The Student
Experience Project
Overview
Mark Wilkinson
September 2013
Contents
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Background
Aim
Success criteria
The ‘strands’
Delivery
Next Steps
Background
• Why do we need a Student Experience Project?
• Three major factors driving this:
– Strategic goal of ‘world leading student experience’
– Responding to student feedback on their experience
– Responding to recommendations from
internal/external review
Aim
• The Student Experience Project aims to deliver a
better understanding of the student experience; to
pilot and implement developments to services and
activities; and to enrich the experience of all
students of the University
• This will be achieved by adopting collaborative and
partnership focussed methods
Success measures
• Higher levels of student satisfaction
– Indicated by qualitative and quantitative research with students
– External surveys such as the NSS, also Times Higher
Education’s Student Experience Survey
– Internal surveys undertaken by the Student Survey Unit eg
ESES, New Student survey
– Focus Group findings
• Delivery of high level KPIs from 2012-16 Strategic plan:
– Strategic goal: Excellence in education
– Strategic theme: Outstanding student experience
The strands
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Enhanced Selection
Pre-arrival and Induction
Student Information Points
Student Communication
Peer Support
Online and Innovation in Student Services
Programme and Course Information Management Project (PCIM)
Emergency Response
Student Surveys
School Councils
Healthy University
Enhanced Selection
• Aim: To develop and pilot the use of enhanced admissions selection
criteria that value diversity, and reflect the skills, attributes and
knowledge required to succeed at Edinburgh. To develop tools to
effectively communicate these expectations and the nature of our
programmes to prospective students before they apply.
• Chair of Task Group: Rebecca Gaukroger, Head of Admissions:
• Project staff: Gillian Simmons, Senior Policy and Project Officer;
Alyssa Newman, Admissions Project Officer
Pre-arrival and Induction
• Aim: To co-ordinate and enhance pre-arrival and induction support,
enabling our diverse student population to successfully transition to
university life and study.
• Chair of TG: Ruth Stewart, Head of Academic Administration,
College of Medicine and Vet Medicine
• Project staff:
• Jenni Murray and Kristen Hunger, Induction Co-ordinators
• Abby Shovlin, Academic Induction Planner
• Key Achievements:
• Enhanced Academic Fair
• Improved ‘New Students’ web site
• Greater co-ordination of Induction/Freshers’ Week 2013
Student Information Points
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Aim: To develop, implement and deliver an information service for students,
and for the many staff who also have a role in supporting them
Status: 2 face-to-face SIPs (Kings Buildings & Main Library), social media,
email & text services set up. Stage two evaluation/planning process now
underway; awareness raising campaign underway; benchmarking activities
planned
Project staff: Student Information Points Manager; SIP team x6 – Alun
Evans, Jemma Allan, Amy Challacombe, Anna Guy, Lewis Scroggie,
Summer Wight
Key Achievements:
Building from scratch and delivering a new student service in under 2
months
Dissemination of a new University wide publicity campaign to promote
awareness
Increasing integration with other key information providers
Peer Support
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Aim: To foster a sense of belonging within the student body and support
students to develop strong inter-personal, communication and professional
skills . To provide an opportunity for Schools/academics to receive ‘realtime’ feedback from students on multiple aspects of their student experience
Status: year two of development Project staff: Katie Scott - Peer Support
Co-ordinator; Mimi Watts Project Officer
Key Achievements:
peer support embedded now across all Schools;
200 student peers trained;
40 projects in place from Sep 2013;
contributing to the HEA Students as Partners Summit
presented on their work at the International Enhancement Themes
Conference 2013
Student Communications
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Aim: To consider and develop effective student communication practices to
enrich the student experience and ensure that students are aware of, and
can engage with, student support enhancements
Status: Audit completed (including research with students & meetings with
Schools). Communications Strategy developed covering digital & traditional
channels; Task Group completed
Project staff:
Lucy Lamb and Kate Glencross, Student Communications Officers
Key Achievements:
Innovative Learning Week campaign
Student Surveys campaign
New Student News web site and newsletters
On the Same Page campaign - http://www.ed.ac.uk/staffstudents/students/same-page
Online and Innovation
in Student Services
• Aim: To develop, deploy and enhance web-based student support
mechanisms and tools; to foster and enhance collaboration,
partnership and integrated working between the support services
and Colleges/Schools
• Status: analysis of free text comments from ISB, PTES and PRES;
audit of University online support resources and provision; pilot use
of the Big White Wall.
• Chair of TG: Shelagh Green, Director, Careers Service
• Project staff: a post of Student Support Developer is being taken
forward for recruitment.
Programme and Course Information
Management Project (PCIM)
• Aim: To consider how we store, manage and use academic
information; to enhance the student experience by providing
accurate, consistent and useable information to support academic
choice.
• Status: This project strand is completing the scoping and initiation
phase and will shortly seek approval for implementation from
Learning and Teaching & Curriculum and Student Progression
Committee
• Chair of TG: Professor Ian Pirie
• Project staff: Nichola Kett, Assistant Head and Project Manager,
has been seconded to this role in Academic Registry.
Emergency Response
• Aim: To reflect on current support for students in emergency and
crisis situations; to develop recommendations and consider the
implications of these for implementation.
• Status: Report and recommendations in draft form; Task Group
drawing to a close and recommendations will be fed back to the
project Steering Group.
• Chair of TG: Bruce Nelson, College Registrar, College of Science
and Engineering
Schools Councils
• Aim: To promote student involvement in learning and teaching, and
academic community in schools.
• Status: Project initiation phase – new for 2013/14. Sponsored by
EUSA as lead stakeholder. Project Co-ordinator in place by end of
September to lead on this work. Two part time students also being
recruited as part of this project.
Healthy University
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Aim: To create a learning environment and organisational culture that
enhances the health, well-being, and sustainability of its community and
enables our students to achieve their full potential
Status: Project initiation phase – new for 2013/14. Sponsored by Centre for
Sports and Exercise and the Healthy Body, Healthy Mind group. Project Coordinator being recruited to lead on this work.
Actions:
Create a strategy to drive the HBHM / healthy university concept, by
connecting with existing units, harmonising the current players who deliver
existing good practice, engaging with partners
Identify what we need to do - produce an action plan to deliver the very first
“healthy university” in Scotland
Feed into the University’s Strategic Plan themes of Outstanding Student
Experience and Quality People
Student Surveys
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Aim: To develop a comprehensive and co-ordinated approach to surveying
the student experience; to develop our understanding of the student
experience and communicate this to the University stakeholders
Status: Task Group stage concluded and new Student Surveys Advisory
Group being established (reporting to the Senate Quality Assurance
Committee); Student Survey Unit established.
Chair of TG: Dr Tina Harrison, Assistant Principal Academic Standards &
Quality Assurance
Project staff: Lisa Scattergood, Student Surveys Coordinator
Key Achievements:
Delivering a more co-ordinated approach to key University wide surveys –
NSS, PTES, PRES and ESES
Piloting course evaluation surveys with Schools
Delivery
• Some project staff embedded in teams such as the Web
Project team (IS); Communications and Marketing;
Student Admissions; Academic Registry and others in
central SEP team based at 15 Buccleuch Place
• Challenges:
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The scale of the University
Avoiding duplication of work undertaken elsewhere
Effective communication with all stakeholders
Demonstrating an evidence based approach to enhancement
• Key: breaking through organisational silos and working
closely with relevant stakeholders across the University
Further information from the project wiki:
https://www.wiki.ed.ac.uk/display/SEPROJ/Home
coming shortly will be a new web site detailing more
information also on the Student Experience Project