How academic and non-academic support can contribute to improving student outcomes.
Universities across the UK aim to provide a transformational experience to students. They focus on providing an academically and personally rich experience, giving young people the necessary skills to succeed throughout their learning journey and beyond.
The Office for Students (OfS) highlights the below components which help to understand the outcomes that a university provides for its students:
- Access: this includes the characteristics of students
- Continuation and completion: this highlights whether a student decides to continue their studies and gain a degree or if they discontinue their studies
- Student views: this refers to feedback, comments and insights received from students regarding the quality of their experience
- Degree attainment: this refers to the number of students who successfully achieve a first or an upper-second-class degree
- Progression: this looks at how students progress after completing their studies e.g. taking on professional and managerial roles or embarking on further academic studies.
How is it measured?
Ofs (Office for Students) gain measures from individualised student data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), the Education and Skills Funding Agency, Graduate Outcomes survey and National Student Survey. At times, they may also use benchmarking to gain a better understanding of the collected data.
What can academics do to improve student outcomes?
Encourage engagement
Students who engage in the classroom are likely to receive better academic results. Academics can use a wide range of tools such as online quizzes, podcasts, student response systems, and social media. You may find it helpful to try the below tools in your classroom:
- Smart Assessor – this platform allows you to track learners’ progress and create a collection of their learning evidence.
- Blackboard discussion board: Using this tool, you will be able to generate discussions and help students reflect on their experiences. Online conversations could help develop a sense of community amongst students and they could share their insights both in the classroom and throughout their working days.
- Padlet – this is an excellent tool for sharing knowledge, content, and resources. Padlet is a simple and easy-to-use platform.
- Mentimeter – this tool would allow you to introduce quizzes, pools and word clouds to make your teaching session more varied and engaging.
High-quality feedback
Giving students effective feedback can help them to develop their academic skills. Formative assignments can enable students to learn whether they are on track and whether they understand the assignment questions clearly. Giving students detailed and bespoke feedback comments on their summative assignments can help them to understand why they have received their marks and receive guidance on what to do to develop their assignments in the future.
Develop your skills
As an academic, it is essential that you continuously develop your skills and knowledge. The more you keep up to date with trends and developments in your field, the more you can share new knowledge with the students. Attending industry events, conferences and knowledge-sharing events could help to further develop your professional skills. As an academic, you need to give a good example to the students. When you engage in continuous learning, you inspire your students to do the same, thus improving student outcomes. You will be able to share with them your love of learning and inspire them to dig deeper into the subject area.
See the potential
If you are teaching a diverse range of students, you would need to align your communications to them. Some of your students may speak English as a second language. You need to ensure that you articulate carefully, and at times you may need to explain complex concepts using simple words. Your students may come from different geographical, cultural or academic backgrounds. You may need to adjust your communication and teaching styles to suit the range of different personalities in your class. The most skilful lecturers can see great potential in each of their students and they can inspire them to reach their full potential.
Can non-academic support help?
Employability support is key: Some students may initially assume that employability is a dry and dull subject. Whilst they study at university, the prospect of getting a job one day seems far away. However, the more your students understand the rationale for building their employability skills, the more they will engage in the process. Universities may regularly invite local employers to talk about their companies and their hiring processes. This brings the topic of employability closer to students and helps them to be more engaged. As a result, they will be able to secure better jobs after graduation.
Careers support: many students feel confused at the start if they are not sure about what type of jobs to apply for. Some of them may be interested in a range of areas and others will not be strongly attracted to any career field. Very few students are aware that experience creates clarity. Work experience, whether voluntary or paid, helps students to gain self-awareness, to learn about their natural strengths and to see what they enjoy doing most. Instead of falling into the trap of ‘analysis paralysis’ (i.e. overthinking), students could look for opportunities to gain some work experience. The careers team’s role is vital in helping students find suitable roles and gain valuable work experience while completing their academic studies.
Students’ wellbeing: A University’s student support services team has an important role in supporting the wellbeing of students. They may offer disability advice and signposting to mental health support, financial aid and student advice. Student Support can offer non-judgmental support to help students maintain their well-being and make the most out of their student experience.
Extra-curricular activities: University life is not just about academic development. It should be about creating life-long friendships, engaging in new activities and pursuing physical activities. The best universities offer a wide range of sports activities from rowing, table tennis, and basketball to yoga, dance classes and sailing. When students engage in different non-academic activities, they can develop a sense of belonging and feel a part of a student community.
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