Global interest in the value of student engagement in higher education has led researchers to question whether the use of the term is clear and consistent. This article investigates the construction of the term "student engagement" at three US universities through an analysis of qualitative data. Whereas a shared understanding of the concept was found on one campus, the perception of the term on another campus veered in multiple directions. On the third campus, the term had not become popular and was replaced with alternative concepts. Aiming at contributing to the discussion on student engagement on an institutional level, this study revealed that different patterns of bottom-up and top-down mechanisms affected the spread of the concept on the three campuses.