What is the First Term Survey?

First Term Survey Reports – For the Pack

Below is the most recent data for the First Term Survey. If you would like to review older data, please reach out to DASA Assessment at dasa-assessment@ncsu.edu.

Request Custom First Term Survey Data

What prizes can participants win?

All participants will be entered into a random drawing for Amazon gift cards! All students who complete the survey will be eligible to win 1 of 5 $50 Amazon e-gift cards. Before the prize is distributed, all selected winners must sign to accept and acknowledge receipt of the prize. Assessment staff will contact all winners via email.

What’s the impact of the results?

Your voice matters! First Term Survey aggregate results are reported for first-year and transfer students every semester. Faculty and staff throughout DASA review the survey results and regularly make changes to programs and services as a result of student feedback.

Select examples of program changes are provided below:

• New Student Programs: In response to student feedback, Wolfpack Welcome Weeks programming was extended from one week to two weeks for fall 2025 to ensure students have engagement opportunities beyond their first week on campus while also spreading out events for a less overwhelming experience.
• Military and Veterans Services: Survey results from 2021-2022 indicated that veterans weren’t confident participating in career planning activities. As a result, MVS became more heavily focused on veterans’ transition and career support programming. Specifically, MVS began partnering with organizations such as WholeVet, Veteran Bridge Homes, NC4ME, Work for Warriors, and others to co-host career fairs, lunch and learns, and on-campus visits; they began building ongoing partnerships with over 25 additional employers specifically interested in hiring veterans; and they started prioritizing veteran-inclusive career services and programming as part of our broader transition strategy.
• University Housing: To help new students connect with upper-level students, University Housing launched Village Connections, a new program that assigns mentors to small pods of residents. Mentors use intentional strategies to build relationships, promote engagement, and host monthly mixers. Additionally, University Housing changed the pace of PackChats to promote ongoing connections and introduced a stoplight scale to help measure residents’ feelings about their transition to university life.
• DASA Assessment: Within our own office, we utilize First Term Survey results to inform additional assessments, such as our Student Success Assessment initiative. Multiple data sources help us triangulate results. We also monitor the longitudinal data to look for trends and to flag areas of concern.

How does the survey help DASA support students?

Beyond providing data to units that can be used to inform student services, the survey itself helps connect new members of the Wolfpack with key support resources. The survey measures students’ confidence levels in identifying various campus resources that can help them adjust to life at NC State and links to these campus resources are provided to respondents.

Additionally, survey respondents who report psychological or academic difficulty during their transition to NC State are quickly contacted by the appropriate staff members who offer assistance. This is made possible through the collaborative efforts of a response team including DASA Assessment, the Counseling Center and Prevention Services, advisors in Academic Advising Programs and Services, Scholarships and Financial Aid, University Housing, the LGBTQ Pride Center, the Women’s Center, and Student Ombuds Services.

Before and during the survey, students are informed that survey responses will be kept confidential to the extent possible unless otherwise noted. Students are informed that “Based on your responses to some of the questions in this section only, your answers and contact information may be shared on a limited basis with other NC State offices and a staff member may contact you to offer support. Other than that contact, your responses will remain confidential and will only be released in summary format.”