Extra-curricular activities in higher education: enhancing the student experience

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between extra-curricular opportunities offered by a UK higher education institution and participants' subsequent educational and occupational trajectories. We present a statistical analysis of the association between participation in a range of such interventions and undergraduate learner outcomes, including grade-based assessment scores, module pass/failure rates, final degree classifications and graduate progression rates to higher study or professional employment. We find strong statistical evidence that participation is positively correlated with improved student outcomes, which holds when controlling for other key factors that influence student success, including gender, ethnicity, disability, age, subject area and pre-entry qualifications. When student groups with an existing pre-disposition towards lower achievement participate in extracurricular activities, the evidence suggests that their participation helps to negate the existing socio-economic and demographic effects on educational outcomes. Engagement with 'out of classroom' pursuits is a critical element of the student experience, and increasing opportunities to those student groups who may not typically access them is likely to add value to the overarching student experience, both at university and beyond.