2009 National Survey of Student Engagement
North Carolina State University
First-Year Students by Discipline
Frequency Distributions (Coursework Items)

Memorizing facts, ideas, or methods from courses/readings for repetition	NCSU1	Arts	Biological Sciences	Business	Education	Engineering	Physical Sciences	Professional	Social Sciences
Very much	29.1%	29.5%	40.5%	28.3%	29.5%	22.7%	26.2%	21.1%	37.1%
Quite a bit	41.1%	31.8%	38.9%	48.7%	38.6%	41.0%	45.2%	36.8%	35.3%
Some	24.4%	31.8%	15.1%	18.6%	29.5%	28.8%	23.8%	21.1%	24.1%
Very little	5.3%	6.8%	5.6%	4.4%	2.3%	7.6%	4.8%	21.1%	3.4%
Total (N)	1,047	44	126	113	44	278	42	19	116

Analyzing basic elements of an idea, experience, or theory	NCSU1	Arts	Biological Sciences	Business	Education	Engineering	Physical Sciences	Professional	Social Sciences
Very much	37.7%	38.6%	37.9%	35.4%	36.4%	40.4%	42.9%	31.6%	41.4%
Quite a bit	47.4%	40.9%	48.4%	50.4%	47.7%	45.1%	52.4%	57.9%	44.8%
Some	14.0%	20.5%	12.1%	14.2%	15.9%	14.1%	4.8%	10.5%	13.8%
Very little	0.9%		1.6%			0.4%
Total (N)	1,042	44	124	113	44	277	42	19	116

Synthesizing and organizing ideas/info/experiences into new, more complex interpretations/relationships	NCSU1	Arts	Biological Sciences	Business	Education	Engineering	Physical Sciences	Professional	Social Sciences
Very much	29.3%	46.5%	32.8%	27.4%	27.3%	27.6%	39.0%	26.3%	33.6%
Quite a bit	44.8%	27.9%	45.6%	42.5%	54.5%	47.3%	43.9%	52.6%	35.3%
Some	23.5%	20.9%	20.0%	28.3%	15.9%	22.9%	17.1%	21.1%	28.4%
Very little	2.5%	4.7%	1.6%	1.8%	2.3%	2.2%			2.6%
Total (N)	1,039	43	125	113	44	275	41	19	116

Making judgments about the value of information, arguments, or methods	NCSU1	Arts	Biological Sciences	Business	Education	Engineering	Physical Sciences	Professional	Social Sciences
Very much	27.2%	36.4%	30.2%	33.6%	31.8%	22.7%	26.8%	11.1%	28.1%
Quite a bit	40.6%	38.6%	39.7%	38.9%	40.9%	42.2%	39.0%	55.6%	36.8%
Some	27.6%	18.2%	26.2%	24.8%	25.0%	31.8%	29.3%	33.3%	28.1%
Very little	4.5%	6.8%	4.0%	2.7%	2.3%	3.2%	4.9%		7.0%
Total (N)	1,041	44	126	113	44	277	41	18	114

Applying theories or concepts to practical problems or in new situations	NCSU1	Arts	Biological Sciences	Business	Education	Engineering	Physical Sciences	Professional	Social Sciences
Very much	43.6%	45.5%	38.1%	38.9%	38.6%	54.0%	54.8%	57.9%	39.7%
Quite a bit	37.4%	36.4%	42.1%	38.1%	29.5%	34.2%	31.0%	26.3%	37.9%
Some	17.1%	13.6%	18.3%	21.2%	31.8%	10.1%	14.3%	15.8%	20.7%
Very little	1.9%	4.5%	1.6%	1.8%		1.8%			1.7%
Total (N)	1,045	44	126	113	44	278	42	19	116

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Endnote:
1. "NCSU" results include a small number of students whose major did not fall into one of the eight fields or who did not indicate a major.

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