Who defines success in Higher Education?

Book chapter forthcoming in A Handbook for Student Engagement in Higher Education: Theory into Practice (Routledge), publication on 8th April 2020. Student engagement has historically been discussed within academic literature as a term almost synonymous with student satisfaction, retention, engagement in educational developments, representation and general involvement in an academic community. In parallel to these conversations surrounding engagement and satisfaction, higher education (HE) has recently turned its attention to the notion of student success. Defining student success is challenging as the term is relatively contested and ambiguous within educational literature. Indeed, a critical student perspective is also notably absent from this conversation. In this chapter, I will draw upon my own experiences as a student to critically appraise the concept of success in the context of HE. I will examine how this term may be located within wider pedagogic issues that may not capture the nuanced and often diverse experiences of today’s students. I will end by exploring how the future of student engagement must acknowledge the multifaceted nature of success in HE, whilst remaining sensitive to the complexities of the student experience.