Enhancing success in higher education by measuring student engagement in South Africa

Improving student success and throughput rates are key challenges facing South African higher education. International research shows that a focus on student engagement can help to enhance student learning and other desired outcomes as well as the efficiency and effectiveness of higher education systems. The paper documents the psychometric properties of the South African Survey of Student Engagement (SASSE), providing a sound basis on which to promote large scale studies of student engagement-related interventions. Using this contextualized measure will allow South African institutions to engage in national, as well as international benchmarking with countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia.