The Relationship Between Collegiate Recreation and Student Success: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Background: Collegiate recreation (CR) programs present the opportunity to promote student success across campuses. Purpose: In this review, we focus on the relationship between engagement with CR and student success. Methodology/Approach: We conducted a scoping review of empirical studies published in peer-reviewed journals between 2010 and 2021 that examined the connection between CR and student success. We identified 3304 unduplicated studies to which we applied a screening process based on our selection criteria. Findings: A total of 82 articles were included for data extraction. Results reveal evidence of the multifaceted connections between CR engagement and six dimensions of student success: intrapersonal, academic, interpersonal, belonging/community, career, and institutional. Conclusions: Most of the evidence refers to “traditional” aspects of student success such as GPA and retention, often addressed through descriptive statistics. Implications: This review highlights a need for future research that employs innovative methodologies and explores more diverse populations. Moreover, we advocate for investigating the relationship between CR engagement and non-academic areas such as social, institutional, and career-related outcomes.