The Development of Contemporary Student Engagement Practices at the University of Winchester and Winchester Student Union, UK

Abstract

This case study explores practice in four areas of student engagement activity which were developed in partnership between the University of Winchester and Winchester Student Union. The development, motivations, stakeholders, and challenges of activities built around the principles of representation, change, feedback, and research are discussed. Relationships between practices will be explored in the context of a proposal for how discrete practices can complement one another to create a community of partnership. The case study focuses on four key initiatives: Student Academic Representatives, Student Fellows Scheme, Student-Led Teaching Awards, and the Winchester Research Apprenticeship Programme. The four key initiatives are contextualised with a discussion of an ongoing project that seeks to provide greater coherence to student engagement through an institution-wide movement towards embedding partnership.

Students as partners in action: Evaluating a university-wide initiative

“…In the final survey, all participants were satisfied with their overall experience, with an average rating of 3.58 out of 4 achieved. A limited number of participants noted that instead of an authentic partnership, the dynamic in their teams was based more on an expert-assistant dynamic, as has been noted elsewhere, with staff retaining the power and students unwilling to challenge their authority (Ahmad et al, 2017;Kehler, Verwoord, & Smith, 2017;Lowe et al, 2017;Mercer-Mapstone et al, 2017). However, these comments were mainly in response to the first survey and were attributed to the focus being on the end-product and what the academic needed done, rather than on the process of working in partnership.…”

“…Although there was no fixed time commitment, they were required to meet regularly with their project team and actively contribute to achieving the project's goals. Students were expected to spend either 50 or 100 hours on their project and received a stipend midway and at the end-similar to the SaP programs at McMaster University (Ahmad et al, 2017) and the University of Winchester (Lowe, Shaw, Sims, King, & Paddison, 2017).…”

Student–staff partnerships in learning and teaching: an overview of current practice and discourse

“…Student Fellows are paid a bursary during the project which can last up to a year (Lowe et al, 2017).…”

Student Perceptions of the ‘Best’ Feedback Practices: An Evaluation of Student-Led Teaching Award Nominations at a Higher Education Institution.

“…As part of this growth of activity, many UK higher education institutions have adopted student-led teaching awards that offer positive feedback to faculty and professional service staff. At University of Winchester, instituting a student-led teaching award was a project borne from the Winchester Student Union and the University of Winchester's shared agenda to expand student feedback on best practice and to enhance the student experience (Lowe, Shaw, Sims, King, & Paddison, 2017). Feeding into wider institutional strategy, the awards offer an opportunity to explore the unique perceptions from students that help to identify good practice and make a positive influence on learning (Swain, 2012).…”