Student Engagement Handbook

Practice in Higher Education

There has been an unprecedented global surge in the numbers of young people going to university over the last few years and, for a multitude of different reasons, higher education worldwide is in a state of flux. To cope effectively, the universities of today will need to be more responsive to the needs of growing numbers of students and better attuned to their requirements. Many complex factors are driving strategic change and influencing institutional decision-making processes, but what is clear is that students are becoming increasingly fundamental to supporting change processes at both national and local levels, and that institutions are working in collaboration with students in new ways in order to understand and improve the learning environment. Within this context, 'student engagement' is the catch-phrase of the moment. This book highlights some of the national and global agendas and issues, from emerging sectors, to the meaning of student engagement for different stakeholders. It provides a backdrop to themes of student engagement as well as examples of innovative and inspiring means of engaging with students in practice, empowering them to take responsibility within decision-making processes and enabling them to lead and deliver change.