The annual “Nessie” results—issued by the National Survey of Student Engagement—are out. These surveys of students attempt to assess their level of “engagement” in their college experience.

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, which features the findings this morning, the most interesting result was:

Fifty-four percent of freshmen and 61 percent of seniors at 585 four-year institutions in the United States and Canada said they were ‘highly challenged to do their best work.’

That means that 46 percent and 39 percent, respectively, were not highly challenged. The Chronicle’s article discusses whether this is good or bad, with the general conclusion that it’s a poor showing.

Well, I would say that it is a nebulous question that could mean almost anything.

It could mean that the subject matter is difficult, so that students are “challenged” if they try to get an A. It could mean that the professors are “challenging”—inspiring their students to delve into the subject matter whether it interests them or not. Or it could mean simply that the students have an opportunity to “do their best work,” and they take it.

I speak from the perspective of a retiree who is taking two undergraduate courses (for “fun”). Judging by class participation and attentiveness, I suspect that many students are somewhat indifferent — they don’t realize what a wealth of information they are getting (or can get) from each lecture. In contrast, non-traditional students are taking classes because they recognize their value. That’s why Nessie found that 70 percent of non-traditional seniors (age 25 and over) were “highly challenged,” compared to only 55 per cent of traditional seniors.