Student Engagement at MSU

While MSU has had consistent increases in enrollment over the past semesters, student engagement in and out of the classroom could be improved. But how can the academy go about doing this? Many students that seem to have this issue are those that are new to the college atmosphere such as freshmen and sophomores. But more and more often, students seem to be keeping this behavior into their junior year, and maybe even into their senior year as well. While these students are aware that they are paying for this education, they seem to feel that getting by with a C is sufficient for a degree. Many students don't seem to understand that a degree is just half of getting a job in the future. If there is a lack of knowledge that the degree signifies, how can one expect obtain and keep a job?

The question is: How can an institution improve student engagement? One potential way to influence the student to attend class more often could include conducting research to make classes more appealing to students. Many students, myself included, can get lost in a bland and routine presentation or lesson. If the information was presented in a way that would appeal more to the audience, the information could be better retained. The tricky part here would be to find out what would appeal enough to the audience to keep them engaged in the lesson plan.

Learning has been done the same general way for more than the past 100 years. Some innovators are now finding new ways to teach such as online school, hands-on learning, and much more. The way I see it, there are better ways of learning out there, and we are just breaking the surface. What the same principles from marketing were applied to the classroom? Through behavioral analysis and other marketing tactics, the learning experience could potentially be vastly improved.