Academic Engagement: Taking the Pulse of Business Students

Completion gaps continue to challenge higher education institutions. Research has identified causal models and variables contributing to persistence. However, the constructs of work engagement have generally not been applied to academic engagement or connected to higher education completion. This study administered the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students (UWES-S) to business majors at a large, regional, open-admission university. Findings confirmed expected influences on engagement including fewer working hours, higher GPA, and higher satisfaction with the university. Gender, race, marital status, first-generation status, and course modality had no impact. Students with children were more engaged; barriers to completion, specifically financial issues, lack of support, and personal and family reasons did not impact engagement.