The Student Experience in Higher Education

Research themes

This research stream explores students’ experiences of contemporary higher education and the factors that affect the quality of their experiences and educational outcomes. Projects in this research stream adopt mixed-method approaches to examine questions about:

• Students’ transition into higher education and their First Year Experience
• The inclusion and engagement of students from under-represented groups
• The experiences and outcomes of students from diverse cultural backgrounds
• Student wellbeing and university experiences
• Student engagement and connection in university life
• The experiences of graduate researchers

Research group

• Professor Chi Baik, Professor in Higher Education
• Dr Tracii Ryan, Senior Research Fellow
• Professor Raoul Mulder, Professor in Evolutionary Ecology and Higher Education
• Associate Professor James Waghorne, Principal Research Fellow - Uni History Program
• Dr Samantha Marangell, Senior Lecturer in Higher Education
• Dr Mat Hardy, Senior Lecturer in Higher Education
• Dr Angus Gilmore, Research Fellow
• Dr Claudia Andrea Rivera Munoz, Research Fellow
• Dr Dina Uzhegova, Program Coordinator
• Boya Zhao, Graduate Researcher
• Yan Zhang, Graduate Researcher
• Mariyam Nazviya, Graduate Researcher
• Bohan Yang, Graduate Researcher

Featured recent publications

• Ryan, T. & Baik, C. (2026). University Student Wellbeing in an Uncertain Future: Research, Policy, Practice. Routledge
• Ryan, T., Rivera Munoz, C. A., Vanderstraeten, L., Zhao, B., Zhang, Y., Lynch-Wells, S., … Baik, C. (2026). What does it mean for higher education students to belong? Higher Education Research & Development (Advance online publication), 1–16.
• Rivera Munoz, C.A., Baik, C., Ryan, T. & Mulder, R. (2025). Intended and actual involvement of commencing first-year undergraduate students in university activities. Student Success, 16(2), 1-15.
• Arkoudis, S., & Marangell, S. (2023). The international student experience in Australia. In C. Baik & E. Kahu (Eds.), Research Handbook on the Student Experience in Higher Education. Edward Elgar Publishing.
• Baik, C., & Kahu, E. (2023). What is ‘the Student Experience?’. In Baik, C. & Kahu, E. (Eds.). (2023). Research Handbook on the Student Experience in Higher Education. Edward Elgar Publishing.
• Ryan, T., Marangell, S., & Baik, C. (2023). Examining mental health and wellbeing policies in Australian universities. In K. Coleman, D. Uzhegova, B. Blaher & S. Arkoudis (Eds.), The Educational Turn: Rethinking SoTL in Higher Education. Springer.
• Ryan, T., Marangell, S., Symon, B., Waller, K., Rivera Munoz, C., Uzhegova, D., Arkoudis, S., & Baik, C. (2023). The student experience in times of major crises: Key lessons from an international scoping review. In C. Baik & E. Kahu (Eds.), Research Handbook on the Student Experience in Higher Education. Edward Elgar Publishing.
• Waghorne, J. (2023). The ‘student experience’ in the history of English-speaking universities. In C. Baik & E. Kahu (Eds.), Research Handbook on the Student Experience in Higher Education. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Research reports

• Baik, C., Gilmore, A., Ryan, T., Liang, C., Botha, F., & Watson, N. (2026). Uni Student Wellbeing Survey: Summary Report 2025. Centre for the Study of Higher Education, The University of Melbourne
• Baik, C., Botha, F., Liang, C., Ryan, T. & Watson, N. (2025). Uni Student Wellbeing Survey: Summary Report 2024. Centre for the Study of Higher Education, The University of Melbourne
• Arkoudis, S; Marangell, S; Baik, C; Patrick, C; Bexley, E & James, R (2018) 2017 Universities Australia Student Finances Survey, Universities Australia.
• Baik, C; Larcombe, W; Brooker, A; Wyn, J; Allen, L; Brett, M; Field, R & James, R (2016) A Framework for Promoting Student Mental Wellbeing in Universities, Enhancing Student Wellbeing.
• Baik, C; Naylor, R & Arkoudis, S (2015) The First Year Experience in Australian Universities, Centre for the Study of Higher Education.

Enquiries

For more information and interest in research collaborations, please contact Professor Chi Baik.