7.2a(2) NCON assesses its success in building relationships
with its students and stakeholders, as well as increasing their
engagement, through a variety of methods. The college’s
high levels of student retention and graduation, including
increases in these measures for minority students, indicate
its success in these areas (Figures 7.1-3–7.1-7). In addition,
the annual ACSE measures students’ curricular, extracurricular,
and overall engagement. Results in Figure 7.2-7
show improving overall levels for “highly engaged” student
segments, with the 2008 level for all students (75%) surpassing
the national top 10% level (74%). After survey results for
2004 showed that increasing students’ engagement required
new approaches—particularly for distance students—NCON
implemented improvements. These included a student blog
and faculty training on increasing student engagement in the
learning process (e.g., through optional study sessions and
one-on-one discussions).