Surveys
The Center for Community College Student Engagement administers four surveys that complement one another: SENSE, CCSSE, CCFSSE, and CCIS. All are tools that assess student engagement – how engaged students are with college faculty and staff, with other students, and with their studies – and institutional practice.
Each of the four surveys collects data from a particular perspective, and together they provide a comprehensive understanding of educational practices on community college campuses and how these practices influence students' experiences.
 is administered during weeks four and five of the fall academic term in classes most likely to enroll first-time students. SENSE focuses on students' experiences from the time of their decision to attend their college through the end of the first three weeks of the fall term. The survey collects data on practices that are most likely to strengthen early student engagement. Entering students are those who indicate that it is their first time at the college where the survey is administered. |
 , administered in the spring, surveys credit students and gathers information about their overall college experience.It focuses on educational practices and student behaviors associated with higher levels of learning, persistence, and completion. |
 is administered in conjunction with CCSSE to all faculty teaching credit courses in the academic term during which the college is participating in the student survey. The faculty survey reports on instructors' perceptions about student experiences as well as data about their teaching practices and use of professional time. |
 , the Center's newest instrument, was developed as part of the Center's initiative on identifying and promoting high-impact educational practices in community colleges. CCIS collects information about whether and how colleges implement a variety of promising practices. |
Core Surveys and Special-Focus Modules
SENSE and CCSSE each have a core set of survey items, which is the same from year to year, as well as a mechanism to add additional items that can change from year to year. The core surveys provide a large sample of data that is stable over time while special-focus items and modules examine areas of student experience and institutional performance that are of particular interest to the field. Special-focus items for the 2011 and 2012 surveys address promising practices for promoting student success in community colleges.
Special-Focus Items on Promising Practices
You may download PDF files to view and print the special-focus modules.
- 2012 CCSSE Special-Focus Items - Promising Practices for Community College Student Success (PDF)
- 2012 SENSE Special-Focus Module - Promising Practices for Community College Student Success (PDF)
- 2011 CCSSE Special-Focus Items - Promising Practices for Community College Student Success (PDF)
- 2011 CCFSSE Special-Focus Items - Promising Practices for Community College Student Success (PDF)
- 2011 SENSE Special-Focus Module - Promising Practices for Community College Student Success (PDF)
CCIS Instrument
The Community College Institutional Survey (CCIS), the Center's newest instrument, was developed as part of the Center's national study on identifying and promoting high-impact educational practices in community colleges. CCIS collects information about whether and how colleges implement a variety of promising practices.
If you need additional information about our survey, please go to CCIS Frequently Asked Questions.
You may download the CCIS PDF files to view and print the following versions of the survey.