Survey was developed by a researcher from Unicamp in cooperation with an international consortium of universities
A study developed by sociologist Ana Maria Carneiro, PhD in scientific policy and researcher at the Center for Public Policy Studies (NEPP) at Unicamp, discusses undergraduate student engagement and its association with the global experience at a university with a vocation for research . Engagement is understood as the amount of physical and psychological energy that the student dedicates to the academic experience. Much of the work was aimed at identifying factors in the university environment that significantly affect student integration, retention and completion in higher education. In view of this, the study sought to investigate: what are the main modes of this engagement; whether inclusion in its various standards varies according to the characteristics of students and courses; and how these possible variations are associated with academic performance and course completion. The research used data from a questionnaire answered by around 3,4 undergraduate students at Unicamp in 2012, corresponding to approximately 20% of a total of 16 at the time, complemented by academic records and socioeconomic data.
The exploratory analysis allowed us to establish five types of student engagement: in curricular and research activities with professors; in social and leisure activities; in curricular activities outside the classroom; in extracurricular activities; and also curricular disengagement. The author of the work considers that it was possible to establish very important associations between the degree of involvement of undergraduates in the various modes of engagement and satisfaction with the experience at Unicamp, the feeling of belonging to the institution, the performance coefficient, the time to complete the course and dropout rate.
Sources
The study was part of the project “Student Experience at a Research University - Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) –, based at the Center for Studies in Higher Education at the University of California, where the researcher was visiting scholar in 2016. In this project, designed in the late 1990s by a consortium of 20 US universities, 26 American universities and 20 from other countries are currently participating. SERU was created with the mission of helping to improve the undergraduate and postgraduate experience and educational processes, by generating new information about student experiences, which could be used by administrators and managers and scholars at universities that have significant research orientation. “The consortium institutions intended to evaluate the experience of their students in the various dimensions of academic life with the aim of carrying out interventions that could contribute to expanding their insertion in university life that would contribute to performance and even favor employability conditions”, complements the researcher. For undergraduate courses, the project began to be applied in 2001 and, from 2014, it also began to involve postgraduate courses.
In 2010, the consortium decided to expand the work, perfected over the years, to other research universities around the world, which maintain strong postgraduate courses in various areas and an important population of students in this segment. Unicamp was the only university in South America to be invited. Its participation in the consortium was led by professor Marcelo Knobel, current dean and then dean of Undergraduate Studies. The adaptation of the SERU questionnaire to Unicamp conditions was led by professor Renato Pedrosa.
The questionnaire was then sent to the more than 16 thousand students who attended Unicamp's undergraduate course in 2012 and had a response rate of 25%, which was reduced to 20% with natural exclusions in these studies, a rate considered good in view of international experiences. “Although it does not constitute a statistically representative sample in the strict sense, it allows us to arrive at reliable evidence as it presents a very similar composition to the universe of total students at the time, such as distribution by sex, by day and night courses and areas, which significantly accredits the use of results to improve courses and provide accountability to society”, considers the researcher.
Engagement at Unicamp
Given the data from the questionnaire applied in 2012 and as a result of the adaptations made by the author, five types of engagement served as the basis for the analyses: 1) that which involves curricular activities with teachers, particularly in the classroom – which reflects learning centered on class, a characteristic of Brazilian universities; 2) related to social and leisure activities; 3) which actually involves a curricular disengagement of students who do not participate in classes and submit work after the deadline; 4) what is limited to curricular participation outside the classroom – which identifies those who work together with colleagues and even help them with their studies; 5) and that which concerns the participation of students in extracurricular activities through student organizations, volunteer work, parties, junior companies and sports practices – considered in this group to be activities that take place on campus.
The researcher then sought to verify whether there were variations in involvement in these various dimensions of student life with the characteristics of the undergraduates. The results showed that male students were less engaged in activities outside the classroom, but more engaged in extracurricular activities. Students on evening courses were less engaged in these two modules compared to those on daytime courses, probably because they have fewer options during the period they attend.
It was possible to associate the level of engagement with satisfaction with Unicamp – more engaged, more satisfied; with a sense of belonging – the most engaged are those who also feel most part of the University; with academic performance – those who are most engaged in activities with teachers perform better; and the enrollment situation – among the most engaged, the proportion of those who graduate is higher. In general, says the researcher, “the more engaged, in all five modules, the more satisfied students are in relation to their experience at Unicamp. On the other hand, the more engaged in curricular activities with teachers and in extracurricular activities, the more they felt part of the university, the greater the feeling of belonging, which should certainly contribute to reducing dropout rates”. The research results converge with other studies that show the relevance of integration into university life for academic success and student satisfaction with their education.
Result
In 2016, after four years of applying the questionnaire, data made available by the Academic Board were used to verify the situation of the students in the studied sample. It was found that 53% of them had graduated, 40% continued their studies and 7% dropped out – a survey in which the duration of the courses, which range from four to six years, were not considered. When comparing this information with the situations revealed by the five engagement modules, it was found that among the students most engaged in curricular activities with teachers: fewer dropouts were observed, a smaller number of them were in progress with the course and a greater number of formed. When participation in extracurricular activities was considered, these students took more time to complete the course, although in reality these students may be learning in another way, which can be effective in terms of rich skills for the development of citizenship and professional life, possibilities endorsed by the literature that deals with the topic. It was also found that engagement in social and leisure activities does not interfere with student performance. It is believed that all these factors contribute to graduates declaring themselves proud to belong to Unicamp, including in view of its prestige, despite expressing the desire to be heard more. It is significant that around 60% of the total declared an interest in continuing their academic life, although a significant proportion intended another type of professional activity, which points to two important missions of the University.
Ana Maria reveals great interest in re-applying the questionnaire with a view to verifying whether the aspects observed are still valid and also expresses the hope that Unicamp will once again participate in the consortium, although she recognizes its current budgetary difficulties.
Regarding the importance of the study, she highlights its presentation at the Central Undergraduate Chamber, on the initiative of professor Eliana Amaral, which reveals the efforts of the Undergraduate Dean to renew courses, rethinking curricula and the way Unicamp views graduation. For her, initiatives like this indicate the relevance of concretely using the knowledge acquired in this type of institutional research, even because “it only makes sense if the information is used in some way”, she says.