Late engagement in higher education: challenges, impacts, and mitigation
研究分析了英国大学2019-2022年间延迟入学学生的学业表现，发现他们在所有指标上均处于劣势，包括平均分数更低、退学率更高，并提出了缓解建议。
Tackling the causes of student underperformance and withdrawal is a critical priority in the Higher Education sector. One aspect of student engagement that has hitherto not been investigated for its effect on student outcomes is that of students registering and starting their courses late after teaching begins. Here, we carried out a mixed-method approach to analyse the attainment of late engaging and on-time students who were registered on a variety of courses at a UK university between 2019 and 2022. Our data confirm that late engaging students were disadvantaged in all metrics tested. Over all levels, late engaging students had lower average module marks, and increased levels of withdrawals, intermission, and module mitigation. Module outcomes for student visa holders (non-UK) students or students on courses accredited by Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies were not affected by late engagement. The disadvantage of late engagement for Level 4 students was observed across a three-year period. This study provides evidence that late engagement is strongly correlated with a negative effect on student performance, which needs to be addressed in order to improve student outcomes.