dr laura hougaz study connections, acpet assoc prof mahsood shah the university of newcastle
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The Student Experience at Risk: Government Policy in the Measurement and Enhancement of Student Experience. Dr Laura Hougaz Study Connections, ACPET Assoc Prof Mahsood Shah The University of Newcastle. The Context: Enhancing quality in HE. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
The Student Experience at Risk: Government Policy in the Measurement and Enhancement of Student Experience
Dr Laura HougazStudy Connections, ACPETAssoc Prof Mahsood ShahThe University of Newcastle
The Context: Enhancing quality in HE
In recent years the Australian HE sector has come under pressure to demonstrate quality outcomes
Efforts made to improve teaching through professional development, scholarship and research, and evaluation
Review of policies and practices with focus on enhancing learning and teaching – ‘quality of teaching’ evaluation has refocused on ‘quality of student experience’ evaluation.
Increased focus on student evaluations/feedback.
Topic at glance
Student experience matters Measurement of student experience in private higher
education (PHE) Factors influencing student choice in PHE Research on student experience in PHE Government policies on the measurement of student
experience Why is student experience at risk? Way forward
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Student experience matters
Prominence of student voice Student experience is used to assess teaching quality
• Students’ perceptions are important parameters of the social and psychological aspects of the learning environment
Student experience is used to assess the level of risk Global trend in the use of student feedback to:
• develop and renew courses• review of courses• assessment of teaching and course quality• assessment of support services.
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Student experience matters
Data is increasingly used in rankings and marketing Data is used on MyUniversity website, Unistats Benchmarking performance of institutions Used in academic staff performance reviews and
promotions Increased diversity of students, thus different expectations
and experience Low satisfaction may cause attrition (quitting or transferring) Student complaints can harm reputation of institution We can only improve, if we listen and act on feedback.
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Measurement of student experience in PHE
Australian Graduate Survey (AGS): used by handful of PHE Internal semester based unit and teacher evaluation surveys
are patchy across providers No standard instrument used to measure total student
experience in PHE National Vet Regulator (NVR) learner engagement survey is
used for compliance purpose only, rather than enhancement Use of data and closing the loop is an area where limited work
is being done Ethical issues on data collection Lack of triangulation of survey data (qualitative /quantitative)
along with other academic outcomes measures
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Factors influencing student choice
Source: Shah, Nair, and Bennett. (2013).
Student Perception
Access and opportunity
Learning environment Teachers Course design Graduate
Success Reputation Word of mouth Transfer from University to private college due to referral
Pathway to university Stepping stone in tertiary education Ease of entry Location Completing degree via pathway
Small class size Personalised environment Online learning Student profile (mature age in some colleges) Hands on experience
Teachers from industry Easy accessibility One to one interaction with teacher
Duration Practical nature Work experience Flexibility Specialised course relevant to professions
Success of graduates Doing well in industry
Input Processes Outcomes
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Research on student experience in PHE
Source: Nair, Bennett, and Shah, M. (2012). 8
Government policies: Measurement of student experience
Bradley Review of Australian Higher Education (2008) concluded that a comprehensive set of measures of the quality of teaching and learning should be developed. These should include measures of the student experience and form part of a broader accountability framework focused on the achievement of outcomes.
Recommendation 7“That the Australian Government require all accredited higher education providers to administer the Graduate Destination Survey, Course Experience Questionnaire and the Australasian Survey of Student Engagement from 2009 and report annually on the findings.” (Bradley Review, 2008, Ch 3.4)
Government policies: Measurement of student experience
More focussed on universities AGS only used in universities, with lack of implementation in
PHE New University Experience Survey (UES) only used in
universities (domestic and onshore U/G) Development of UES did not involve PHE consultation Defeats the idea of “One Tertiary Education” No standard tool to measure offshore student experience -
despite being rated as high risk by TEQSA Lack of benchmarking of student experience No mechanism to ensure comparable experience
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Why is student experience at risk?
Lack of standard measurement tools used across the HE sector
Data collection, coding, analysis and reporting is inconsistent Lack of benchmarking with all providers Absence of systematic process to identify areas needing
improvement (at national and institutional level) OLT funding for research in learning and teaching does not
support PHE Lack of student engagement in TEQSA assessments Closing the feedback loop – requires improvement The UK is further ahead in the developments in this area
(Higher Education Academy, UK).
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TEQSA and student experience
Lack of innovation on how to determine if student experience is at risk
Assessment of risk is based on paper trail review Huge reliance on institutional collected and analysed
unit/teacher evaluation data – could be manipulated Current process to identify risk is based on data at overall
institutional level No focus on assessing risk at course, faculty, campus level and
partnership, online delivery mode No focus on assessing the experience of different cohorts of
students (onshore/ offshore/ PG/ HDR, LSES, NESB etc) Lack of student engagement
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Way forward
Using standard tools such as AGS and UES Benchmarking student experience Need for a standard tool in PHE to measure student
experience at teacher & subject levels Effective use of data in improving overall student experience Building capacity for design, collection, analysis and
reporting of data Culture of closing the loop Use of qualitative data Build internal capacity for QA.
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Recent publications related to PHE
Shah, M., Nair, S., & Bennett, L. (2013). Factors Influencing Student Choice to Study at Private for-Profit Higher Education Institutions. Quality Assurance in Education, in press.
Shah, M., & Nair, S. (2013). Private for–profit higher education in Australia: Widening Access and Participation and Opportunities for Public-Private Collaboration. Higher Education Research and Development (HERD), 32(5), 820-832.
Shah, M., & Stanford, S. (2013). Quality and Regulation of Australian Tertiary Education: Searching for Sustainable QA Framework, The ACPET Journal for Private Higher Education, 2(1), 24-33.
Shah, M., & Nair, S. (2012). Student Surveys and Feedback: Strategic Solution for all Tertiary Education Institutions. Studies in Learning, Evaluation Innovation and Development, 9(1), 74-83.
Bennett, L., Nair, S., & Shah, M. (2012). The Emergence of Private Higher Education in Australia: The Silent Provider. European Journal of Higher Education, 2(4), 423-435.
Nair, S., Bennett, L., and Shah, M. (2012). Student Experience in Private Higher Education in Australia. The ACPET Journal for Private Higher Education, 1(2), 24.30.
Shah, M., & Nair, S. (2012). A New Dynamic in Australian Higher Education: The Emergence of Private for-profit Higher Education. European Journal of Higher Education, 2(2-3), 307-317. 14
Questions Dr Laura [email protected]@acpet.edu.au
Assoc Prof Mahsood [email protected]
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Thinking of doing PhD with focus on Private Higher Education ? Contact Assoc Prof Mahsood Shah, Newcastle University