Agenda

Thursday 17th September

9.15am Introduction and Welcome

9.30am What did we learn about students in the year just gone?

We’re drowning in data about the student experience, but how much insight do we have? Advance HE chief executive Alison Johns and Wonkhe’s Debbie McVitty will reflect on what we learned about students in the past year, along with the questions that the data raises, and what should be done about it in the context of Covid-19.

10.45am Delivering for students in, and out of, a pandemic: where OfS goes next

Before Covid-19 hit, the Office for Students was about to move into interesting times, with a new student engagement strategy and consultations coming on harassment and sexual misconduct, admissions, student protection, student contracts and the National Student Survey – and some of that work will reappear in the autumn, along with new action on quality, grade inflation and freedom of speech. In conversation with Wonkhe’s founder Mark Leach, OfS chief executive Nicola Dandridge will discuss OfS’ work in the student interest and the role it sees for students (and their representatives) in informing and shaping its work in the future.

12.15pm The secret life of student value

The sector isn’t short of quantitative survey data on student satisfaction and “value for money” – but given it is widely accepted that students co-produce their student experience, how much do we really know about that creation process? Using ethnography to engage with and understand students, Dr Libby Farrier-Williams’ PhD gets under the skin of who students work with to create a valuable student experience – discovering who matters, and what the platforms and processes are that they use. In this keynote session Libby will discuss some of her findings and consider how they might be applied by universities and their SUs in a coronavirus context.

1.45pm A fairer student experience

Generation Z places huge value and importance in fairness and fair treatment, but do they get that as students? What should all students be entitled to? What rights should students have? When are students treated unfairly, or exploited, and what impacts does that have? Are some students treated more fairly than others? Our panel of experts will set out an agenda for a fairer student experience, identifying actions that universities, SUs and government should take.

3.15pm How far should “student safety” go?

Much of the contemporary debate surrounding students focuses on safety – feeling safe is surely a prerequisite for learning – but there are significant conflicts over the approach that schools, universities and others should take in relation to being a student at university. Is the right approach to warn students about the dangers they may face? Is work for disadvantaged students sensible or virtue signalling? Should more be done than just warning people – should we help students with tools and skills to navigate those dangers – or is that victim blaming? Should we all be working together to eradicate dangers? And is it possible (or wise) for universities to offer a Covid-19 “safe” campus and experience? This session will feature a preview of research on what students mean by “safety” and give participants a chance to consider policy responses.

4.30pm Building community during Covid-19

This autumn, thanks to Covid-19, first-year students’ ability to make friends and build connections in their learning community will be severely restricted. Though universities are planning carefully how learning will be delivered next term, if students do not feel a sense of belonging they will be unlikely to be able to learn anything. In this session, developed in partnership with Aula, a panel of experts will discuss how universities and students’ unions can design community into learning, build inclusive learning communities, and support first year students to participate in the university community.

Evening: Wonkhe’s pub quiz

Friday 18th September

9.15am Round up of day one

9.30am The new normal – where did we get to, and where are we going?

Back in May we ran an event on getting to the “new normal”. In this session Team Wonkhe will review where plans to reopen have got to, think through the issues presented by reopening in the medium term, and ask what might be coming next that the working groups will need to plan for.

10.45am The secret life of students’ learning – the journey to autonomy

Higher education at its best supports students to become autonomous learners, equipped to continue to learn into employment and throughout their lives. The focus on contact hours and value for money can obscure the necessary time spent learning independently to support students on that journey.

Yet in the absence of fixed schedules and structures during the pandemic many students report they are floundering and losing their motivation to learn – and recognise the value of self-efficacy skills such as time and project management. This session, delivered in partnership with Pearson, will draw on research on students’ perceptions before and after Covid-19 to explore what students want from their universities in support of their independent learning, and how universities might help students on the journey towards autonomy.

12.15pm Don’t drop out, drop in

Non-continuation rates are one of the main ways in which the government says it will be measuring course value, and they’re embedded into TEF. And lots of people are worried about the human costs of students not making it to Christmas. Giving students clarity about what’s on offer in the autumn, building their confidence that they’ll be able to study and supporting the transition into universities during Covid-19 is only one part of the puzzle.

Once they’re through the door and registered, students will need even more help to thrive, especially when face to face contact, extracurricular activity and part-time work is severely constrained. In this session, delivered in partnership with Solutionpath, a panel of experts will discuss how universities can build a picture of student engagement, and explore what can be done to reconnect with students who are at risk of non-continuation.

1.45pm International students and their outcomes in an age of Covid-19

Now we have a clearer picture on international student recruitment, we should think about retention and experience. In this session UKCISA’s Strategic Partnerships Lead Yinbo Yu, along with members of UKCISA’s student ambassador team, will review the challenges facing international students in the year ahead and discuss ways in which providers and students’ unions might respond.

3.00pm Living the partnership

Students are often posited as objects of data – but how do we move them into the role of commissioner, user, and analyser of data? What do terms like “student partnership” and “student engagement” mean in 2020? If there is no single student experience – from which everything is handled via a deficit model approach – how can universities understand and respond to true diversity? What do we know about access and attainment gaps and how do they get closed? And how does understanding students’ lived experience help? A panel of experts will reveal all.

4.15pm Looking ahead: pandemic politics and the student experience

For many, a glance at the government might suggest some hostility towards students. Other than nursing bursaries students only got a mention in the manifesto in relation to freedom of speech – and the political chatter and post-poll analysis suggests that students were not exactly core voters for the incoming government. What will it do on “poor value courses”? How does the new administration see students post-pandemic?

We’ll ask how we might get beyond reductive debates on free speech and “niche activism”, and explore what might be done next about the core student experience concerns of day to day costs, student accommodation, value for money and mental health.

5.00pm Closing remarks