While there is general consensus that students are more or less participants in their educational experiences, the relationship between student participation and satisfaction has not been extensively examined in higher education literature. Looking to participation research in other literatures serves as a starting point for exploring this link. This study examines two contingency constructs that modify the student participation-satisfaction relationship: locus of causality attribution and student propensity to participate (SPTP). The results of a scenario-based survey in the context of academic advisement suggest that students vary in their attribution of failures to themselves and to the advisor based on their propensity to participate. Moreover, SPTP, and not locus of causality attribution, moderates the student participation-satisfaction relationship. In addition to delineating the theoretical significance of the findings, the paper provides guidance to educators in achieving higher student satisfaction, which in turn can lead to greater levels of retention and on-time graduation.