An evaluation of the factors that influence academic success as defined by engaged students

Grades are frequently used by academics as a measure of academic success. The literature has largely neglected to ascertain how students define this important concept. This study aimed to give voice to how university students define academic success and what they perceive as the contributing factors. This qualitative study used three focus groups with 16 undergraduate psychology students attending a London university. Experiential inductive thematic analysis (TA) was used to analyse the data. Students defined academic success as a combination of outcomes including grades and more holistic outcomes of personal development and achievements. Three themes emerged to summarise students’ perception of the factors that influence academic success. The first theme, student agency, included two subthemes: setting goals and self-regulation. The second theme was aptitude, with two subthemes: self-evaluation and motivation. The final theme was the type of support which included the subthemes institutional support and external support. This study adds the student voice to the definition of academic success and the factors that facilitate it. The challenge for higher education institutions is to incorporate these student-defined attributes into the curriculum to facilitate student success, particularly targeting malleable elements such as study and social skills, financial and other tailored provisions, especially for non-traditional students. Researchers also need to develop instruments to measure holistic academic success outcomes to assess if students are reaching these objectives.