Redefining Student Engagement: Fostering Sustainable, Redemptive and Accountable Excellence For Holistic Student Growth

Bonnarty Steven Silalahi, Student Development & Alumni Engagement, Universitas Pelita Harapan

Bonnarty Steven Silalahi, M.Th., serves as Section Head of Student Development & Alumni Engagement at Universitas Pelita Harapan, Indonesia. He also teaches in the Liberal Arts program. His work focuses on cultivating leadership dynamics and faith–learning integration in student formation, preparing them for professional life with integrity and purpose.

Universities work hard to improve student engagement, typically measured by participation, satisfaction or involvement outside the classroom. Yet, from my experience, engagement should be redefined. It must help students become well-rounded individuals who pursue excellence, grow from failures and hold themselves to meaningful standards. Organizing experiential workshops, mentoring programs and forums that link classroom and real-world learning are ways we move from conventional engagement to transformative development. This new approach sets the foundation for my central thesis, where student engagement should be rooted in sustainable, redemptive and accountable excellence, guiding students far beyond conventional metrics.

The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025 noted a shift: 'leadership and social influence' is now 'working with others.' By 2030, leadership will be shared, not limited to a few. Universities must help students lead themselves, not just projects.

This perspective led me to develop and apply a framework for student engagement at my university through Sustainable, Redemptive and Accountable Excellence. Centering on these three principles clarifies our main goal; student engagement must build leadership and character to create lifelong learners prepared for the future.

Let me break down each part of this framework to clarify how they interconnect. Sustainable Excellence focuses on building programs and structures that endure beyond individual efforts, ensuring longevity and continuous growth. When these structures are in place, students feel supported enough to learn from mistakes, which brings us to the next principle called Redemptive Excellence. Redemptive Excellence emphasizes viewing mistakes as opportunities for learning and transformation, fostering resilience and personal development. Once students are able to grow from their experiences, we must then ensure their growth is meaningful, which is where Accountable Excellence comes in. Accountable Excellence directs our attention to measuring true engagement by character development, rather than just numerical metrics.

Sustainable Excellence: Building Systems that Outlast Personal Energy

Sustainability is often a buzzword limited to environmental issues. Here, it means building programs that last beyond one person’s involvement. In student affairs, passion can drive us to late nights and major events. I remind my team that passion alone leads to burnout without structure. Sustainable engagement depends on lasting systems including mentoring, documentation and planned leadership transitions.

“Real student engagement develops students who sustain energy, redeem mistakes and stay accountable. Technology, like digital reflections or e-portfolios can help, but true engagement is human; the courage to grow together.”

A student organization faltered after its chair graduated. We used this chance to emphasize sustainability. With new focus on strong processes, their projects continued and improved, as excellence became part of a shared culture.

Redemptive Excellence: When Correction Becomes Restoration

Working with students means seeing both their strengths and their struggles. Not everything goes as planned. At times, my role requires evaluation, feedback or even intervention. But I have learned that how we handle these moments defines the moral tone of our institution. The question is whether we see mistakes as failures to punish or as opportunities to grow with grace.

I recall one student who was part of an organizational team but had become increasingly inactive. Tasks were left undone and responsibilities unmet. The easy solution would have been to replace him immediately. Instead, we invited him into a conversation. We listened, offered honest feedback and helped him find a different role that better suited his strengths while keeping him accountable to the team. Over time, he regained confidence and became a valuable contributor in his new position. That process reminded me that evaluation should not be an endpoint but a turning point, not disciplinary but restorative.

Redemptive excellence transforms correction into formation. It teaches both students and educators that grace and accountability can coexist, and that growth often begins at the very place of failure.

Accountable Excellence: Measuring What Truly Matters

We track attendance and survey scores, but true engagement shows in character. This is the value of accountable excellence. When evaluating programs, I look beyond numbers. I ask, what kind of person did this shape? Did it foster empathy, resilience and collaboration? We use reflective assessment like journals, peer feedback and mentoring.

For example, during leadership training, we ask students to pick one area for accountability, such as punctuality, teamwork or managing emotions, then track their progress over the semester. This shifts attention from performance to genuine growth. Accountability here is about self-improvement, not control.

Now that leadership is expected of everyone, universities must focus on forming people, not just running activities. Real student engagement develops students who sustain energy, redeem mistakes and stay accountable. Technology, like digital reflections or e-portfolios can help, but true engagement is human; the courage to grow together.

When students start to see excellence as an ongoing process of stewardship rather than perfection, education becomes a journey of transformation. This form of engagement prepares them for a future where leadership is shared, and all are called to lead with integrity, humility and hope.