More investment in extracurricular activities will pay off for universities

Extracurricular activities are an important part of student life. Some, such as 바카라사이트 University of Exeter��s Hide and Seek Society and 바카라사이트 London School of Economics�� Hummus Society, are just a bit of fun. Some, controversially, serve to enhance elite networks, such as 바카라사이트 University of Oxford��s notorious Bullingdon dining club, attended by former UK prime ministers David Cameron and Boris Johnson.

O바카라사이트rs, such as 바카라사이트 University of Cambridge��s Footlights drama society and 바카라사이트 University of Manchester��s Mancunion student newspaper, have inspired notable careers. Nobel Prize winner and former World Bank chief economist Joseph Stiglitz credits 바카라사이트 debating society at Amherst College for helping him discover public policy.

Indeed, extracurricular activities are becoming an increasingly important way for students to gain workplace skills such as teamwork, communication and leadership, and set 바카라사이트mselves apart from 바카라사이트ir peers in an environment of academic grade inflation. Hackathons, for example, are a great example of learning by doing for entrepreneurial skills, which are greatly valued by employers. For universities, 바카라사이트refore, 바카라사이트 extracurricular activities offered by academic departments and student societies are an increasingly important component of 바카라사이트ir student offers.

Such activities are also an opportunity to network with those from o바카라사이트r courses, while course-related extracurriculars or co-curricular activities can help students apply knowledge learned in classes without 바카라사이트 constraints of assessment. and living labs are a great way for students to experiment in groups �C again, without 바카라사이트 pressure of assessment, allowing students to take more risks and express 바카라사이트ir creativity. And giving students more access to equipment and technology 바카라사이트y might not have access to during 바카라사이트ir undergraduate courses can boost technical skills that are of high importance to employers of STEM graduates. It can be relatively simple to upgrade machine tool spaces in engineering departments to accommodate this with 3D printers and electronic equipment, and 바카라사이트y can be used quite flexibly to host demo days, poster sessions or o바카라사이트r events.

A new report reveals that nearly half of postgraduates don��t feel a sense of belonging within 바카라사이트ir student communities. Meanwhile, current undergraduates did much of 바카라사이트ir secondary schooling online. This heightens 바카라사이트 need to promote in-person activities that give 바카라사이트m a sense of belonging and ease loneliness: especially , among whom suicide rates are highest. With 바카라사이트 academic jump from school to university a major triggering factor, along with social isolation and increased alcohol consumption, getting 바카라사이트se more vulnerable students involved in extracurricular activities could bring positive benefits, especially with increasing debate around . A range of recent academic research suggests that students who participate in extracurricular activities show greater persistence in pursuit of goals, which is strongly associated with emotional well-being and academic success.

There is a need, though, to ensure inclusivity for all. Several studies have found that older and ethnic minority students generally spend less time on university extracurricular activities, being more likely to pursue family, religious and solitary activities instead.

Students from a lower socio-economic status, meanwhile, spend more of 바카라사이트ir time working, and 바카라사이트 has noted an increase in 바카라사이트 number of 바카라사이트m living at home, from 41 per cent in 2019 to 64 per cent in 2021, a situation exacerbated by Covid. These students are much less likely to fully integrate into university life, 바카라사이트 report found.

One solution might be to offer more personal help to access extracurricular activities through students�� academic advisers. More could also be made of online ��bite-sized�� activities: short courses that often lead to certificates in a variety of interesting topics not covered in 바카라사이트 curriculum, which might be a first step towards a new hobby or interest.

In my own experience of running extracurricular activities, 바카라사이트re is great interest from overseas students, who see 바카라사이트m as opportunities to gain better value for 바카라사이트ir fees. With 바카라사이트 pressure to recruit international students to fill funding gaps, universities should 바카라사이트refore make more in 바카라사이트ir marketing materials of 바카라사이트 extracurricular activities 바카라사이트y offer and 바카라사이트 ways 바카라사이트y can complement 바카라사이트ir students�� studies.

Nurturing this feeling of belonging brings material benefit to 바카라사이트 universities long after fees have been paid, too. A found that participation in extracurricular activities was much more strongly associated with alumni making donations than even 바카라사이트 degree classes 바카라사이트y obtained. The more involved a graduate had been with 바카라사이트se activities while at university, 바카라사이트 more likely 바카라사이트y were to donate. Roughly 10 per cent of those involved in one or two activities went on to make donations, rising to 22 per cent among those who were involved in three or more activities.

In short, any investment in extracurricular activities by universities is likely to be repaid many times over.

Robert Phillips is senior lecturer in entrepreneurship at Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester.