The University of Edinburgh

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• The Student
• Experience Project
• Overview
• Mark Wilkinson
• September 2013

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Contents

• Background
• Aim
• Success criteria
• The strands
• Delivery
• Next Steps

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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

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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

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Success measures

• Higher levels of student satisfaction
• Indicated by qualitative and quantitative
  research with students
• External surveys such as the NSS, also Times
  Higher Educations 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

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The strands

• 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

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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

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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

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Student Information Points

• 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

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Peer Support

• 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 real-time
  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

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Student Communications

• 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/st
  aff-students/students/same-page

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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Healthy University

• 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 Co-ordinator 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 Universitys Strategic Plan themes
  of Outstanding Student Experience and Quality
  People

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Student Surveys

• 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

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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
• 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

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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
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