A quest for student success: exploring the contributions of co-curricular learning opportunities on student success as defined by TEQSA risk assessment framework

A quest for student success: exploring the contributions of co-curricular learning opportunities on student success as defined by TEQSA risk assessment framework

Co-curricular learning programs are constantly at-risk of being culled or reduced during times of tight budgeting. Data from programs demonstrating even small impacts enable better understanding of university students’ experiences. The focus of the study is to explore the impact of co-curricular learning programs or activities on student success at a regional Australian university. Co-curricular learning programs are constantly challenged as they are often the first to be culled or reduced, particularly, in times of economic downturn or tight budgeting. This article reports on a multiple case study approach that uses both quantitative and qualitative data to explore the extent of and relationships among a number of co-curricular learning offerings, provided by a centralised University Learning and Teaching Unit, on student success. The study explores a number of student success outcomes as defined in the risk assessment framework of the newly established Australian regulatory body, Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA). This article concludes that the multiple case studies demonstrate that small experimentation and constant assessments, regardless of the size, do matter and can help explain a slice of the whole university student experience. The study extends our understanding of the student success puzzle and has implications for the continued development and existence of co-curricular learning programs.