Knox Students Give College High Marks for Classes, Campus Experiences

Knox College students give the college high marks for educational experiences -- both in class and outside of class -- according to the 2010 National Survey of Student Engagement.

The survey found that Knox seniors are twice as likely as the average college student to complete significant work in a foreign language, more likely to study abroad, more likely to interact with students from different backgrounds, and more than twice as likely as the average college student to have done an independent study class or an independent academic major. All are activities that the survey describes as "enriching educational experiences."

The 2010 NSSE survey, known as "Nessie," gathered questionnaires from more than 362,000 students at 564 colleges and universities. Students responded to survey questions in five areas -- academic challenge, active and collaborative learning, student-faculty interaction, enriching educational experiences, and supportive campus environment. The five areas are considered benchmarks of educational quality.

This year's survey finds Knox students rating their academic and extracurricular experiences at or above national norms in several aspects that are considered benchmarks of educational quality, including:

• 93% of Knox seniors completed foreign language work, compared to 58% at other liberal arts colleges and 40% at all colleges.
• 79% of Knox seniors reported that the college had encouraged "serious conversations with students of another race or ethnicity," compared to an average of 52% for all other colleges.
• 53% of Knox seniors did independent study or an independent major, compared to 26% at other liberal arts colleges and just 17% at all colleges.
• 46% of Knox seniors had studied abroad, compared to 29% at other liberal arts colleges and 14% at all colleges.

Knox students rated the college higher than national average in all five categories covered in the NSSE survey -- academic challenge, active and collaborative learning, student-faculty interaction, enriching educational experiences, and supportive campus environment.

"The NSSE survey is particularly valuable because it looks beyond numbers and scores, and focuses on students' educational and other enrichment experiences on campus," said Lawrence B. Breitborde, vice president for academic affairs and dean of Knox College. "Each college survey and ranking is different, and the NSSE survey is one more reason we strongly encourage students and families to look at multiple sources of information, including their own personal experiences on campus in the college search process."

Founded in 1837, Knox is a national liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, with students from 45 states and 48 countries. Knox's "Old Main" is a National Historic Landmark and the only building remaining from the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates.