Alderwyck sits in the Established tier, six points above the national median of 21 and inside the top third of benchmarked administrations. Participation is the strength: 61% of students serve, well above what the score alone suggests. Depth is the constraint. Most of that service is episodic, and lifting the number further depends on converting one-time participation into sustained commitment.
Three findings
1
Wide, not deep. Participation ranks in the top quartile nationally, but only 18% of serving students describe their involvement as sustained. The gap between breadth and depth is the largest single driver of the score.
2
Two areas carry the institution. Youth Development (38) and Hunger (34) account for a disproportionate share of total engagement. Five areas fall below the national mark.
3
Engagement falls after the first year. First-year participation is 52% and climbs to 66% by year three, a pattern that inverts the national curve and points to a first-year onboarding gap.
Three moves
A
Convert breadth to depth. Target the 43% who serve episodically with semester-length commitments in the two areas already strong. A 6-point depth shift moves the institutional score into Integrated.
B
Invest in Elder Care and Economic Opportunity. Both sit more than 8 points under the national figure, and both have community partners already in place.
C
Re-measure in two years. Set a target of 33 and track against this baseline, which is the standard cycle among institutions using the NASCE for strategic planning.
the NASCE, from SPARC
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Page 3: where you stand nationally
Your score in national context
Benchmark 91 institutions
Institutional POP scores across the national dataset run from 3 to 52. Alderwyck's 27 places it above the median of 21 and within the middle band of the Established tier.
Emerging
Evolving
Established
Integrated
Pervasive
National median 21
Alderwyck 27
01121314150+
Comparison is also available against institutions that resemble Alderwyck. The peer set below is drawn from the same enrollment band, control, affiliation, and region.
21All institutions median
25Private institutions
202,000 to 5,000 enrollment
17Northeast region
Benchmark drawn from the 152-administration comparative base across 90 institutions, 2009 to 2026. Peer figures reflect institutions sharing the stated characteristic. Fictional data shown for illustration.
the NASCE, from SPARC
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Page 4: all eight areas on one page (legacy report used eight separate pages)
The eight areas of need
Area POP scores vs national
Each area carries its own POP score. The vertical marker shows the national figure for that area, so strength and shortfall are readable at a glance.
Youth Development38 +9
Hunger & Nutrition34 +6
Civic Participation31 +4
Health & Fitness29 +1
Environmental26 −2
Homelessness & Housing24 −3
Economic Opportunity19 −9
Elder Care16 −10
Alderwyck area POPNational figure for the area
Institutional POP is the average of the eight area scores. Raising a low area lifts the institutional number directly, which is why the two areas at the bottom of this page are the highest-return targets.
the NASCE, from SPARC
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Page 5: new diagnostic: breadth against depth
Breadth against depth
Diagnostic by area
Two areas can share a POP score for opposite reasons: many students serving occasionally, or few students serving deeply. This view separates them, and it is where the strategy usually becomes obvious.
Deep but narrow
Deep and wide
Thin
Wide but shallow
Youth Dev.
Hunger
Civic
Health
Environmental
Homelessness
Economic Opp.
Elder Care
← Fewer students servingMore students serving →
Reading this page: Alderwyck's two strongest areas sit low and to the right, which is the signature of wide but shallow engagement. The institution has succeeded at recruiting students into service and has not yet converted that into sustained commitment. Depth conversion in Youth Development and Hunger is a faster route to a higher score than recruiting new participants into weak areas.
the NASCE, from SPARC
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Page 6: prioritized actions, tied to the data
Where to act
Recommendations ranked by return
Ranked by how much each move would change the institutional score, given Alderwyck's current profile.
Highest
Convert episodic service into semester commitments
Target the students already serving in Youth Development and Hunger. Semester-length placements with a single partner organization raise the depth value for students who are already participating, which is the cheapest available gain.
Modeled effect: a shift of 6 points in depth across these two areas moves the institutional score from 27 to roughly 33, crossing into Integrated.
High
Build capacity in Elder Care and Economic Opportunity
Both sit roughly 10 points below the national figure and both have existing community partners. Because institutional POP is the average of the eight areas, lifting the two lowest has an outsized effect on the total.
Modeled effect: bringing both to the national figure adds close to 2.5 points to the institutional score.
High
Close the first-year onboarding gap
First-year participation trails third-year by 14 points, which inverts the national pattern. Students arrive having served in high school and disengage on arrival. A structured first-year pathway recovers engagement the institution is currently losing.
Affects the largest single cohort and compounds across the following three years.
Ongoing
Re-measure on a two-year cycle
This administration is the baseline. Institutions using the NASCE for strategic planning typically re-measure every two years and report movement against the tier scale.
Suggested target for the next administration: 33, the floor of the Integrated tier.
the NASCE, from SPARC
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Page 7: the companion civic measure
The Engaged Global Citizen
Four dimensions scored twice
The POP score measures what students do. The EGC measures the disposition behind it, across four dimensions, and it scores each one twice: once for what students demonstrate, and once for how much importance they place on it. Alderwyck's overall EGC is 64, against a national figure of 60 and a Northeast figure of 61. The distance between the two bars in each pair is the finding.
Alderwyck students place high importance on diversity and social justice and report considerably less engagement in both, which is the same shape the national figures show. Critical thought is the one dimension where what students value and what they demonstrate sit together. Political involvement is the lowest score on the page in both columns, and it matches the thin Civic Participation depth on page five, so the two findings point at one gap rather than two.
Each dimension is scored as a percentage of its maximum, and the overall EGC is the mean across the dimensions. National figures are drawn from the 2024 combined national report.
the NASCE, from SPARC
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Page 8: who serves
Who serves at Alderwyck
Participation by segment
Every measure can be cut by class year, by service-learning enrollment, and by depth of involvement. These cuts are where a general finding becomes a specific program decision.
Participation by class year
First year
52%
Second year
61%
Third year
66%
Fourth year
64%
Depth of involvement
One-time
44%
Regular
38%
Deeply
18%
Frequency of service
Yearly
31%
Monthly
42%
Weekly+
27%
Service-learning coursework
Enrolled
34%
POP if enrolled
37
POP if not
23
The finding worth carrying forward: students enrolled in service-learning coursework score 37 against 23 for those who are not, a 14-point difference. Curricular integration is the strongest single correlate of engagement depth in this administration.
the NASCE, from SPARC
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A sample report
See your institution's real number.
Alderwyck College is a fictional institution, shown so you can read a full report before commissioning one. Yours arrives with your own data, your own peer set, and a presentation to your team.
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A sample NASCE institution report · fictional institution, illustrative figures
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