Introduction to Student

Engagement in Higher
Education
Tom Lowe - Senior Lecturer in Higher Education
Introductions
What is your name?

Where do you work?

What is your role?

Introductions
• Senior Lecturer in Higher Education at the University of
Portsmouth

• Research areas including; student engagement,

embedding employability into the curriculum, student
voice & mapping the student experience

• Former Head of Student Engagement & Employability &

Programme Leader for MA Student Engagement at
UoWinchester

• Chair of RAISE Network for Student Engagement

What feeds into league tables?
• Retention
• Completion
• National Student Survey
• Graduate Employability
• Spend per head
• Student: Staff Ratio
• Research Excellent Framework (REF)
Challenges in HE
The success of an engaged student
SE is described to represent both the time and
energy students invest in educationally purposeful
activities and the effort institutions devote to using
effective educational practices (Kuh, 2001)

Students who are highly engaged in education-

related activities are more likely to progress
through and succeed in HE (Tschibozo, 2008; Tinto,
2006; Astin, 1984)
 Higher Education and Student Engagement
Push Factors Pull Factors
Enhancement
Sense of Belonging
OUTCOMES
Learning
Transforming Lives
Accessibility
Achievement
How do you define Student
Engagement in your context?
1. Alone first

2. Then in partners

3. The in groups
 How do we define Student Engagement?
‘Student engagement’ has many meanings and is interpreted in multiple ways
(Bryson, 2014; Dunne, 2016).

Literally the term could refer to students… participating

Paying attention listening
ASKING Qs
TAKING NOTES
interacting Becoming involved
 How do we define Student Engagement?
In our higher education sector, the term also refers to….
Getting involved
Working with your SU
Student Surveys
Student Voice Retention
SSLCs
Employability Accessing the VLE
student success Belonging
A focus on Student Engagement

Emotional Cognitive Behavioural

(Trowler, 2010)
A focus on Student Engagement

Educational
Emotional Cognitive Behavioural
Developments

(Lowe, 2023)
 Defining Student Engagement
• Student engagement can be either in the curriculum or
in policy (University) development, defining a split
between curriculum-based engagement and decision-
making student engagement (Buckley, 2014).
• Many quality assurance bodies in Europe define student
engagement as involvement in the quality and
development processes (student reps and students on
review panels) (QAA, 2018; ENQA, 2005).
• Student perspective: Asked for their view of what
student engagement means, students defined it as
linked to ‘belonging’, ‘being’ and ‘transformation’ in
their studies, outlining more emotional definitions
(Solomonides & Reid, 2009)

@TomLowe_
Be clear from the start (Lowe & El Hakim,
2020)
• “We could define student engagement in any way we
want” (Finn and Zimmer , 2001: 137) – a strength or
weakness?
• Caution that the buzzword becomes a “fuzzword” (Vuori,
2014: 509).
• “…so many of the ideas produced by engagement
researchers are generic. It is up to teachers and
institutions to interpret and shape such ideas for specific
and unique contexts, subjects and, most importantly,
learners” (Zepke, 2013:1):
• The “lack of conceptual clarity carries a number of risks.
If we are not clear about what student engagement is,
then our ability to improve, increase, support and
encourage it through well-designed interventions will be
severely diminished.” (Buckley, 2014: 2)
History of Student Engagement agenda
Student Engagement conceptualised as a way to better
understand & reduce:
• Student boredom
• Alienation
• Drop out

During a time of high USA HE “drop out”

Referring to student engagement in the classroom, but also

referring to the entire campus experience.

Also a time in Western Higher Education where Universities

and Colleges were asked to emphasise student learning and
outcomes (Kuh, 2005, Finn & Zimmer, 2012)
History of Student Engagement agenda

Before:

• This is how things are

• That’s the way it is

• Higher Education for the minority,

those who have the ability to
attend
History of Student Engagement agenda

Before: Moving towards:

• How can practices develop

• This is how things are
• How can we ensure students
thrive
• That’s the way it is
• Higher Education for the many,
• Higher Education for the minority, not the few (50% of England
those who have the ability to 18-21 year olds in 2019)
attend
Student engagement in the curriculum
Student engagement in the curriculum
Efforts to increase engagement in and outside the
classroom relating to the curriculum:
• Flipped learning
• Real world learning
• Problem based learning
• Emphasis on workshops and activities
• Technology Enhanced Learning
• Assessment and Feedback
• Reflecting on class size
• Professional development and introduction of
HE teaching qualifications

Vast array of literature in this area, AKA

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) - For
initial reading see Lea, 2015.
 “We contend that academic staff
should not only consult students but
also explore ways for students to
become full participants in the design
of teaching approaches, course and
curricula…Student Engagement is
considered crucial to student success
in higher education”

(Bovill, Cook-Sathers, Felton 2014,

133-4)
Policy in the UK

“The provider actively

engages students,
individually and
collectively, in the quality
of their educational
experience.”

(UKSCQA & QAA, 2018)

Student Engagement in developing education
Peer Mentoring
Extra-curricular Student Voice
feedback
partnership
Consultation
Student Satisfaction
StudentChangeAgents
Break time – back in 5 minutes
What barriers may students face to
engagement at your university?
1. Alone first

2. Then in partners

3. The in groups
HEIs and their “Campus Bubbles”
HEIs now enrol diverse student
populations through a variety of
pathways, each with their own set of
characteristics (Lea, 2015)

We are often guilty of operating in a

campus bubble mind-set, based on
traditional HE of full time, campus
based UG students (Lowe, 2019).

The “campus bubble was the best and

worst thing about [his] university”
Higher Education pre COVID-19
Student Engagement during COVID-19
Student Engagement during COVID-19
Student Engagement during COVID-19
Student Engagement during COVID-19
Student experience in crisis
Generation Z students
Definitions differ but for simplicity –
born in year 2000+

1. Digital Generation
2. Tuition Fee Generation
3. COVID-19 Generation
4. Activist Generation
Digital Generation Z
1) Google Generation:
• Instant answers
• Fast consumption of information
2) Netflix Generation:
• Vast sums of content from home
• Watch when suits you, not when the TV
states
3) Technology experts (apps or PCs?)
4) Experienced in distance learning
 Don’t forget our rich engagements
• Rich conversations in the curriculum

• Friends, conversations and socials outside the curriculum

• Residential living, social spaces and group study

• Sports Teams, Societies and Network Groups

• Part time work, city life and internationalisation

Life making experiences leading to friendships, inspirations

and community
COVID-19 Generation Z

• Possibly 18 months of social

distancing
• Far less social further
education experience
• Mental health and isolation
• Mixed home education setting
• Eager to return to normal or
worried about the next steps
Students are not attending
Not one issue;
• The economy – too little funds or too
much PT work?
• Technology – They want it online, or we
can’t record attendance meaningfully
• Mental Health crisis - yes in part
• COVID-19
• Cost of Living Crisis
All not the full picture – an urgent need for
research

(Foster, 2022)
Cost of Living Crisis
• 1 in 4 students regularly go without food
• Financial pressures are affecting students'
studies, with over half (54%) of students
reporting their academic performance has
suffered because of the crisis
• 18% considering dropping out due to financial
reasons

Russell Group Students’ Unions, comprising of a

survey with a sample of 8,800 students across 14
Russell Group universities carried out between
January and February 2023.
Assumptions going forward
• Similar student behaviours for next
academic year
• Cost of living crisis to continue into 2024
• COVID-19 generation of learners will
continue to come through – it is never
going back to how it was
• Mental health crisis
• Digitisation of Generation Z
Looking ahead to the ‘new normal’

The core of the academic experience in

Higher Ed:

• The course
• The campus (physically or online)

@TomLowe_
The Three R's of Engaging Students

• Relationships – Student-staff
understanding & mutual respect
• Rigor – Course design, instruction
& managing expectations
• Relevance – High relevance to
students engaged

(National Academics, 2003)

Mapping what we are doing, why and when
• Improve student support
• Managed student expectation
• Lessen the chaos of the
students’ experience
• Create more opportunities for
belonging
• Sources of collaboration
• Improve student retention
Belonging the answer
At the heart of successful retention and success is a strong sense of belonging in HE
for all students, which is most effectively nurtured through mainstream activities that all
students participate in (Thomas, 2012).

Factors that lead to a ‘sense of belonging’ at Winchester included:

• Processes of becoming a student (enrolment, welcome, graduation)
• Socialising opportunities in and outside the curriculum
• Extra-curricular activities
• Spaces, locations and housing
• Course activities
• Safety and community
• Encouragement to succeed
(Humphrey & Lowe, 2017)
Not all areas of the university lead to belonging, but we all can give students a sense
of mattering (Strayhorn, 2012)
Keeping track without keeping tabs
• The conversation starter
• Changing at pace when needed
• Emphasise the importance of
engagement
• Revisit the purpose of analysis
continuously
• Reflect on what the data
cannot measure
Considerations for Belonging in Higher
Education
• Belonging where?
University/Course/Sports
Team/Home?

• Do all students need to belong in the

same way?

• Instead, should we talk about

mattering?

• Recognising students will have

different levels of belonging needs
Some belonging best practice
• Knowing students by name
• Understanding their wider student
journey (programme planning)
• Clearly set expectations
• Auditing student communications
and the student journeys
• Researching student backgrounds
• Turning up early and leaving a little
later
• Focusing on positive relationships &
relational pedagogies
Generation Z students’ expectations

Listen to student Manage student Meet student

voice & pass it on expectations expectations
Activist Generation Z
Closing off
1) What have you learned?

2) What are you taking away?

3) What are you planning for next year?

Future events and sessions

Student Engagement Session 2: Meaningful Student Voice & Co-

Design to Enhance Students’ Experiences

Student Engagement Session 3: Exploring Student Attendance and

Retention in Higher Education
Thank you, thoughts and questions

Email: Tom.Lowe@port.ac.uk

Twitter: @TomLowe_

Any questions?
References
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Bryson, C. (2014) Understanding and Developing Student Engagement (SEDA Series). London: Routledge.
Buckley, A. (2014) How radical is student engagement? (And what is it for?). Student Engagement and Experience Journal, 3(2), pp.1-23.
Chavez, C. (2008) Conceptualizing from the inside: Advantages, complications, and demands on insider positionality. The qualitative report, 13(3), pp.474-
494.
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References
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Educational Innovation, Partnership and Change. Vol 3 (1). ISSN: 2055-4990.
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References
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