors report that Gallaudet prepared them well in a number of key areas: solving complex real-world problems; contributing to the welfare of their community; developing a personal code of values and ethics; helping to better understand themselves; and helping to better understand people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Of those surveyed, 81 percent of first year students and 90 percent of seniors rated their university experience as good or excellent. Additionally, 77 percent of seniors reported they would choose Gallaudet again if they could start their college career over, which increased by 10 percent from the 2010 report.

Furthermore, a recent Gallaudet University internal survey of alumni found that 95 percent of respondents were employed or pursuing graduate studies one year after graduation.

Results from the survey of 546 U.S. colleges and universities, including Gallaudet University, are detailed in the report by NSSE, Promoting Student Learning and Institutional Improvement: Lessons from NSSE at 13 — Annual Results 2012.

Gallaudet University, federally chartered in 1864, is a bilingual, diverse, multicultural institution of higher education that ensures the intellectual and professional advancement of deaf and hard of hearing individuals through American Sign Language and English. Gallaudet maintains a proud tradition of research and scholarly activity and prepares its graduates for career opportunities in a highly competitive, technological, and rapidly changing world.

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