The higher education (HE) landscape is impacted by a range of key factors that increasingly regard students as ‘consumers’ and the place of learning as the ‘market place’, with education being valued as a commodity rather than as a public asset. This can be magnified in the political arena with arguments about education being positioned to comfort the tax payer, supply and demand to employers while ensuring fair access for students throughout their learning trajectory.
But how is this affecting the student experience? Arguably, it’s resulting in a worrying trend of much greater distrust between students and academics which can, in turn, have a negative impact on the student experience.
In this presentation, Jonathan Stephen – President of Huddersfield Students’ Union (2018–2019) and an assessor for the Teaching Excellence Framework (introduced in England in 2018) – highlights what HE personnel can do to support their students and Students’ Unions. This includes demonstrating the importance of meaningful engagement through co-creation activities that place students at the heart of their learning journey, and positioning student partnership as an active mechanism whereby co-creation activities can flourish. Thus, the student voice is not regarded as a ‘compliance measure’ but as a crucial and invaluable learning exchange that can truly make a difference to student experience.
Book your place on the NET2019 conference here.