Student Experience and Engagement in Higher Education in Ireland

Abstract

Concerns about the student experience in higher education (HE) and about the accountable, good use of public money on full-time, undergraduate students are moving towards a centre-stage position as close to universal participation rates are being achieved for some sectors of the population in Ireland. Those concerns are prompted to a significant extent by the pro- portion of state funding allocated to the sector relative to graduation rates, to an extent by the inclusion of student evaluations in quality assurance exercises, and to an extent by the growing tendency to regard students as consumers of services in a landscape of increasing competition for appli- cants. As academic awards and professional qualifications become more and more similar in terms of content and labour market perception, there is a growing tendency for colleges to advertise the unique qualities of their student experience as an indicator of both quality and desired difference which then impact on a differentiated graduate profile. Evaluation surveys of the student body regarding their academic experiences and measurement of their satisfaction with their general experiences in college are now normal practice at local level, with a consequent impact on policies and strategies for supports and interventions.KeywordsHigh EducationStudent EngagementStudent ExperienceAcademic DevelopmentStudent RetentionThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.