Key Findings

Student engagement is one of the most critical aspects of college culture, as it reduces social and academic anxiety, advances mental health and connection, and helps students forge success.

The engagement app offers a new strategy for encouraging students to connect with their peers, faculty and staff (service, research, embedded components), and services in a way that promotes a sense of inclusion and belonging.

Career Readiness programs correlate with engaged learning and directly contribute to the career preparation of our students. By infusing career readiness into the classroom, we can promote equity and inclusion related to underrepresented student groups.

Student belonging is grounded just as much in the classroom as out of the classroom.

One of today’s societal challenges is managing places of work with multiple generations. There is widespread belief that the acquisition of the eight (NACE) Career Readiness Competencies among our younger generation will more effectively prepare them to interact with and respect employees within older generations.

Students are partial to activities which allow them and others to express themselves.

Students seeing other students’ success stories can help normalize the success of any program.

Building meaningful academic relationships with the students, so they feel supported, is another important piece of the academic success program.

There is a palpable cultural shift in students (not) seeking engagement experiences. Whether based on academic or social anxiety, Penn State is challenged to re-engage students with fun, social, low-stress experiences and events.