Underlining what matters in higher ed and ed tech: news, vendor updates, and commentary from across the field, in one place.https://theunderline.netlify.app/source/ssj/https://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4124https://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4124Student happiness plays an important role in promoting academic engagement, well-being, and meaningful learning experiences in higher education. This study examined the level of learning happiness among students at the Ganesha University of Education (Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha), Bali, Indonesia, within the…Mon, 12 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTNi Luh Gede Erni Sulindawati et al.Researchhttps://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4145https://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4145First-year, first-time (FYFT) students enter university with expectations shaped by institutional recruitment communications, social media, and broader media narratives. During transition, lived experiences may diverge from these expectations, creating expectation-experience mismatch. While student expectations and…Mon, 05 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTCourtney Geritz et al.Researchhttps://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4110https://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4110First-semester performance is a practical indicator of students’ transition into tertiary education and a point at which institutions can intervene early. This study examined an analytic dataset of 2,048 incoming students admitted to 10 academic programs in the College of Business Administration at the University of…Tue, 22 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMTJairo A. Ayala‐Godoy et al.Researchhttps://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4038https://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4038As access to tertiary education has increased worldwide, the importance of understanding the complexities of student engagement has become progressively evident. Yet, studies on student engagement are frequently abstract, and commonly informed by statistics on completion rates. Understandings of student engagement at…Fri, 18 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMTIrma Eloff et al.Researchhttps://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4103https://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4103Financial precarity has become an increasingly prominent feature of the contemporary higher education experience, with growing evidence linking financial hardship to adverse psychological outcomes for students. This study explored how undergraduate students at a post-1992 United Kingdom university experience and make…Fri, 11 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMTJack Wood and Fui Peng WongResearchhttps://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.3872https://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.3872This study explores the perspectives of Indigenous Australian students on the marketing and communication materials of higher education institutions, highlighting their crucial role in attracting Indigenous students and revealing a lack of authentic engagement with Indigenous voices. While outreach and enabling…Fri, 04 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMTMelissa Fong-Emmerson et al.Researchhttps://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4188https://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4188Student well-being is increasingly central to student engagement, belonging and success in higher education. Yet many students do not readily approach counselling or psychological services, especially when concerns are emerging or associated with stigma. This practice report describes and reflects on “SWU Heal Jai…Fri, 04 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMTAnchalee Srikolchan et al.Researchhttps://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4170https://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4170Continuity after first contact is a practical challenge for university student support services, particularly during the first-year transition. This practice report documents the development phase of a service improvement initiative in a Moroccan public university science faculty. Fully de-identified routine records…Mon, 17 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMTNabil Es-Sahib et al.Researchhttps://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4130https://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4130Many first-year students discontinue their studies, creating a concerning challenge for institutions, especially those with widening participation policies. Chilean higher education provides a case study for understanding the first-year experience (FYE) in a widening participation context and rapidly expanding…Mon, 17 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMTClaudia A. Rivera Munoz et al.Researchhttps://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4172https://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4172This good practice report outlines findings from the recently completed National FEE‑FREE Uni Ready (FFUR) Project (2026) to share the work and recommendations on FFUR policy settings and principles. Together, these aim to strengthen transitions into higher education for underrepresented cohorts. We focus on…Sun, 09 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMTAnna Bennett et al.Researchhttps://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4168https://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4168Higher education institutions are increasingly data-rich yet insight-poor, with learning analytics often experienced by academics as difficult to interpret and disconnected from everyday teaching practice. Transition pedagogy emphasises that intentional inclusive practice relies on educators having a clear,…Sun, 09 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMTKathy Egea et al.Researchhttps://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4042https://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4042This study provides rare insight into postgraduate taught (PGT) students’ motivations for entering university by capturing views before arrival rather than after enrolment. Drawing on responses collected in the weeks prior to course commencement, it presents a large-scale pre-arrival qualitative analysis across…Mon, 20 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMTRick Hayman et al.Researchhttps://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4041https://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4041As student wellbeing concerns rise in higher education, understanding how students make meaning of their experiences may offer insight into their approaches to learning. This multistage mixed-methods study, combining explanatory sequential and convergent components, investigated how university students’ narrative…Mon, 20 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMTLyn Kee et al.Researchhttps://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4066https://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4066This study examines the relationships among perceived institutional support (PIS), student engagement (SE), and psychological well-being (PWB) among international students in Indian higher education. Data were collected via an online survey from 201 international students and analyzed using partial least squares…Sat, 18 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMTAhmed Aliyi Mohammed and Santhosh. P. ThampiResearchhttps://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4019https://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4019Maths support has long been present in Australian tertiary education, primarily as a physical space staffed by tutors and complemented by asynchronous resources and accessible via integration into course curricula. This format has proved effective in improving student retention and transition (Horrocks et al., 2026)…Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMTLorenzo Gómez Camacho et al.Research