An analysis of tertiary student engagement and motivation over the course of one year of study

In 2013, the Department of Education and Training reported an average attrition rate for commencing students of 17.31%, equating to 80,000 students dropping out of their first year of tertiary study. This failure to retain students impacts both the University in terms of its reputation, income to develop further supports and provide resources, and the individual’s occupational skills, satisfaction and income. To date the majority of tertiary student motivation and engagement research has focused separately on background factors, behavioural and cognitive factors detailed in the Motivation and Engagement Scale – University/College (MES-UC), and relies on either cross-sectional data or data collected at one time point. Whilst the MES-UC is a reliable measure, the MES-UC does not capture other factors such as personality, social support, and engagement with student support programs designed to improve student retention and academic success (Kahu, 2013). In the face of tertiary sector reform, a reduction of funding, and a loss of both professional and academic roles across Australia, the aim of the present study is to map the current student typography, evaluate the effectiveness of existing retention and engagement strategies and their capacity to cater to a diverse group of students at key points across the semester. This longitudinal study will incorporate a repeated-measures analysis of variance design to assess changes in key aspects of motivation, engagement, personality, social support and study approaches at the start, mid and end of first semester for first-year university students. The dependent variables will be behaviours and cognitions related to motivation and engagement, the independent variable being time period.