The extent to which students feel integrated within their campus communities is related to how successful they are in college. The more engaged students feel, the more effort they put into classes and the more likely they are to become involved with their peers and student groups on campus.
Put simply, IHEs that increase engagement improve the odds that students attain their personal and educational goals, including graduating. Conversely, students who report lower levels of engagement are less likely to have positive personal and learning outcomes.
IHEs should support and encourage all faculty and staff to take responsibility for student engagement. Experiences such as first-year seminars, collaborative projects, and intensive writing classes are all instructional practices that research shows increase engagement among students.
Beyond the classroom, students can form relationships through co-curricular activities like Greek life, student clubs, and service-learning opportunities.
California Community College Student Outcomes Abroad Research Project. (nd.) College student engagement and success. The Center for Global Education: Carson, CA. http://globaled.us/cccsoar/college-student-engagement-and-success.asp
Center for the Study of Student Life. (nd.) Involvement in college matters. Ohio State University: Columbus, OH. https://cssl.osu.edu/research-projects/involvement-study
Kuh, G.D. (2008). High-impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. American Association of Colleges and Universities: Washington, DC.
Li, J. et al. (2023). Dynamic interaction between student learning behavior and learning environment: Meta-analysis of student engagement and its limiting factors. Behav Sci. 13(1): 59. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9855184/
McKlenny, C., Marti C. N., & Adkins, C. (nd.) Student engagement and student outcomes: Key findings from CCSSE validation research. Community College Leadership Program at the University of Texas at Austin: Austin, TX. https://www.ccsse.org/aboutsurvey/docs/ccsse%20validation%20summary.pdf
