George D. Kuh has directed the National Survey of Student Engagement since it began. Over the past eight years, the survey has collected a vast amount of data on how students learn and grow. It has promoted successful practices like learning communities, in which students take courses that focus on a theme, and culminating projects like theses and internships. It has increasingly figured in national discussions of institutional accountability. In January, Mr. Kuh, who also directs the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University at Bloomington, will turn over the reins of "Nessie," as the center's survey is known, to Alexander C. McCormick, a senior scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Mr. Kuh sat down with "The Chronicle" last month. In this interview, Mr. Kuh talks about how colleges and students might best use its mountain of information. [This article was produced by Chronicle of Higher Education, Washington, DC.]