Rethinking Student Success in HEIs: A Validation study of Holistic Student Development

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of this study is to develop and psychometrically validate a Holistic Student
Development Measurement Scale (HSDMS) based on multidimensional theoretical framework which is laid
out in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 for Indian HEIs.
Design/Methodology/Approach: A systematic approach of scale development which is a mix of qualitative
and quantitative methods is used. Phase I comprises of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), Systematic
Literature Review (SLR), item generation (60 items), face validation and content validation by the Content
Validity Index (CVI). A pilot study (n = 104) was conducted before the large scale data collection, which
was done from 1,067 students from three HEIs in India adopting multistage stratified sampling technique.
After data cleaning, 995 valid responses were randomly divided into two sets: One for Exploratory Factor
Analysis (EFA) with 490 responses and the other for Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) with 505 responses.
Result: Principal Component Analysis revealed five factors namely Physical Quotient (PQ), Emotional
Intelligence Quotient (EIQ), Social Intelligence Quotient (SIQ), Intellectual Quotient (IQ), and Spiritual
Intelligence Quotient (SpIQ) with 32 items and explained around 66% of total variance. CFA on the
independent subsample confirmed the five-factor structure with satisfactory model fit: χ²/df = 2.31, GFI
= 0.92, AGFI = 0.90, CFI = 0.95, TLI = 0.94, IFI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.050, SRMR = 0.048. The Cronbach's alpha
(α) coefficient varied from 0.87 to 0.93 for each construct. The results showed that the Composite
Reliability (CR) was ranging from 0.89 to 0.94 and Average Variance Extracted (AVE) range from 0.61 to
0.66, which indicate convergent validity. The Fornell-Larcker criterion was used to determine the
discriminant validity.
Originality/Value: This study introduces one of the first rigorously validated, multidimensional HSDMS in
the HEI context explicitly aligned with NEP 2020 framework. The scale provides a valid and culturally
relevant instrument for evaluating and improving student outcomes across the entire student experience
for institutional administrators, policymakers, accreditation agencies, and researchers.