1. Staff-Student Partnerships in Learning Development
Dr Alexandra Patel
Marta Ulanicka

2. Session outline What is the Students as Partners (SaP) approach?
Critically discuss the usefulness of the Students as Partners approach using case studies
How Student Learning Development (Leicester Learning Institute) can support SaP in departments

3. What is the Students as Partners approach?
“Partnership is a relationship where everyone involved is actively engaged in – and stands to benefit from – the process of learning and working together. Working and learning in partnership with students is a specific form of student engagement and is a way of doing things rather than an outcome in itself. Partnerships may involve individual staff and students, or can be collective between organisations and their students’ unions/guilds/associations.”
Ask participants what the term means to them?

4. Engagement through partnership: theoretical underpinnings/conceptual model; Framework: practical guide – a tool for all partners.
Important points:
There is no tightly defined concept of partnership – closely related to partnership: you can have engagement without partnership, but no partnership without engagement
There are evidenced benefits for staff and students – students: increased engagement, employability, sense of belonging/community; staff: renewed engagement, transformed thinking
4 dimensions of partnership: 1.learning, teaching and assessment 2. curriculum design and pedagogic consultancy 3. subject-based research and enquiry 4. scholarship of teaching and learning
For partnership to develop, it needs to become part of the culture of the institution – this is key.
Partnership principles and values: authenticity, inclusivity, reciprocity, empowerment, trust, challenge, community, responsibility
Useful first step: explore and agree on shared values. Document contains a number of questions to start off a mapping exercise. These can be used alongside the student engagement survey (UoL is taking part in this).
Partnership may be a useful lens through which to explore the dimensions of the UKPSF.

5. From Healey et al (2014) Engagement through Partnership

6. Link to student engagement
Some shift from student representation to facilitation of unmediated individual student voice, but the role of the SU still seen as vital.
Clear political alternative to: i. consumerism within education and HE seen as ‘a private good which can be packaged and sold’ (an impoverished view of education) ii. student as apprentice where students involvement is limited by lack of expertise (students possess expertise such as understanding the student experience)
Part of the culture :’identifiable and meaningful to students from first encounter through to graduation’
Involves discussion at institutional level and involves ‘genuine, meaningful dispersal of power and shared responsibility’
True partnership: ss enabled to contribute to educational and institutional change. This should include start and finish task groups/initiatives to enable as many ss as possible to take part.
Examples: partnership introduced at induction, co-production of institutional policy and guidance, peer-support networks and peer-led learning opportunities
Call to institutions: 1. choose partnership as an institution 2. invest in partnership 3. work to break down barriers 4. set joint priorities 5. keep partnership under review

8. Staff-student partnerships at the University of Leicester:
a spectrum of interactions and collaborations*
Enlisting students’ ‘resident expertise’ to help support the learning of peers
The activities of staff-student committees
Seeking students’ feedback at course or module level
Implementing communicating course developments in response to feedback/ideas
Engaging students as colleagues in curriculum and/or institutional policy design and development
Where does true partnership begin? Which of the activities is your department involved in? Where on the scale would you like to be? Taken from Annette Cashmore’s materials
* The above are based on examples of current practices. They are not intended to be exhaustive.

9. Case studies
What are the potential advantages and disadvantages of the scheme?
Could a similar initiative be applied in your department? Should it be? Why/why not?

10. Potential disadvantages
Curriculum co-design
Potential advantages
Potential disadvantages

11. Potential disadvantages
Peer assisted learning
Potential advantages
Potential disadvantages

12. How we can support Student Partnerships with you
Curriculum co-design
Discuss other examples of Staff-Student partnerships
Work with academic and student partners on co-design projects
Higher Education Achievement Record (HEAR) accreditation
Peer Assisted Learning
Advice and more information about PAL
Help set up PAL within a department
Leicester Award for Employability

13. Further information
Student Learning Development, Leicester Learning Institute:
GENIE and UoL SU: and
Higher Education Academy:
NUS: and