HomeBlogStudent Voices Is Leadership a High-Impact Practice?by Kate CampbellFebruary 28, 2025 Share: Section NavigationSkip section navigationIn this sectionBlog Home AI and Engaged Learning Assessment of Learning Capstone Experiences CEL News CEL Retrospectives CEL Reviews Collaborative Projects and Assignments Community-Based Learning Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity ePortfolio Feedback First-Year Experiences Global Learning Health Sciences High Impact Practices Immersive Learning Internships Learning Communities Mentoring Relationships Online Education Place-Based Learning Professional and Continuing Education Publishing SoTL Reflection and Metacognition Relationships Residential Learning Communities Service-Learning Student Leadership Student-Faculty Partnership Studying EL Supporting Neurodivergent and Physically Disabled Students Undergraduate Research Work-Integrated Learning Writing Transfer in and beyond the University Style Guide for Posts to the Center for Engaged Learning Blog The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) has defined high impact practices (HIPs) as experiences that promote student success which is determined by academic achievement, persistence, satisfaction, attainment of educational objectives, and acquisition of desired learning outcomes (Kuh 2017). The AAC&U has formally recognized eleven practices as HIPs (Kuh 2017). Experiences that are formally recognized as HIPs can be found in the list below: First-Year Seminars Common Intellectual Experiences Learning Communities Writing and Inquiry Intensive Courses Collaborative Assignments and Projects Undergraduate Research Diversity/Study Away/Global Learning Service Learning, Community-Based Learning Internships and Field Experiences Capstone Courses and Projects ePortfolios All of the formally recognized HIPs were declared HIPs by AAC&U in 2006 and 2007, except for ePortfolios, which were added as a HIP in 2017 (Kuh 2017; Eynon and Gambino 2017). While HIPs differ depending on learner characteristics, institutional priorities, and contexts, the literature states that there are eight key qualities that all HIPs share (Kuh 2017). Common qualities of HIPs include high-level performance expectations, investment of a significant amount of time, interactions with faculty and peers, experience with diversity, frequent and constructive feedback, real-world applications, public demonstrations of competence, and periodic opportunities for reflection (Kuh 2017). These qualities spark several questions related to the effectiveness of HIPs. Are effective HIPs those that meet all of these characteristics? Is a practice that meets some of these criteria except one suddenly not considered a high-impact practice? Undergraduate Student Leadership One practice that has not been formally recognized as a high-impact practice but has been cited to have similar impacts is undergraduate student leadership opportunities (Keup 2016). While definitions of leadership vary across institutions, undergraduate student leadership can generally be described as an undergraduate student in a position to “influence, motivate, and guide others toward the achievement of a goal” (Claflin University, n.d.). Often, students gain leadership skills through serving in leadership positions in clubs and organizations or by pursuing student employment opportunities that allow them to lead other students. Common student employment opportunities that students pursue to develop leadership skills are through orientation and residence life. A 2009 Peer Leadership Survey results revealed that 58.6 percent of students’ peer leadership experiences were sponsored by an academic campus-based organization (Keup 2016). Student leadership opportunities are unique in that the leadership position can be positioned within a HIP. For example, students can serve as resident assistants in living learning communities, serve as peer-mentors in first-year seminars, or help lead and facilitate a service-learning initiative (Wurr and Hamilton 2012; Nicholson 2017; Mowreader 2024). Benefits of Undergraduate Student Leadership The benefits of student leadership have been emphasized in literature for quite some time. In 1984, Alexander Astin published an article highlighting the importance of student involvement in student development (as described in Nicholson 2017). Astin’s theory of involvement has become integral to the study of student development and leadership. Current literature has found that students report interpersonal skill development after completion of their peer leadership experiences (Keup 2016; Logue, Hutchens, and Hector 2005). The impacts of leadership development opportunities are comparable to the impacts of HIPs. Due to this, peer mentorship has been cited as a potential HIP (Kuh 2017). Undergraduate Student Leadership as a High-Impact Practice With peer leadership having a profound impact on college students, it may be surprising to higher education professionals that peer leadership is not already recognized as a high-impact practice. While there is a lack of literature on why leadership programs are not formally recognized as a HIP by AAC&U, there are challenges that we anticipate have caused a delay in formally recognizing peer leadership as a HIP. The main reason we believe peer leadership has not been defined as a HIP is the lack of uniformity in defining leadership, and there is variety in leadership initiatives across institutions. Institutions have varying expectations for the behavior of student leaders. For example, some institutions expect student leaders to achieve a specific GPA while other institutions do not expect student leaders to achieve a specific GPA, or expect them to achieve a GPA that is lower than what other institutions expect. With different expectations for student leaders, it may be difficult to ensure that all leadership opportunities at all higher education institutions have a high impact on students. Additionally, leadership initiatives vary across institutions and within institutions. For example, clubs and organizations differ in the ways they function across and within institutions. The president of a student club at Elon University may have completely different responsibilities than the president of another club at Elon. Clubs not only differ in how they elect their leadership teams, but also in the responsibilities the leadership teams may have. Due to the variety of leadership initiatives available to students, it may be worthwhile to explore the possibility of defining additional requirements for leadership opportunities if AAC&U does eventually formally recognize peer leadership as a HIP. Summary This blog post gave a brief overview of what HIPs are formally recognized by AAC&U, the qualities of HIPs, the outcomes of student leadership opportunities, as well as the potential reasons why leadership has not been recognized formally as a HIP. In future blog posts, we will discuss critiques of leadership initiatives, under-researched aspects of leadership opportunities, equity within student leadership, and a specific student’s experience with leadership. References Claflin University. n.d. “Student Leadership.” Claflin University. https://www.claflin.edu/academics-research/experiential-learning/student-leadership. Eynon, Bret, and Laura M. Gambino. 2017. High-Impact ePortfolio Practice: A Catalyst for Student, Faculty, and Institutional Learning. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, in association with the Association of American Colleges and Universities. https://www.aacu.org/publication/high-impact-eportfolio-practice-a-catalyst-for-student-faculty-and-institutional-learning. Keup, Jennifer R. 2016. “Peer Leadership as an Emerging High-Impact Practice: An Exploratory Study of the American Experience.” Journal of Student Affairs in Africa 4 (1). https://doi.org/10.14426/jsaa.v4i1.143. Kuh, George, Ken O’Donnell, and Carol Geary Schneider. 2017. “HIPs at Ten.” Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning 49 (5): 8–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091383.2017.1366805. Logue, Christen T., Teresa A. Hutchens, and Mark A. Hector. “Student Leadership: A Phenomenological Exploration of Postsecondary Experiences.” Journal of College Student Development 46 (4): 393-408. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/csd.2005.0039. Mowreader, Ashley. 2024. “The Value of Peer Leadership in College.” Inside Higher Ed, March 18, 2024. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/student-success/college-experience/2024/03/18/why-first-year-college-students-benefit-peer. Nicholson, Natalie M. 2017. “Perceptions of Peer Mentorship within Living Learning Communities: A Case Study.” Dissertation, University of Tennessee. Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange (TRACE). https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/4768/. Wurr, Adrian J., and Cathy H. Hamilton. 2012. “Leadership Development in Service-Learning: An Exploratory Investigation.” Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement 16 (2): 213–240. https://openjournals.libs.uga.edu/jheoe/article/view/940. About the Author Kate Campbell is a Graduate Apprentice in the Master of Arts in Higher Education program at Elon where they also work at the Gender & LGBTQIA Center. As part of the MHE program’s coursework, Kate collaborated with fellow students to research and write this series of blog posts on leadership in higher education. This post is part of a series written by Master of Arts in Higher Education (MHE 6450) students Alexa Berisford, Kate Campbell, and Amanda Dorsey as part of a course project. How to Cite This Post Campbell, Kate. 2025. “Is Leadership a High-Impact Practice?” Center for Engaged Learning (Blog). Elon University, February 28, 2025. https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/is-leadership-a-high-impact-practice.
