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College students can be hesitant to participate in on-campus activities. Incentives can make engagement more appealing.
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Collegiate activities and events can promote students’ sense of belonging, enhance relationships with their peers and provide lasting life skills, but not every student has taken advantage of the opportunities available on campus.
A May 2024 Student Voice survey by Inside Higher Ed, conducted by Generation Lab, found 35 percent of students had not participated in any campus activities, including in student organizations, research opportunities, on-campus work or a volunteer role. One-quarter of respondents had not attended any on-campus events.
Colleges and universities have established various incentives that make on-campus event participation seem more appealing and beneficial to unengaged learners, as well as give students life skills for the future.
Hidden Barriers
Some students are uninterested in campus activities and can be reeled in through incentives. Others have more significant barriers that limit them from participating.
Student Voice survey data found that modifying the timing and location of events (40 percent) was something students believe institutions could change to boost attendance, as well as connecting activities to careers (32 percent), increasing awareness (28 percent) and improving students’ time management skills (26 percent).
Financial lures for success: The University of Kentucky launched an initiative in 2023 that pays students for completing wellness activities, including attending an event at the career center, participating in a mindfulness training or going to a campus event. The university collects data from various digital event platforms and allocates dollars to each event students participate in.
The program, UK Invests, helps students establish a savings account and learn about financial wellness, preparing them for financial success after graduation.
Raffle prizes for greetings: Drury University launched The Great Game of Hello this past spring, which awards $7,000 in prizes weekly to student participants. The game requires students to be engaged on campus, saying hello to strangers walking around in hopes of greeting one of 10 anonymous greeters who document the hellos they receive throughout the day.
The initiative builds students’ social skills, confidence and encourages them to be more aware and alert on campus.
Recognizing super fan sports attendance: In collegiate sports, some games are more popular than others, but all are played by student athletes who want to see peer support. To encourage attendance at sporting events, Ithaca College created a rewards program that recognizes students who consistently show up for home events. Less popular sporting events, such as golf, crew or tennis, are worth more points than football or basketball games, but each event awards students points for scanning a QR code and completing a short survey.
Sporting events can boost students’ school spirit, which inspires feelings of belonging and connection to campus and peers.
Driving engagement across campus: This past year, Angelina College in Texas launched an initiative, Fast Trax to Success, which awards points to students and faculty members who attend campus events throughout the academic year. Over 200 events were selected and designated points, which participants could earn by scanning a QR code at the door.
At the end of the year, students with the most accumulated points were entered into a drawing for a car and faculty members got entries to a drawing for a five-day, expenses-paid vacation in a beach house.
Through Fast Trax to Success, administrators have seen students take advantage of the various resources and opportunities on campus. Over 3,500 students participated in some capacity.
Doughnuts for development: For students in Troy University’s Sorrell College of Business, registering for political development meetings is a sweet opportunity, thanks to the college’s annual Donuts and Drawing. During the event, students can register for programming hosted by the career center, including résumé reviews, mock interviews, financial coaching, success planning and career coaching.
The event partners with a local doughnut shop owned by a current student, investing in the time and talents of a small student-run business.
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