Factors Affecting Student Engagement: A Case Study Examining Two Cohorts of Students Attending a Post-1992 University in the United Kingdom

Issues relating to student retention and student engagement remain high on the agendas of higher education institutions worldwide. This case study considers the factors that impact on student engagement within a sample of first year undergraduate sports students attending a post 1992 university in the West Midlands region of the United Kingdom. These participants had started their three-year degree courses at the beginning of either the 2011/12 or the 2012/13 academic years. It should be noted that this meant that data collection straddled the introduction of higher student fees for students attending English universities. Data for the study were collected using a quantitative questionnaire and follow up focus groups. Although a number of different factors were found to encourage student engagement the quality of student relationships with their teachers was found to be the most important. Although it was beyond the scope of this study to draw definite conclusions about the impact of higher student fees in this area our data did suggest the possibility that these higher fees might result in staff-student relationships becoming even more important in encouraging student engagement. It is recommended that future research examines the impact of student fees in this area in more detail.