Work-based learners' engagement with the university

This is the final report from an HEA-funded project at Middlesex University that explores the ways in which WBL students engage with the HEI they are enrolled in. The work:

• explored the ways in which WBL students benefit from their engagement with their HEI;
• assessed the extent to which they relate to and engage with other learners;
• assessed the impact it has on their retention and achievement;
• explored the extent to which their identification with an HEI is significant or important.

The work was carried out in the context of current literature on higher education supporting the critical role of student engagement for retention quality of learning achievement and graduation and as such serves as a proxy for quality. It adopted a holistic approach to include what the literature regards as the two main components of student engagement: the learner's context and motivations and a higher education institution's approach and strategies.