Student QEP Workshop Developing Student Engagement in Quality Assurance and Enhancement Eve Lewis Director

Aim To catalyse a process that will develop institutional and national processes, practices and behaviours that can support students to engage productively in assuring and enhancing the quality of the student learning experience at their institutions and in the higher education sector.

Aspiration to collaborate as members of the higher education community in the sharing of good practice and solving of shared problems and contribute to continuous improvement of South Africa’s Higher Education system

With a view to…… Improve Student Success defined as - ‘Enhanced student learning with a view to increasing the number of graduates with attributes that are personally, professionally and socially valuable’

Role of students – the culture Members of an HE community Collaboration Sharing good practice/solving shared problems Improve student success

What is sparqs? Student Partnerships in Quality Scotland National development agency for student engagement Funded and supported by the Scottish Government Works with all institutions and students’ associations in Scotland’s university and college sectors 10 full-time staff in Edinburgh and Inverness www.sparqs.ac.uk Introduce ourselves. Stress key point that sparqs is supported by the government – therefore what we do is part of a nationally-agreed plan to put students at the heart of decision-making.

Our Vision is of: Students making a positive and rewarding difference to their own and others’ educational experience, helping shape the nature of learning and contributing to the overall success of Scotland’s universities and colleges. 

To make this Vision a reality our Mission is to Ensure students are able to engage as partners in all levels of assurance and enhancement activities including: Commenting on and shaping their own learning experience. Taking an active part in formal student engagement mechanisms, including quality processes and strategic decision making. Shaping the development of the student experience at national level.

Principles and Values Has to be about enhancement and change. Partnership. Meeting diverse needs. Widely owned culture. Resourced and supported. Recognising and rewarding student contribution.

Student Engagement Framework Focus on enhancement and change Valuing the student contribution Appropriate resources and support A culture of engagement Students as partners Responding to diversity

Why is representation important? Student views Dialogue with staff Improved learning experience YOU ARE THE EXPERT!

The Student Learning Experience

Curriculum This is how the course is put together. Are the learning objectives clearly stated? Are the learning objectives being followed? Is the learning relevant to what you want to do? Is the curriculum appropriate for the range of learners?

Learning Resources Includes spaces too; classrooms, labs, lecture theatres, libraries, etc. Also includes teaching staff. Any physical thing you need to learn.

Learning and Teaching Process How students learn. What teaching methods are used? Is it the right method for the kind of course? Is it accessible?

Assessment and Feedback Are assessments spaced out well? Are they the right kind of assessments for the type of course? What kind of feedback is given? Is it of good enough quality? Does feedback help you see where and how you need to improve?

Student Progression and Achievement Is it clear what is needed to move from year to year? Are achievement and progression rates comparable to other courses? Will your qualification get to where you want to go?

Guidance and Support This is about academic guidance and support. Student support are equipped to deal with broader support issues. We have to be clear where our responsibility ends and Student Support’s begins.

Quality Enhancement and Assurance They are part of the structures that exist within their institution. It is all about improving their learning experience. Reps form part of the quality systems in their institutions.

Exercise Consider the Student Learning Experience Using post-it notes add comments on your experience for each of the blocks of the learning experience In groups consider the post – its – start to draw out some key aspects of people’s experience – are some comments common across the institutions and others specific to individual or types of institution. Don’t try and solve issues – we will come back to that later

The A,B,C,D of Effective Feedback

How would you improve these statements? Mr X is a terrible lecturer and we all hate him. This module is consistently awful and everyone struggles with it. There aren’t enough books in the library. The reading list for my course is too short. I find the theory boring, and I reckon everyone else thinks so too. Loads of people aren’t getting practical experience in their subject. Mr X never gives enough feedback on my essays.

Exercise Take one of the issues raised in the SLE exercise. If you wanted to begin to tackle this how would you talk about the issue using ABCD

Consider the following statements ‘Students are experts in their own learning’ ‘Students only know what they want, not what they need’

The role of a student leader   Representative Expert

Making Change happen Consider the following words – what do you understand by these terms in relation to how students might bring about change? What are the pros and cons of each approach Customer Volunteer Campaigner Lobbyist Partner/Collaborator

Making Change Happen Analyse the issue Evaluation and dissemination Develop a strategy Delivery and monitoring Planning

Analyse the issue Analyse the issue Use your expertise Leadership priorities Analyse the issue Evidence and data Representative – how many students does this affect? Have you picked the right issue? Remember to develop strengths as well as address weaknesses Can you identify the root cause?

Analyse the issue Programme accreditation submissions and results National review results QEP reports Institutional audit reports Student complaints to CHE/DHET Analysis of HEMIS data – cohort retention and throughput rates, by race, gender and CESM, and staff numbers and levels Approved PQM Approved enrolment targets University Capacity Development Grant Applications and reports

Develop a strategy Develop a strategy Who will it affect? What will change look like? Clear aims and objectives Develop a strategy Partnership approach Who does this matter to? Resources How can I bring others on board?

Evaluation and dissemination Planning Celebrate the change Timescales SMART objectives Delivery and monitoring Who will do what? What if actions are not bringing change? Be prepared to change A,B,C,D

Activity Take a concern from SLE Analyse from your current knowledge and work out how you would extend this analysis Begin to develop a strategy – remember you are doing this before you have finished your analysis! Aim in your strategy for a partnership approach – how will you make this matter to the various stakeholders

Role of students – the culture Members of an HE community Collaboration Sharing good practice/solving shared problems Improve student success