Extracurricular student-staff partnership activities are increasingly common in higher education institutions, but concerns have been expressed about their relative inclusivity. In order to contribute to understanding of why students do and do not take part in such initiatives, this study draws on data from a survey of students at four institutions, in three different countries, with established extracurricular partnership programs. Though the findings indicate some preliminary differences between participants at the four institutions, they also demonstrate a number of shared perceptions, including similar understandings of key features of partnership and shared perceptions of barriers to participation. Implications for partnership practice and research are discussed.