Senior nursing students' self-reported college experiences and gains toward liberal education goals

The purpose of this descriptive study is to assess baccalaureate nursing students' self-reported achievements toward liberal education goals in college and university settings and compare them to norms for the general college population by measuring their perceived involvement in campus life and activities. At the end of the spring semester, senior nursing students from 11 nursing programs in the Midwest filled out the College Student Experience Questionnaire, developed by Pace (1984), which measures the effort students put into liberal education goals. Nursing students reported high involvement in academic activities, but little involvement in other types of experiences in the college; they reported significant progress toward academic goals like intellectual skills, but less progress toward liberal education goals like art, literature, and music. Nursing students were very similar to other college students (except for students in selective liberal arts colleges) in reported involvement in activities and made similar progress toward liberal education goals.