The aim of the project is to understand what motivates students to come to classes, which factors drop their attendance, and, accordingly, how students perceive university as a learning environment. The presentation explores the student side of the picture of the implied student that the teachers envision. The findings are based on data obtained from pair interviews with MA students from the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies and suggest that a combination of personal, course-related and teacher-related factors determines attendance in varying degrees. The meaning of university as a learning environment is also influenced by these factors.