Transitioning from secondary school to higher education can be very daunting and challenging to many students (Briggs et al. 2012; Christie et al. 2008). If faced with too many setbacks, tertiary students might lose confidence in their abilities, experience stress and anxiety, and find it hard to persevere with their studies, which can lead to poor academic performance and decrease in psychological wellbeing (Seipp, 1991). Education is about developing students to help them grow and embrace challenges. As such, this cannot be done solely by acquiring knowledge but also by mastering the necessary emotional and social skills that affect how and what they learn and therefore how to deal with university studies and beyond (Elias, 1997). Higher education is under increasing pressure to help students prepare for future work/business and this creates a stronger need for Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). SEL is the ability to understand and manage emotions, accomplish goals, build and sustain positive relationships with others, solve problems and make responsible decisions (CASEL 2013). SEL is essential to both human development and education (CASEL 2022; Elias et al., 2004). There are many different concepts, skills and competencies that have been used under the umbrella of “social-emotional skills”. However, all of these agree that SEL skills are crucial to students’ growth and equip them with lifelong learning tools they will need to be self- sufficient adults (Elias et al., 2004). There is a plethora of evidence supporting the benefits of SEL skills for educational outcomes in primary and high school students (e.g., Durlak et al., 2011; Martin & Marsh, 2008). For instance, high rates of anxiety have shown to impact working memory capacity, which in turn results in loss of attention, the inability to solve problems and retain information negatively affecting academic performance in primary and high school students (Engle et al., 1999; Seipp, 1991). Therefore, SEL programs have been implemented in primary schools and high schools, the educational contexts in which there is evidence for their beneficial effect on mental health (Payton et al., 2000), and academic achievement (Zins et al., 2007), along with their benefit for preparing students for college and the workplace (College & Development, n.d.). These outcomes are crucial and relevant in higher education as well, though there is a dearth of research in this context. A SEL approach is fundamental in higher education to deliver quality learning and teaching practices that improve academic performances, engagement, and student-teacher interaction (Conley, 2015). However, currently there is a gap in research, and the effects of implementing SEL competencies in a structured way in higher education have not been empirically examined. Thus, a systematic review and meta-analysis on the impact of SEL on tertiary students’ resilience, self-efficacy, academic performance and engagement is needed to evaluate the current effectiveness of SEL. This study uses The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) framework which addresses five components: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, responsible decision making, and relationship skills (Fundamentals of SEL, 2022). References: Advancing Social and Emotional Learning - CASEL. (n.d.). Retrieved September 16, 2022, from https://casel.org/ Ahn, S., Ames, A. J., & Myers, N. D. (2012). A review of meta-analyses in education: Methodological strengths and weaknesses. Review of Educational Research, 82(4), 436–476. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654312458162 Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavior change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191-215. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295x.84.2.191 Briggs, A., Clark, J., & Hall, I. (2012). Building bridges: understanding student transition to university. Quality In Higher Education, 18(1), 3-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/13538322.2011.614468 Cheung, M. W. (2014). Modeling dependent effect sizes with three-level meta-analyses: A structural equation modeling approach. Psychological Methods, 19, 211-229. https://doi.org/10/1037/a0032968 Cheung, M. W. L. (2015). metaSEM: An R package for meta-analysis using structural equation modeling. Frontiers in Psychology, 5(Oct), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01521 Christie, H., Tett, L., Cree, V., Hounsell, J., & McCune, V. (2008). ‘A real rollercoaster of confidence and emotions’: learning to be a university student. Studies In Higher Education, 33(5), 567-581. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070802373040 Conley, C. S. (2015). 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Promoting Social and Emotional Learning: Guidelines for Educators. Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development Engle, R. W., Tuholski, S. W., Laughlin, J. E., & Conway, A. R. (1999). Working memory, short-term memory, and general fluid intelligence: a latent-variable approach. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 128(3), 309–331. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.128.3.309 Fundamentals of SEL - CASEL. CASEL. (2022). Retrieved 22 May 2022, from https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/. Martin, A., & Marsh, H. (2008). Academic buoyancy: Towards an understanding of students' everyday academic resilience. Journal of School Psychology, 46(1), 53-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2007.01.002 Padesky, C., & Mooney, K. (2012). Strengths-Based Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy: A Four-Step Model to Build Resilience. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 19(4), 283-290. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.1795 Payton, J., Wardlaw, D., Graczyk, P., Bloodworth, M., Tompsett, C., & Weissberg, R. (2000). Social and Emotional Learning: A Framework for Promoting Mental Health and Reducing Risk Behavior in Children and Youth. Journal Of School Health, 70(5), 179-185. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-1561.2000.tb06468 Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. (2003). Thriving in the face of challenge: The integrative science of human resilience. In F. Kessel, P. L. Rosenfield, & N. B. Anderson (Eds.), Expanding the boundaries of health and social science: Case studies in interdisciplinary innovation (p. 181–205). Oxford University Press. Seipp, B. (1991). Anxiety and academic performance: A meta-analysis of findings. Anxiety Research, 4(1), 27-41. https://doi.org/10.1080/08917779108248762 Soria, K., & Stebleton, M. (2012). First-generation students' academic engagement and retention. Teaching In Higher Education, 17(6), 673-685. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2012.666735 Zins, J. E., Bloodworth, M. R., Weissberg, R. P., & Walberg, H. J. (2007). 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