Types of Extracurricular Campus Activities and First-Year Students’ Academic Success

This research examines the relationships between first-year college students’ attendance at campus-sponsored extracurricular events and grade point average, persistence from fall to spring, and retention to the second year. Students’ attendance at various campus life events over the course of an academic year was tracked by scanning students’ identification cards. Hierarchical regression modeling revealed that first years attending events within a specific category of campus life programming called  signature events  had significantly higher cumulative grade point averages and better odds of persisting and retaining. The findings from this study add to the body of research on student involvement and engagement, with a specific focus on campus life activities.