The present study explores the relationship between students' perception of their institution's mission identity, personal goal orientation tendencies, and the extent to which they engage in mission-driven activities. Goal orientation research categorizes student motivations in three ways: mastery orientation (MO), performance-approach (PAp) orientation, and performance-avoidance (PAv) orientation. Mastery students focus on learning course content, while performance students are concerned with results. PAp students seek favorable results, and PAv students are concerned with avoiding negative results. Participants (n = 1,686) from a private midwestern, Roman Catholic university completed a multi-measure, self-report survey through on-line format. Results indicated that three goal orientation types were stronger in highly engaged students, with goal mastery orientation most significantly increasing with levels of engagement, compared to two types of performance orientations. Alternative settings in which goal orientation may influence behavior are discussed. (Contains 1 table.)