5 Tips to Improve Student Engagement, Millennial-Style
“Student success is built on a student-centered culture.” According to a recent study from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), it’s institutional culture, not administrative structure, that determines student success and ultimately graduation.
Admittedly, there is no one formula for institutional culture. So the question remains — how can we more effectively engage this generation of students, across institutions? At Eventbrite, we perform extensive research on what drives and motivates the Millenial generation.
Across studies, one thing is consistent: millennials are drawn to experiences. Over 8 in 10 millennials (82%) attended or participated in a variety of live experiences in the past year, ranging from parties, concerts, festivals, performing arts and races and themed sports—and more so than other older generations (70%).
They also bond through shared experiences. 
69% believe attending live events and experiences make them more connected to other people, the community, and the world. And nearly 8 in 10 (77%) millennials say some of their best memories are from an event or live experience they attended or participated in.1 On campus, live experiences can help shape a student’s sense of belonging and create life-long memories.
In fact, Millenials value experiences so much that 72% say they would like to increase their spending on experiences rather than physical things in the next year, pointing to a move away from materialism and a growing demand for real-life experiences.1
These findings confirm that universities should ensure they include live events as a component of campus life, and that they facilitate event creation. So how can universities ensure their event efforts are set up for success? Here are our top 5 tips:
1. Create FOMO.
Nearly 7 in 10 (69%) millennials indicate that they experience the fear of missing out, or FOMO. In a world where life experiences are broadcasted across social media, this shared sentiment is one of the biggest drivers of millenial experiential appetite. Universities can use FOMO to encourage millennial students to show up, share and engage. First, ensure there is a central location for students to discover events online, be it an online calendar or event listing. Next, facilitate the FOMO-inducing conversation with event pages that are shareable to social media.
2. Don’t forget NOMOphobia.
Not to be confused with FOMO, nomophobia is the fear of not having one’s mobile phone. With 87% of Millenials in Mary Meeker’s 2015 Internet Trends Report stating that their smartphone “never leaves their side”, you can expect this generation to similarly want to be connected at all times — through their devices. For universities, this means that enabling staff and students to discover events and purchase tickets via mobile is key. Since students aren’t always at their desks or near a computer, an event page that isn’t mobile-optimized will result in lower conversion rates and ultimately ticket sales.
3. Include the key to millennial social life: food.
Nothing brings millennials together better than the chance to bond over delicious food, as evidenced by the 80 percent of millennials surveyed who said they attended three or more food-related events in the past 12 months, and the nearly half who attended five or more. These events varied from tastings and seasonal parties, to special events, to festivals of all shapes and sizes.2 Universities should consider how food and drink elements can be added to more campus events. For example, mentoring sessions could be held over a coffee break, professors could interact with students through a dinner series, or longer workshops could be broken up with a quick power lunch.
4. Offer experiences with a twist.
Millennials are looking for new, unique experiences. They specifically seek this in performing and visual arts events. 63% of millennials prefer events that are different from other events they’ve attended, and 29% would go to more events if they were held in a unique or unexpected venue. Some millennials are even craving a closer, more interactive look at the performing and visual arts world, with 43% preferring to attend events that incorporate audience participation. Universities should strive to think outside of the box for their performing arts events with unique offerings like access to actors after the play, a funky venue, or some sort of special highlight they can look forward to.
5. Pay extra attention to new students.
According to recent UCLA Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) and Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) research, 55% of first-year college students felt isolated from campus life. This simply proves that even in an era where students are more connected than ever through their devices, universities cannot assume that new students will naturally connect on campus. Universities should make proactive efforts to invite and encourage new students to engage with one another, particularly through live events. Event registration platforms can provide visibility into which students are actively participating, and which students are potentially at risk of isolation.3
The digital age can be challenging for a traditionally offline industry, but research shows there is a huge and exciting array of opportunities for universities willing to lean on technology to enable staff and students.
Interested in bringing more live events to your campus? Simply fill out the form on the right to speak with an event expert!
1This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of Eventbrite from
June 27-July 1, 2014 among 2,083 adults ages 18 and older, among which 507 were millennials ages 18-34.
This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical
sampling error can be calculated.
2Eventbrite global survey completed by more than 5,000 attendees of at least one festival with a focus on food, beer, or wine that was ticketed on Eventbrite during 2014.
3November 2014 Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) and Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) at UCLA report titled “Your First College Year.” 10,170 US first-year college students were surveyed online and via questionnaire at the end of their first year, in Spring 2014.