This chapter will examine strategies used by one UK university to engage staff across institution... more This chapter will examine strategies used by one UK university to engage staff across institutional silos to work together to improve student retention. These strategies emerged from participation in a nationally-funded change programme involving 13 universities across the UK. The changes implemented at institutional level included: learning and teaching strategy development; professional development, recognition and reward opportunities; curriculum development and building learning communities; availability and intelligent use of data; and a renewed focus on student engagement. The significance of institutional-level changes, and learning about strategic enablers will be discussed based on the results of focus groups carried out with course teams. Themes are highlighted which are believed to be priority areas on which to focus further enhancement of the student experience. In addition, the characteristics of effective practice are emphasised which are critical to an inclusive institutional culture that promotes the belongingness of staff to actively engage students.
Wales 'RU Here' Beyond the Technology: This presentation outlines the findings from a three-year ... more Wales 'RU Here' Beyond the Technology: This presentation outlines the findings from a three-year project capturing first year undergraduate attendance data. Built from the ground-up the system named 'RU Here' was developed to collect and analyse attendance data, retrospectively building reports based on aggregate data to help put interventions into place where areas of weakness were identified. Qualitative student feedback tells us that the interventions founded through the captured data improve their sense of belonging and feelings of being valued. They clearly indicated that support from the interactions of students and academic staff within the classroom environment helped them to progress. Early indications are demonstrating an improvement in both attendance and outcomes in terms of marks whilst showing a decline in withdrawal rates.-Links in the Chain: turning learning analytics data into actions Ed Foster Nottingham Trent University NTU led one of the original "What Works?" research projects (the HERE Project). Our work on student doubters led directly to the development of the NTU Student Dashboard. The Dashboard is one of the first learning analytics resources used in the UK to support student retention and success. The Dashboard provides accurate, timely data on students' engagement with their course and accurately predicts students at risk of early departure. This session will share some of the team's experience of developing the resource and challenge colleagues to consider strategies for using learning analytics to support student retention and success.
On behalf of the RAISE Organising Committee may I offer all delegates a very warm welcome to RAIS... more On behalf of the RAISE Organising Committee may I offer all delegates a very warm welcome to RAISE17, which returns to Manchester for a second time. The major theme of this conference is reconsidering what student engagement is all about. As both an idea and set of practices, SE has become widespread. However given that it has been taken up by so many people in a wide range of roles and in such a diversity of HE contexts, instead of clarity and unity of understanding about SE, it seems to have got more ambiguous and unclear. Has HE been appropriated by neoliberal agendas as some suggest? Has the enthusiasm of some of the practitioners, created forms of SE which are an imposition on students and cast those who do not take up the so called 'SE opportunities' as disengaged undermined the virtues of promoting engagement that the original advocates intended? We hope not! RAISE17 is intended to revitalise the student engagement movement, reflect on progress and remind ourselves why we decided to create RAISE and put student engagement at the heart of all that we do. At the same time we all look forward to hearing about exciting new ideas and good policies and practices, so we can learn from each other in a space where all are welcome. Colin Bryson, Chair of RAISE Welcome to Student delegates "It gives me great pleasure to welcome students and everyone to the cutting-edge RAISE Conference 2017. My name is Stella, currently a final year postgraduate researcher at the University of Sunderland and a student committee member of RAISE. I am excited to be part of the great team, RAISE, and the RAISE17 conference, that targets creating insights into the student engagement on both national and international platforms I am hopeful that you enjoy every opportunity that this conference creates towards furthering your own engagement.'' Stella Faluke, RAISE Committee Member About RAISE RAISE is a network of academics, practitioners, advisors and student representatives drawn from the Higher Education Sector who are working and/or interested in researching and promoting student engagement. The Aims of RAISE are: 1. To come together for beneficial scholarly discussion, sharing ideas and creating collaborative projects. 2. To involve and work with students in partnership 3. To promote and disseminate good practice 4. To influence policy and encourage focus and investment in SE 5. To create a bank of resources and share this openly 6. To facilitate communication among our members This is delivered through organising an annual conference and events, running special interest groups, supporting our own journal and other publications, lobbying policy makers and funders and collaborating with other organisations and networks with allied interests.
International journal for students as partners, Oct 7, 2017
This paper situates Students as Partners (SaP) within the broader construct of student engagement... more This paper situates Students as Partners (SaP) within the broader construct of student engagement so that we can examine the influence of partnership on student and staff participants and how this impacts on student and staff relationships. The findings of interviews carried out with students and staff (n=14), which aimed to capture rich descriptions of the lived experience of individuals, reveal that there was a high level of consensus between students and staff on how they described their lived experiences and the impact that partnership was having on them-particularly in relation to their personal development. Whilst it became apparent that the participants' thinking and behaviours had changed as a result of their involvement in partnership, quite often the catalyst for this change was in relation to how the participants were feeling. Considerations for relevant stakeholders are highlighted to support the scaling up of a SaP approach.
Undergraduate intake into the School of Environmental Sciences, Ulster comprises students studyin... more Undergraduate intake into the School of Environmental Sciences, Ulster comprises students studying honours degree programmes in environmental sciences, geography and marine science, and students following a two-year non-honours Associate Bachelors degree (ABD) in environmental studies. Induction includes first year students interacting with studies advisers and senior student tutors (SSTs) in small group activities. The main aim of the SST workshops is to help level four students prepare for their end-of-semester modular written examinations. This article outlines the scheme and shows how peer-mentors facilitate the readying of first year students for what is a challenging task. Using an empirical survey we evaluate their effectiveness in bridging the experiential learning gap between themselves and those under their tutelage. It is argued that faculty suffering from student progression problems traceable to weaknesses in examination performance could benefit from adopting this locally, controlled, low cost, small scale peer-mentoring model.
International Journal for Academic Development, Dec 16, 2015
A partnership approach to developing student capacity to engage and staff capacity to be engaging... more A partnership approach to developing student capacity to engage and staff capacity to be engaging: opportunities for academic developers Many higher education institutions are adopting learning and teaching approaches that embrace "students as partners". This can be met with trepidation by academic staff and students. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate, through two UKbased institutional case studies, that a partnership approach provides an opportunity for staff and studentswhere each appreciate the others' perspective and the barriers to learning are reduced. We propose five learning points for academic developers to reflect and act upon to get to the very heart of how we might achieve and sustain partnership work.
has focussed on the changing nature of higher education, but it is clear that we are now entering... more has focussed on the changing nature of higher education, but it is clear that we are now entering a new era of change, one which embraces the widening participation agenda, but which also demands that we take even greater account of "providing opportunities for different types of people to study in a wider range of ways than in the past" Mandelson (2009, p.9). He also argues that with the introduction of variable fees, as recommended in the forthcoming review of higher education, students' expectations of higher education have changed and that these expectations from our most important clients should inform and enhance the service that universities provide. CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk
Abstract The Student Transition and Retention Project (STAR, 2007) conference in 2004 raised awar... more Abstract The Student Transition and Retention Project (STAR, 2007) conference in 2004 raised awareness of the gap between the expectations of first-year lecturers at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and the reality of the secondary school curriculum. This article will provide an introduction to the issues covered by the conference. Examples will be provided of changes in practice that have addressed the issues raised. The aim is both to identify ways in which practice can be modified to support students through the period of transition, taking a realistic starting point, and to demonstrate a developmental way of approaching the problem.
Contents 1 Introduction, aims and purpose 2 Participating institutions 3 New student conversation... more Contents 1 Introduction, aims and purpose 2 Participating institutions 3 New student conversations: From QA to QE Student Academic Development Research Associates Scheme (SADRAS) Change Liverpool-Student partnerships for university and city Design your own course? A new role for students in programme development and curriculum design Extending student engagement through curriculum enhancement Course design consultancy Practical skills training programme Student engagement: a catalyst for transformative change Students as partners change programme 2012-13 An overview of the programme, participating institutions and case studies 1 BIS (2011) Higher Education White Paper: Students at the Heart of the System 2 Million+ (2012) Teaching that Matters 3
This article provides an overview of the key activities that have been carried out in the first t... more This article provides an overview of the key activities that have been carried out in the first two years of this three year project (2016-2019) Erasmus+ Project background and aims Although formal professional development for learning and teaching in higher education is well established in the UK and some other European countries (Pleschová et al., 2012), other institutions within the European Union, such as those in Eastern Europe do not necessarily have a record of such formalised support, particularly with regard to support for early career educators. More than two decades since the change of regimes in Central and Eastern Europe, universities in these countries are still, to a certain extent, playing catch-up in terms of academic development. Those new to higher education teaching tend to emulate teaching styles and techniques of more senior teachers, which, in turn, can hamper the introduction of more effective teaching methods and approaches, and adversely impact the student learning experience. This exciting project, led by the University of Economics in Bratislava (Slovakia) seeks to offer professional development opportunities to early career university educators in countries where this was hitherto lacking. It comprises a range of partners from across Europe that bring their own expertise and perspectives to the project delivery and intended outcomes:
Develop an understanding of the most effective interventions that improve students' sense of be... more Develop an understanding of the most effective interventions that improve students' sense of belonging, engagement and confidence in first year at HE institutions. Discuss routes for student success that focus on pre-entry information; active learning; and co-curricular activities. Appreciate the importance of the student voice and have a greater understanding of the impact of student staff partnerships Reflect and discuss the opportunities and challenges in improving student retention and success in their own areas.
This chapter will examine strategies used by one UK university to engage staff across institution... more This chapter will examine strategies used by one UK university to engage staff across institutional silos to work together to improve student retention. These strategies emerged from participation in a nationally-funded change programme involving 13 universities across the UK. The changes implemented at institutional level included: learning and teaching strategy development; professional development, recognition and reward opportunities; curriculum development and building learning communities; availability and intelligent use of data; and a renewed focus on student engagement. The significance of institutional-level changes, and learning about strategic enablers will be discussed based on the results of focus groups carried out with course teams. Themes are highlighted which are believed to be priority areas on which to focus further enhancement of the student experience. In addition, the characteristics of effective practice are emphasised which are critical to an inclusive institutional culture that promotes the belongingness of staff to actively engage students.
Wales 'RU Here' Beyond the Technology: This presentation outlines the findings from a three-year ... more Wales 'RU Here' Beyond the Technology: This presentation outlines the findings from a three-year project capturing first year undergraduate attendance data. Built from the ground-up the system named 'RU Here' was developed to collect and analyse attendance data, retrospectively building reports based on aggregate data to help put interventions into place where areas of weakness were identified. Qualitative student feedback tells us that the interventions founded through the captured data improve their sense of belonging and feelings of being valued. They clearly indicated that support from the interactions of students and academic staff within the classroom environment helped them to progress. Early indications are demonstrating an improvement in both attendance and outcomes in terms of marks whilst showing a decline in withdrawal rates.-Links in the Chain: turning learning analytics data into actions Ed Foster Nottingham Trent University NTU led one of the original "What Works?" research projects (the HERE Project). Our work on student doubters led directly to the development of the NTU Student Dashboard. The Dashboard is one of the first learning analytics resources used in the UK to support student retention and success. The Dashboard provides accurate, timely data on students' engagement with their course and accurately predicts students at risk of early departure. This session will share some of the team's experience of developing the resource and challenge colleagues to consider strategies for using learning analytics to support student retention and success.
On behalf of the RAISE Organising Committee may I offer all delegates a very warm welcome to RAIS... more On behalf of the RAISE Organising Committee may I offer all delegates a very warm welcome to RAISE17, which returns to Manchester for a second time. The major theme of this conference is reconsidering what student engagement is all about. As both an idea and set of practices, SE has become widespread. However given that it has been taken up by so many people in a wide range of roles and in such a diversity of HE contexts, instead of clarity and unity of understanding about SE, it seems to have got more ambiguous and unclear. Has HE been appropriated by neoliberal agendas as some suggest? Has the enthusiasm of some of the practitioners, created forms of SE which are an imposition on students and cast those who do not take up the so called 'SE opportunities' as disengaged undermined the virtues of promoting engagement that the original advocates intended? We hope not! RAISE17 is intended to revitalise the student engagement movement, reflect on progress and remind ourselves why we decided to create RAISE and put student engagement at the heart of all that we do. At the same time we all look forward to hearing about exciting new ideas and good policies and practices, so we can learn from each other in a space where all are welcome. Colin Bryson, Chair of RAISE Welcome to Student delegates "It gives me great pleasure to welcome students and everyone to the cutting-edge RAISE Conference 2017. My name is Stella, currently a final year postgraduate researcher at the University of Sunderland and a student committee member of RAISE. I am excited to be part of the great team, RAISE, and the RAISE17 conference, that targets creating insights into the student engagement on both national and international platforms I am hopeful that you enjoy every opportunity that this conference creates towards furthering your own engagement.'' Stella Faluke, RAISE Committee Member About RAISE RAISE is a network of academics, practitioners, advisors and student representatives drawn from the Higher Education Sector who are working and/or interested in researching and promoting student engagement. The Aims of RAISE are: 1. To come together for beneficial scholarly discussion, sharing ideas and creating collaborative projects. 2. To involve and work with students in partnership 3. To promote and disseminate good practice 4. To influence policy and encourage focus and investment in SE 5. To create a bank of resources and share this openly 6. To facilitate communication among our members This is delivered through organising an annual conference and events, running special interest groups, supporting our own journal and other publications, lobbying policy makers and funders and collaborating with other organisations and networks with allied interests.
International journal for students as partners, Oct 7, 2017
This paper situates Students as Partners (SaP) within the broader construct of student engagement... more This paper situates Students as Partners (SaP) within the broader construct of student engagement so that we can examine the influence of partnership on student and staff participants and how this impacts on student and staff relationships. The findings of interviews carried out with students and staff (n=14), which aimed to capture rich descriptions of the lived experience of individuals, reveal that there was a high level of consensus between students and staff on how they described their lived experiences and the impact that partnership was having on them-particularly in relation to their personal development. Whilst it became apparent that the participants' thinking and behaviours had changed as a result of their involvement in partnership, quite often the catalyst for this change was in relation to how the participants were feeling. Considerations for relevant stakeholders are highlighted to support the scaling up of a SaP approach.
Undergraduate intake into the School of Environmental Sciences, Ulster comprises students studyin... more Undergraduate intake into the School of Environmental Sciences, Ulster comprises students studying honours degree programmes in environmental sciences, geography and marine science, and students following a two-year non-honours Associate Bachelors degree (ABD) in environmental studies. Induction includes first year students interacting with studies advisers and senior student tutors (SSTs) in small group activities. The main aim of the SST workshops is to help level four students prepare for their end-of-semester modular written examinations. This article outlines the scheme and shows how peer-mentors facilitate the readying of first year students for what is a challenging task. Using an empirical survey we evaluate their effectiveness in bridging the experiential learning gap between themselves and those under their tutelage. It is argued that faculty suffering from student progression problems traceable to weaknesses in examination performance could benefit from adopting this locally, controlled, low cost, small scale peer-mentoring model.
International Journal for Academic Development, Dec 16, 2015
A partnership approach to developing student capacity to engage and staff capacity to be engaging... more A partnership approach to developing student capacity to engage and staff capacity to be engaging: opportunities for academic developers Many higher education institutions are adopting learning and teaching approaches that embrace "students as partners". This can be met with trepidation by academic staff and students. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate, through two UKbased institutional case studies, that a partnership approach provides an opportunity for staff and studentswhere each appreciate the others' perspective and the barriers to learning are reduced. We propose five learning points for academic developers to reflect and act upon to get to the very heart of how we might achieve and sustain partnership work.
has focussed on the changing nature of higher education, but it is clear that we are now entering... more has focussed on the changing nature of higher education, but it is clear that we are now entering a new era of change, one which embraces the widening participation agenda, but which also demands that we take even greater account of "providing opportunities for different types of people to study in a wider range of ways than in the past" Mandelson (2009, p.9). He also argues that with the introduction of variable fees, as recommended in the forthcoming review of higher education, students' expectations of higher education have changed and that these expectations from our most important clients should inform and enhance the service that universities provide. CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk
Abstract The Student Transition and Retention Project (STAR, 2007) conference in 2004 raised awar... more Abstract The Student Transition and Retention Project (STAR, 2007) conference in 2004 raised awareness of the gap between the expectations of first-year lecturers at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and the reality of the secondary school curriculum. This article will provide an introduction to the issues covered by the conference. Examples will be provided of changes in practice that have addressed the issues raised. The aim is both to identify ways in which practice can be modified to support students through the period of transition, taking a realistic starting point, and to demonstrate a developmental way of approaching the problem.
Contents 1 Introduction, aims and purpose 2 Participating institutions 3 New student conversation... more Contents 1 Introduction, aims and purpose 2 Participating institutions 3 New student conversations: From QA to QE Student Academic Development Research Associates Scheme (SADRAS) Change Liverpool-Student partnerships for university and city Design your own course? A new role for students in programme development and curriculum design Extending student engagement through curriculum enhancement Course design consultancy Practical skills training programme Student engagement: a catalyst for transformative change Students as partners change programme 2012-13 An overview of the programme, participating institutions and case studies 1 BIS (2011) Higher Education White Paper: Students at the Heart of the System 2 Million+ (2012) Teaching that Matters 3
This article provides an overview of the key activities that have been carried out in the first t... more This article provides an overview of the key activities that have been carried out in the first two years of this three year project (2016-2019) Erasmus+ Project background and aims Although formal professional development for learning and teaching in higher education is well established in the UK and some other European countries (Pleschová et al., 2012), other institutions within the European Union, such as those in Eastern Europe do not necessarily have a record of such formalised support, particularly with regard to support for early career educators. More than two decades since the change of regimes in Central and Eastern Europe, universities in these countries are still, to a certain extent, playing catch-up in terms of academic development. Those new to higher education teaching tend to emulate teaching styles and techniques of more senior teachers, which, in turn, can hamper the introduction of more effective teaching methods and approaches, and adversely impact the student learning experience. This exciting project, led by the University of Economics in Bratislava (Slovakia) seeks to offer professional development opportunities to early career university educators in countries where this was hitherto lacking. It comprises a range of partners from across Europe that bring their own expertise and perspectives to the project delivery and intended outcomes:
Develop an understanding of the most effective interventions that improve students' sense of be... more Develop an understanding of the most effective interventions that improve students' sense of belonging, engagement and confidence in first year at HE institutions. Discuss routes for student success that focus on pre-entry information; active learning; and co-curricular activities. Appreciate the importance of the student voice and have a greater understanding of the impact of student staff partnerships Reflect and discuss the opportunities and challenges in improving student retention and success in their own areas.
Uploads
Papers by Roisin Curran