Big Ten MSL

The Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership (MSL) examines student leadership values at institutional and national levels with specific attention to campus experience factors that influence leadership development in college students. The MSL survey questionnaire was adapted from the Socially Responsible Leadership Scale (SRLS; Tyree, 1998), which used the eight core values of the social change model (HERI, 1996). The instrument consists of over 400 variables, scales representing students’ demographics, collegiate experiences, and key outcome measures.

To learn more about the MSL, visit https://www.leadershipstudy.net

In 2017, 9 of the 14 institutions in the Big Ten established a coalition as part of the data collection for the 2018 MSL. Participating institutions included: University of Illinois, Indiana University, University of Maryland, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, Northwestern University, Purdue University, Rutgers University, and University of Wisconsin*.

Participation in the coalition provided the opportunity for the creation of 10 custom questions. These questions addressed students’ career readiness, activism, classroom group work, and why students do or don’t pursue leadership training. Initial results from the data will provide here in research briefs:

*These universities participated in the Big Ten MSL Coalition, but opted out of data sharing. The research briefs below do not contain data from these institutions.