Contributing Factors to On-Campus Student Organization Involvement

Well-respected experts of higher education, including those at the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and founding director Dr. Alexander Astin of the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, have demonstrated strong correlations between the amount of time and effort students put into “educationally purposeful activities” outside the classroom (e.g., student organizations) and positive outcomes of student success, such as satisfaction, persistence, and academic achievement (Astin, 1984, 1993, 1999; Berger and Milem,1993; Pascarella and Terenzini, 2005). This study evaluates student involvement in on-campus student organizations. What characteristics are most highly correlated with participation? Based on the results of previous studies, we hypothesized that student engagement in on-campus student organizations is positively correlated with proximity to campus and that the closer a student lives to campus, the more apt they are to be involved with on-campus student organizations. Not only will students living closer to campus be more active with on-campus student organizations, but they are also more likely to be involved with on-campus student organizations directly related to their major. We also hypothesized that female students are more apt to be involved in on-campus student organizations related to their major than males. Original survey results and future research ideas are discussed.

Contributing Factors to On-Campus Student Organization Involvement

Well-respected experts of higher education, including those at the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and founding director Dr. Alexander Astin of the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, have demonstrated strong correlations between the amount of time and effort students put into “educationally purposeful activities” outside the classroom (e.g., student organizations) and positive outcomes of student success, such as satisfaction, persistence, and academic achievement (Astin, 1984, 1993, 1999; Berger and Milem,1993; Pascarella and Terenzini, 2005). This study evaluates student involvement in on-campus student organizations. What characteristics are most highly correlated with participation? Based on the results of previous studies, we hypothesized that student engagement in on-campus student organizations is positively correlated with proximity to campus and that the closer a student lives to campus, the more apt they are to be involved with on-campus student organizations. Not only will students living closer to campus be more active with on-campus student organizations, but they are also more likely to be involved with on-campus student organizations directly related to their major. We also hypothesized that female students are more apt to be involved in on-campus student organizations related to their major than males. Original survey results and future research ideas are discussed.

POE: Understanding Innovative Learning Places and Their Impact on Student Academic Engagement—Index 6–8 ‘Alpha’ Survey Developments

New evidence builds upon the Student Engagement IndexTM and Teacher Engagement IndexTM research (Scott-Webber, Konyndyk, & French, 2019; Scott-Webber, Konyndyk, French, & French, 2018; Scott-Webber, Konyndyk, French, Lembke, & Kinney, 2017) determining post-occupancy answers to, “Can we demonstrate that the design of the built environment for grades 6–8 impacts student academic engagement levels post-occupancy?” The early studies used respondents from grades 9–12. This one is from users in grades 6–8 (‘alpha’ pilot). All studies were conducted in the USA as convenience samples. Engagement performance is a high predictor of student success across multiple domains and learning/work experiences. Specifically, “Research that shows that engagement, the time and energy students devote to educationally purposeful activities, is the best single predictor of their learning and personal development” (Anonymous, NSSE, 2010, p. 2), and thus our research focus. From both the students and educators perspectives, design of the built space impacts engagement performance (p < .0001).

The Level of Student Engagement and Search for its Predictors: An Exploratory Study of MBA Students

The main objectives of the study on which this paper is based are to explore the status and the predictors of student engagement, a topic not so far studied in India. The term student engagement stands for cognitive, affective and behavioural involvement of students in educationally purposeful activities. Studies conducted outside India have shown that level of student engagement is a useful “proxy” for determining the effectiveness of learning. The sample for the study was drawn from a management institute located in the National Capital Region (NCR) and consisted of 171 second-year students of the two-year MBA programme. The results of the study show that the students are most engaged in terms of active participation in the learning process, only moderately engaged in terms of dedication and vigour, and least engaged in terms of commitment to the institution where they are pursuing their studies. Search for the “drivers” of engagement revealed that both situational factors and personality traits are the critical predictors of student engagement. Neither demographic factors nor family background was found to influence student engagement.