Exploring Undergraduate Experiences: A Federally Funded Study on Academic Engagement (Poster 26)

This research project is federally funded, with the aim of developing assessment tools to examine the academic engagement of undergraduate students and further explore students’ perceptions of their ability to regulate their behavior and their own definition of academic success. After developing and validating the assessment tools, a student academic engagement survey and weekly journal, undergraduate students participated in the pilot survey and weekly journal for 8 weeks in Spring 2023. The goal was to capture their academic engagement, internal and external factors affecting their academic engagement, academic goals, and personal definitions of academic success. During this poster presentation, the presenters will address two questions: How does student diversity (e.g., first-generation status, transfer status, and GPA) play a role in their use of the library? How often did students experience factors, such as stress, that affected their academic work each week? The survey results indicate that first-generation students are more likely to visit the library compared to non-first-generation students. Transfer students are less likely to visit the library compared to non-transfer students. Students with the lowest GPAs are most likely to visit, while those with the highest GPAs are least likely to report never visiting the library. The weekly journal revealed that stress, involvement with social media, and socializing with friends were ranked as the top three factors affecting their academic work. This poster presentation is essential for undergraduate outreach and engagement librarians and professionals, offering insights into undergraduates' academic experiences and the obstacles that impact their academic work.