Students as agents of change
The issue
With raised student expectations, institutions need to develop innovative ways to deliver the curriculum to maintain a high level learning experience.
What you can do
Technology has a key role to play in many innovative learning experiences and students are often quicker to identify potential solutions than staff. By seeing students as partners in the delivery of their education, institutions benefit from fresh perspectives while students gain a sense of empowerment and skills valued by employers.
The following case studies explore how three institutions have successfully engaged students as agents of change.
University of Exeter - improving the international student experience
Exeter’s Business School used technology to improve the experience of a rapidly expanding international student body. The work developed an institutional framework for considering the role students should have in change management.
Birmingham City University - engaging students in course design
Birmingham City engaged students in curriculum design and delivery as part of its Students as Academic Partners Scheme. Students used technology to help them collect feedback and to devise, deploy and analyse questions about course design.
Kingston College - pre-induction social network
Where a previous staff-led attempt failed, Kingston turned to students to design and deliver a pre-induction social network site for new business students. KU Chat put new students in touch with first year undergraduates who could offer support. 98% of new students using the site found it useful.
Looking ahead
Our new programmes on assessment and feedback and digital literacies include work to explore a range of approaches to put students at the heart of the change process.
We are also setting up mechanisms to enable students and institutions to share best practice.