Engaging students for success: Australasian student engagement report

The primary purpose of the Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE) is to develop evidence-based conversations that enhance students’ engagement with university education. The purpose of the Staff Student Engagement Survey (SSES) is to capture staff perspectives on students’ engagement. AUSSE is developed and managed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). Student engagement is defined as students’ involvement in activities and conditions that are linked with high-quality learning. Twenty-nine higher education institutions, more than half the universities in Australia and New Zealand, participated in the 2008 AUSSE. Ten of these institutions also took part in the SSES. This report provides general, cross-institutional and cross-national results of the AUSSE from the 2008 data collection. Key findings from this data include: (1) on average, 33 per cent of Australian and New Zealand tertiary students consider leaving their institutions before graduation, although this figure is an underestimate, as it excludes students who have already discontinued their study; (2) universities have been very successful in engaging students into study and the findings underline the challenges that institutions face in engaging students through to graduation; (3) field of education has a significant effect on students’ ‘early departure’ intentions, with science and agriculture students most likely to remain engaged through to graduation, and architecture, education and creative arts students reporting as being most likely to depart prior to degree completion; (4) students from remote backgrounds, students with disabilities, international students, and Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, Maori and Pasifik Islander students all report higher than average intentions of leaving study before completion; (5) students are significantly more likely to consider leaving for practical or financial reasons rather than due to the quality of education; (6) engaging students in the overall educational experience, providing effective individual support, and setting high expectations, however, may induce students to complete their education; and (7) university staff members underestimate the extent of the problem, with one out of every three Australasian students seriously considering departing their institution before graduation and staff seeing the number as closer to one out of 10.

Excerpts from ACER website. Show less