In management education, research combining job design and institutional commitment theory with management students' co-creation of their learning is underdeveloped. Some findings suggest identifiable differences between different courses of study based on relationship quality and student loyalty approach. However, much of the current research has not explored degree-focused applications of concepts, so job design theory's core elements could better suit the university business student population. This manuscript makes a significant new contribution through testing a conceptual job design model using structural equation modelling (SEM), which includes antecedents of institutional commitment, an important indicator for retention. The study found autonomy and task significance have an important relationship with commitment for general university students. These relationships did not exist as such for business students. Therefore, special consideration of business students is required to enhance retention. Implications are enhanced by leveraging data (i.e. National Survey of Student Engagement) currently gathered by most universities.