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

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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’

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

6. 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
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.

7. 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. 

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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

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

12. The Student Learning Experience

13. 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?

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

15. 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?

16. 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?

17. 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?

18. 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.

19. 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.

20. 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

21. The A,B,C,D of Effective Feedback

22. 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.

23. 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

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

25. The role of a student leader
Representative
Expert

26. 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

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

28. 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?

29. 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

30. 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?

31. 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

32. 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

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