Abstract: Competitiveness and sustainability top the agenda in the midst of education communities in Malaysia’s education sector. Many higher education institutions (HEIs) are faced with the pressure to improve the quality of university education. The basis of these pressures might come from competition on the market of higher education services, national ingenuities for quality assurance and accreditation, and the ever-changing requisites of employers and businesses. The higher education (HE) sector in Malaysia is getting more competitive with 47 private universities, 37 private university colleges, 20 public universities, 10 foreign university branch campuses as well as numerous other private institutions of higher learning competing for the same pool of the local, regional as well as international students, along with Singapore, Philippines, Hong Kong and Indonesia. Sustainability is, therefore, critical to all the higher educational institutions (HEIs) at the present juncture as well as in the near future. In view of that, student engagement becomes a crucial indicator of the quality of student experience in these institutions. The centrality of student engagement is thus critical to the success of HEIs as issues relating to student retention remain high on the agendas of HEIs all over. The purpose of this paper is to assess and outline major factors influencing student engagement in the context of HEIs.