Academic Course Engagement During One Semester Forecasts College Success: Engaged Students Are More Likely to Earn a Degree, Do It Faster, and Do It Better

• Published in: Journal of college student development 2009, Vol.50 (1), p.120-132
• Main Authors: Svanum, Soren, Bigatti, Silvia M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Academic Degrees; Academic Persistence; College Outcomes Assessment; College students; Colleges & universities; Educational Attainment; Grade Point Average; Learner Engagement; Program Effectiveness; Psychology; Reading; School Holding Power; Secondary schools; Skills; Time to Degree; Undergraduate Students; Undergraduate Study; Urban Universities
• ISSN: 0897-5264; 1543-3382; 1543-3382
• DOI: 10.1353/csd.0.0055

The purpose of the present study was to assess the relation of academic course engagement and subsequent college success over a 5- to 6-year period. In the present study, the authors defined college success as degree attainment, time to degree, and academic performance (final cumulative GPA). This study reports on follow-up data from participants in an earlier report (Svanum & Bigatti, 2006) that demonstrated a substantial relation between academic course engagement and grade-measured course performance. Specifically, the authors took the data on engagement from one course and examined whether course engagement was also related to the subsequent accomplishments of: (a) obtaining a degree, (b) how long it took to obtain the degree, and (c) cumulative GPA upon graduation. Thus, these analyses extend those findings by examining the college success outcomes of those study participants. The authors assumed that a sample of engagement behavior in a single course may contain information about similar behaviors in other settings and behaviors over time. Thus, academic engagement is not an isolated behavior, but a distinctive component of the fabric of college life. Hence, the authors hypothesized that degree attainment would be more likely among those who demonstrated higher engagement in a course than those who demonstrated lower engagement, and, secondly, that greater course engagement would be related to a shorter time required to earn a degree. Academically engaged students are more successful, and hence course engagement would relate to student final cumulative GPA. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)