Building bridges in higher education: Student-faculty relationship quality, student engagement, and student loyalty

Abstract

This study's aim was to investigate a hypothesized model examining the associations between students' perceptions of the quality of their relationship with their educational faculty and staff (i.e., relationship quality) and students' involvement. The relationship quality measurement included students' experiences with all educational faculty and staff, with the aim of predicting student engagement and student loyalty. Based on data from 454 higher education students, findings indicate that affective commitment and affective conflict are important relationship quality dimensions that influence the student engagement dimensions of absorption, dedication, and vigor. The main conclusion is that a relationship management approach in higher education is fruitful to achieve positive academic outcomes such as student engagement and student loyalty.