Solving the TEF Through Student Centricity

S o l v i n g t h e T E F T h r o u g hS t u d e n t C e n t r i c i t y

Benjamin SteinDirector, Student Success - Hobsons

London, UK | February 2017

Harder than ever to get the right student to the

university

Retaining students becomes

critical

Connecting students with their future

The critical change over the last few years is that the vast majority of universities are no longer in a process of selecting; they are in a process of recruiting. Very few institutions have been able to both increase their average tariff and increase student numbers. The price of expansion for most institutions is a lowering of the entry threshold.

The HE market for hopes and dreams: UCAS on results dayWonkhe

Harder than ever to get the right student to the university

Retaining students

becomes critical

Connecting students with their future

Such variability is not simply a statistic, nor even simply a squandering of taxpayers’ money. It is worse: it represents thousands of life opportunities wasted, of young dreams unfulfilled, all because of teaching that was not as good as it should have been, or because students were recruited who were not capable of benefitting from higher education.

Success as a Knowledge Economy: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

“Every student who does not continue in higher education means a loss of potential, a bad experience for that student and poor value for the taxpayer, as the investment in tuition costs is likely to have a low return.”

Staying the Course

Several institutions are making progress on both WP and retention at the same time

Investments in the student experience overall do pay off, as shown by the correlation between student satisfaction and retention

Overall variation in retention rates is worryingly large

Staying the CourseThe largest group of institutions

are making progress on both

widening participation and

improving continuation rates

No correlation between

improving widening participation

and worsening continuation rates

We should be able to do both.

Staying the Course

Higher student satisfaction in general is correlated to lower non-continuation rates

But what strategies work best?

T E F

How to respond: defining student-centricity

Awash in jargon

Orienting university resources, people and process around their potential impact on the student

A mindset that encompasses and supports retention, engagement, satisfaction and other critical concepts

Retention&

student success

Nurturing belonging

Engagement with people

Make it easier to connect

Make it personal

Identify disconnected students

Research shows what works

A model of student-centricity

Retention &

student success

Individual student opportunityGiving every student the best opportunity to meet his or her goals

Top-level metricsTEF: HESA non-continuation rates; NSS questions, employability

Two sides of retention and satisfaction

but also…

Those who consider withdrawal

Nurturing belonging

We already know what works

“At the heart of successful retention and success is a strong sense of belonging in HE for all students…The academic sphere is the most important site for nurturing participation of the type which engenders a sense of belonging.”

Academic sphere Professional services“Where students reported that they would be able to turn to a variety of support services…students are less likely to have considered dropping out of university.”

People make the difference

Engagement with people

I. Make it easier to connect II. Make it personal III. Find disengaged students

Harness existing dataCapture qualitative professional input(

Student Success and Engagement

Professionalservices

Early alert Personaltutoring

Data & analytics

Putting concepts into action: Make it personal

Student interfacePersonalised alerts, to-dos, plans and positive feedback

Monitor performance

Request help

Putting concepts into action: Make it easy to connect

Personalised success networkAutomatically build a support network for every student

Offer multiple ways for students to reach staff

Promote student-staff and staff-staff collaboration

Putting concepts into action: Make it personal

Starfish student folderCapture and store information from across the institution

Student characteristics, behaviours and real-time interactions

Qualitative judgement alongside hard data

Putting concepts into action: Make it easy to connect

Online appointment systemOnline integrated appointment booking

Record outcomes and categorise every meeting

Students easily find available tutors and support specialists

Putting concepts into action: Reach disengaged students

Instant custom reporting and cohort-buildingCross-filter student characteristics and behaviours to create risk profiles

Take mass action across like students – flag, resolve, assign workflows

In the real world

Connecting data to action around the student

Correctly balancing analysis and interventionGo beyond the dashboard

“Just assuming that all students will be their own change agents is unrealistic. It’s vital to focus on what happens next…We would suggest that the successful implementation of learning analytics will still require messy, complicated interactions in the real world in order to succeed."

A community of practice

A community of practice

Making it easy for students to connect

Academic departments opting in by year

2014: 32015: 52016: 9

“I think the system is a great idea, it’s pretty intuitive to use. I think Starfish

would make it more likely that people would approach staff to discuss their

academic problems.”

-Student, Imperial College London

Success Stories

“Over the 2013 academicyear, more than 68% of our

undergraduate students were ultimately successful in a course where a flag was

raised. We are very encouraged by this.”

-Barbara Gayle, Vice Presidentfor Academic Affairs,

Viterbo University

Increased faculty participation in early alert process from 13% to 91%

Identify disengaged students

Success Stories

UNL’s four-year graduation rate

increased 3.8% in four years

Move the needle on key metrics

KPI 2011 2012 2013 2014

% of UG students

contacted through Starfish

50 56 75

Total # of Starfish

appointments5,377 11,434 19,498

4-yr grad rate 32.3 33.1 33.0 36.1

Success Stories

Consider the initial approach1

2

3

Three things you can do today

Academic/personal tutoring

Talk to us. Have us come see you. Visit our partner clients.

Get started. Technology catalyses important conversations.

Professional services

Institution-wide

Questions?

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