Faculty and Staff Resources

Support student success with CliftonStrengths
CliftonStrengths Timeline
Students are strongly encouraged to complete the assessment by the first day of class to take advantage of various opportunities during the academic year.
In partnering with CliftonStrengths for Students, NC State strives to help each student engage their talents in a new way. CliftonStrengths is an online assessment tool used to discover and develop your greatest talents. Operated by Gallup, the well-known global analytics and advice firm, this 177-question assessment measures your natural patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving and categorizes them into the 34 CliftonStrengths themes.
By integrating CliftonStrengths into your work with students, you can contribute to their success by:
- Creating a common language across campus that contributes to a sense of community
- Increasing students’ self-awareness and their understanding and appreciation of others
- Developing students to their full potential in areas including academics, career, leadership, and relationships
- Increasing students’ overall confidence, engagement, and sense of responsibility in pursuing their academic and career goals
- Improving student retention, graduation, and satisfaction
Discover your Strengths
Taking CliftonStrengths
Please review the information below before taking the CliftonStrengths for Students assessment with the link at the end of this section.
If you’ve already taken the assessment and want to transfer your results to NC State, visit the NC State Strengths portal. Log in with your Unity ID and password (what you would use to login to MyPack Portal), and select your language. Choose “Copy your results from a time you took CliftonStrengths under a different Access code or username/password combination.” You will be asked to enter that username & password OR the code you used. Without either of those, Gallup will not be able to retrieve your past results.
Instructions for taking CliftonStrengths
If you have never taken the CliftonStrengths for Students assessment, please review the instructions below. You will use the red link located under the instructions to access the NC State Strengths portal.
- You can access the CliftonStrengths assessment using the red link below. You will be prompted to log in with your NCSU credentials, and then you will answer a few questions to set up your account. You will then have access to complete the assessment.
- The assessment takes 30 to 40 minutes to complete, and must be taken in one sitting, so make sure to give yourself plenty of time to complete it!
- If you are an NC State faculty or staff member and would like to take the assessment yourself or as part of a small team, please use the link below to access the assessment.
- If you are an NC State faculty or staff member and would like to inquire about taking the CliftonStrengths assessment as group of 20 or more, please contact New Student Programs at new-students@ncsu.edu or call 919.515.1234 for assistance.
Take the CliftonStrengths assessment
Learn about Strengths
Learning more about CliftonStrengths is easy through the NC State Strengths portal. While not exhaustive, the resources linked below can help you learn more about CliftonStrengths and how to utilize CliftonStrengths in your work with students.
View Your CliftonStrengths Results and Gallup Resources
- Viewing your CliftonStrengths results
- Visit the NC State Strengths portal at https://ncsu.my.gallup.com/
- Log in with your Unity ID and password (what you would use to login to MyPack Portal)
- Scroll down on the main page to view “Your CliftonStrengths” (your top 5 strengths)
- You may also access additional information and resources by clicking on the “Menu” (located in top left corner of page)
- Utilizing additional resources from Gallup
- After logging in using the information above, click “Menu” (located in top left corner of page) and select “CliftonStrengths”
- You can toggle between the “Summary” and “Reports” at the top of the page to see additional items, such as:
- CliftonStrengths for Students Report: You can use this report to learn about your results and better understand what you naturally do best as a student. Then, go implement the action items into your role responsibilities — starting today.
- Signature Theme Report: This provides full descriptions of your Top 5 CliftonStrengths themes.
- The “Resources” link will have even more detailed information about how to integrate CliftonStrengths into your day-to-day life as well as provide more for those who want to continue to dig deeper.
Access Additional CliftonStrengths Resources
Resources below will be updated as new resources are identified. However, items linked below may be helpful to continue learning about CliftonStrengths overall, your strengths specifically, and how you may use CliftonStrengths with students. The following resources may have links that take you to websites external to NC State.
From Potential to Performance: Leading with Strengths
Offered by Learning and Organizational Development (University Human Resources), this course delves into the powers of Strength Based Leadership and begins with an exploration of your individual Top 5 Strengths. Then, you’ll discuss the 4 Basic Needs of Followers and how to leverage your strengths to fulfill these needs within your team. Finally, we’ll identify key indicators of a high-performing team and delve into the 5C’s of Strength Based Teams. More information and registration information can be found via Reporter.
Media and Articles
- Video: Discovering and Using Our Strengths (Part 1)
- Video: Discovering and Using Our Strengths (Part 2)
- Video: CliftonStrengths YouTube Channel
- Article: The Principles of Strengths-Based Education
- Article: Steps For A Successful Clifton Strengths For Students Initiative
- Article: Building a Strengths-Based Campus to Support Student Retention
- Article: Using a Strengths-Based Approach to Retain College Students
NC Clifton Strengths for Higher Education Professionals Network
This LinkedIn group is a space for higher education professionals who are using Gallup Clifton Strengths as part of their role. This group is intended to share resources, collaborate, network, and support one another. It is open to all professionals working at any North Carolina university or community college, public or private. This group is managed by the Shelton Leadership Center at NC State University. To learn more about the Shelton Leadership Center, please visit: https://sheltonleadership.ncsu.edu/.
Strengthening the Pack Certificate
This 2-day learning series will help advisors more fully understand CliftonStrengths and the resources and tools to provide individualized support and guidance to students. Using the CliftonStrengths results of both the advisor and student can help identify opportunities for learning beyond the classroom, on-campus involvement, and campus resources that will help achieve academic goals and prepare for success after graduation. This page will be updated when new instances are being offered.
Still Have Questions?
If you have questions related to the CliftonStrengths for Students assessment, please contact New Student Programs at new-students@ncsu.edu or 919.515.1234 for assistance.