Levels of Engagement Matter: The Role of Student Organizations in Developing Students

Abstract

Level of engagement depends on individuals’ consideration or choice of activities that are worth devoting their time as well as investing themselves to.  The purpose of this study is to examine the development of students based on their level of engagement in student organization .A survey that was designed around Derek Bok’s core competencies was distributed to a sample of five hundred and forty university students. Responses were analyzed to determine the differences in the development of student when comparing their level of engagemeng in student organizations. The findings suggest that level of engagement showed non- statistically significant difference in the development of students. However, the difference in mean scores might suggest that students tend to develop more skills when they are highly engaged in student organizations. As students participate longer, they tend to improve on those skills. Future studies are recommended to investigate the reasons for the non-statistically significant differences through interviews, case studies etc.