Leonard Taylor has been named director of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). The appointment begins in July. He will also join the Higher Education and Student Affairs program as an associate professor. 

Taylor’s work focuses on investigating and improving how student success commitments are enacted at higher education institutions. Through research, teaching and consulting, he works to understand and interrogate how administrators, faculty and staff members, and other post-secondary stakeholders use research, data and promising practices to enhance post-secondary outcomes. His work has been funded through the National Science Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Lumina Foundation, College Student Educators International (ACPA), as well as other national and local entities. 

“I am very excited to join the IU community during this next chapter of my journey. IU, specifically the Higher Education Student Affairs (HESA) program and National Survey of Student Engagement, have made an indelible impact on higher education scholarship and practice. I am excited to be part of such a rich academic environment with such wonderful colleagues. As a student success scholar, I am especially excited for the opportunity to lead NSSE and its talented team in supporting the quality and vitality of colleges and universities,” Taylor said.

NSSE, part of the Center for Postsecondary Research at the IU School of Education, is a trusted and widely used instrument for assessing the quality of undergraduate education. providing institutions diagnostic, actionable information that fosters and catalyzes evidence-based improvement efforts. NSSE annually collects information at hundreds of four-year colleges and universities about first-year and senior students' participation in programs and activities that institutions provide for their learning and personal development. The results provide an estimate of how undergraduates spend their time and what they gain from attending college.