Student Experience

Student Experience and Success

Understanding the student experience is essential to shaping policies and practices that enhance learning, well-being, and success in higher education. At CSHE, our research explores various dimensions of student life, from academic engagement and learning outcomes to well-being, belonging, and the impact of institutional policies.

This page highlights CSHE’s work on student experience, including findings from the Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) Consortium and other studies.

SERU publications include:...

Bryan Edward Penprase

Vice President of Sponsored Research and External Academic Relations, Soka University of America

Bryan Penprase is the Vice President for Sponsored Research and External Academic Relations at Soka University of America, where he develops strategic partnerships and builds collaborations with universities and colleges to advance undergraduate education and research at Soka University. He formerly served as Dean of Faculty for three years at Soka University, where he worked to create new academic programs, and managed the curriculum design, hiring and implementation of a new Concentration in Life Sciences. Bryan also has been actively developing global liberal arts collaborations, most...

Takuya Kimura

Professor, Ph.D, Kyushu University, Japan
Takuya KIMURA is a Japanese Sociologist of Education. He hold Ph.D in Educational Planning from Tohoku University . He is a professor at Kyushu University and the National Center for University Entrance Examinations. He is also the founder and president of Japan Association of College and University Admissions Profession (JACUAP). He holds M.A. in Educational Philosophy from the Graduate School of Education at the University of Tokyo. He has served as Assistant Professor at Kyoto University, Assistant Professor and Associate Professor at Nagasaki University, Associate Professor...

Richard J. Edelstein

Former Senior Research Associate

Richard J. Edelstein is a Senior Research Associate at Berkeley’s Center for Studies in Higher Education where he collaborates with John Douglass, Senior Research Fellow, on studies of the impact of globalization on higher education institutions. He is also Principal and Managing Director at Global University Concepts, a higher education consultancy he launched to advise universities on international strategies and the development of partnerships and alliances with foreign institutions. He was Director of International Affairs for six years at AACSB International, the primary U.S....

SERU Multi-Engagement Report

Igor Chirikov
John Aubrey Douglass
Gregg Thomson
2025

SERU report cover

The Multi-Engagement Model: Understanding Diverse Pathways to Student Success at Research Universities provides an...

Press Release: SERU Multi-Engagement Report

SERU Report cover

Student Success at Risk: New Study Finds Lasting Post-Pandemic Declines in Student Engagement in American Public Universities —Proposed Federal Funding Cuts Could Slow Recovery

March 18, 2025 – A new study from the University of California, Berkeley, finds that student engagement across key areas of research university experience – academics, research, extracurriculars, civic engagement, and...

Gary Matkin

Former Dean of Continuing Education, University of California, Irvine
Former Dean, Continuing Education, Distance Learning, and Summer Session Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 1989, Education M.B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1970, Political Aspects of Business B.S., University of San Francisco, 1966, Accounting Certified Public Accountant (inactive), 1966, California License E14426 Other Experience Associate Dean, CE, UC Berkeley 1990-2000 Director, Admin Services, UC Berkeley 1975-1990 Business Officer, UC Berkeley 1973-1975 CPA, Various 1966-1973 Download Gary W....

George Blumenthal

Former Director, Center for Studies in Higher Education and Chancellor Emeritus, UC Santa Cruz

George R. Blumenthal served as Director of the Center for Studies in Higher Education from 2019 until 2023. He continues his involvement with CSHE as Affiliated Faculty and as a member of the ELA Advisory Board.

Blumenthal was UC Santa Cruz's 10th chancellor. He joined the campus in 1972 as a faculty member in astronomy and astrophysics and was named chancellor on September 19, 2007, after serving as acting chancellor for 14 months.

The Blumenthal era has been marked by a commitment to ensuring that the doors of opportunity at UC Santa Cruz are open to all:

The number...

Aray Saniyazova

SERU-International Research Associate

Aray Saniyazova is a SERU-International Research Associate. She holds a Master’s degree in education from Vanderbilt University (2011), and PhD in education from Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan (2017).

Her research interests focus on contemporary issues of higher education: transition from high school to university; student experience and college climate; gender issues in education; institutional development of newly established universities. She was involved in the collaborative research project of the Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education and the University of...

Karin Fischer

Research Associate

Karin Fischer is a journalist who focuses on higher education. Her primary area of focus is international education, including American colleges' activities overseas, study abroad, the globalization of the college experience, and international-student recruitment. Her work with the Center for Studies in Higher Education will focus on the international student experience, including issues of acculturation, social satisfaction, and academic performance. She is the author of a weekly newsletter, ...