George’s post raises the question of what kind of transformation takes place in students during their college years. One set of measures can be found at Indiana University’s National Survey of Student Engagement Not only does the survey ask dozens of questions about academic and leisure habits and experiences, but it polls first-year students and seniors, so we can compare, roughly, how things change after several semesters of study.

Some of the measure are positive. For instance, when asked whether they “Discussed ideas from your readings or classes with faculty members outside of class,” 43% of first-years said “Never,” while the number improved to 28% of seniors.

But others are less promising. Asked about “Number of books read on your own (not assigned) for personal enjoyment or academic enrichment,” 25 percent of first-years said “None,” and 55 % claimed only 1-4 books. Seniors scored better, but not by as much as one would like: 20% at “None” and 54% at 1-4. That means that, during the senior year, three-quarters of students found little or no pleasure or enlightenment in a book. So much for the inspiration they draw from their coursework.

For arts participation, the numbers are worse. Asked about whether they “Attended an art exhibit, gallery, play, dance, or other theater performance, 27% of first-years replied, “Never.” For seniors, the figure jumped to 31%.

Study habits remained largely unchanged. Asked how many hours per week they prepared for class, including just about any course-related activity, 45% of first-years came in at 10 hours per week or less. Senior were almost the same–44%. Seniors don’t work any harder than freshmen, with nearly have of them averaging less than 90 minutes per day on academics.

Did the Commission on the Future of Higher Ed examine data such as NSSE’s in its discussions of accountability?