Disengagement Responses of University Students to Expectation-Experience Mismatches

This qualitative research seeks to understand the disengagement coping strategies used by student consumers in response to expectation-experience mismatches. Understanding the complex challenges of first-year, first-time regional and remote (FYFT-RR) university students will create a better understanding of the disengagement responses enacted by students in identified equity groups. By revealing disengagement responses of student consumers, it will support educational transformative services to redress social inequality. This research uses manual thematic analysis of 20 semi-structure interviews conducted via convenience sample at a single regional university, either by face-to-face or online intercepts. This research reveals FYFT-RR response to expectation-experience mismatches through specific strategies of evading, refutation and self-forgiving. These findings prove disengagement responses are applied in a complex service setting to manage expectation-experience mismatches. The findings provide timely insights for practitioners looking to create interventions to support FYFT-RR student consumers to self-manage expectation-experience mismatch.