What Berea Graduates say about the College

Berea College alumni are asked to complete the ACT national comprehensive questionnaire two years after graduation.  Included here is a summary of the latest administration.  The alumni response rate for this latest administration was 31%.

Berea Students:  Engagement Survey Results
Included here is a summary for the latest administration of the NSSE to Berea College first-year and senior students.  Also, you will see comparative graphs illustrating selected 2003 and 2007 survey results.

Berea College Freshmen Experience Some Big Changes in their First Year of College

The 2004 New Freshmen at Berea participated in two national surveys.  The first is given when students enter in the Fall and a follow-up is given to those same students in the spring of their first year.  Both surveys were created by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) and are designed to monitor trends in students' backgrounds, beliefs, experiences and activities related to their social, political and academic lives.

National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), Spring 2003

Berea students participated in NSSE along with the other Work Colleges as part of a collaborative study (funded by the Lumina Foundation) aimed at understanding the relationship between work and learning at a Work College. The reports contained here include a short summary of the results (study brief), detailed charts of the study data (item by item) comparing Berea's results to similar institutional norms, the national report from NSSE, selected Powerpoint presentation slides, and a copy of the survey instrument itself.

Student Satisfaction Survey, Spring 2003

Included here are the results of a project initiated in 1998 and repeated in 2003 regarding student satisfaction. A national instrument, the Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory was used along with a Berea-specific survey to assess a wide array of areas on campus. Between survey administrations, the Committee on Student Experience (COSE), comprised of faculty, administrators and other staff representing academics, student life and various programmatic areas, was created. Its charge was to review the results and write recommendations for improvement. When the survey was re-administered in 2003, satisfaction had improved in almost all areas.

African-American Student Study, Spring 2003

The African American student enrollment at Berea College has risen to 17%. Graduation rates for African American students and other domestic students is nearly identical. A special study was conducted in Spring 2003 to address what attracts African Americans to Berea and helps retain them on a predominantly "white" campus. This site contains a brief summary of the study, the methods and instruments used, and detailed results.