This study provides empirical evidence related to two critical assumptions in the student engagement literature in higher education--namely, the malleability of study effort and the causality of the relationship between study effort and student outcomes. We merged student-level administrative data on dormitory assignments, study effort in a hybrid…

In this study, dormitory room and social group assignment data from a college are used to investigate peer effects on college students' decisions to switch majors. Results reveal strong evidence of such peer effects at both the room and the social group level. Most notably, at the room level, the dense concentration of same-major roommates deters…