Three full years of the HEA UK Engagement Survey data shed light on encouraging trends in how students are engaging in different learning activities.
In particular there have been clear year-on-year increases in students spending time interacting (increasing from 33% to 36%) or partnering with staff (40% to 42%) – areas in which engagement levels have traditionally been low.
This year a significant increase in participation by institutions and a marked increase in the numbers of students responding to the survey from just over 23 000 to just shy of 36 000 makes the report’s findings even more robust than before.
The results also show a clear increase in students reporting the development of soft skills during their time at university. These include developing personal values (increasing from 63% to 67%) understanding others (65% to 68%) how to become an active citizen (58% to 61%) and how to explore complex real world problems (66% to 68%).
Other findings in the report show:
- the development of career skills has again fallen and is now recognised by just under half of undergraduates (49%);
- students of Black and Chinese ethnicity engage strongly in learning activities across the board;
- study time – both scheduled and independent – has fallen significantly in the past year; with a clear increase over each of the past two years in the number of students spending time in paid work (increasing from 45% to 52%) and caring (19% to 24%);
- participation in sports and/or societies (falling from 60% to 54%).
