Enhancing Student Learning by Prioritising Student Engagement Tom Lowe, Assistant Head of School (Student Experience) in Finance and Accounting, University of Westminster
We know from our own experience as educators, that when we focus on engaging students, and when students give energy to engage with the learning opportunities we organise, that generally, students are more successful. In fact, empirical research continues to support that if students are highly engaged in their education, then better outcomes relating to grades, retention and even a sense of belonging follow (Thomas and Allen, 2022; Schnitzler et al. 2021; Snijders et al 2020). It is student engagement at the heart of our higher education, yet since the pandemic, there has been lower attendance in classes, footfall on campuses and even personal interactions in our classes. There are parallels with wider society as our wider personal lives are becoming more passive and digitally enabled, where we are shopping more online, streaming movies over visiting the cinema, sending voice notes instead of calling, and responding to texts with simple emojis. These practices of engagement are washing up at the modern university, where we are facing a student engagement crisis in our universities. Further compounding these changes is the mass availability of AI, where even how we engage with knowledge is not only at the end of a Google AI search, but knowledge artefacts can now be produced without our own critical minds. With the digital university positioning convenience as a top priority for learners, we need to re-prioritise higher learning, nuance, discussion and debate if we wish to create employability and applicable graduates. These factors have collectively put university education up for debate, where colleagues report students wanting to be ‘fed’ content and a mismatched expectation of degree level study. It is within this context that this keynote will discuss the place of contemporary student engagement, its changing nature, and the critical importance prioritising authentic student development and growth at the heart of a highly relevant and engaging curriculum in higher education.
Biography
Tom Lowe has researched and innovated in student engagement across higher education for over twelve years, in areas such as student voice, retention, employability and student-staff partnership. Tom currently works at the University of Westminster as a Reader and Assistant Head of School (Student Experience) in Finance and Accounting where he leads on student experience, outcomes and belonging. Tom is also the Chair of RAISE, a network for all stakeholders in higher education for researching, innovating and sharing best practice in student engagement. Prior to Westminster, Tom was a Senior Lecturer in Higher Education at the University of Portsmouth, and previously held leadership positions for engagement and employability at the University of Winchester. Tom has published three books on student engagement with Routledge; ‘A Handbook for Student Engagement in Higher Education: Theory into Practice’ in 2020, ‘Advancing Student Engagement in Higher Education: Reflection, Critique and Challenge’ in 2023, and most recently ‘Student Belonging in Higher Education: Perspectives and Practice’ in 2025. Tom has supported over 40 institutions in consultancy and advisory roles to improve student engagement, where his most recent research focuses on Student Attendance post Covid-19.
References
- Schnitzler, K., Holzberger, D. and Seidel, T., 2021. All better than being disengaged: Student engagement patterns and their relations to academic self-concept and achievement. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 36(3), pp.627-652.
- Snijders, I., Wijnia, L., Rikers, R.M. and Loyens, S.M., 2020. Building bridges in higher education: Student–faculty relationship quality, student engagement, and student loyalty. International Journal of Educational Research, 100, p.101538.
- Thomas, C.L. and Allen, K., 2021. Driving engagement: investigating the influence of emotional intelligence and academic buoyancy on student engagement. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 45(1), pp.107-119.
Enhancing Student Learning Through Innovative Scholarship Conference 