For immediate release: March 15, 2010

BLOOMSBURG — Each member of Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania’s first-year and senior classes – a total of 3,968 students – is invited to share opinions about his or her experiences at BU by completing the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE).

According to Sheila Dove Jones, interim director of BU’s planning and assessment office, answers to the 28-question, online survey will reveal students’ views on the quality of their education and their level of involvement in activities outside of the classroom. Results will be used to improve the undergraduate experience and as a baseline measurement for BU’s new general education requirements.

Jones said several e-mail messages containing a link to the survey are being sent to BU’s freshmen and seniors in March and April. Students who complete the survey will be eligible for one of six $50 University Store gift certificates. She encourages students to respond by Monday, April 12.

“All student responses are valuable for helping us compare the experiences they report with those of students at hundreds of other colleges and universities,” she said. “The results will also indicate important trends in undergraduate education. More voices will make the results more valid.”

The NSSE survey is conducted every two years at BU, Jones said. More than 1.3 million students at about 600 institutions in the U.S. and Canada have been invited to participate in the survey this spring.

For more information, contact Jones at (570) 389-4027 or by e-mail.

Bloomsburg University is one of 14 universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. The university serves approximately 9,000 students, offering comprehensive programs of study in the colleges of Education, Business, Liberal Arts and Science and Technology.