Advisory Committee on Information LiteracyAnnual Information Literacy Seminar

Tuesday, June 11th, 2013

Engagement & the Student Experience

Communities of place & interest

The general public

Community organisations

Voluntary orgs and charities

NGOs

Social enterprises

Businesses

Enterprise agencies

Regional strategic bodies

Regional / national govt

Schools and colleges

Public engagement

Civicengagement

Community engagement

Business engagement

Local authorities

Defining the territory:

universities and engagement

Potential stakeholders or partners

NCCPENational Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement

KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE & SHARING

Increasing the two-way flow of knowledge and

insight between the university and wider society

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT WITH RESEARCH

Actively involving the public in the research activity of the

institution

ENGAGED TEACHINGDeveloping teaching

activities which positively impact on the community,

and enhance students’ engagement skills

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITYSeeking to maximise the

benefits that the institution can generate for the public

The engaged university

Engagement has to be an institution-wide commitment, not confined to individual academics or projects. It has to embrace

teaching as well as research, students as well as academics, and the full range of support

services. All universities need to develop strategies to guide their engagement with

wider society, to manage themselves accordingly and to work with external

partners to gauge their success’

(John Goddard, cited in Hunt 2011: 77-8).

Student Success in College?Academic achievement, engagement in educationally purposeful activities, satisfaction, acquisition of desired knowledge, skills and competencies, persistence, attainment of educational objectives, and post-college performance

Student Engagement

• ….“represents both the time and energy that students invest in educationally purposeful activities and the effort that institutions devote to using effective educational practices” (Kuh 2001)

• Influenced..“ by student expectations and perceptions, between challenge and appropriate course workload, degrees of choice, autonomy, risk and opportunities for growth and enjoyment, trust relationships, communication and discourse.” (Bryson et al 2007)

Student Engagement Trinity (NESSE, 2007)1. What students do -- time and energy devoted to educationally

purposeful activities2. What institutions do -- using effective educational practices to induce

students to do the right things3. Educationally effective institutions channel student energy toward

the right activities

‘Belonging’ has emerged as a key factor in student retention and is closely aligned with concepts of academic and social engagement.‘Belonging’ recognises relatedness or connectedness to the institution

What Works? Model of Student Retention & Success

• Early Engagement: to promote belonging must begin early and continue across the student life cycle;

• Engagement in the Academic Sphere: nurtured throughout the HEI - academic, social and professional services

• Developing the Capacity of Staff & Students to engage

• Institutional Management & Co-ordination (What Works? Liz Thomas 2012)

DIT Student Experience

Intellectual Professional Personal

Exhibiting intellectual curiosity

Applied knowledge - analytical and

critical thinking and for creative

problem-solving

Effective spoken & written

communication skills

Accessing, evaluating and using

information for scholarly enquiry –

information and information

technology literacy

In-depth engagement with disciplinary,

professional and technical knowledge

Understanding & application of expertise

appropriate to the practice context

Making sound judgments - Respect for

ethical practice and social responsibility

A capacity to contribute to, and work

within, the international community

Managing own work & Life-long learning

The skills for collaborative and

multidisciplinary work

Respect for diversity & cross-cultural

understanding

Capacity for initiative and innovation

An appreciation of, and a

responsiveness to, change

The ability to engage in independent and

reflective learning

Supporting the Development of Graduate Attributes:

(Green, 2010, Oliver & Reeves, 2005 )

Objectives of Student Engagement Strategy I :

• Maintain & enhance overall student experience with particular emphasis on 1st year experience

• Contribute to educational quality of Institute activities. NQUAI Review June 2011 – ‘DIT in its next stage of development needs to contemplate more deeply the concept of quality assurance…’

• Contribute to enhanced Student Continuation rates and overall Student Completion rates

• Contribute to a unique DIT experience – the DIT Offer

• Increase number, range and quality of student enrichment and engagement opportunities

Objectives of Student Engagement Strategy II:

• Enhance the DIT institutional learning environment, associated policies and infrastructures to better support processes and practice that target student engagement

• Improve DITs internal knowledge of capabilities for enhancing student engagement

• Build an engaged and connected learner experience

• Build on existing best practice and STEER initiative

DIT student engagement strategy

DIT Student experience

‘Creating connections’

‘Most institutions have not yet been able to translate what we know about student retention into forms of action that have led to substantial

gains in student persistence and graduation’

(Tinto, V. (2006) Research & Practice of Student Retention)

More than anything else, being an educated person means being able to see connections that allow one to make sense of the world and act within it in creative ways.

Every one of the qualities I have described here—listening, reading, talking, writing, puzzle solving, and truth seeking, seeing through other people’s eyes, leading, working in a community — is finally about connecting

(Cronon, 1998).

DIT Connected Student Engagement

Academic Learning & Teaching Curriculum, Programme,

Quality Assurance

Active Citizenship- Lifelong Learning- Community - Social interactions

Research, Innovation Development

Student Support, Learning Environments

Peer Mentoring, Sports, Clubs Societies, Students Union

Graduate Outcomes /Attributes- Career Path- Spirit of Inquiry- Alumni

Other Higher Educational Institutes

Industry, Enterprise Professional bodies

Student

(Local, Regional, National & International)Integrating

Creating Connections: Principles into practice

• Active Learning within the Curriculum e.g.– At least one lecture per module to be replaced by a student directed

activity e.g. case study, literature review etc• Learning as a shared responsibility e.g.

– All students registered with DIT will be assigned a year tutor ( sometimes called a year co-ordinator) to advise them on academic and related aspects of the programme.

• Enriching Educational Experiences e.g.– Teaching and learning resources to be used to support and enhance first

year of programme.• Involvement as part of community e.g.

– As soon applicants register for a programme they are sent a ‘Welcome to DIT’ message, ‘Preparing for Study Pack’ and link to FYI website and Facebook page.

Creating Connections: Principles into practice

• Supportive Learning Environment eg– Students are assigned a learning set involving continuing students /associated tutor

during their first week– First year informal learning/study spaces established in all campus buildings

• Importance of Staff development eg– academic development supports, eg workshops, short courses in place for all staff

involved in teaching first year students, building upon current best practice to support the first year student (incl. non traditional students)

• Student involvement in Quality process eg– Modifications to first year programmes made on the basis of feedback from students

through Q6c and student surveys• Informed by DIT’s Internal Knowledge of Capabilities

– Support Teaching Fellowships that focus upon the first year experience and build upon research outputs and recommendations.

Building on existing Good Practice : LEAD, SLWC, Volunteering, Get Smart

Students Learning With Communities

In 2012:

• 1,300 students DIT students engaged in SLWC projects

• 100+ community partners• 60 academic staff• 63 modules• 46 programmes (Undergrad. & Postgrad)• 1 in 3 Undergrad. programmes

Major cross-disciplinary project:Grangegorman Lifeline and Community

Garden(ing) Project

• Urban regeneration: how to maximise the potential of urban green areas, including community gardening around the Broadstone railway line in Grangegorman – for health, recreation, transport, biodiversity, education, tourism etc

• Chemistry, Spatial Planning, Sustainable Development, Architecture, Media/Social Science etc

“Deep learning is learning that takes root in our apparatus of understanding, in the embedded meanings that define us and that we use to define the world” (J.Tagg (2003). The Learning Paradigm College)

DIT Volunteering

Get Smart!

• First-year induction which focuses on an introduction to third level learning;

• Personal & professional development competences integrated into first year modules, inc. information literacy skills & mindmapping

• Encouraging engagement among first years through team building and group project experiences.

…a platform for innovation…….

Ms. Mary O’Rawe,

College of Arts & Tourism

Non Progression (non continuation) of Students

2010/11 Universities IOT’s

Level 8 9% 16%

Level 7 N/A 26%

Level 6 N/A 25%

2010/11 IOT’s AIT CIT DIT ITT ITB

Average

Level 8 16% 11% 23% 13% 25% 18%

Level 7 26% 26% 21% 25% 33% 27%

Level 6 25% 24% 22% 15% 31% 29%

Students who did not progress from year 1 to year 2

Loss in income €m – RGAM, Grant in lieu, cpitation

500x 6,000 = €3m pa excl personal cost and recruitment/admin costs

What will the figures be for 2013? 2014?

Student Completion

• Optimise the number of students who progress and complete their study within DIT

• In the US, improving completion rates in higher education by 3 % points add 1 % to GDP

• In Ireland this would add €1.5bn to GDP

• In TU Dublin submission to HEA a target completion rate of 90% was Identified

Proposed implementation plan• Continue to review principles/make targets realistic,

achievable • Involve stakeholder groups(Nov ‘12 onwards)

– Use Management Forum (early 2013)– Target Programme Chairs & College Boards– Work with student reps– Prioritise actions e.g. transition into first year etc

• Integrate strategy into policy & processes (Jan-March ‘13)– Incorporate within Quality Assurance Procedures – Involve all Sub-Committees of Academic Council etc

• Support implementation into DIT mainstream practice• Review and modify the strategy (ongoing)

Student union

activities

Student Support –

admin, Advice

Institutional Strategy

L& TeachingResearch & Development

Civic EngagementInternationalisation

Community/Industry

Educational philosophy/

ethosQuality

Assurance

Sports, Clubs,

societies

Unique Student

experience/engagement

Students and Staff

Broad Agenda

Creation of TU Dublin

Move to Grangegorman

EngagementStakeholders – Communities, students and staff need to believe that the institution belongs to them and this spans academic to social, cultural and economic engagement.

‘Belonging’ recognises relatedness or connectedness to the institution.

The greater the degree of connectedness or engagement the greater the benefits that can be identified and leveraged.

Student Engagement/Satisfaction

Irish National Student Survey

Studentsurvey.ie

Update on Survey Project

Thank You!

Grangegorman 1950’s

Grangegorman 2010

Grangegorman Campus

Science

LibraryBusiness

Health

?

Engineering&Built Environment

Performance and Applied Arts

Tourism & Food

Research

Student Hub

Science Industry Park

PrimarySchool

SportsStudentaccommodation