Establishing a framework for transforming student engagement, success and retention in higher education institutions [Final Report]

The perennial issues of student engagement, success and retention (SESR) in higher education continue to attract attention as key indicators of learning and teaching quality. This project aimed to establish and provide a holistic framework that would allow higher education institutions (HEIs) manage and improve their student engagement and retention strategies and programs. The framework and main project deliverable is a Maturity Model (MM) for Student Engagement, Success and Retention (SESR-MM). The project involved three Australian universities with experience and reputations in SESR activities: Queensland University of Technology (lead institution), the University of Queensland and Griffith University, working cooperatively to develop and trial the project deliverables. Project findings suggest that the SESR-MM has the potential to positively transform the holistic—academic, social and personal—engagement experiences of students in Australian universities, and that the SESR-MM is a useful mechanism for sharing good practice and improving programs designed to enhance the student experience.

[1]  John A. Clarke,et al.  Using a maturity model to move student engagement practices beyond the generational approach , 2013 .

[2]  Martin Höst,et al.  A review of methods for evaluation of maturity models for process improvement , 2012, J. Softw. Evol. Process..

[3]  Peter Axel Nielsen,et al.  Situated assessment of problems in software development , 1999, DATB.

[4]  R. Stake.  The art of case study research , 1995 .

[5]  K. Nelson,et al.  The place of higher education institutions in assessing student engagement, success and retention : a maturity model to guide practice , 2013 .

[6]  Vincent Tinto,et al.  From Theory to Action: Exploring the Institutional Conditions for Student Retention , 2010 .

[7]  Paul Trowler,et al.  Student engagement evidence summary , 2010 .

[8]  John A. Clarke,et al.  The first year experience : looking back to inform the future , 2014 .

[9]  Watts S. Humphrey,et al.  Managing the software process , 1989, The SEI series in software engineering.

[10]  Christine Nadel,et al.  Case Study Research Design And Methods , 2016 .

[11]  Karen J. Nelson,et al.  A multi-methodological examination of Information and Knowledge Management (IKM) in business contexts , 2004 .

[12]  R. Barnacle.  Retention and Student Success in Higher Education , 2005 .

[13]  M. Patton.  Qualitative research and evaluation methods , 1980 .

[14]  L. Leach,et al.  Improving Student Engagement in Post-compulsory Education: A Synthesis of Research Literature , 2010 .

[15]  E. Kahu.  Framing student engagement in higher education , 2013 .

[16]  John A. Clarke,et al.  An exploration of the maturity model concept as a vehicle for higher education institutions to assess their capability to address student engagement : a work in progress , 2013 .

[17]  Keithia Wilson,et al.  Success in first year: the impact of institutional, programmatic and personal interventions on an effective and sustainable first-year student experience , 2009 .

[18]  J. Morse.  The Politics of Evidence , 2006, Qualitative health research.

[19]  N. Zepke.  Student engagement: A complex business supporting the first year experience in tertiary education , 2013 .

[20]  Kent Johnson,et al.  Interpreting the CMMI : A Process Improvement Approach , 2003 .

[21]  John A. Clarke,et al.  Moving beyond transition pedagogy: Maturity models and student engagement , 2012 .

[22]  Björn Niehaves,et al.  Maturity Models in IS Research , 2010, ECIS.

[23]  S. Kift,et al.  A transition pedagogy for student engagement and first-year learning, success and retention , 2012 .

[24]  Stephen Marshall,et al.  A Quality Framework for Continuous Improvement of E-learning: The E-learning Maturity Model , 2010 .

[25]  John A. Clarke,et al.  Using a Capability Maturity Model to build on the generational approach to student engagement practices† , 2015 .

[26]  Vincent Tinto,et al.  Research and Practice of Student Retention: What Next? , 2006 .

[27]  John A. Clarke,et al.  Enhancing the transition of commencing students into university: an institution-wide approach , 2012 .

[28]  John A. Clarke,et al.  The maturity model concept as framework for assessing the capability of higher education institutions to address student engagement, success and retention : new horizon or false dawn? , 2012 .

[29]  S. Kift,et al.  Transition pedagogy: A third generation approach to FYE - A case study of policy and practice for the higher education sector , 2010 .

[30]  Sandra C. Jones.  Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia , 1998 .

[31]  Vicki Trowler.  Student engagement literature review , 2010 .

[32]  Michael Rosemann,et al.  Towards a Business Process Management Maturity Model , 2005, ECIS.

[33]  Ernest T. Pascarella,et al.  How College Affects Students: A Third Decade of Research. Volume 2. , 2005 .

[34]  Mantz Yorke,et al.  The first-year experience in higher education in the UK:final report , 2008 .

[35]  Kerri-Lee Krause,et al.  Students’ engagement in first‐year university , 2008 .

[36]  Karen J. Nelson,et al.  Beyond curriculum reform: embedding the transition experience , 2005 .