2017-2020: Evidence for Enhancement
The Scottish Higher Education sector has just completed the three year national enhancement theme: ‘Evidence for Enhancement: Improving the Student Experience’. Every Scottish Higher Education Institution contributes to the enhancement theme, through collaborative engagement and their own institutional projects and initiatives.
There are three strands of activity for the university with events and projects happening within each strand:
- Strand 1: Linking evidence to curriculum enhancement
- Strand 2: Linking student representation to enhancement
- Strand 3: Linking feedback to progression
Resources and outputs from the Theme are available below
General resources from the Theme
Publications emerging from the overall Enhancement Themes work:
- Conference paper: Action planning after NSS (H Fotheringham, June 2018)
- Benchmarking report (H Fotheringham, July 2018)
- Interim report (H Fotheringham, May 2019)
- Thinkpiece (H Fotheringham, July 2019)
Student voice in partnership
This project looked at how the university can respond more effectively to the student voice as expressed through surveys, meetings and student representation structures. Outputs from this project were:
- LTA Scholarship awarded to Cat Meighan, Inverness College UHI for evaluating the impact of a partnership approach to quality improvement
- Student Voice Short Life Working Group with the aim of enhancing the process of ‘closing the feedback loop’ to ensure that all students know what is being done with their feedback/suggestions and that the dialogue between staff and students is always open.
- Student Representation staff resource (created in partnership with Student Development)
- Responding to the student voice case studies:
- Videos from staff and student reps in Childhood Practice explaining the benefits of the student rep system
Assessment and feedback
Events
Resources
- Assessment and feedback case studies
- An update to the Assessment and Feedback staff resource
Using Brightspace for formative assessment (extract)
Increasing engagement with surveys
Increasing engagement with surveys
Key outputs from this strand of work are:
- Webinar: What can student surveys tell us?
- Communicating survey results:
- student webpage
- Early Student Experience Survey (ESES): Infographic
Using evidence at programme level
Using evidence at programme level
Geography
Working with Geography BSC (Hons), this project focussed on the use of group work within the degree, as a response to student feedback coming from the National Student Survey (NSS). Key outputs from this project are:
- Geography Development Day: Write up
- Grading group work (pdf)
- Models for grading group work: pdf | Excel
- Results of survey: Students' views on grading of group work
- Session at University Learning and Teaching conference (Jan 2020), How should group work be graded?
Fine Art
Working with colleagues in Fine Art, this project focussed on assessment within the degree, particularly on standardising assessment criteria, and allowing colleagues to share and learn from peers when assessing students' practical work. Outputs from this project are:
Increasing sense of community and belonging for online and distance learning (ODL) students
Increasing sense of community and belonging for online and distance learning (ODL) students
This strand of work focuses on gathering and using evidence to enhance the experience of students studying online or at a distance. Outputs from this work to date are:
- Toolkit created as part of the Collaborative Cluster work: Creating a sense of belonging for online and distance learners
- Learning Communities Special Interest Group
- Focus group with students on online programmes regarding student representation
- Resources about supporting ODL students (housed within the UHI Toolkit):
- Online Learning Communities Netiquette (from BA Child and Youth Studies)
- Programme ground rules for online learning (from BA Child and Youth Studies)
- Brightspace: 10 tips for getting started (from BA Child and Youth Studies)
- Student Representation staff resource (created in partnership with Student Development)