Assessing and enhancing student experience in higher education

Assessing and Enhancing Student Experience in Higher Education

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Assessing and Enhancing Student Experience in Higher Education

Assessing and Enhancing Student Experience in Higher Education

“For too long we have assumed that the student experience of university is consistent. Tis book considers the extensive and complex nature of the student experience, the factors that shape it and the changes we have seen and should anticipate in the future. Drawing on contributions that address the dimensions of the student experience of higher education, this book provides a consolidated view of the current state and explores future developments and ways in which universities should respond to current challenges.”

—Denise Kirkpatrick, Former Deputy Vice Chancellor, Western Sydney University, Australia

“Tis is an excellent and timely book that demonstrates the importance of understanding how the student experience is changing and needs to change to meet the expectations and needs of the next generations of students, adapt to the increasing number of digital and social disruptions to higher education and provide efcient, efective and innovative learning opportunities. Te book provides many ideas, thoughts and practical ways in which educators and educational leaders can re-design and develop their portfolio of oferings and transform the future student learning experience.”

—Darrell Evans, School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Newcastle and formerly the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at Newcastle and the Vice-Provost (Learning and Teaching) at Monash University

“Tis book will change and deepen your understanding of the interactions between the student experience, teaching and learning - a well-designed collection with excellent scholarly coverage of key theoretical and practical issues.”

—Rob Cuthbert, Emeritus Professor of Higher Education Management, University of the West of England

Mahsood Shah

John T. E. Richardson

Anja Pabel • Beverley Oliver

Assessing and Enhancing Student Experience in Higher Education

Editors

Mahsood Shah

Swinburne University of Technology

Sydney, NSW, Australia

Anja Pabel

School of Business and Law

Central Queensland University

Cairns, QLD, Australia

John T. E. Richardson

Institute of Educational Technology

Te Open University

Milton Keynes, UK

Beverley Oliver

Deakin University

Burwood, VIC, Australia

ISBN 978-3-030-80888-4

ISBN 978-3-030-80889-1 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80889-1

© Te Editor(s) (if applicable) and Te Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021

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Foreword: Student Diversity and Experience

An outstanding student experience that delivers success for diverse students does not happen by chance. With global calls to widen participation now four decades old, universities still have much to learn in relation to how diferent intersections of students’ identity create barriers and opportunities for engagement in higher education. Now, as we slowly move to new post pandemic educational realities, within increasingly insecure gig economies, we note the changes to students’ lives and the parallel loss of work for many higher education staf. It is surely a time that long-standing ideas about the anchors of a creating good student experience are interrogated.

Progressive educators have long drawn on traditions of inclusive curriculum as at the heart of a quality student experience. Exemplars of inclusive curriculum, that ensure for instance, First Nations people experience success and can see themselves and a preferred future, remain elusive. We know this because we now have sophisticated data insights and can disaggregate and reveal who the curriculum is working for (pass rates, retention) and who remains marginalised. Triangulating this learning data with student feedback assists in enhancing the student experience and designing interventions to address the needs of students who have been historically marginalised.

Beyond the curriculum, perhaps institutional factors are now fundamentally the distinctive feature of a successful student experience. Edith Cowan University (ECU) is a medium sized public university in Australia that has achieved an exceptional student experience during the pandemic following sustained high rankings for teaching quality and student support. Te leadership team focus on a well-resourced, intentionally coordinated and joined up suite of activities to promote an organisational culture that is relentless in its pursuit of a sense of belonging for students. With a determined goal to normalise student help seeking behaviour and sustained collaborations with students, ECU has succeeded in recognising the emerging needs in diverse student populations, including addressing digital equity, mental health and fostering innovative community partnerships to engage with issues such as domestic violence and educational sabotage. Te goal is always to ensure students can remain engaged in study.

A vital contextual backdrop for Assessing and Enhancing Student Experience in Higher Education is an era where students expect more agentic representations of social change. With the hallmarks of the neoliberal paradigm still frmly shaping outdated notions of ‘student choice’, this book provides an important overview of the challenges in enhancing the student experience through multilayered and nuanced responses, moving beyond mere collection of student feedback, foregrounding mechanisms to gain new insights into how inclusion and excellence can be the promise for future student experience.

Deputy Vice Chancellor, Education

Edith Cowan University

Joondalup, WA, Australia

Foreword: Digital Technology and Student Experience

Te emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic had a transformative efect on the higher education sector. Where previously online education only accounted for a small percentage of all courses, colleges were put in the position of suddenly needing to ofer almost all instruction through online delivery. Tis shift caused signifcant disruption not only in the pedagogical operations of universities but for students who now faced the prospect of their college experience happening solely through a computer screen. It demanded—and continues to demand—a more holistic view of what the higher education student experience is.

Many institutions were caught of guard by the need to substitute online instruction for in-person coursework. At Arizona State University, however, we were able to call on our extensive online capabilities—technology, instructional design staf, and resources produced by the same faculty as our regular in-person programmes—to continue providing our students with the same quality instruction in a diferent modality.

Further, the pandemic signifcantly accelerated innovation in student experience and course delivery. For us, one of the most immediate results was ASU Sync: a full-immersion, technology-enabled environment where students and instructors could have the same real-time discussions and cohort experience. Te same rapid advancement is being felt across the realms of learning, from traditional classroom instruction to science

education based on the application of virtual reality techniques, and we are excited to be engaged in all of them with the goal of improving student experience—and outcomes.

Assessing and Enhancing Student Experience in Higher Education arrives at a moment when students and institutions alike have been forced to reevaluate what it means to be a university student. With the rise of different learning modalities, more diverse student populations, and other sectoral and secular transformations such as improved technology and COVID-19, the “university experience” has rapidly become less monolithic. Te chapters in this volume speak to the distinct facets of refning the student experience for diferent populations with specifc needs, such as underrepresented and international students, and the measurement challenges—and opportunities—inherent in determining how satisfed students are and using that data moving forward to improve teaching, facilities, and the wellbeing of staf.

At ASU, we have developed a culture that prioritises student success as the primary metric of institutional success. Tis book provides insights that will help other institutions focus on how the student experience is vital to all aspects of student and institutional success in an ever more pluralistic and heterogeneous environment.

Managing Director University Design Institute Arizona State University Tempe, AZ, USA

Minu Ipe

Notes on Contributors

Ishmael Adams is an academic staf member at Swinburne University of Technology, Sydney. Prior to joining Swinburne University of Technology, Ishmael worked as an academic at the University of Technology Sydney. Much earlier, he worked at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Technology as well as a Project Manager in his native Ghana. Ishmael holds a PhD in Built Environment from the University of Technology Sydney, Australia. His research interests are in housing, infrastructure planning and climate change as they relate to sustainable built environment. Recently, Ishmael has also developed an interest in international students’ experience in Australia.

Alison Cook-Sather is Mary Katharine Woodworth Professor of Education at Bryn Mawr College and Director of the Teaching and Learning Institute at Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges, Pennsylvania, United States. With over $1.1 million in grant support, Alison has developed internationally recognized programs that position students as pedagogical consultants to prospective secondary teachers and to practicing college faculty members. She has consulted on this work at more than 75 institutions in 14 countries, published over 100 articles and book chapters, and authored or co-authored eight books, including Pedagogical Partnerships: A How-To Guide for Faculty, Students, and Academic Developers in Higher Education (Elon University Center for Engaged Learning Open Access Series, 2019). She is an inaugural co-editor for the

International Journal for Students as Partners and creator and editor of Teaching and Learning Together in Higher Education.

Telle Hailikari PhD, docent, is an Associate Professor (Senior lecturer) at the Centre for University Teaching and Learning at the University of Helsinki. Her research focuses on student learning at both graduate and doctoral level, procrastination, and well-being of university students and teachers.

Melanie-Jayne Hainke is a Senior Academic Developer at Swansea Academy of Learning and Teaching (SALT) in Swansea University. Her Higher Education (HE) expertise is in the feld of online and distance education. She has extensive experience in the application of Technology Enhanced Learning, most notably with the development of blended learning programmes, integrating ABC curriculum design and the development of active learning spaces with Further Education (FE) and HE collaboration. Her current role is managing the institutional staf training for the implementation of a new Digital Learning Platform.

Melanie has been involved in education for more than 25 years, across a range of teaching, coaching, and training and project management roles. She has educational expertise developing working in the sports sector, managing and quality assuring the national education programme for athletics. Melanie is currently an Associate Lecturer with the Open University teaching on the BSc. Sports Coaching and Fitness degree. Her prior teaching experiences also include the FE sector.

Paul M. Holland is a professor and he has spent the frst ten years of his career working in the UKs semiconductor industry in senior process and device engineering research and development roles. After joining the College of Engineering at Swansea University as a researcher, he completed his PhD in 2007. He became an academic member of staf in 2008 in the electrical and electronics engineering discipline. His technical research areas are varied and include power systems, power electronics and CMOS based medical devices. He has now over 50 publications and several patents and has been funded by sources including EPSRC, Industry, ERDF, HEFCW and the Wolfson Foundation.

In recent years Paul career has followed his interest in and passion for learning and teaching. He was appointed Dean of Educational Technology between 2017 and 2019, where he led the Swansea University Blended Learning Pilot, coordinated the introduction of new active learning studios, and helped colleagues write a specifcation for the new VLE. Now a Principal Fellow of the HEA, Paul is Head of the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Centre in the College of Engineering and works holistically across a range of areas to improve student learning and experience.

David Kane is a higher education researcher with many years’ involvement in researching the nature of the student experience. He has been engaged with student satisfaction surveys for over 15 years and is particularly interested in data collection methods, institutional use of student feedback data and their actions as a result. Along with his colleague, James Williams, David has published on aspects of the UK student experience. He is keen to explore the impact of changes to the student experience as a result of increased use of technology in learning and teaching and the adoption of learning analytics. More topically, he is interested in the student and institutional response to questions of experience and quality resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Belle W. X. Lim is an international student from Malaysia. She arrived in Australia in 2013 and has since completed a foundation degree at Eynesbury College (Adelaide, SA), a Bachelor in Pharmaceutical Sciences with Honours as the Faculty Gold Medallist at Monash University (Melbourne, VIC), and is currently pursuing a PhD degree in cancer genetics at Monash University and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (Melbourne, VIC). Belle serves as the National President at the Council of International Students Australia (CISA) in 2020/21, after serving two terms as the National Women’s Ofcer in 2018–2020. Belle founded Future Female, the frst conference focussing on international women in Victoria, which has featured high-profle multicultural women leaders and has welcomed over 1100 attendees. Belle was the recipient of the prestigious Victorian International Student of the Year – Premier’s Award in 2019 and represented Malaysia in the Paris UNESCO Youth Forum in the same year.

Joanne Lymn is a professor and Dean of Health Sciences at the University of Nottingham, UK. She has a PhD in vascular biology and an educational background in pharmacology and non-medical prescribing. Her research interests centre around student engagement with technology to promote learning, student empowerment, and the role of compassion in education and health. She is author of a key non-medical prescribing textbook, has won several teaching awards and is a National Teaching Fellow.

Kelly E. Matthews is an Associate Professor of Higher Education at Te University of Queensland, Australia. Her research digs into studentteacher relationships in university education with a focus on pedagogical partnerships and aims to foster meaningful learning opportunities in higher education. She teaches undergraduate students and university lecturers. Kelly has collaborated on 26 funded teaching and learning projects worth $2.7 million, has received fve awards (four for teaching; one for research), and publishes extensively. She is an Australian Learning and Teaching Fellow, an inaugural co-editor for the International Journal for Students as Partners, and a member of the International Journal of Chinese Education editorial board. She was an elected Vice-President for the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (2016–19). Kelly’s new co-authored book, Writing about Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, is available free via open-access publisher Elon Center for Engaged Learning. Alongside work, usually colliding with it, Kelly has two young children (Alex and Codi) and an amazing partner (Carlos).

Liz Mossop is a professor and Deputy Vice Chancellor (Student Development and Engagement) at the University of Lincoln, UK. She is a veterinary surgeon with a PhD in Clinical Education, and previously led the curriculum at the University of Nottingham, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science. Her research interests are student engagement and the teaching of professionalism and professional skills. She is a National Teaching Fellow and has won several awards for her student engagement activities.

Beverley Oliver is emeritus professor and a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an Australian National Teaching Fellow. She is a non-executive director at Open Learning, an ASX-listed company, and non-executive director at EduGrowth, Australia’s not-for-proft acceleration network for high-growth, scalable, borderless education. Beverley was formerly the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education at Deakin University (2013–18). She now works as a higher education consultant, speaker and researcher focussing on digital education, micro-credentials, curriculum transformation, quality assurance and graduate employability. She is the founder and editor of the Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability.

Anja Pabel is a senior lecturer in tourism at CQUniversity in Cairns, Australia. Her research interests are: tourist behaviour, marine tourism, humour research and tourism education. Anja completed a Bachelor of Business with frst class honours in 2009 at James Cook University (JCU), Australia. In 2015, she completed her PhD in tourism at JCU. Her PhD research investigated the role of humour in tourism settings. More specifcally she examined in what ways humour infuences the tourist experience in making tourists feel comfortable, connected and more mindful. In recent years, she has become active in publishing work on student experience using qualitative data from social media. She has received awards for her commitment to teaching and learning.

Anna Parpala is acting as an Associate Professor (University lecturer) in the Helsinki University Centre for University Teaching and Learning, Finland. She has been developing a research-based quality system at the University of Helsinki since 2005. Her research focuses on student learning, teachers’ teaching and quality enhancement in higher education.

John T. E. Richardson is emeritus professor in student learning at the Open University in the United Kingdom. He taught and researched in psychology at Brunel University from 1975 to 2001, when he moved to the Open University to take up a new chair in student learning and assessment in the Institute of Educational Technology. His main research interests were concerned with the relationship between students’ percep-

tions of their courses of study in higher education and the approaches to studying that they adopt on those courses. He was also responsible for institutional research on the evaluation of both courses and programmes of study at the Open University. He retired from the Open University in July 2017.

Bart Rienties is Professor of Learning Analytics and head of Academic Professional Development at the Institute of Educational Technology at the Open University UK. As Associate Director he leads a group of academics who provide university-wide academic professional development and innovation courses and conduct evidence-based research of how professionals learn. As educational psychologist, he conducts multidisciplinary research on work-based and collaborative learning environments and focuses on the role of social interaction in learning, which is published in leading academic journals and books. His primary research interests are focussed on Learning Analytics, Professional Development, and the role of motivation in learning. Furthermore, Bart is interested in broader internationalisation aspects of higher education.

Mahsood Shah is a professor and Dean of Swinburne University of Technology, Sydney Campus. In this role, Mahsood provides overall leadership and management of the campus. Mahsood is responsible for the growth of the campus, development of new courses, stafng and resourcing, monitoring quality and standard, improving quality of student experience and other academic outcome measures. Industry and employer engagement and collaboration are also part of his role. Prior to joining Swinburne University of Technology, Mahsood led learning and teaching at several Australian universities. Mahsood is an active researcher. His areas of research include quality in higher education, measurement and enhancement of student experience, student retention and attrition, student engagement in quality assurance, international higher education, widening participation and private higher education.

Pieter Spooren studied Educational Sciences and Quantitative Analysis in the Social Sciences and holds a PhD in Social Sciences. He was afliated as an educational advisor at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the

University of Antwerp (Belgium) and is currently head of the Antwerp Doctoral School at the same university. His main research interests focus on students’ evaluation of teaching (in particular their use and validity), the teaching-research nexus, doctoral education, educational innovation and the transition between secondary education and higher education. His research has been published in high-quality international peerreviewed journals such as Review of Educational Research, Educational Research Review, Contemporary Educational Psychology, British Educational Research Journal, Higher Education, and Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. He also serves as assistant editor for Studies in Educational Evaluation.

Kevin Marco Tanaya is an international student from Indonesia and the current National Secretary of CISA. He is a 4th year of Bachelor of Laws/Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the Australian National University. He is also the current International Students Director of the ANU Law Students Society and a student editor for the Federal Law Review.

Beatrice Tucker is currently the Evaluation Lead for the School of Medicine at the University of Western Australia. She is responsible for the design, development, implementation and administration of an evaluation framework for the Medical School. She was the Manager Evaluation and Academic Standards at Curtin University and has been integral to the development, validation, implementation and evaluation of two evaluation systems; a school (1999–2005) and later Curtin’s online student evaluation system (called eVALUate) since 2005. She has also developed and implemented a university-wide Quality Framework for Excellence in Learning and Teaching for the purpose of monitoring and improving all aspects of teaching, learning and the student experience aligned with Higher Education Standards. In her role as Director Curtin Learning Institute, she developed and embedded Teaching Excellence at Curtin, a framework outlining criteria and standards for academics, provided leadership for learning and teaching and was responsible for professional learning for staf, the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Learning Spaces and the educational guidance and support at all levels

for academic staf at the university. Beatrice is also a physiotherapist who has specialist skills and knowledge in educational quality, accreditation and cardiopulmonary physiotherapy science.

Tomas Ullmann is a Lecturer in the Institute of Educational Technology at Te Open University and an Honorary Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Warwick. With more than 15 years of experience, he is an expert in the evaluation of Educational Technology in Higher Education. His current research interests include the evaluation of online and distance teaching and learning, educational text analytics, and the automated analysis of refective thinking in writings. Tomas is the lead of the Text Analytics of Students Initiative delivering text analytics to the whole of the University. Tomas published over 30 publications in high-ranked journals, conferences, and workshops and over 45 research deliverables, internal research reports, quality enhancement reports, and scholarship work. Tomas co-organised the Workshop series on Awareness and Refection in Technology-Enhanced Learning held in conjunction with the European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning. Tomas regularly presents his work at conferences.

James Williams is a higher education researcher with particular expertise in quality management and the wider context of higher education policy. His main focus is the collection and use of stakeholder feedback as part of institutional continuous quality improvement processes and has co-ordinated student satisfaction surveys for a number of universities since 2004. His interests in this feld include how to conduct successful student experience surveys, the insights we can gain from collecting this data on particular issues or about diferent groups within a comparative framework. James has also published papers on aspects of the UK’s National Student Survey (NSS), including one of the frst academic articles ever published on the NSS (2007). Recently, James has begun to focus more generally on quality and its implications for the higher education sector, returning to the question what quality, quality assessment and excellence actually mean for the academy.

List of Figures

Fig. 8.2 An example of the report in the software for the programme leaders on one scale measuring constructive alignment of teaching 199

Fig. 8.3 An example of the item level descriptions from the scale constructive alignment of teaching for programme leaders 200

Fig. 10.1 Conceptual map of dominant themes and concepts

List of Tables

1Introduction to the Twenty-First Century Student Experience: Issues, Trends, Disruptions and Expectations

Mahsood Shah, Anja Pabel, and John T. E. Richardson

Introduction

Te book makes an important contribution to the discourse on student experience in higher education. Te book includes 13 chapters from leading scholars in Australia, the UK, the USA, Belgium and Finland. Apart from leading scholars, the book includes a chapter from a student representative organisation that represents international students. Student experience has become an important part of university reputation and

M. Shah (*)

Swinburne University of Technology, Sydney, NSW, Australia

e-mail: mahsoodshah@swin.edu.au

A. Pabel

School of Business and Law, Central Queensland University, Cairns, QLD, Australia

e-mail: a.pabel@cqu.edu.au

J. T. E. Richardson

Institute of Educational Technology, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK

e-mail: john.t.e.richardson@open.ac.uk

© Te Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021

M. Shah et al. (eds.), Assessing and Enhancing Student Experience in Higher Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80889-1_1

ranking. Many stakeholders have a vested interest in student experience. Tey include higher education institutions themselves, governments as funding bodies, students as the recipient of education, parents, employers, professional bodies that accredit courses and certify graduates, national and international accrediting bodies that accredit institutions or faculties, donors, and research partners. Te voice of students has become increasingly important in the twenty-frst century due to many external drivers. Tey include: (1) a quest for high quality education by funding bodies; (2) employer expectations of high-quality graduates to meet the changing needs of industry; (3) student and parents’ expectations of university education and employment outcomes; and (4) increased availability of data in the public domain which infuence student choice.

Te book includes chapters that cover important aspects of the twentyfrst century student experience. Chapters cover issues such as: new trends and insights on the student experience, the changing profle of students in higher education and performance measures used to assess the quality of student experience, institutional approaches in engaging students, using student voice to improve the quality of teaching, COVID-19 and its impact on international students, innovative partnerships between students and academic staf, student feedback and raising academic standards, the increased use of qualitative data in gaining insights into student experience, the use of innovative learning spaces and technology to enhance the learning experience, the potentially disrupting nature of student feedback and its impact on the health and wellbeing of academic staf, and the increased use of social media reviews by students.

Student Experience in Context

Universities have a long history of measuring the student experience. Institutional surveys emerged in the 1970s and 1980s with a focus on measuring the student experience at university level. In the late 1990s and 2000s, unit evaluation and student satisfaction surveys emerged. Te survey instruments originate from various stakeholders including universities, governments, ranking institutions and students. Tese survey instruments provided insight into the student experience at university

and unit of study level. Over the last two decades, government policy changes and the growth of higher education have resulted in various developments. Te policy changes included: (1) introduction of performance-based funding which entails student experience measures; (2) revision and in some cases introduction of national instruments to evaluate student experience; (3) third party collection, coding, analysis and dissemination of data on national student surveys; and (4) publication of data in the public domain.

Te last two decades also saw changes in institutional practices. Some notable changes included: (1) inclusion of teacher-related questions into the end-of-semester unit evaluations; (2) utilisation of the combined instruments to assess unit and teacher performance; (3) introduction of mid-semester evaluations in some institutions; (4) rationalisation of student survey instruments and alignment with national instruments; and (5) implementation of technological tools to collect, analyse and report data and centralisation of student surveys into a single functional unit.

In the last two decades, institutions have also set priorities and targets in strategic plans to improve student experience measures. In many institutions, senior academic leaders such as Deputy Vice Chancellors (Academic or Education) are accountable for the improvement in student experience results. In countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the UK, student experience results are used by quality agencies and regulators to evaluate institutional quality assurance.

Students have consistently provided feedback on various aspects of their experience. Over a period of 3–4 years, it is estimated that more than a million comments are collected in an average size university (Shah & Pabel, 2019). While some universities have sophisticated tools to analyse open-ended comments, many are yet to make best use of the rich data that provide deep insight on areas where institutions are doing well, and areas where further improvement is needed. Other data sources such as student complaints and faculty/school student forums also provide useful insights. An analysis of recurring themes from open-ended comments collected through surveys is also useful. Te triangulation of the data sources provides recurring themes which institutions could use to improve the learning experience of students. While data at unit and teacher level provide granular insight into the quality of teaching, assessment and unit

content, it does not provide knowledge on the experience of students in key areas such as library, timetabling, learning support, campus life, online study experience, parking, childcare, and other facilities and services.

In recent years, new forms of student feedback have emerged which are less frequently utilised by universities. Growing numbers of students are using social media such as Facebook and Google reviews to rate universities and write open-ended comments. Tese forms of feedback provide a 24/7 opportunity for students to make their voice known (Shah et al., 2019; see Chap. 10 by Pabel, Shah and Adams). Apart from social media reviews, global platforms such as Coursera and edX also publish student ratings, comments and testimonials on massive open online courses (MOOCs).

Social media channels provide freedom and autonomy for students to provide feedback which may not have been revealed in standard surveys. Recently, the Provost and Deputy Vice Chancellor of Aston University in the UK argued the need for institutions to listen to the student voice regularly and make changes based on these views, so that students fnd universities to be responsive to their needs (Higson, 2020). Similar views were also expressed by Weissova et al. (2020) who argued that the student voice should not be overlooked. A recent study in the USA with more than 800 students found “empathy and use of student voice” as one of the top fve areas for universities to thrive in the post COVID-19 environment (Jankowski, 2020, p. 3).

Having systematic processes in place to collect, analyse and report data to faculties is only useful if key leaders can implement change in a timely manner. Closing the loop on student experience data is critical in gaining trust from students and to encourage ongoing engagement with surveys and feedback (Watson, 2003; Shah et al., 2017; see Chap. 8 by Parpala and Hailikari). Often academic leaders face dilemmas in implementing changes that require improvements in the quality of teaching, changes in curriculum, assessment redesign, and efective use of teaching technologies. Tese changes require input from educators and academic leaders such as department heads, and course and unit coordinators. According to Cook-Sather (2014), promoting the student voice can bring faculty and students into dialogue and help them to understand each other’s

perspectives. Often senior academic leaders are presented with data at institutional level on satisfaction scores or ratings; however, it is difcult to identify specifc improvements at course level, across campuses, for diferent modes of delivery or in other areas requiring timely change to specifc or systemic issues.

Academics sometimes tend to reject student feedback rather than using it to refect on teaching, curriculum and assessment issues. Recent research undertaken in Finland found educators’ hesitation in accepting and dealing with student recommendations in relation to curriculum changes (Tuhkala et al., 2020). Common reasons why educators reject feedback include: low response rates, sample bias, students lacking expertise in curriculum design and pedagogies, and the disruptive and sometimes abusive nature of student comments (Tucker, 2014; see Chap. 11 by Tucker). Recent studies have also shown race-ethnicity and gender stereotypes in teaching evaluations against female academics (Black, 2020; Centra & Gaubatz, 2000).

Te engagement of educators in using student feedback to implement timely changes requires key leaders and educators to recognise the value of student feedback and the consequences of not implementing changes. Feedback from students should be used to raise standards of teaching and assessments, as well as for curriculum renewal and other areas. A focus on using student feedback to raise standards requires a cultural change across the university. It requires key academic leaders to recognise the value of student voice and empower educators to implement changes in collaboration with other fellow peers (see Chap. 4 by Mossop and Lymn). Cultural change requires institutions to set targets, clarify accountability, monitor progress and implement actions to sustain improvements (see Chap. 7 by Spooren). It also requires institutions to support educators through professional development, peer mentoring and support on ways to improve aspects that require changes, reward and recognition, identifcation and dissemination of good practices and celebrating success. Ongoing monitoring of course and unit performance is critical to ensure that the feedback loop is closed, and the improvements are having a positive impact. Productive engagement of educators and students is key towards genuine commitment in enhancing the student experience (see Chap. 4 by Mossop and Lymn). Students and educators need to

respect each other – a respectful partnership requires institutions to educate students and university staf about the role of student voice. One way to implement strategies to encourage respectful feedback is to posit feedback on the student’s work as providing constructive advice to help them improve their performance, in exchange for the student providing constructive feedback to the educators on how they can improve their teaching performance.

Trends in the Last Decade

Some of the trends and student characteristics from the last decade provide useful insights on the expectations of students. Te last decade has witnessed growth of domestic and international students (see Chap. 3 by Oliver). Widening access and participation policies have increased enrolment of students from diverse backgrounds. Similarly, international student enrolment has increased in both public and private higher education institutions. For example, in Australia there were 189,000 commencing domestic/home higher education students in 1989 compared to 645,000 in 2019. Similarly, there were only 11,000 commencing international students in Australia in 1989 compared to 237,000 in 2019 (Australian Government, 2019). In the UK, the growth has plateaued with 1.1 million commencing higher education students in 2009 which is slightly lower in 2019 (Higher Education Statistics Agency, 2019). According to Roser and Ortiz-Ospina (2013), gross enrolment in tertiary education has increased in North America, Europe and Central Asia, Latin American and Caribbean, East Asia and Pacifc, Middle East and North Africa, South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Another phenomenon in the last decade indicates that students are working while they are studying. A report in Australia found that almost 86% of students are in full-time or part-time employment while studying (Australian Government, 2020a). Similarly, in the USA, it was found that more than 70% of college students work while studying (Carnevale & Smith, 2018). Students are spending less time at university campuses due to work and personal commitments, and possibly because more teaching and resources can be accessed digitally. While the majority of

students are studying in face-to-face mode, an increasing number of them are benefting from blended modes of learning where learning materials and recorded lectures are accessible via a learning management system. Te average full-time university student has been shown to work in four diferent jobs per annum (Australian Government, 2020). It is estimated that a student often works in more than fve workplaces by the time they complete their bachelor’s degree (see Chap. 2 by Kane and Williams).

As domestic/home student participation diversifes, their learning needs and expectations are also changing. Many students expect universities to provide a range of support services to enable them to succeed. Tey expect comparable support at their local campus or if they are studying online; they may require access to learning resources, learning skills support, accessibility services, counselling, careers and employment services, mental health services, and other specialist support.

As student numbers grow, higher education is also experiencing a shift in student characteristics. Te new generation of students are tech-savvy and well-informed with access to mobile technologies (see Chap. 10 by Pabel, Shah and Adams). A recent report by Deloitte found that students aged between 18 and 34 are high users of mobile devices, although adults between the age of 35 and 75 are also increasingly using mobile technologies (Deloitte, 2020). Another report by Te Chronicle of Higher Education (2018, p. 5) found Generation Z, born between 1995 and 2012, are accustomed to learning by switching between the real and virtual worlds. Te report suggests that they use YouTube for information and they prefer more fexible spaces that promote interaction with peers and teaching staf.

COVID-19 Forcing Major Changes

At the time of writing, the world has turned its attention to COVID-19. COVID-19 has brought unprecedented challenges to universities including teaching in an online environment, transition to digital delivery and the fnancial impact of a halt on international student mobility. Te impact of COVID-19 on universities has been described as “the future arrived ahead of schedule, abruptly and without invitation” (KPMG, 1

2020, p. 2). Te risk related to the over-reliance on international student income was well known; however, COVID-19 has further highlighted this as a vulnerability for higher education institutions (Blackmore, 2020). According to Universities Australia, the university sector will lose $16 billion by 2023 directly because of this issue (Universities Australia, 2020). In the UK, the loss is projected to be £19 billion (Institute of Fiscal Studies, 2020); $5 billion in the USA in 2020 (NAFSA, 2020); $200 million in New Zealand in 2020 (Gerritsen, 2020) and $3.4 billion in Canada (2020–2021) (Metcalfe, 2020). Te downturn of international student income and the transition to remote or online learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has compelled universities to reexamine many aspects of their operation. Te key areas of scrutiny and cost saving strategies align with the recent analysis undertaken by Marshman and Larkins (2020). Tey include staf costs, faculty and administrative re-alignment, course rationalisation, campus viability, and other efciencies in academic and administrative areas. COVID-19 has also compelled universities to revisit their short and long-term strategies. It has forced universities to re-examine their risk frameworks and fnancial management.

Disrupting Trends on the Student Experience

Twenty-frst century trends are impacting on the experience of students. COVID-19 is forcing changes in universities which have not occurred as part of cyclical review processes. Some universities have announced that they will drop traditional lectures (Ross, 2021); while others have either already removed or are in favour of removing invigilated exams (Loton et al., 2020; Regehr & Goel, 2020; Sangster et al., 2020). While universities recognise the changing profle of students, less attempts are being made to rapidly change and adapt to meet the expectations of a new generation of students. Te cost saving measures administered due to the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to have ongoing implications for the experience of students. Reduced numbers of teaching staf will negatively impact on the staf-student ratio with less opportunity for personalised learning. According to Massy (2020a, 2020b), a reduction in teaching

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staf and increased workloads will impact on quality and service. However, there is a recognition that “the quality of personalized student learning will be key to institutional success” (KPMG, 2020, p. 2). Already, US students surveyed during COVID-19 perceived a decrease in teaching and study hours, and poor academic performance (Aucejo et al., 2020).

In Australia, it is estimated that more than 21,000 staf were laid of with no possibility to fll those roles in the near future (Derwin, 2020). Te reduction in academic and professional staf limits a university’s ability to provide timely and personalised learning support to diverse groups of students, some of whom require more help to succeed. Growing numbers of students require specialist support such as counselling and mental health services (see Chap. 2 by Kane and Williams). Te recent Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) survey conducted in the USA found that the COVID-19 pandemic has looming negative impacts on the mental health of students with 67% of undergraduate and graduate students showing signs of depressive disorder (Chirikov et al., 2020). In Australia, the Productivity Commission’s Mental Health Inquiry Report recommended tertiary education institutions expand their online mental health services to meet student needs and for institutions to have a student mental health and wellbeing strategy (Commonwealth of Australia, 2020).

Tere is increasing demand for online modes of learning. Many young and mature age students study fully online while working full-time or part-time and many have caring responsibilities. Te majority of students (76%) prefer online learning content because it provides them with the fexibility to ft their study with other commitments (Ernst & Young, 2018). More than 80% of students view online learning as part of the university experience (Pearson, 2020). Te Vice Chancellor of the University of Pretoria in South Africa argues that universities need to be future-oriented and move faster to adopt and adapt their digital technologies, to develop online teaching methodologies and create curricula for online platforms (Kupe, 2020). COVID-19 has compelled universities to rethink and prioritise their technological infrastructure for online learning. While digital capacity has been evolving, COVID-19 has provided a lever for rapid change. According to scholars in Vietnam, COVID-19 has clearly provided an opportunity to make advances in

e-learning and reform modes of teaching and learning (Pham & Ho, 2020). In China, it is anticipated that blended learning models will become more common with a reduced reliance on face-to-face seminars and tutorials, but a boost to online education (Yang, 2020). Irrespective of the “forced readiness” of online teaching as a result of COVID-19, academics are largely optimistic regarding the rapid transition to online teaching (Cutri et al., 2020).

Scholars at Tsinghua University in China suggest that teaching fully online for the frst time has led faculty to engage with substantial levels of professional development (Guo et al., 2020). Te Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) in Australia found IT-related problems and lack of adequate academic interaction with students as leading to negative student experiences during COVID-19 (TEQSA, 2020; also see Chap. 12 by Lim and Tanaya). Drawing on her experience in a small Pacifc island nation, Lagi (2020) found that students had technology issues accessing tools and internet for learning. In many countries, access to the internet is expensive and students prefer face-to-face modes of learning. In many developing economies, issues with high-speed internet continue and not every citizen is able to aford access to the internet. Te COVID-19 pandemic has provided an opportunity to harness digital technology in curriculum design, teaching, assessing student learning, monitoring student engagement, and course review and improvement. Digital education infrastructure requires innovative pedagogical design which goes beyond the norms of traditional pedagogy for the face-to-face delivery of courses. Te Vice Chancellor of Arizona State University recently announced three modalities of course delivery including a blended delivery to suit on-campus students, an asynchronous approach to suit students in employment, and synchronous approach for of-campus students who prefer to have access to online lectures (Bothwell, 2020). A lack of technical infrastructure, online pedagogies and specialist labs and equipment could compromise the quality of online course delivery (International Association of Universities, 2020). Furthermore, a lack of motivation and limited interaction with fellow educators are considered the biggest obstacles to teaching efectively online (Soria et al., 2020). Hence, technology-enabled pedagogies require the re-skilling of academics to better adapt to a digital teaching environment.

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Tere is some evidence to suggest that students are switching institutions. In the UK, it is estimated that 25% of students were considering switching to another institution (London Economics, 2020). Te likelihood of international students changing their study destination is higher if they are able to study via face-to-face learning (IDP Connect, 2020). While data from other countries are not available, anecdotal evidence suggests that onshore international students are ofered signifcant fee discounts and agents are ofered higher commission by private or nonuniversity providers to switch students (Bolton, 2018; also, Association of Australian Education Representatives in India [AAERI], 2019). Many international students are under signifcant fnancial pressure due to job losses (Nguyen & Balakrishnan, 2020), many of whom are attracted to low tuition fees rather than the quality and reputation of institutions. Tere is evidence in the USA of students abandoning their frst-choice college to attend a school that is more afordable (Massa, 2020). Tis highlights that fnancial hardship is a key contributor for students to switch institutions (EAB Enrolment Services, 2020).

Student Expectations: The Next Decade

Numerous studies on the student experience (Dollinger & Lodge, 2020; Gakhal & Wilson, 2019; Grebennikov & Shah, 2012, 2013a, 2013b; Kane et al., 2008; Shah et al., 2019; Shah & Pabel, 2019; Trotter & Roberts, 2006; Yorke, 2009) and the recent challenges of COVID-19 are useful in providing insights into the expectation of students in the next decade. Tere is strong evidence to suggest that students expect greater fexibility in all aspects of their learning journey. Tis is supported by recent research in the USA which found that students want greater fexibility beyond COVID-19 (Jankowski, 2020). Areas of fexibility include timetabling as well as the availability of online lectures, learning materials and assessment deadlines during the study period.

Students expect teaching staf who are not only qualifed but also have industry experience (Krammer et al., 2019; Browne et al., 1998; LeBlanc & Nguyen, 1997; Sohail & Shaikh, 2004). Beyond subject knowledge (Ahmad, 2015) and a good understanding of the student profle and

learning needs (Browne et al., 1998; LeBlanc & Nguyen, 1997), educators are also required to be empathetic (Cutri et al., 2020; Nyanjom & Naylor, 2020), approachable (Hattie, 2009), responsive (LeBlanc & Nguyen, 1997; DeShields Jr. et al., 2005), fair (Elliott & Shin, 2002) and fexible (DeShields Jr. et al., 2005; Douglas et al., 2008). Tere is also a need for teaching and professional staf to recognise international students’ cultures and learning barriers (Arthur, 2017; Gribble & Ziguras, 2003; Trice, 2007).

Many twenty-frst century students like teaching methods that encourage interaction between fellow students (Beard & Konukman, 2020; Bornschlegl & Cashman, 2019; Reio Jr. & Crim, 2013; see Chap. 9 by Ullmann and Rienties). Students prefer facilitated workshop-type teaching sessions rather than traditional lectures. Tese interactive teaching sessions together with innovative learning spaces engage students in learning (see Chap. 6 by Holland and Hainke). Students also value their engagement in university governance and management (see Chap. 4 by Mossop and Lymn).

Students anticipate teaching staf will be profcient in using teaching technologies. Tey expect educators to conduct live lectures and enable interactions using educational technologies (Krishnan et al., 2020). Students prefer video lectures to be provided by current educators (Alpert & Hodkinson, 2019) rather than using past lectures delivered by former academics. Tey prefer short videos which provide summaries of the weekly lectures (Guo et al., 2014) as well as the full lectures available for their viewing at a time convenient to them (Bornschlegl & Cashman, 2019; Krishnan et al., 2020). Chapter 12 in this book, by Lim and Tanaya, outlines concerns raised by international students about their online experience during COVID-19. Students also prefer consistency in the design and layout of the learning management system which should be straight-forward to navigate so that learning resources and assessment details can be easily accessed (Ashraf et al., 2020; Conley et al., 2020). Te increased use of technology in teaching requires upskilling of teaching staf covering instructional design to blend face-to-face delivery and technology, introducing online learning practices, and integrating current digital tools into teaching practices (Bebbington, 2021).