National report lauds KU for educational practices, University commended for emphasis on undergraduate teaching and learning

In a new report on best college educational practices, researchers lauded KU as an "engaging public research university" and noted that "many other colleges and universities will benefit from learning about KU's policies and practices."

The 2004 Project DEEP, or Documenting Effective Educational Practice, report also commended the University for placing strong emphasis on the quality of its undergraduate teaching and learning.

"Many faculty members impressed us with genuine care and concern they had for students," the report said.

Project DEEP is a follow-up to the 2001 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), which collected information from more than 155,000 first-year and senior students at 470 four-year colleges and universities. Because KU students' scores on that survey were higher than predicted, KU was among only 20 universities selected for a site visit by the Project DEEP researchers.

The 50-page report was prepared by the NSSE Institute for Effective Educational Practice at Indiana University and the American Association for Higher Education, which sent a team of six faculty researchers from across the country to KU for two separate site visits in 2002 and 2003. More than 110 students, faculty, staff and administrators were interviewed.

Project DEEP assessed the University on five benchmarks—academic challenge, active and collaborative learning, student-faculty interaction, enriching educational experiences and supportive campus environment. The report also noted that it found three distinctive KU institutional characteristics: collegial environment, emphasis on undergraduate teaching, and traditions and culture.

In the 2001 NSSE survey, KU's score was greater than those of approximately 96 percent of other schools surveyed for senior "student interactions with faculty members" and greater than those of 90 percent of all schools for "enriching educational experiences." KU's score also was greater than those of 88 percent of all schools for "level of academic challenges."

The full KU DEEP report is available for download at www.ku.edu/~oirp/. For more information on the NSSE, visit its Web site at www.iub.edu/~nsse.

DEEP findings

• "KU has a distinctive 'sense of place' that instills school pride and an excitement about learning."

• "Outstanding library collections, teaching museums and information technology complement and enrich classroom instruction."

• There is a strong commitment to teaching excellence, emphasized in KU's faculty recruitment and through a "large number of teaching awards."

• KU "aims to be an academically challenging, yet not overwhelming learning environment for its students."

• "KU students are especially satisfied with the quality of relations with faculty members, administrators and other students. First-year students reported that they experienced high levels of support to thrive socially at KU."

• KU has a long-standing commitment to undergraduate research.