Student cohorts are increasingly diverse in their needs and objectives. Here universities share how they are working in new ways to help them enter, progress in and complete a university degree

Student success

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As educators, we often measure our success by the knowledge and skills we impart to students. But there’s another, potentially even more vital, aspect for higher education institutions to prioritise: fostering good citizenship.Universities are more than just centres of academic learning and research. They are also positioned at the heart of society, shaping future leaders who can, and will, actively contribute to the communities around them.At Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane (AUI), where I serve as an associate professor of finance and economics, we believe a key mission of universities is to help students become more engaged and responsible citizens and leaders.How universities can embed democratic principles and practices into the student experienceDemocratic assessment: why, what, and howFostering student co-creation to give back to the communityThe concept of student citizenship extends way beyond academic achievement. It involves a set of cooperative and supportive actions undertaken by students towards their peers, their institution and the wider community.These actions, valued and appreciated by both university and society, help to shape well-rounded individuals who will continue to contribute to the wider world long after they leave the classroom.The role of citizenship in modern educationPerhaps more than any event in recent history, the Covid-19 pandemic showcased the importance of empathy and community. At AUI, as with many other universities globally, students rose to the occasion, supporting one another during a significant time of crisis.But this sense of civic responsibility doesn’t have to be reserved solely for emergencies. Student citizenship should be nurtured continuously, by encouraging individuals to take the initiative in their immediate environments and carry positive behaviours out into the broader world.In the context of universities, citizenship behaviour involves students participating in activities that benefit their peers and the community. Whether through campus initiatives, volunteer work or extracurricular activities, these actions foster a sense of belonging and responsibility.This has a positive effect on the immediate environment and also sets the stage for students to become active contributors to society after graduation.Citizenship as a catalyst for successFostering good citizenship in students doesn’t just benefit society – it also enhances their personal development. Engaging in community service and campus initiatives cultivates essential soft skills, such as teamwork, leadership and empathy.These are qualities that make graduates stand out to employers in increasingly competitive job markets. Students who actively participate in extracurricular activities are more appealing to potential employers, according to research, because they demonstrate a well-rounded approach to their personal and their professional lives.Furthermore, student citizenship behaviour contributes directly to academic success. When students feel a sense of belonging and responsibility within their community, they are more likely to engage deeply in their studies. We have seen that promoting citizenship enhances overall well-being on campus, which, in turn, leads to stronger academic outcomes.Long-term citizenship impactsThe benefits of student citizenship extend far beyond the university years. Students who develop a habit of civic engagement during their studies tend to carry this behaviour into adulthood.They are more likely to become leaders in their workplaces, contribute to sustainable practices and continue to give back to their communities. This creates a ripple effect – graduates who are active citizens inspire others to follow suit, fostering ongoing societal improvement.By encouraging students to think critically about their roles within their communities, we are helping to shape individuals who will become the leaders of tomorrow and contribute to a better, more equitable society.Best practice for promoting active citizenshipSo, how can universities promote citizenship behaviour in their students? We’ve implemented several initiatives that foster academic success and cultivate a strong sense of civic responsibility using some of the following strategies:Encourage extracurricular activities: Participation in more than just classroom activities helps students develop soft skills, such as communication, leadership and teamwork, all of which are critical to them becoming active citizens. These activities also create opportunities for students to engage with their communities and prepare for future leadership rolesImplement experiential learning: Learning by doing is a powerful tool for fostering citizenship. The majority of our courses at the school of business administration include an experiential learning component. This approach gives students the opportunity to work directly with their communities, whether through research projects or volunteer work, helping them to better understand the real-world impact of their actionsMandate community service: The AUI Community Involvement programme requires students to complete 60 hours of community work, addressing specific local needs. As well as benefiting the community, this also helps students develop empathy and a sense of responsibility, instilling the value of giving back at an early stageFoster citizenship on campus: Universities should start by cultivating good citizenship behaviour within their own walls. At AUI, we emphasise the importance of respecting campus rules, maintaining mutual respect and fostering a sense of community. Simple initiatives like encouraging respect for the environment, such as water-saving programmes and tree-planting activities, help to develop a long-lasting mindset of responsibilityLink citizenship to entrepreneurship: Citizenship behaviour can also be promoted through entrepreneurship programmes. Entrepreneurship courses along with our Employability and Entrepreneurship Office initiatives develop business acumen, and also encourage students to think about how their activities can contribute to various communities. This connection between entrepreneurship and civic responsibility is crucial for developing leaders who are both innovative and community-minded.Citizenship yields significant returnsInvesting in student citizenship behaviour can yield significant returns, not only for the students themselves but also for the institutions and communities they engage with.By fostering a culture of civic responsibility, universities can produce graduates who are both academically accomplished and socially conscious leaders ready to make meaningful contributions to the world.We’ve seen first-hand at AUI how citizenship behaviour enhances academic outcomes, promotes well-being and prepares students for life beyond university.Our hope is that other institutions will adopt similar strategies, creating a new generation of leaders who understand that being a good citizen is just as important as being a good student. In doing so, universities can play a pivotal role in shaping a brighter, more compassionate future for all.Hind Lebdaoui is associate professor of finance and economics at Al Akhawayn University.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.

Universities owe it to society to produce good citizens

Higher education’s role in creating the citizens of tomorrow’s world should not be underestimated. Here’s how to shape the leaders of the future and foster a sense of civic responsibility within them

A discussion of universities’ duty of care towards students, from tackling sexual misconduct to ensuring they feel supported in their studies

THE podcast: how can universities ensure students are safe and supported?

A sea of new students’ faces, some more eager than others, greets me on a rainy Monday morning during our welcome session. As another academic year begins, these postgraduate students have come from around the world to Leeds University Business School, bringing with them an array of academic, work and cultural experiences, as well as varied expectations and ambitions for their futures.But how many of us take the time to discover what has brought each individual to this induction? What are their motivations and strengths? What skills do they have or need to develop over the next year? What does success look like to them?Programme induction sessions are usually designed to give the students all the information they will need for the year ahead. This can range from module option information and students’ union offers to academic integrity and plagiarism policies. However, in the Human Resource Management master’s programmes, we dedicate one of the first induction sessions to the students’ professional development. This prompts them at the earliest opportunity to begin practising self-awareness and self-reflection through a series of questions as part of a personal statement task. The session marks the start of a comprehensive and integrated professional development offer, including weekly professional skills workshops, team challenges, simulations and assessed reflective videos and presentations.Resource collection: how to encourage student self reflectionHow can universities ensure all new students feel welcome?Using empathy in the classroom can have a great impact on learningIn this introductory session, students are introduced to the importance of self-reflection as part of their professional development. The programme is designed to provide opportunities for practising this skill, incorporating designated “stops” to facilitate reflective practice. This session prompts the start of students developing and refining this skill independently, as a vital component of lifelong learning.To kick-start this initial reflective practice, I&nbsp;assign the first task: a 500-word personal statement to be submitted to their personal and professional tutor in the following weeks. I&nbsp;provide prompts such as:How would people describe you?What does “success” mean to you?Why did you choose to come to Leeds or choose this programme of study?What is the biggest life lesson you have learned to date?This assignment not only prompts students to engage in reflective thinking but is also a valuable tool for fostering relationships with their personal tutors. Through these personal statements, students give their tutors an early understanding of their motivations and aspirations, and this can help make initial interactions smoother and lead to more meaningful relationships. All students meet with their personal tutors in semester one, and this is an opportunity to discuss a range of issues, including the content of the personal statement task. For those students who are less confident, this can be a useful tool for both parties on which to hang early conversations.This induction session also emphasises the importance of self-reflection within the broader context of the skills students will be developing throughout the programme, and it is explicit in its intention. Students receive the message that we care about them, as individuals, and that the programme team are invested in their professional development learning journey. It might be easy to assume students will be practising self-reflection before, during and after their studies. However, my experience suggests this is not likely for all students and perhaps less likely for those who have previously studied in different educational environments, which may have been not pedagogically designed in this way. Being explicit here is important.The personal statement is a living document, owned by the student. As part of the task, students are also asked to think about their goals for the coming year. It is widely accepted that when people write down or record personal goals, it increases their chances of success. Students are encouraged to review their statement at set points throughout the year, amending and updating as their learning journey progresses and their priorities and experiences develop.So, while the introductory session reads as just another information-giving session in the student induction timetable, it is intended to be much more. We aim to ignite in the students something that other parts of the induction schedule do&nbsp;not. The session signifies the beginning of a journey where new students engage with themselves, reflect on their short- and long-term motivations, and consider what they want to achieve at Leeds and beyond.I told my students today that by the end of this year they will have changed, that they will be different. Some looked on, wondering if the latte in the cafe next door would be as good as Starbucks, but on many faces, I&nbsp;saw excitement and anticipation that marked the beginning of what was next.Marianne Savory is a lecturer in professional skills and curriculum development at the University of Leeds Business School.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.

A course induction can be more than an information-giving session in the student welcome timetable. It can introduce students to the practice of reflection on short- and long-term goals and what they want to achieve, writes Marianne Savory

Welcome! Now what?

UCAS applications were down by almost 10,000 in 2023 and international student numbers had fallen by a third on the previous year. While the number of UK 18-year-olds and international applicants both saw modest increases for the 2024/25 academic year, overall applications remain in decline.Against the backdrop of ongoing financial constraints, there have been calls across the sector for the new government to increase the cap on tuition fees. With fewer students to go round and budgets being squeezed, what can universities do to increase their ability to attract and retain students?&nbsp;What really matters to students&nbsp;The first step to attract more students through the door is to understand what they want from their higher education journey. High quality teaching should be a given. When choosing a university, students look for much more.Campus life is entering a new era, but don’t forget the human touchStudent communication: a compassionate approachPerfect doesn’t exist and other lessons from developing a whole-university well-being strategyThe question is, what is it about university life that really matters most to students and how can institutions deliver it?&nbsp;Students were asked what would be on their wish list for university life at a recent event, hosted by Ellucian, to discuss the issue. There were three key areas that students said would make their higher education journey not just good, but outstanding.Help students get more from their university experienceThe cost of living was a significant topic of discussion. Rising costs continue to have a considerable impact on the experience of going to university for many students.&nbsp;Hashim, a medical student in his final year at Queen Mary University of London, wanted to see more help available for students who need to work alongside their studies to make ends meet.&nbsp;“Working students typically miss out on a social life or may even see their grades start to slide because they are struggling to get the balance right between employment and study,” he said. “Timetables can be sporadic too, which makes it difficult for people to plan shifts around learning commitments. My university offers students advice on household budgeting, which really helps.”&nbsp;A rethink is needed on the dilemma of working while studying. Students wanted to see more paid opportunities available within their universities. There was a call for more clarity on hidden costs such as examination re-sit fees too, as unexpected costs can increase the risk of dropping out.&nbsp;Bethan, a former University of Leeds student, now academic representation coordinator at Manchester Metropolitan University, said: “Rather than working in local bars and restaurants, students could gain valuable experience in roles such as student support services and marketing. This enriches the whole experience of going to university and students bring a unique perspective on what sets an institution apart.”Key takeaway: Provide greater transparency on study costs and consider what on-campus job opportunities could be made available to students to help them manage their academic and financial responsibilities. Doing so could have a marked positive impact on both student well-being and retention rates.Engage students in shaping higher educationStudents considered institutions that involve them in shaping their higher education offering as much better placed to truly meet their changing needs.&nbsp;As Bethan pointed out: “Improving the student experience starts with understanding the journey from the students’ perspective. Who better to question about what services are needed to help students who speak English as a second language succeed, than the very people the services are designed for?”&nbsp;There are advantages to bringing IT engineering students in to help a university develop their student app. Gathering students’ views on what’s required are key too, but the advice from students was not to rely too heavily on surveys.&nbsp;“Although surveys are quick and easy to complete, we get so many that not everyone has the time or desire to respond,” said Isabelle, a marketing student at University of Southampton and president of the city’s Women in Business Society.&nbsp;“Workshops or focus groups can often be more effective ways to get a more representative student view and as a result, a deeper understanding of what they want or need.”&nbsp;Key takeaway: Reduce reliance on surveys and go the extra mile to directly engage students in shaping their education. This will give universities confidence that new and existing services will improve the student experience.&nbsp;Provide tools to support student successStudents have high expectations of the tech and social media platforms they use every day. This means the systems used to access information and learning at university need to live up to these expectations.&nbsp;&nbsp;“It saves so much time when you can access everything in one place, with no logging on to multiple systems. With their studies under control, students have more time for socialising and a more balanced university life,” said Isabelle.&nbsp;&nbsp;Apps were a popular choice among students. A simple interactive campus map can make a huge difference to students who can get to where they need to be using their phones. However, it was important to students that they were simple and accessible.&nbsp;“Text in apps and on websites can clutter the view. With visual prompts and icons, it’s easier to navigate and direct students to the information they need more quickly,” said Bethan.&nbsp;Tools that supported flexible learning were high on the wish list too, as Hashim explained. “My university provided hybrid learning, which meant I could watch lectures online from home or catch up with the session later on if I was working. I found it really helpful to see the presentation slides and also the lecturer speaking. Rules were in place to allow some examinations to be taken online too, which worked well.”&nbsp;Key takeaway: Prioritise accessible, user-friendly technology that is part of the fabric of university life. Understanding what digital tools students want and need can eliminate daily frustrations and help keep the focus on study success too.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A competitive edgeUniversities that demonstrate their ability to actively listen to students and adapt to their needs are much more likely to be a first choice institution.&nbsp;By focusing on practical support, engaging students in decision-making and offering user-friendly tools that enhance the whole experience of going to university, institutions can set themselves apart and ensure their students thrive both academically and personally.Pete Moss is director at Ellucian and former manager at Staffordshire University.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.

What do students want from higher education?

Student satisfaction runs much deeper than excellent academic credentials. Find out how to attract new intake by focusing on what they really want from the university experience

Work-integrated learning (the “WIL” of the title) is considered integral for students’ skills, employment prospects and understanding of the world of work, but its expansion is not without risk. In prioritising WIL, universities must balance the demands of students and employers, government education agencies’ focus on work-ready graduates, and expectations of other stakeholders with protections against, for example, personal injury or reputational harm.Consider the potential risks to students of work-related stress, discrimination or lack of preparedness while on placement. Consider also the legal or reputational risk to universities of falling short of their shared responsibility for the health and safety of such students or the more subtle risk of not ensuring that a place of work provides an effective and suitable learning environment.Spotlight collection: enhancing employability through higher educationWhat support students need to succeed in work placementsThree tips for using capstone projects to improve employabilitySo what can be done to mitigate the potential pitfalls for students, employers and higher education institutions?For many universities, including the University of Canterbury (UC) in Aotearoa New Zealand, total risk avoidance is not an option. So risk management was the principal focus when we developed our institutional WIL risk-mitigation strategy.To help others growing WIL at their university, especially those nervous about the “how”, here are examples of what we implemented to help mitigate WIL-related risk at UC.Create a centralised WIL hub: Ako ā-mahi (‘learning through working’)A WIL hub can be an intentional component of a risk-mitigation strategy. It is a way to bring education, training, technology and resources (based on WIL research) together in one place to support staff, students and host organisations to experience high-quality WIL. Under the auspices of the deputy vice-chancellor (academic), UC’s WIL hub has given staff a solid platform to advocate for, and advise on, good WIL practice.For WIL coordinators, the hub provides advice and resources to improve operational efficiencies, including the use of templates, risk diagnostic tools and placement-matching software. The hub also advises on host organisation relationship development and maintenance to create sustainable WIL programmes. For academic staff, the hub provides bespoke pedagogical advice to course coordinators who either want to create a new WIL course or improve an aspect of an existing WIL course. A flagship suite of interdisciplinary internship courses – PACE (professional and community engagement) – are open to all students and are an exemplar of good WIL practice. The PACE courses can be adopted or adapted by faculty for their own purposes. These hub activities increase WIL literacy at UC, which is itself a risk mitigant.Overview of our risk-mitigation journeyWhen we created the hub, we developed a high-level risk-mitigation process for WIL. The key phases of the process (which sometimes occurred concurrently) included:a deep analysis of current international literature on mitigating risk in WIL (including legal, strategic, operational, reputational, ethical and financial risk)a thorough review of relevant legislation (which in New Zealand strongly emphasises health, safety and well-being)the creation of a risk matrix and a list of associated WIL safeguards (in essence, a detailed matching exercise of the resources and actions we needed to apply, or develop, to respond to identified legal risk). One example of a WIL safeguard was the creation of an improved tripartite WIL agreement for students, a host organisation and UC in relation to unpaid internships that included standardised terms and conditions clarifying roles and responsibilities of each party, from privacy and confidentiality to pastoral care expectationssetting up a WIL risk working group to analyse and evaluate WIL risk from an institutional perspectiveconsultation with WIL practitioners from all UC faculties (Science, Business, Arts, Health, Engineering, Law and Education) together with legal, risk and insurance teams. This provided endorsement that new safeguards, such as pan-UC WIL procedures, would help staff towards institution-wide understanding of what good risk management looks likeworking systematically with WIL practitioners in each faculty to use placement-management software that seeks to transform the task of placing students into workplace settings from labour-intensive and unsystematic to fluid, effective and scalable. As we do this, we help kaimahi (staff) assess and mitigate risks pertinent to their discipline.Establish WIL policy and separate WIL good practice guidelinesGetting everyone’s buy-in to WIL policy and guidelines will entail drafts and debate, but tenacity will be rewarded. Amid discussion, predominantly around how to maintain diversity of practice in WIL while trying to apply universal rules – think of nurses in clinical placements, law students in professional services firms, or geography students close to volcanoes – you may begin to wonder whether institution-level standards are realistic.Can you apply a one-size-fits-all approach? The short answer is “no”.Instead, we created a simple policy that established the scope of WIL at our university, and set out the roles, responsibilities and accountabilities shared among the many internal and external stakeholders involved in WIL. Our good practice guidelines then became more about “this is what we expect from you in the preparation, delivery, review and improvement of WIL”. The guidelines also take staff to useful resources such as student handbooks, partner handbooks, risk assessment tools and WIL template agreements.A WIL risk-management frameworkGiven the complexity of engaging in WIL – and the elephant in the room (that WIL is perceived as resource-heavy and fraught with risk) – a visual framework can be helpful to reassure staff that WIL doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The visual tool illustrates that risk mitigation builds on university infrastructure, values and strategy (in UC’s context, its dedication to building student employability skills) as well as the part staff play, from skilful matching of students with opportunities to due diligence of host organisations.
  
      
  
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&nbsp;The right technology used effectivelyNew placement-management software has been effective in UC’s meeting legal obligations, and transformative in giving staff back valuable time to attend to more student-centric activities. It has also provided a way into conversations about quality WIL more generally. This system provides us with an enterprise view of where our students are expected to be while on placement, as well as enhancing operational efficiencies and extending administrators’ capabilities and capacity. Rolling out this software also opens doors with colleagues throughout the university, across a range of WIL-related subjects.Two ways in which the system already shows dividends are: reducing key person risk as we no&nbsp;longer lose our intellectual property when staff walk out the door at night; and in case of emergency, we can identify where each student should be and who is responsible for them at the press of a button.A path to WIL risk literacyFrom starting a conversation about meeting the basics of supporting students in workplace settings, relationships can often be fostered among WIL hub staff (professional, academic and technical) with course coordinators towards a “Have you thought about…?” conversation, ranging from developing the authenticity of the WIL experience and specific workplace competencies to assessment design involving the host organisation.The kōrero (conversations) we had along the way in providing technology, and creating resources and documentation, has enabled more than developing risk literacy among our colleagues at UC. For us in the UC WIL hub, it has been a chance to appreciate the depth, diversity and innovation relating to WIL across faculties and disciplines. By ensuring that we have a working institutional risk-mitigation strategy, we can ensure that the strategic value of WIL to our university is fully realised.Clare Murray is director of work-integrated learning | Ako ā-Mahi in the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor – Academic at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.

As demand for universities to support work-integrated learning rises, so does exposure to potential pitfalls such as personal injury and reputational harm. What can higher education institutions do to mitigate the risks?

Where there’s WIL, there’s risk

India is facing a significant shortage of skilled workers, ranking seventh globally in talent deficit. More than 80&nbsp;per cent of employers struggle to find qualified candidates, particularly in sectors such as transport, logistics, automotive and IT, where shortages can reach up to 88&nbsp;per cent, according to the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey. Despite companies adopting strategies such as flexible work arrangements and increasing wages, the pool of skilled talent remains limited, and India could face a skill deficit of 29&nbsp;million by 2030, as projected by the International Labour Organization (ILO).However, India’s demographic advantage over other countries with labour shortages, such as Canada and the UK, is notable; with 13&nbsp;million young individuals entering the job market each year. The need for effective skill development programmes is more pressing than ever, requiring concerted efforts from the government and industry through initiatives such as the Skill India Mission.More resources on higher education in AsiaSpotlight collection: why knowledge exchange is important for universitiesHow to make enterprise activities enjoyable and impactfulUniversities, too, are essential in closing this gap, but India has significant challenges in aligning higher education with industry needs, teaching practical skills and encouraging innovation. Some are taking steps – for example, IIT Madras has partnered with industry to offer practice-oriented MTech programmes. To foster innovation, the government established Atal Incubation Centres at universities across India. Programmes such as the Prime Minister’s Research Fellows Scheme aim to retain talent in research. Industry-academia partnerships are also on the rise – a notable example is the collaboration between Tata Consultancy Services and academic institutions to co-create curricula in emerging technologies.This article looks at ways higher education can tackle India’s lack of skilled workers and bolster long-term economic development.&nbsp;Build effective industry-academia collaborations in IndiaTo establish successful industry partnerships in India, higher education institutions (HEIs) need to adopt the following strategies:Develop curricula in partnership with industry: Work together with industry experts to create and regularly enhance academic programmes. This guarantees that the course material stays up to date with changing market demands and prepares students with employable skills.Create advisory boards: Establish advisory boards including members from important industries to offer perspectives on new trends, technologies and skill deficiencies. These boards are able to help facilitate changes in the curriculum and impact strategic partnerships.Offer industry-sponsored projects: Include industry-sponsored projects in academic programmes to promote collaboration and attract more participation. This allows students to gain hands-on experience and tackle genuine issues encountered by businesses.Develop internship and apprenticeship pathways: Establish organised, extended internship and apprenticeship initiatives that provide students with practical experience in their chosen field. Collaborating with businesses to provide credit-based internships promotes greater involvement and improves graduates’ chances of finding employment.Establish research centres: Specialised research centres could concentrate on addressing industry-specific issues. Collaborating on research can result in shared publications, patents and new product developments, enhancing relationships with industry collaborators.Arrange industry-immersion programmes: Coordinate visits to companies, shadowing experiences and brief immersion programmes to help students gain first-hand knowledge of workplace culture, technologies and processes.Provide continuous professional development: Customised training and certification programmes in collaboration with industry partners can support the continuous professional development of working professionals, thereby strengthening long-term partnerships and increasing the visibility of higher education institutions.Participate in joint ventures or sponsored chairs: Create partnerships or industry-funded faculty positions, such as endowed chairs, to promote knowledge sharing, creativity and industry-focused education.In terms of student placements, HEIs need to concentrate on:Internships and co-op programmes: Offer opportunities for students to participate in semester-long internships or co-op placements, allowing them to balance classroom learning with hands-on experience in their chosen industry.Capstone projects: Involve students collaborating with industry partners to tackle real-world issues, using their academic understanding in practical scenarios.By putting these strategies into action, HEIs can build strong partnerships with industry and guarantee that students leave with in-demand skills and experience.Case studies in addressing the talent shortageWoxsen University has adopted industry collaboration and practical training to address the talent shortage through establishing strong partnerships with industries. A significant instance is its collaboration with Bloomberg for the Bloomberg Lab, giving students instant access to global financial data to improve their analytical and financial skills. Likewise, the AI Research Centre, powered by Brandscapes Worldwide, provides students with interactive learning opportunities, enabling them to engage in pioneering projects and acquire practical skills in state-of-the-art technologies. This method has greatly enhanced their preparedness for the job market, resulting in high placement rates and favourable reviews from employers.Higher education institutions are essential in addressing India’s talent shortage by matching educational programmes with industry needs, offering hands-on training and promoting creativity.Raul Villamarin Rodriguez is vice-president, and Hemachandran&nbsp;K is associate dean of the School of Business and director of the AI Research Centre, both at Woxsen University in Hyderabad, India.If you’d like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.

Higher education’s role in preparing students for real-world jobs includes forging strong industry partnerships, establishing pathways into apprenticeships and fostering creativity

How Indian universities can address the country’s talent crisis

Giving students paid opportunities to co-design online learning content offers multiple benefits for both learners and institutions, including enhancing learning experiences, reducing academic workload for staff and addressing the awarding gap. An initiative at the University of Derby offered paid employment to current students as learning design assistants during which they contributed to the development and enhancement of online course materials. This approach not only offers students academically relevant employment, it also aims to make online learning environments more inclusive and effective for a diverse student population.To read about more first-hand accounts of successful projects in higher educationLearning designer may be the best job you’ve never heard ofResource collection: working with students to co-create their educationHere‘s what we have learned so far.What we ask our temporary learning design assistants to doTwo posts for temporary learning design assistants were advertised to students through the university’s student employment agency during the 2023/24 academic year. The successful applicants were partially responsible for, among other duties:generating alternative image text to enhance the accessibility of online content&nbsp;ensuring multimedia resources included suitable and sensical captionsdeveloping activities that promoted active application and reflection on learningproposing multimedia elements to add value to and enhance engagement in contentensuring the quality of online content met established university standards.The learning design assistants completed an eight-week working contract, during which they received professional mentorship from a senior manager and worked collaboratively alongside professional educational developers, media producers and academics. Their role provided them with the opportunity to add value to the more passive sections of online content provision, including written (case studies, reflections), visual (images, short videos) and audio (podcasts, interviews). In practice, once live, this content is supplemented through active discussion boards and interactive live sessions with academics and experts at multiple points during each module.&nbsp;How paid work experience impacts students and staffThese short-term contracts provided paid opportunities to students in applied and academically relevant roles, while reducing administratively taxing roles for the academic team. Both learning design assistants recruited were postgraduate students who intended to pursue academic careers. As a result of the professional experience gained in the role, one has already parlayed their experience into a part-time teaching and learning role at another higher education institution, undertaken in addition to their ongoing studies. The other has started doctoral study on the topic of teaching and learning practices in higher education.Such opportunities may also have the capacity to broadly benefit the awarding gap as well. Both learning design assistants are increasingly leveraging their own experiences in their support of academic practitioners, framing their suggestions and proposed quality enhancements in terms of their own lived experience of study and proposing amendments that target the comprehensibility, accessibility and intelligibility of academic materials to an audience of their fellow students.Indeed, debate leads us to recognise that if information is presented to students in a manner that contributes to ambiguity, cultural misalignment or assessment-related confusion, this could reinforce the awarding gap. As such, involving students before the point at which the content is released to the larger student body can help identify inaccessible material, and areas where further elaboration or examples could benefit students’ engagement with the material. Ensuring that current and culturally relevant explanations are offered when covering material that might be seen as complex or difficult to access can scaffold meaningful discussions for more learners.&nbsp;This approach provided an opportunity for instantaneous feedback in a collaborative manner to academic educators before they disseminated the content more broadly to the student body; typically – post-release – content would remain the same until the following academic year. Explicit consultation with student co-creators, who received professional support and remuneration, helped break down barriers that might prevent such students approaching the academic team about their misunderstandings for fear of stigma around not understanding the material. Likewise, with academics made aware of particularly taxing material, they were able to shape their live discussion sessions, or their provision of ad hoc informative material, around these topics to ensure the successful navigation of pinch points within their modules.&nbsp;An initial pilot of this initiative has been completed, and a full evaluation of its impact on the quality of the teaching materials as well as the professional and personal development opportunities of the students employed within the role is being developed and disseminated. Although this initiative does not negate the need for continual feedback, module development and material refreshment, it does offer a potential strategy for ensuring that content is co-created in a more accessible manner, while providing key opportunities for student development in a novel and easy-to-implement manner. &nbsp;Dean Fido is associate professor of forensic psychology and Gary F. Fisher&nbsp;is&nbsp; learning design and online practice manager, both at the University of Derby.&nbsp;If you’d like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the Campus newsletter.

Offering students paid opportunities to be involved in generating and modifying online learning content could deliver novel experiences for learners, reduce academic workload and help close the awarding gap

Students as co-creators in online learning 

Mental health is a serious issue for Generation Z. It can affect emotional, psychological and social well-being that can be triggered by many factors, including social media, global events and academic pressure. Students often find that stressful periods such as final exams can exacerbate tension and anxiety. The pressure to perform well and fear of failure can harm academic performance and overall classroom experience.&nbsp;Three ways to support the post-pandemic mental health of Generation ZBuilding kindness into an institutional cultureManaging empathy fatigue as a teacherEducators play a crucial role in supporting students. When a student is experiencing a mental health crisis, key considerations and strategies are needed for immediate support and long-term assistance. Awareness about mental health has grown compared with previous generations. Creating a supportive and non-judgemental environment is essential.Immediate support1. Listen and show empathyActive listening: Speak gently in a calm, reassuring voice. Allow students to express their feelings without interruption. Nod and maintain eye contact to acknowledge their emotions and validate their experiences, giving verbal cues like “I am here for you”.Non-judgemental attitude: Avoid judgement and try not to offer unsolicited advice. Focus on understanding students’ feelings and experiences – be supportive and compassionate. Encourage students to be kind to themselves and acknowledge their strengths in managing the situation.2. Ensure safetyAssess the situation: Prioritise the safety of the student and others. Ensure the student is in a safe environment and remove any potentially dangerous objects from the vicinity. Determine if the student is in immediate danger to themselves or others. If there are signs of self-harm or suicidal thoughts, take immediate intervention. If it is safe to do so, stay with the student until help arrives.Emergency services: If the situation is severe, do not hesitate to contact campus security or emergency services. Clarify that there is a mental health crisis and provide as much detail as possible about the situation. Know the protocols for your institution and act accordingly.3. Provide immediate resourcesCrisis helplines: Gently encourage student to consider seeking professional support. Provide the student with contact information for crisis helplines or text lines when they need someone to talk to if they are in immediate distress.Counselling services: If the student is overwhelmed and unable to cope, refer the student to campus counselling services or professionals, or help them get to the nearest emergency room. &nbsp;4. Encourage grounding techniquesGrounding exercises: Teach simple grounding techniques, such as deep breathing, listening to calming music, counting objects in the room or focusing on sensory experiences by touching something with a distinct texture. If possible, encourage gentle stretches, wiggling fingers and splashing cold water to shift focus. These can help the student feel more present and calmer.Long-term support1. Follow upCheck-in: Long-term support can begin by following up with student after the incident to assess their condition. This can be done through email, a phone call or a private conversation&nbsp;–&nbsp;whichever the student and educator are comfortable with.Continued support: The educator may continuously offer the student emotional and mental health support, and be a point of contact if they need further assistance with regards to academic or personal matters.2. Academic flexibilityExtensions and accommodations: Offer deadline extensions on assessments, should a student require more time because of their mental health challenges.&nbsp;Alternative arrangements: Flag up the new arrangement at the earliest opportunity, to give sufficient time for the students to prepare, revise and complete their tasks or assessments. Giving them another opportunity to improve their grades, such as replacement exams, may boost their self-esteem and motivate them to perform well.3. Promote mental health resourcesWorkshops and seminars: Educators, and the student psychiatrist or counsellor, should encourage the students to attend mental health workshops or seminars offered by the school or institutions. These programmes can educate them about mental health struggles and how best to handle them.4. Encourage self-care and well-beingHealthy habits: Remind the student to maintain healthy habits including regular exercise, a balanced diet and sufficient sleep.&nbsp;Hobbies and interests: Encourage student to engage in hobbies or interests that bring joy and relaxation. Involving their friends in their hobbies, and socialising while enjoying an activity they love, is a proven way to release stress.5. Create a supportive communityPeer support groups: Facilitate the creation of a support system, where students can share their experiences with their peers and support each other.&nbsp;6. Work with mental health professionalsCollaboration: Collaborate with campus counsellors, psychologists and other mental health professionals to provide comprehensive support for students. Educators may assist the counsellors in giving a brief but informative talk about mental health awareness to the students during the first few minutes of lectures.Confidentiality: Maintain confidentiality and respect students’ privacy when working with mental health professionals.&nbsp;Self-care for educatorsSupporting students facing mental health challenges can be emotionally taxing. Educators should take into account their physical and mental health, practise self-care and seek support whenever needed. Set healthy boundaries, take breaks and seek professional guidance should you feel overwhelmed.By following these steps, educators can play an important role in supporting students through their mental health challenges, providing both immediate and long-term assistance to help them navigate difficult times.Norlin Nosbi, Nurul Azhani Yunus, Mazian Mohammad&nbsp;and Abdul Rahim Othman are part of the mechanical engineering department at Universiti Teknologi Petronas.If you’d like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the Campus newsletter.

How to help a student in mental health distress

Students are particularly vulnerable to mental health struggles, and exam time can be especially stressful. Here’s how to help in an emergency and how to offer long-term support

In our commitment to foster a culture of zero tolerance towards harassment, we started the Empower and Prevent: Principles of Consent and Harassment Prevention course, the first university-level compulsory course in Kazakhstan that educates students about different forms of harassment, understanding consent and the important role bystanders play in keeping the campus secure.Creating safe spaces for students to talk about financial difficultiesHow to keep LGBTQ+ students safe when studying abroadSafely teaching foreign students facing censorshipEmpower and Prevent is structured around four online modules, delivered via the Articulate 360 platform, which ensures engaging and interactive teaching content. Each module is designed to address specific aspects of harassment prevention:Understanding harassment and setting boundaries: In this module, students learn to identify and respond to various forms of harassment, emphasising the importance of personal boundaries. Through interactive scenarios, the module challenges students to apply what they learn.Example of the interactive scenario in Module 1: Imagine you’re at a university event. You notice a fellow student, Zhanibek, complimenting another student, Aida, on her appearance in a way that seems to make her uncomfortable. Zhanibek later sends Aida repeated messages on social media, asking to meet up, despite her showing no interest in him. This scenario asks, “Does Zhanibek’s behaviour constitute harassment?” Students learn to distinguish between different forms of harassment, understanding the need for consent and respect for personal boundaries.Learning about consent: This module discusses the complexities of consent, teaching students to recognise and respect it in all interactions, and to identify “red flags”.Example of the interactive scenario in Module 2: During a party scenario, Timur persists in making advances after being declined. This scenario teaches the students the importance of recognising and respecting clear, affirmative consent. It also helps them identify coercion, understand consent’s voluntary nature, and communicate discomfort clearly.Understanding the anti-harassment policy and resources at Nazarbayev University:&nbsp;This module provides an in-depth look at NU’s anti-harassment policy, explaining the reporting procedures and the support systems available for harassment survivors. It includes simulations of reporting processes to give students a clear understanding of how to seek help and support.Example of the interactive scenario in Module 3: A role-playing simulation where a student, Aisha, decides to report harassment. This interactive setup guides students through the reporting process, demonstrating how to access university support systems and understand the consequences of policy violations.Considering the role of bystanders: The final module emphasises the critical role bystanders play in preventing harassment. Through role-playing simulations, students learn safe and effective intervention techniques and are encouraged to support a culture of respect and safety.Example of the interactive scenario in Module 4: In a party scenario, students assess a situation where a bystander notices potentially harmful behaviour towards an intoxicated student. This interactive question teaches students safe intervention strategies and the importance of bystander roles in preventing harassment.The course incorporates interactive elements such as educational quizzes, scenario-based activities and real-life simulations to create a dynamic learning environment. Each module concludes with assessments that require an 80 per cent pass rate, to reinforce the seriousness of the content and ensure comprehension.The Empower and Prevent course is an integral part of our commitment to a zero-tolerance policy towards harassment. By providing first-year students with the knowledge and tools to recognise, prevent and respond to harassment, we are not only addressing these issues head-on, but are also promoting a supportive campus culture that respects and upholds the dignity of every community member.Dinara Pisareva is an associate professor and Nikita Durnev is an undergraduate student at Nazarbayev University.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the&nbsp;THE Campus&nbsp;newsletter.

Educate to empower your students and prevent harassment

To make campus safer, why not teach first-year students the principles of harassment prevention? Here’s how

The educational upheaval created by the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have lingering consequences on Gen Z students, more than four years on from the first lockdowns.Shifting between face-to-face and online learning, coupled with a heightened vigilance of pathogens, and the isolation from friends and mentors – all while trying to maintain academic performance –&nbsp;would be a major undertaking for anyone, and especially for the developing minds of this generation. But the anxieties seeded among students during the pandemic have now grown into a forest of tangled branches. Each branch represents an unaddressed anxiety with its own root cause.&nbsp;Resource collection: The post-pandemic university: how to serve the Covid generationEntice students back to the classroom with community quizzesCovid should have taught us that campus needs to be a treasured spaceThe crucial question is: what can we do to support students at this point in history?&nbsp;Common post-pandemic anxieties among studentsNavigating one’s mental health can be complex and each person’s experience is unique. Hence, the first step, even before thinking of a solution, is to understand and empathise with the various types of anxieties affecting Gen Z students.&nbsp;Common anxieties that university students face post-pandemic are:Health-related fears and phobia:&nbsp;Developing a fear of germs (germophobia) or contracting illnesses. This may be more prevalent in students who have underlying health problems or live with someone who is immunocompromised.&nbsp;Social anxieties: This can include fearing highly crowded public spaces, unease about reintegrating into society, fearing face-to-face interactions with others and worries about having lost social skills during extended periods of isolation.&nbsp;Lifestyle and routine disruptions: The constant change in one’s learning environment is undoubtedly difficult to adapt to. Students who had just become comfortable with online learning may have felt their daily routine being derailed once again when they had to return to solely face-to-face lectures.Educational anxieties: Students may feel that remote classes have disrupted their learning, and they’ve been left with gaps in their knowledge and skills in critical areas. They may feel unequipped and insecure in their abilities as they return to face-to-face learning.Psychological anxieties and illnesses: Depression and generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) may be particularly prevalent among students.Financial stress: The pandemic has impacted the financial security of many people. Students especially may experience the brunt of this aftermath due to anxiety over their personal or their family’s finances. Additionally, Gen Z may not be able to afford mental health aid due to financial reasons.Three ways to support students with post-pandemic anxietiesIntegrate mental health first aid (MHFA) training programmes.&nbsp;Training faculty members and students to identify the warning signs of mental health problems, provide support and direct individuals to professional assistance. This could provide students with swift support from trusted sources, creating a compassionate educational environment that helps them adjust back to in-person learning.&nbsp;Encourage flexible learning.&nbsp;The abrupt move to online learning, particularly in the earlier days of the pandemic, was quite chaotic. Many students needed time to adapt. Just as Gen Z students became accustomed to remote learning, institutions made the switch back to in-person teaching. This change is even more difficult for those struggling with their mental health. Offering flexible learning options, such as online lectures, recorded classes and alternative examination methods, can accommodate students’ academic and social anxieties.&nbsp;Enhance on-campus services. A notable advancement for universities worldwide is the provision of mental health counselling services for their students. However, waiting times or unavailability of meeting slots can hinder students from accessing these services promptly. To overcome this issue, expand the counselling workforce and incorporate mental health services in student health insurance plans, if applicable.&nbsp;Unravelling each branch of anxiety and navigating this new terrain can be overwhelming and isolating for Gen Z students. As they strive to find solid ground, it’s important to acknowledge what they’re going through. Understanding the root causes of anxiety forms the foundation for effective support. Pairing them with practical initiatives, such as the above-mentioned examples, can serve to gradually untangle each branch. This can foster an empowering environment that encourages students to thrive in the post-pandemic world.Sumbal Riaz is a lecturer in biomedical sciences and Aena Khan is an undergraduate student, both at Dubai Medical College for Girls.If you’d like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the Campus newsletter.

Three ways to support the post-Covid mental health of Gen Z

Post-pandemic, students are still struggling with their mental health. Here are three ways to help

Three ways to support the post-pandemic mental health of Generation Z

Student-centred learning, which identifies students’ existing strengths and incorporates these into the syllabus, is a useful way to engage international students with varied experience, knowledge and skills. When paired with an understanding of students’ desired outcomes, such as developing the future skills they may need in industry, it can be highly motivating.If you face the challenge of teaching a global classroom of students who are learning in a second language and unfamiliar environment, here are some things to try:Mix digital and traditional activitiesDigital technology can help to drive student engagement as many are more confident contributing through anonymous posts on digital platforms and less so about speaking in another language in front of their peers. However, as some students prefer speaking over writing, I begin with a mix of digital activities e.g. quizzes and polls using platforms such as Padlet and Menti, and traditional activities such as questions, debates and group discussions. Over time, I encourage students to develop their weaker skills so that everyone becomes confident speaking and writing in a second language.&nbsp;Develop professional skillsUniversities should work with employers to identify desirable skills and find ways to develop these in the classroom. University of Chester’s discussions with local employers and business representatives identified problem-solving, adaptability, reflection, self-direction and collaboration as important to employers. Using this information, we adapted an individual 4,000-word report traditionally used to assess students taking a master’s course in international marketing into a group project. Groups acted as a marketing team and collaborated to develop a marketing plan before presenting their plans on Microsoft Teams. They were assessed in relation to the following learning outcomes: analysis, evaluation and synthesis of theory/industry research and critical thinking.Resource collection: Back to the basics of pedagogyUsing fun and interactive micromodules to energise learningMaking group work work: how to enable successful student collaborationFacilitate active learningActive learning – when students interact and engage in the learning process to develop understanding, for example, through problem-solving, group work or debate – rather than passively receiving knowledge, avoids an over-reliance upon writing, which for those writing in a second language can be overwhelming, while developing important professional skills.&nbsp;Furthermore, international students naturally co-operate, translating for each other in class and working together outside the classroom. So, team-based learning makes sense. Instead of setting individual tasks, incorporate teamwork into the classroom by setting industry-based problem-solving.&nbsp;&nbsp;For example, business students can choose a scenario from the news or industry press featuring a company facing a takeover threat, a product launch or a new opportunity in the macro or microenvironment. Working in groups, students can research relevant academic theory and industry practice, discuss how this theory/research relates to the scenario and collectively debate and select a strategy that they present to the class or share on a digital platform. The lecturer should act as the facilitator, suggesting different tasks for group members, directing reading and research and moderating discussion, praising or challenging formative strategies and providing feedback on the final strategies.&nbsp;Adopt authentic assessment methodsCollaborating with companies to develop live assessment briefs offers ongoing, flexible engagement with industry. Lecturers should talk to their institution’s careers and professional development teams to identify existing industry collaborators or reach out to relevant businesses who may have a project they would like students to engage with.&nbsp;I worked with a brand to develop a marketing communications assessment related to a UK product launch. The live assignment launched on day one of the module, and required students to research and develop a campaign for several weeks. Students got valuable industry experience and positive feedback from the brand, which celebrated the students’ international perspective.International students face challenging, unfamiliar learning environments. We can support them to succeed by offering them student-centred learning opportunities that identify and make use of their strengths, and the chance to develop professional skills and engage with industry. This is our aim at the University of Chester through our future skills curriculum that aims to embed future-facing skills and competencies across all years and all courses, so that all students can demonstrate and articulate their accomplishments to future employers.&nbsp;Giselle Bate is a senior lecturer at the University of Chester.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the&nbsp;Campus&nbsp;newsletter.

Student-centred learning to motivate international students

Support your international students by incorporating strategies that promote student-centred learning into your teaching 

Use student-centred learning strategies to motivate international business students 

The statistics about students who are also parents in the US often surprise people. Over 22 per cent of undergraduate students, and nearly one in three graduate students, are parents,&nbsp;according to national data compiled by the Urban Institute. That’s more than 5.4 million people in this country. Moreover, more than half have children under the age of 6. Juggling academics with responsibilities to children is complicated – and requires additional support and connection to resources if we’re going to truly empower these student parents to successfully reach their academic goals and jumpstart their careers.&nbsp;For me, supporting parenting students is an imperative; we must do what we can, particularly since many of those affected are women. And to earnestly help women, we must resource them. While I began my career in higher education as a freshly minted PhD with no dependants, I raised my children while I was a full-time faculty member. So, I am well aware of the challenges associated with balancing a demanding workload and parental responsibilities.Virginia Tech’s Northern Virginia-based graduate programmes are located on the outskirts of Washington, DC, rather than on the main campus in Blacksburg. Many, if not most, of our graduate students are working professionals in their twenties and thirties – exactly when “life” happens. Weddings are being planned and babies are arriving. Adding parenting duties to students’ responsibilities can complicate their academic pursuits, so programme flexibility is crucial. Parents’ primary concerns are generally about their children, and we can only be effective in our work as teaching faculty and administrators if we are mindful of parenting students’ priorities and needs.Read more: how to factor family into higher educationWhat can universities do to support academic couples?From prams to postgraduate degrees: how universities can support student parentsSupporting graduate students who are also parents requires a multifaceted approach that addresses both academic and personal needs. Academic institutions and communities can provide targeted support to significantly and meaningfully ease this burden.Non-cohort options for flexibilityThe flexibility to design their own plan of study based on their work and parenting schedules and needs can help students to balance their workload. As such, many of our programmes in the Washington, DC, region are non-cohort-based. For example, in our in-person MBA programme, all core courses are offered every semester, ensuring flexibility for the students. If a student needs to reschedule a course because of a family issue, their programme isn’t derailed; they can take the class in a future semester. Timing is up to them: they can design a plan so they graduate in two years, or they can study for five years. This approach fits the audience here, where so many working professionals who are also parents want to obtain a graduate degree in order to advance their careers.&nbsp;Flexible scheduling&nbsp;Flexible class schedules, which might include evening or weekend courses, can help working-student parents manage their time more effectively. Online or hybrid course options can also help students to juggle their academic and parental duties. For example, Virginia Tech also offers an online MBA option, which is&nbsp;operated as a cohort programme where students move in lockstep – this format allows students to complete their degree in the most efficient manner; they can fit graduate school into their lives where it works best. I remember one very pregnant student at graduation who managed to just finish her degree programme before starting her family.Family-friendly classroomsGive teaching faculty the freedom to customise their own classroom rules. For me, this means offering the option to bring young children to class, so seeing babies in car seats or body slings and young children in the back of the classroom doing homework is not unusual in classes that I lead. For other instructors, it may mean something else entirely, such as offering the occasional online class in the middle of the semester or bending an exam schedule to avoid a child’s concert date.&nbsp;Buildings should be equipped with spaces, such as lactation rooms, to support nursing mothers. Virginia Tech also provides accommodations for pregnant women as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, which recognises pregnancy as a qualifying condition.Parent-friendly policies&nbsp;Faculty benefit from options to pause the academic clock for family responsibilities. Clear and supportive parental leave policies for graduate students are also essential. The graduate school and the university’s colleges support a work-life grant programme, which provides up to six weeks of paid leave to graduate assistants, graduate teaching assistants and graduate research assistants for childbirth, adoption and other major life events. Providing a guaranteed return to studies without penalty is crucial.Peer support networks&nbsp;Peer support groups for student-parents can offer emotional and practical assistance. These networks provide a space for sharing experiences, tips on time management and simply offering a sense of community (through scheduling play dates for the kids, for example). Connecting student parents across colleges or faculties can also be helpful to building these networks.When Virginia Tech considers the broader rationale of why we offer these resources, there’s no question that any extra effort is worth it. When we empower parent students, we are improving not just the students’ outcomes, but the future for their entire family – and future generations of that family as well. Shouts of: “Go, Mom!” or “That’s my dad!” as students walk across the stage at commencement make me smile every year and are testament to the fact that we are doing something right in supporting our graduate-student parents.&nbsp;Barbara Hoopes is associate dean of the graduate school, administering programme and student support for Virginia Tech’s presence in the greater Washington, DC, area. She is a professor of business information technology in the Pamplin College of Business.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.

Helping graduate-student parents to balance books and babies

Juggling academics with family responsibilities is complicated. Barbara Hoopes shares advice on supporting and empowering graduate students who are parents

Balancing books and babies: empowering graduate-student parents

Falling behind in just one topic or module can have a domino effect, leading students to feel overwhelmed by other commitments and coursework deadlines, which then leads to stress around meeting academic expectations. To prevent this, it is vital to act early.&nbsp;This resource provides five steps to ensuring students feel supported to succeed. They’re most effective when taken early in the term but can be implemented at any stage during the year.Step 1: identify key measures of engagementHelping students understand the course’s structure and expectations is crucial. At the beginning of each module, establish what educators expect from students and what students should expect from the module leader and other members of the teaching team involved. This is particularly important for first-year students as they transition to university life and adjust to new teaching approaches.Key engagement measures can include lecture, labs and tutorial attendance, timely completion of and performance in formative and summative assessments, class participation and accessing of module resources in the virtual learning environment (VLE).Step 2: track student engagementIdentifying patterns of disengagement is key. For example, if a student misses three consecutive tutorials or a lab session and two homework submissions, it’s essential to investigate further.&nbsp;Collect data on student attendance and participation by monitoring which lectures, tutorials and labs they attend and tracking submission and performance in assessments. Using technology can also speed up gathering data on student engagement; most VLEs now keep an engagement log with information such as when a resource was viewed or downloaded, assessment submission times and the frequency of participation in other activities. This can help provide early indicators of students at risk of falling behind. Set up automated alerts for students and educators when certain engagement criteria are not met.&nbsp;More resources on student successHow to create extracurricular activities students will want to attendLet’s prioritise self-care for the benefit of everyoneStep 3: reach out to the student compassionatelyThis can be via an email offering support and inviting the student to discuss any issues. If they are unresponsive, contact their personal tutor and ask them if they have heard from them. When reaching out to discuss the reasons for disengagement, it is essential to approach the students with kindness and empathy. Avoid making them feel stressed or incapable of continuing their studies. Instead, they need to be morally supported and assured that there are ways to catch up and succeed.&nbsp;Some compassionate forms of communication include:&nbsp;Giving the student time to process and articulate their thoughts, for example, say: “No rush in responding, let me know if you prefer to speak in person or over Teams or via email.”&nbsp;Giving the student a choice of the channel of communicationBeing empathetic in your response. For example, say: “I understand it must be difficult with all you have going on right now.”&nbsp;Reminding them of the success they have achieved so far. For example, say: “I noticed you did really well in a previous piece of coursework” or “You’re doing great so far, and juggling studies and other commitments is something to be proud of.”Being supportive. For example, say: “You might have personal matters on your mind – if you need to speak to someone about it, I can listen or signpost you to someone who might be able to help.”&nbsp;Step 4: action supportOnce you’ve identified the cause/s of disengagement or falling behind, help the student overcome their difficulties. Alert them to the various support structures within the university such as places where they can get one-to-one support for problems (office hours and departmental help clinics, for example). The university may also have peer mentoring programmes and general study skill sessions that students may find useful.&nbsp;One effective method to assist students in taking small, manageable steps is to sit down with them and collaboratively design an individualised timetable revolving around their classes and other commitments. This process involves understanding their perception of their progress in all the modules they’re taking and creating a list of upcoming deadlines. You can then use the information gathered to gradually guide the students back on track without overwhelming them. Sometimes, finding a balance may require the student to skip certain seminars or lab sessions, allowing them to approach the course at a more manageable pace.&nbsp;Step 5: follow up, even if engagement improvesRegular follow-up is essential. It promotes a supportive environment, helping students stay motivated and committed to their courses. One way to do this is to schedule 15-minute weekly or bi-monthly catch-up meetings to review their week, address any difficulties and discuss plans for the upcoming week. It can also be a good time to encourage reflection to help students identify their skills and where they may need further support.&nbsp;Create mechanisms for regular feedback from students, and not just from those who are already struggling, about the course structure and content before they become significant problems. It’s useful to also give students the option of providing anonymous feedback, as some students might not feel comfortable coming forward about their difficulties and may be hesitant to ask for help.Early intervention and consistent support can significantly improve students’ academic experiences. By understanding engagement metrics, tracking participation, reaching out with empathy, providing tailored support and following up regularly, educators can help students overcome challenges and succeed in their studies. These steps not only address immediate issues but foster a supportive academic environment.Layal Hakim is director of education and student experience in the department of mathematics and statistics at the University of Exeter.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the&nbsp;THE Campus&nbsp;newsletter.

Five steps towards student success

Follow these steps to ensure students at risk of dropping out of their studies feel supported to get back on track

Five steps to prevent disengagement

With more than&nbsp;150 higher education providers in the UK, the sector is highly competitive. Faculties need to work to ensure that students in post-compulsory education who study their subject at an introductory level – through A level or vocational diploma – choose to further their studies in that discipline, and decide to do so at their institution.Taster events can be a major part in students’ decision to progress in a particular subject. These opportunities go beyond the broad institution or student life open day format into curriculum-specific aspects, where higher education staff and others from relevant faculty give visiting students an informative experience regarding the course and organisation concerned.Campus webinar: Build a successful student recruitment strategyUsing the Snowflake Method to build belonging on campusActions to help your university stand out in a crowdHere, we outline key components and themes that make a successful taster event.Highlight learning continuity and differenceStudents pursuing relevant post-compulsory courses need to see some familiarity in the further study available at your institution, so your taster should make clear the value of their current learning and demonstrate the achievability of the next level.&nbsp;At the same time, an effective taster will introduce new content. Students need to have confidence in the value added in the further course of study. So, faculty delivering the taster must be familiar with the A level or vocational diploma curricula/specification in their subject so they can show students why their prior learning counts and how treatment at degree level will add to it.Demonstrate your course’s real-world applicationsIn line with the value-added aspect, tasters and progression events should show the real-world applications of the course. While not all faculties can boast consultancy experience with industry, government or the arts, gentle illustrations on how the further learning can be applied to recognised examples in a sense-making or problem-solving way should increase the programme’s appeal. In such cases, focus on high-profile or big-canvas case studies to make the link clear.In some respects, for both vocational and academic programmes, linking to coverage in the popular media may demonstrate relevance, though practitioners or faculty may wish to temper any glamorisation attached, as may occur for subjects such as criminology or history of art (through television programmes such as True Crime or the BBC’s Fake or Fortune).Include opportunities for participationWhere a taster extends beyond the briefest whistle-stop coverage, the session should be engaging and offer relevant activities for the potential students to do that reinforce achievability, continuity/difference and the real-world application. Key aspects regarding such activities are the right pitching and the provision of encouraging feedback on what the students accomplish.&nbsp;Activities could involve scenario tasks, where subject models linked to existing student understanding are extended and applied, for example, to a video scenario with students noting down and then feeding back on the model’s applicability.Remember that the audience is level 3 students, so even if they have a strong interest in further study, task design may need to include scaffolding if the activities relate directly to understanding of degree material. Part-worked examples regarding model-application tasks could work as scaffolding for these activities. However, a lengthy tutor-centred talk – even one with impressive visuals – may seem stale and potential students might then associate that impression with the institution or course.&nbsp;A final point here is that activities may showcase the value of your institution or department’s facilities, for example, the provision of interactive IT.Involve undergraduate students in the taster eventInvolvement of willing undergraduates in a taster event can offer potential students a chance to interact with members of the university. This may well increase a sense of inclusion and potential belonging far more than anything the faculty staff can do. Existing student help with activities could also, via peer learning, be part of the scaffolding mentioned earlier.Walk potential students through relevant websitesAlthough there are spillover gains, and temptation, to simply refer potential students to central websites such as, in the UK, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Services (Ucas), there are tangible benefits to helping students with generic aspects of university application, if time allows within the taster. Helping students, for example, through online forms and addressing any questions in situ may lead potential students to associate that positive, enabling experience with the institution, course and particular staff.Collect visitor feedback to drive future improvementWhile analytics may not be every higher education tutor’s favourite activity, getting a picture of the effectiveness and areas for improvement on the taster events from a student’s point of view will make future events better. If you use a feedback survey, responses should be anonymised so that the students are not committing themselves, nor are they exposed for critiquing HE staff that they’ve just met. Some guidance on feedback form construction regarding such events is&nbsp;provided by the&nbsp;UniTasterDays organisation.Show authenticity, achievability and belongingHigher education taster events can use the guidance above to ensure the key aspects of authenticity, active learning, achievability and belonging are in place to influence how students relate to the course and institution.&nbsp;Taster events should involve continuity and difference in relation to students’ prior studies as well as real-world application activities where possible. Involve current students and be willing to help with general issues the students may be facing in their degree applications to help your event stand out from the competition.Russ Woodward and Amanda Markey teach at the University Centre and the Grimsby Institute, respectively, both part of the TEC Partnership.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the Campus&nbsp;newsletter.

Showing a course’s real-world applications and linking to potential students’ studies will help to ensure that your higher education taster event turns interest into enrolments

What makes a good university taster event?

The transition from high school to university is a challenging one, with many students struggling to find their feet in their new environment. Often, they are leaving their support network for the first time and are unsure of how to access the support and resources they need to thrive. This time is often a transition for their friends and family as well, as they may not be able to guide their family member/friend as easily as they used to.&nbsp;Family and friends are fundamental to a student’s academic and emotional well-being. Having a strong, informed support system helps to ensure that students can excel academically and adjust better to university life. Students who receive emotional and practical support from their support networks are better equipped to navigate the new administrative and academic challenges they will face. Recognising this, universities can significantly enhance student success by intentionally incorporating family and friends into the orientation process.Dalhousie University’s revamped family and friends programmeIn previous years, Dalhousie hosted a day-long conference for family and friends that offered workshops and socialising time held during move-in. The goals of the event were to equip supporters with information about Dalhousie campus life and resources and contacts that can help students thrive. However, engagement was low and the event itself was resource-intensive to organise. Taking the key points from that day, the student experience team launched the “Family and Friends Coffee Break” series in 2023.&nbsp;Held over the first two days of move-in, family and friends were invited to an afternoon drop-in coffee break with key resource tables and senior university administration present to mingle and answer questions. Moving to this model allowed participants to stop in when it was convenient for them, ask questions about resources they were interested in and benefit from personal welcomes from Dalhousie staff members.&nbsp;Resource collection: Supporting first-generation students in higher educationUniversities need to act now to bridge the Gen Z gapMaking sport accessible to everyone on campusNew this year, Dalhousie is offering a “First in Family” welcome session specifically designed for family and friends of first-generation students, who face distinct challenges when it comes to navigating university life, often encountering unfamiliar academic expectations and social environments. Unlike their peers, they may find it more difficult to turn to family or close friends for guidance, as their support networks might lack the experience to offer relevant advice. This can make the transition to university more daunting, requiring them to develop their own strategies for success and seek out institutional resources more proactively. The session will directly follow one of the coffee breaks, and be held both in person and virtually. There will be a presentation about common academic and financial topics that come up in the first year and a Q&amp;A period for mingling.&nbsp;Designing a friends and family orientation programmeWhen creating a programme for friends and family, it is important to keep their needs in mind and allow time for questions. An effective orientation programme for this group should cover a range of topics that address their specific needs and concerns. They include:Campus resources: information about academic support services, health and wellness resources and extracurricular activitiesAcademic expectations: insights into your university’s academic standards, advising systems and available servicesMental health services: information about mental health resources and strategies to support students’ well-beingFinances and scholarships: payment methods, schedules and information on scholarships.There are several things to keep in mind to ensure the success of friends and family programmes:Flexibility: allow for flexibility to maximise the number of attendees. Offer online sessions for families who cannot travel to campus, ensuring they have access to the same information and resourcesTiming: consider where friends and family programming fits in with orientation programming. Coordinate the timing of your offerings with students’ orientation activities to maximise participation and minimise conflicts&nbsp;Communication: establish clear and consistent communication channels to keep families informed. This can include email newsletters, social media updates and dedicated web pages.Measuring successAssessing the effectiveness of your family and friends orientation programme will be the key to ensuring it is having the intended impact. Feedback mechanisms, such as a first-year experience survey and tracking key metrics such as attendance, can provide valuable insights into participants’ experiences and areas for enhancement.&nbsp;Incorporating family and friends into the higher education experience through a well-designed orientation programme can significantly enhance student success and well-being. By addressing their specific needs and concerns, providing comprehensive information and fostering a sense of community, universities can help friends and family to guide students through the transition to higher education.Kareina Cadel is a student development and programming manager at Dalhousie University.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the Campus newsletter.

An effective orientation programme for families and friends

Bring families and friends into the onboarding process to ease first-year students into university life

Developing an effective orientation programme for families and friends

The number of students seeking mental health assistance was on an uptick well before the pandemic. While there is no definitive causal link, we can certainly hypothesise that societal changes, ubiquitous screen presence, social media, a divisive political climate and the lessened stigma of seeking help are all correlated with the increase in demand seen across the Western world. Then, the pandemic and the racial reckoning brought on by the killing of George Floyd in 2020 exacerbated mental health challenges.&nbsp;Young people have this feeling that the structures and systems that previous generations could rely on are no longer there to protect them – for example, religious institutions and trust in government just aren’t pillars for this generation.I believe that this mandates us in university settings to support students’ psychological well-being through comprehensive mental health resources that all students are educated on and can easily access. This should encompass clinics, individual and group counselling, crisis intervention and psychiatric care. At Virginia Tech, we also offer therapy dogs. We need to continue reducing the stigma around seeking help and encourage students to use these resources.&nbsp;And we need to offer tools for students to use not just now, but in their lives going forward.How educators can help manage Covid anxieties on campusWhich specific Covid disruptions impacted motivation and engagement?We need to empathise with the students of today to shape the minds of tomorrowGiven our research-driven university setting, it isn’t surprising that we open the door to technology in mental health practices – the enormous&nbsp;range of opportunities technology offers for mental health treatment has led to a spate of development. For example, brain-imaging techniques combined with algorithms that analyse neural activity can reveal brain differences among people that predict whether a given drug or therapy will relieve their symptoms.What is the community resiliency model?During the pandemic, as we were working our way through this collective trauma, I had an epiphany. Some 10 years ago, I’d worked with the community resiliency model (CRM) – we call it “krim” – to help people exposed to trauma relieve their anxiety and develop resilience.&nbsp;I realised I’d worked with hundreds of students who would benefit from CRM, leveraging shared language for what they were experiencing. Students tend to ping pong between high-stress hectic activation, then collapse and struggle with doing anything.Since we all have a nervous system, the fight-flight-freeze sensation is universal. CRM recognises this and offers trauma-informed techniques to help students interrupt unhelpful narratives and recentre themselves. It does this through sharable language in a low-pathology manner with proven results. From a neuro-biological standpoint, many of us don’t take the time to assess how we’re feeling, and we’ve lost the ability to know what “calm” feels like in our body. CRM helps us to return to a zone of comfort. It’s like resetting to a personal homepage.The science behind the CRM model simplifies the autonomic nervous system, which is what controls our brain and body’s survival response. The autonomic nervous system connects to every major organ in the body and catalyses action in response to threats in both our present moment and threats recalled instantly from our past. CRM teaches the science behind our fight, flight or freeze response through naming the sympathetic nervous system’s fight-or-flight response the “high zone” and the freeze response the “low zone”.&nbsp;CRM’s genius is to normalise these responses and teach us concrete skills to discover what ease feels like in the body, which we can then use as a compass to help us know what we are working to navigate towards when we get bumped in the “high” or “low” zone. CRM draws attention to sensations of neutrality, ease or calm. Through repetitive practice in using this compass, we can access the brain’s neuroplasticity to rewire towards resiliency.How we implement CRMVirginia Tech has about 20 CRM trainers on campus. Some work at Cook Counseling Center, others at living learning centres, still others at the university health programme Hokie Wellness.We use CRM in many ways:We offer CRM training upon request to teams or departments.Students, staff and faculty can all come in to receive individual or group stand-alone training.All student leaders who work in residence halls are trained and report using the techniques frequently for residents who are in distress.Campus outreach is infused with CRM-informed language.We have a CRM e-bike that visits classes and outdoor events to creatively engage students; the trainer piloting the bike serves popsicles to demonstrate how an icy treat can defuse a dysregulated nervous system and hands out fidget spinners.&nbsp;The future of CRM at Virginia TechI am so proud of how we have effectively and proactively become practitioners of trauma-informed treatment at Virginia Tech. I would like us to continue to grow in this area, imbuing all our activities with the end goal of embracing a culture of well-being. I’d also love to see CRM used more widely on the academic side, with faculty leveraging these techniques in teaching and mentoring. CRM can be incredibly valuable in managing students’ wellness and behaviour, increasing their ability to actively learn along the way.&nbsp;Erica Coates is assistant director of campus initiatives at the Cook Counseling Center of Virginia Tech.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the Campus newsletter.

University students have long struggled with academic pressure, social media demands, economic challenges and career uncertainty. This technique uses language and body awareness to help students cope and reset

Science-backed mental health techniques for students’ well-being

Campus life has been weird over the past few years. Few of us feel at ease – in our own skins or with each other. A pandemic and other fracturing global crises have marked most students’ university careers thus far. Moreover, mounting tensions have been piling on to a baseline of social anxiety and isolation.Unlike their predecessors, many college students have been physically separated from their classmates during their courses. Just two years ago, nearly 5 million US college students took&nbsp;all their courses online. Unsurprisingly, the US surgeon general has flagged an&nbsp;epidemic of social disconnection that is&nbsp;hitting college campuses with special virulence.Now it’s back-to-school time again. Will students be able to look one another in the eyes?&nbsp;How&nbsp;can our classrooms hold us together?The broad consensus is that in-person coursework is more likely than online learning&nbsp;to foster peer connection. The noticeable erosion of that connection over the past few years has led us to try taking the in-person experience several steps further.&nbsp;We wanted to bring the body back into the classroom, to risk a more multi-sensory approach to learning.&nbsp;Resource collection: The post-pandemic university: how to serve the Covid generationMake a difference: collaboration and participation in arts-led researchHow real-world experiences can help creative arts students create real-world changeCall it physical re-education.&nbsp;At New York University (NYU), where we teach theatre, music, dance and literature, we formed the Consent Lab&nbsp;in 2022,&nbsp;as an academic contact zone that we see as necessary for learning. In defiance of the brittleness of campus dynamics and a general state of awkwardness, our curriculum gives students low-stress chances to confront each other, face to face and toe to toe, in potentially&nbsp;antagonising – even&nbsp;agonising – set-ups.Consent Lab is not group therapy or yoga. Instead,&nbsp;in interdisciplinary class&nbsp;sessions and workshops,&nbsp;we take the classics of a traditional arts and humanities curriculum&nbsp;–&nbsp;Jane Austen, Thomas Hobbes, the Kama Sutra&nbsp;– and put them to work.&nbsp;When students&nbsp;encounter these cultural icons&nbsp;in the classroom in innovative and even&nbsp;strange,&nbsp;defamiliarising ways – with peers and with strangers –&nbsp;the experience&nbsp;heightens&nbsp;their&nbsp;awareness, restores attention and keeps&nbsp;them&nbsp;feeling real. They are better able to tolerate&nbsp;(and even enjoy) conflict and confusion.Take, for example, our segment last fall on Mozart that brought students together with university leaders and administrators.The session&nbsp;began as deans, department chairs and other visitors stepped into the main studio of NYU’s Center for Ballet and the Arts, reimagined as an 18th-century ballroom where student lab members,&nbsp;facing each other&nbsp;in two lines, were demonstrating a curtsey,&nbsp;bow and&nbsp;turnabout choreography to looping phrases of a minuet from Mozart’s&nbsp;Gran Partita. A master of ceremonies announced the entry of each guest,&nbsp;and a handler guided them into the assembly and positioned them directly opposite a partner.&nbsp;The students may not have realised&nbsp;it, but&nbsp;in dancing to the call-and-response phrases of Mozart’s minuet, they were navigating a scene of consent. They inhabited, in their bodies, with their partners, a scene of invitations and demurrals, a&nbsp;landscape&nbsp;of yes, no and everything in between. The next segment swept participants into a series of exercises that heightened&nbsp;their&nbsp;social and self-awareness through spatial disorientation.&nbsp;It was collective improvisatory movement.&nbsp;Would&nbsp;they&nbsp;take a step&nbsp;towards&nbsp;or&nbsp;away? If&nbsp;they&nbsp;move just to be nice,&nbsp;they&nbsp;are aware of it. If&nbsp;they&nbsp;move because they think that’s what the other person expects them&nbsp;to do,&nbsp;they&nbsp;know it. If&nbsp;they&nbsp;are stuck and can’t decide,&nbsp;they&nbsp;realise it quickly. If they&nbsp;move to aggress, then that’s what it feels like. In the fabricated world of our ballroom, everything shows. Consent Lab turns up the volume on the myriad sensations that can arise in any social interaction, especially where friction or uncertainty occur. Outside the lab, whether that be&nbsp;a&nbsp;dormitory, coffee shop, party or&nbsp;traditional classroom, conditions are too overwhelming&nbsp;–&nbsp;too fast and complex&nbsp;–&nbsp;to notice or sift through what is happening as it’s happening. Inside the lab, we dial down the white noise of interactions, so participants can focus on what turns up internally, as they perceive what’s going on externally. The&nbsp;towards-or-away&nbsp;exercise, for example,&nbsp;does&nbsp;this through its minimalist design;&nbsp;it leads students to focus on a single interaction with one person, communicating wordlessly as they step&nbsp;to be closer or further away.What do students gain from these exercises? Participants reported heightened awareness in relation to others, an ability to see themselves from a distance during moments of awkwardness or tension. As one student put it: “I have now come to the point where I can acknowledge when I have crossed a boundary with someone. I can see that aggression in myself and be&nbsp;OK&nbsp;seeing it.” They even began to feel a sense of togetherness in their unease. “I was dealing with impostor syndrome,” another student shared. “Then I&nbsp;realised&nbsp;that everyone is just as confused as I am.”These results jibe with what science has already begun to tell us:&nbsp;the arts support social connectedness. Yet many studies focus on the arts almost exclusively as a space of social opportunity, affinity and belonging.&nbsp;In contrast, our participants’ feelings of connectedness were not expressed as unanimity or affinity. Rather, they no longer expected&nbsp;to have the same predilections or interpretations as someone else. In other words, they developed a sensitivity to the conflicting perspectives that make up the texture of reality. One person’s invitation is another person’s effrontery. In our classroom at its best, such differences did not lead to a breakdown of communication but rather provoked a desire to continuously calibrate and recalibrate our judgements and actions in response to the shifting relations around us.We learn from histories of the arts how to tolerate conflict and ambiguity and dwell within the impossibilities of resolution. Even as we rail against incomprehensible or uncertain situations, we stay present, curious and intact. That’s also why people, even at prohibitive cost and structural alienation, still go to college.Brigid Cohen is an associate professor of music and director of undergraduate studies, Wendy Anne Lee is an&nbsp;associate professor of English,&nbsp;Rosemary Quinn is an arts professor and director of the Experimental Theater Wing Studio at the Tisch School of the Arts, and Mimi Yin is an assistant arts professor in the integrative telecommunications programme at Tisch School of the Arts, all&nbsp;at New York University.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the Campus&nbsp;newsletter.

Music and dance give the post-Covid cohort low-stress opportunities to face each other in potentially antagonising – even agonising – set-ups. Here’s how a multisensory curriculum helps students combat feelings of isolation and impostor syndrome

How Mozart and the arts can help students feel less awkward

Think back to your first days of college. How did you feel?For most first-year and first-generation college students, starting university is a time of great excitement and anticipation. It’s a chance to make friends, explore ideas and diverse perspectives, and perhaps live away from home.&nbsp;This excitement, however, is often accompanied by stressors that challenge students’ psychosocial development.&nbsp;The first two years of college are often turbulent, which affects students’ psychological functioning&nbsp;(with increased depression, anxiety and stress),&nbsp;their cognitive-affective well-being (emotional coping skills)&nbsp;and overall&nbsp;social adjustment,&nbsp;according to a 2020&nbsp;paper by Colleen S.&nbsp;Conley, Jenna B. Shapiro, Alexandra C. Kirsch and Brynn M. Huguenel&nbsp;of Loyola University Chicago.&nbsp;Evidence also&nbsp;suggests that college students today are more stressed, anxious and distracted than ever before. The isolation of the pandemic saw many young people turn to social media platforms and gaming as a way to stay connected to friends and manage stress, anxiety and loneliness. According to the Best Colleges survey of 702 students in 2022:95 per cent had experienced negative mental health symptoms as a result of Covid 19-related circumstances&nbsp;48 per cent believed the mental health effects had directly affected their education46 per cent reported feeling lonelier and more isolated&nbsp;40 per cent slept less39 per cent worked out less and ate worse32 per cent experienced feelings of hopelessness.Faculty are now seeing the impact of the pandemic on students’ engagement, ability to focus, manage their time/responsibilities, follow-through and overall well-being. Some psychologists at the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University&nbsp;argue that the pandemic delayed development by about three years, suggesting the typical 18-year-old freshman is more like a 15-year-old. Additionally, the authors argue, we are witnessing an “academic long Covid” that reveals itself in a lack of&nbsp;executive function skills critical to success in college and life.&nbsp;Resource collection: The post-pandemic university: how to serve the Covid generationHow educators can help manage Covid anxieties on campusCampus webinar: What can be done to reduce student dropouts post pandemic?The self-determination theory (SDT) of motivation can help focus our efforts and identify strategies that will support students’ overall development and growth through college. Self-determination refers to a person’s ability to make choices and manage their day-to-day life.&nbsp;All humans have three basic psychological needs – autonomy, competence and relatedness – that are foundational to the development of self-motivation, optimal social functioning and personal well-being (see Figure 1),&nbsp;according to&nbsp;Richard M.&nbsp;Ryan and Edward L. Deci of the University of Rochester. NSSE research from 2022&nbsp;points out&nbsp;that students’ sense of belonging (that is, relatedness) correlates positively to persistence and success in college.

  
      
  
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Figure 1: Graphic based on Richard M. Ryan and Edward L. Deci’s self-determination theory of motivation

&nbsp;So what can faculty do to ease this transition, increase student engagement&nbsp;and help students learn to manage their stress and anxiety? Here, we offer suggestions for supporting the three basic psychological needs identified by Deci and Ryan’s SDT theory.Relatedness: feeling connected and valued with a sense of belongingBe authentic, personable and inspire students:&nbsp;Introduce yourself and explain why you are so passionate about your discipline. What helped you decide your major as an undergraduate? Who and what inspires you? What value does this course content have today and beyond college?&nbsp;Build and maintain an inclusive classroom: Create time and space for students to introduce themselves to you and each other. This might be in class in small groups or in an introductory discussion board in Canvas. Use structured group work, buddy sharing and check-ins to encourage collaboration. If students are struggling, connect them to campus resources, provide students with opportunities to share their experiences and perspectives, and demonstrate that they are heard. Follow through with and respond to their suggestions (for example, conduct a mid-term student feedback survey and use their suggestions).&nbsp;Understand students’ prior knowledge, interests and needs:&nbsp;Consider collecting baseline data via the Canvas quiz tool (ungraded) or a paper survey. To collect anonymous data, you can also use a tool such as&nbsp;Poll Everywhere&nbsp;or&nbsp;Qualtrics. Use this insight to engage students and increase their sense of belonging.Autonomy: feeling one has choices and control over one’s daily decisionsGive students a voice:&nbsp;Involve students in writing agreements and policies that will impact the learning experience. At about week four of the term, ask for feedback on how students are experiencing the classroom (via an anonymous survey, for example) and discuss the results with the class. If you cannot make the change(s) requested, give students the rationale for your decision.Provide choice in learning experiences and assessment products: Empowering students with choices, especially in learning experiences, is an effective way to support their sense of autonomy, which&nbsp;supports motivation and self-regulation. You can give the option of submitting a paper, presentation, multimedia product or other creative work.Consider providing a recording of your lecture:&nbsp;A captured recording or mini-lecture videos can help students who might benefit from viewing the material more than once or at their own pace.Competence: the experience of mastery and being effective in one’s activityDesign a highly structured class:&nbsp;Learning environments&nbsp;that&nbsp;are&nbsp;highly structured&nbsp;can&nbsp;reduce the impact of institutionalised inequities, build&nbsp;a sense of belonging and promote student success.&nbsp;More structure&nbsp;is critical&nbsp;for the students with weak executive function skills or those who have not yet developed&nbsp;effective study strategies, metacognition and time management, according to the high structure, active learning teaching&nbsp;strategy.Provide frequent no- or low-stakes assessments: Multiple opportunities to practise before a higher-stakes assessment build students’ competence.&nbsp;Reduce cognitive load/logistical rigour:&nbsp;Design a student-friendly course shell with an FAQ section for students, a calendar of due dates and clear directions and grading criteria (such as grading rubric and checklist) to reduce logistical&nbsp;rigour and help students focus on intellectual rigour.Cathy A. Pohan is executive director and Melissa Samaniego is assistant director and instructional designer, both at the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Chapman University.&nbsp;If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the Campus newsletter.

How self-determination theory supports post-Covid students

Incoming university students are more stressed, anxious and distracted than ever. Here’s how to support their psychological needs

What self-determination theory can do for post-pandemic college students

Mentoring is often seen as a support tool through a challenging period or transition or as a catalyst for progression. New to the institution? Have a mentor. Starting a different role? Here’s a mentor. Want to progress in your academic career? Meet your mentor.&nbsp;But how well does it work in higher education?&nbsp;Sometimes it’s hard to say. Often the success of a mentoring relationship is not evaluated nor are the rationales for allocating mentors to mentees given deep consideration. So, the process can become a box-ticking exercise.&nbsp;Other variables may obstruct a mentoring relationship from achieving its goal. Mentors may feel obligated to accept a request from their line manager (rather than volunteering their expertise and time). They may feel that mentoring is necessary for career progression and so are not truly invested in the process.How to find the right mentor for youAdvice for building trust as a research supervisorTHE podcast: how to be a good mentor and menteeMy MA research considers barriers to mentoring and characteristics of effective mentorship, including the long-debated “process v relationship” conundrum. My research found that although certain attributes and conditions (such as geographical proximity or expertise in the subject area) may well support the success of a mentoring relationship, the absence of any of these may not matter if the mentor is appropriately invested.&nbsp;So, what is an “invested mentor”?Academic mentoring that goes the extra mileAbove all, an invested mentor will focus on the needs of the mentee, going beyond what may be usually expected of this role. This may include extra meetings, low-level counselling, checking in on a regular basis and being available for mentees to a reasonable extent (despite workload and time restraints).An invested mentor should be in it for the right reasons. As a potential mentor, ask yourself: “Why am I doing this?” If the answer is to develop yourself, to support your institution and to help another individual, great. But if the answer is: “Get a pay rise” or avoid negative perceptions if you don’t participate in a mentoring scheme, then perhaps this isn’t the time for you to mentor someone.The invested mentor model is built on the principle that the mentor’s approach has a significant influence on the success of the relationship, and that if the motivation of the mentor is primarily driven by investment in the mentee, common barriers to traditional mentorship can be overcome, including the absence of a formal mentoring process.&nbsp;The three primary areas of investment in this model are: the mentor themselves, the organisation and the mentee. The mentor must have confidence that mentoring benefits both their mentee and themselves (for example, developing an ability to support others as well as personal growth and developing deeper self-awareness). They must also be invested in the organisation – because mentoring also benefits the institution as a whole. This investment ensures the mentor will want mentees to be successful, perhaps even more successful than themselves, which can be a tricky dynamic, admittedly.&nbsp;Mentors may also be invested in other stakeholders, such as their students, who ultimately benefit from the success of the mentoring, too. But the mentor must invest in the three primary areas, and the greatest portion of time and energy has be be given to the mentee in the invested mentor approach.How to put the invested mentor approach into practiceMake time and be approachableIt’s not always easy, but making time is important. The mentee should not feel that they are an imposition. Being geographically close more easily allows for informal and unplanned time together, but if their mentee is further afield, the invested mentor can check in via phone or Teams, for example. Having an approachable attitude helps mentees feel they can also reach out via different means.&nbsp;Ensure you are accessible as a mentorYou may demonstrate a friendly persona and you may be willing to devote time to your mentee, but if you are not accessible, these are in vain. Do mentees feel comfortable coming to your office? Are you easier to reach by phone, WhatsApp or email? Negotiate and communicate ways that you are most accessible and with which your mentee feels most comfortable early in the relationship.&nbsp;Take a holistic approach to your mentee&nbsp;An invested mentor builds a connection with the whole person. This means caring about meeting their mentee’s goals and targets, of course, but the remit also includes checking in about their well-being and feelings of inclusion. Support through the relationship may cover providing connections, supporting work-life balance, listening to their concerns or signposting to appropriate services.Work on your own self-awarenessThe invested mentor should understand how they themselves may be perceived by others in terms of how approachable they are, their accessibility or being non-judgemental. An effective mentor also knows and accepts their own limitations. Nobody can know everything, and nobody is good at everything. An invested mentor is self-aware, ensuring they seek advice from others when they may not be the best person to support the mentee with certain aspects.&nbsp;Mentoring as a bigger pictureThe invested mentor model goes beyond processes and logistics. This does not mean that the mentor puts in all the effort or does all the work. It simply means that the mentor is totally invested in the mentee, creating a culture that can counteract other barriers to successful mentorship.Rebecca Taylor is head of the department of education at University College Birmingham.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the Campus newsletter.

Are you ready to be an invested mentor?

The ‘invested mentor’ model takes mentorship beyond process and logistics. In this model, an effective relationship is based on connection rather than formalities with a mentor who prioritises their mentee’s success

Generation Z has been in the news for all the wrong reasons recently, with one survey indicating that 87 per cent of Gen Zs didn’t even bother&nbsp;coming in on their first day of work. Barely a day goes by without an expert bemoaning the&nbsp;lack of work-ready skills being displayed by those born between 1997 and 2010.&nbsp;Anyone can complain that members of Gen Z are lazy, they want everything served to them on a plate, they’re over-reliant on artificial intelligence (AI) to solve problems, their mental health is too fragile, their attention spans are beyond short or they struggle to function in intergenerational workplaces.Resource collection: The post-pandemic university: how to serve the Covid generationThree tips for using capstone projects to improve employabilityHow to help students to see the career boost of work-integrated learningHowever, the reality is that many new university graduates are being criticised by businesses experiencing dire skills shortages, while eight out of 10 Gen Z members and Millennials would quit their job because of work culture, according to a survey by LifeSum.Gen Z is what we have. As educators, we should be embracing and building upon their many positive attributes rather than dwelling on their perceived failings.Gen Z bring distinct skills and viewpoints to the workplace&nbsp;Universities need to do more to communicate the fact that, once in the workforce, Gen Z bring their own set of competencies and perspectives that challenge corporations to adapt and embrace change. This is transforming traditional corporate dynamics.&nbsp;Gen Z are built differently from previous generations. They are digital natives, born into a world of technology and possessing a deep understanding of the platforms and tools available today. They’re able to quickly adapt to new technology and make innovative contributions. Moreover, they tend to be socially conscious, delivering high value and insight on issues such as sustainability, diversity and social justice.&nbsp;This creative spirit, entrepreneurship and willingness to challenge the status quo make them a profitable asset for any organisation.Address unspoken ageismOne of the biggest challenges in adopting these new competencies of Gen Z is resistance to change. A far stronger bridge is needed among industry, academia and Gen Z to prepare recent graduates for the workforce.&nbsp;This means educators need to work harder, analyse the competitiveness of Gen Z and map those who can bring them together and showcase their skills through activities such as networking with employers, “hackathons” and meetings with HR decision-makers – all within the confines of the safe environments that have become a requisite for this group.&nbsp;Why are some businesses struggling to adapt to Gen Z? A significant reason is the generational gap. Older executives and management might harbour ageist and other negative views about Gen Z. It tends to be corporations with the most rigid structures and hierarchies that find it difficult to accommodate the creative thinking and entrepreneurial spirit that Gen Z brings to the table.&nbsp;One solution to this challenge is that academics do a better job of sharing their experiences of Gen Z with the business sector, as well as offering training, development and upskilling initiatives.&nbsp;Universities can better cement relations with industry and open channels for future partnerships by listening to corporate leadership. They become a conduit for advice to their students on how to conduct themselves in interviews, behave in the workplace and showcase their skills.Another challenge is the integration of technology into the workplace. Today’s students want seamless integration of digital tools and platforms that enhance collaboration and efficiency.&nbsp;If this sounds like an unparalleled series of demands for new employees to make of their firms, that’s because they are. But these young people are now often in a position to make a choice about who they work for and why.Help ensure Gen Z are eminently hireable&nbsp;Here, I’ll outline the solutions that universities can take the lead on to help employers look more favourably at Gen Z candidates:1. Create a technology-driven environment&nbsp;Gen Z has grown up in a digital era and works best within a robust technological infrastructure. Universities need to help them further hone their skills for the workplace technology of the future, which probably doesn’t even exist yet, and work directly with corporations struggling to meet these expectations so they can adapt systems accordingly.Universities and businesses can invest in cutting-edge technology to ensure infrastructure, hardware and software support the use of modern tools and platforms to both their own profitability and the benefit and collaboration of Gen Z workers.2. Adapt to changing work preferences&nbsp;Gen Z largely seeks flexibility, purpose-driven professions and a healthy work-life balance. They value meaningful connections and personal growth.This means universities too should offer more flexible working arrangements, such as remote learning options or alternative schedules. Creating an approach to learning that matches new and developing company cultures to stress purpose and impact, while emphasising how the organisation contributes to a greater cause, shouldn’t be a chore.&nbsp;Educators must also provide mentorship and continuous learning opportunities wherever possible to support graduates’ personal growth.3. Be authentic and transparent&nbsp;Valuing authenticity and transparency in education-employer-employee relationships is increasingly desirable for all generations, but is particularly applicable to Gen Z.We all appreciate open communication, and members of Gen Z expect universities and employers to be forthcoming about organisational values, policies and any other challenges they face.This can be achieved by fostering a culture of transparency, and academics should be regularly sharing updates about the educational and workplace goals and initiatives, using guest industry speakers and open dialogue to address any concerns or questions.&nbsp;Additionally, it is important to ensure that higher education and corporate values are aligned with the values of Gen Z.4. Prioritise mental health and well-being&nbsp;Mental health and well-being are important to Gen Z. They seek supportive learning and work environments that prioritise wellness and provide the resources needed to prevent or cope with stress and burnout. Universities are ideally placed to tackle this, implementing policies and initiatives that promote learning, work and life balances alongside mental well-being.&nbsp;This includes providing work experience and graduate-assistance programmes, ongoing access to mental health resources and practising a supportive culture that encourages work-life integration and self-care practices.&nbsp;Al Akhawayn University’s own Office of Entrepreneurship and Employability prides itself on delivering services, including employability mentoring, coaching, industry visits and work placements; and competitiveness advice.5. Foster a diverse and inclusive environment&nbsp;Gen Z is also known for valuing diversity, inclusivity and social justice. They expect universities and companies to foster such environments and prioritise diversity in learning, development and hiring practices.The solution in this instance is to actively promote diversity and inclusion across all of the organisation’s processes. A caring culture is all important.Develop structured diversity and inclusion programmes, advising companies about how to refine hiring practices and delivering student and employer training programmes to promote awareness of unconscious bias. Universities are perfectly placed to ensure leadership and decision-making roles recognise the value-add of individuals from diverse backgrounds.Overcoming the challenges of helping and hiring Gen Z requires adaptation in both higher education and work environments to align with their preferences and needs. The only way for universities to achieve this is by listening to both Gen Z and employers and then acting as the body that successfully supports and connects the two.By highlighting the need to actively embrace technology, offer flexibility, promote authenticity, prioritise mental health and foster diversity and inclusion, we can quickly bridge the gap to attract and retain the talents of Gen Z effectively.Salah Al-Majeed is dean of the&nbsp;School of Science and Engineering at&nbsp;Al Akhawayn University.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.

Universities need to act now to bridge the Gen Z gap

Many educators are still struggling to harness the talents of Generation Z and help set them up for employment. Just a few key business changes can make the connection, writes Salah Al-Majeed

A learning community, external to university teaching, can support democratic mentoring and help to train a highly professional, broadly educated medical intelligentsia who are also well versed in social issues. This system of colleges for advanced studies dates back decades in Hungary. On the initiative of students who set themselves qualitative goals in addition to the general aims of the institution, the first one was established at Semmelweis University in 1985. The most talented students with the best results sought an education that addressed societal and healthcare issues in addition to professional medical training to create a network that was able and willing to act and take responsibility for their actions.&nbsp;What are colleges for advanced studies?A college for advanced studies is a learning community whose members are students who live together and inspire each other. This process is educational/self-educational and includes elements such as mentoring and extracurricular activities that cannot be performed within the university. The college is a public experimental space where individuals can test and discover themselves, assess their abilities and potential, clarify their values and define the role they wish to play in society.&nbsp;It&nbsp;is a student organisation for talent management run democratically, based on the self-activity and self-governance of the students. It develops its own professional programmes and provides a high-quality education. In this way, it helps nurture the talents of outstanding university students, promotes their role in public life, creates the material and personal conditions for preparing them for intellectual tasks, and educates professionally demanding intellectuals who are sensitive to social problems.&nbsp;The rise of colleges for advanced studies: precursors of regime changeAs small islands of freedom of thought and science, the colleges for advanced studies were briefly involved in the preparations for the change of regime in Hungary in the last years of the communist dictatorship. The idea of thinking independently of the political ideology influenced the choice of subjects, lecturers and teachers, the mechanisms and atmosphere of internal functioning, and a significant part of external relations, and it was a great act of courage. It was important to have a forum for ideas that could not be expressed elsewhere, but perhaps most importantly, the students were able to shape the vision of the future they wanted to create.&nbsp;Resource collection: how universities can protect academic freedomCampus podcast: Vanderbilt president Daniel Diermeier on the path of principled neutralityFour ways to weave job skills teaching into the university experience&nbsp;Today, Semmelweis University has three professional colleges: the Korányi Frigyes College, the Semmelweis Ignác College and the Selye János Doctoral College.Over the past 39 years, more than 300 students have graduated and are working in some 40 countries around the world in support or management positions or as freelancers. They include general practitioners, university professors, clinic directors, institute managers, deans, vice-chancellors, state secretaries for health, healthcare system managers, private clinic directors, pharmaceutical company directors and entrepreneurs from Switzerland to Australia and the US.Democratic operation and high-quality trainingThe democratic functioning of the colleges is based on committees elected by the students. The “habilitation committee” handles the admission procedure for new applicants and evaluates the professional and community work of the students at the end of each semester. Those who do not meet the criteria are no longer allowed to participate in the life of the college. During the habilitation process, credits can be awarded for activities and achievements including the academic grade point average, participation in or a position in the university’s Scientific Students’ Associations Conference (TDK) or the National Scientific Students’ Associations Conference (OTDK), presentation at the Korányi Frigyes Scientific Forum, publication in a professional journal, and membership of a professional organisation. The professional committee organises the college’s professional programmes. Each student is required to attend two professional courses each semester, and there are workshops and discussions.&nbsp;The students’ committee is the college’s governing body, which manages the college between two general assemblies and is mainly concerned with student accommodation, social programmes and day-to-day activities. The audit committee monitors the legitimacy of the functioning of these committees and deals with legal matters concerning the students.In addition to the committees, a mentoring system contributes to the high quality of training. Our first-, second- and third-year students are supported by senior mentors, who involve their younger peers as much as possible in professional activities. Postgraduate students assist the progress of undergraduate students, and visiting researchers mentor postgraduate students.A bottom-up community and a learning organisationA college for advanced studies&nbsp;builds its development on experience, which means that it records and incorporates activities that prove effective into its future programme, and weeds out, improves and develops ineffective practices. An important aim of learning organisations is to enable participants to see themselves and the world from a new point of view. There are three essential components to the development of this new perspective:1. Education for a systemic mindset (to enable young people to see the world in a systemic way). This requires, in addition to in-depth studies, an openness to dialogue.2. Practices that support coordinated action based on conviction, as ideas about social issues and their verbalisation are valuable especially when they encourage action to advance an important cause.3. A culture based on higher values of love, compassion and acceptance in everyday life.&nbsp;Individual learning is essential not only for the individual but also for the community. This learning at the community level is effective if it can weed out and develop the thought patterns of the individual, and if it can bring together and possibly combine the valuable ideas of individuals. Ideally, it can turn single dreams into a community dream.For most students, being part of the college, part of the big team, is a unique and special stage in their professional journey that will influence not only their future career but also their outlook on life in general.Ferenc Godó is the director of three colleges for advanced studies – Korányi Frigyes College, Semmelweis Ignác College and Selye János Doctoral College at Semmelweis University – and one of the founders of the Hungarian system of colleges for advanced studies. &nbsp;If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.

How student-led communities support professional development

An effective way to nurture talent is to enable not only individual but also community learning. Here’s how the Hungarian system of colleges for advanced studies helps to train medical professionals who are also well versed in social issues

How student learning communities support professional development

Did you know that the World Health Organization plans to reduce inactivity by 15&nbsp;per cent by 2030 (from a 2010 baseline) across the world? It is backing the benefits of living longer, reducing long-term health conditions and improving mental and physical health. In England, the number of people who meet the recommended activity levels of 150-plus minutes of exercise every week has risen by 2&nbsp;million since 2016, according to Sport England.Universities can do their bit to create a positive platform for those wanting to be physically active for the first time or or wish to reconnect with moving more. To do this, they can listen to students about what activities they want, improve (or capitalise on) campus facilities and location, and work to increase access to sport and fitness programmes.Resources for using movement and outdoor spaces to enhance learningAdvice for instructors to bring the tactile back to teachingNine tips for teaching in outdoor places and spacesSince 2019, the University of Southampton has been aligning with our road map to 2025, and these are lessons we have learned along the way.Involve the student voice in planning physical activity programmes from the beginningInstitutions can ask students to help map out a plan to support activity, fitness, movement and sport, whether the goal is to move into elite sports tables or encourage first-time exercisers to start moving. Southampton Sport collaborated with the Students’ Union (SU) on the university’s first sport strategic plan in 2019. We had it all: participation, grass-roots sport, water sports and high-performance opportunities.Student consultations – in person or virtually – can cover governance of sports clubs, setting priorities for actions according to user needs, realistic pricing and programming. Include a spectrum of voices – from inactive members to high-performing athletes – to guide the formative stages and ensure inclusivity from inception.During our consultation period, students worked with me to get a new active participation programme just right. Permanently waiving a fee to get involved boosted its accessibility – and the programme was built on the five ways to well-being (from UK mental health charity Mind). It was a team effort, and the students involved became regular consultants throughout the scheme’s infancy.A mechanism for ongoing consultation can help surface other issues. Another item that emerged from this consultation was that students still wanted investment in our facilities (as did we). We learned that the student voice needed continued consultation, not just at sporadic times of the academic year.Invest in sports facilitiesTo embed change and improve social perception of physical activity, university facilities should aid connection with movement, sport and fitness. This seems obvious, but how does such development happen in practice?Secure buy-in from university leadership for the goals. Thanks to our plan and student voice focus, momentum for a new era for sport and physical activity resulted in more than £40&nbsp;million investment into University of Southampton sporting facilities. Ongoing communication meant that Covid did not jeopardise investment into our flagship facility and the executive board supported the new Jubilee Sport &amp; Recreation Centre, which will open in September 2024.Reach out to those who can influence decisions, as we all share the same goal of enhancing the student experience. Whenever we invite senior team members to our facilities, they come, listen, discuss and understand, reinforcing the value of physical activity. Those involved in the early stages of the investment worked to gather data and case studies of what investment could lead to.Support accessibility and non-traditional activitiesMake the most of existing activities, clubs and programmes on campus. Maybe you have students who already play quadball (think Harry Potter) or roundnet or go hillwalking. Work with alternative sports clubs to align fitness and movement goals and maximise accessibility.The participation programme enabled us to get more people in the community to move more, and the goal was that each session promoted friendships, enjoyment and community. We wanted our students to build a rapport through sport – an international language in its own right.Since 2022, we have set our sights on a place-centred approach and ensured that we have consulted student communities so they have a pathway into sport. Recent highlights include:SailAbility: disability-focused yachting sessions capitalise on our coastal location and allow everyone to experience water sport, despite common barriers such as cost, location or prior knowledgeBespoke free trials: complimentary sessions in our sports centre allow students to engage with our inclusion and disability team. Students meet our fitness ambassadors and have the chance to tour the centre to get to know our surroundingsInclusive women’s community: our personal trainer has worked with a dedicated society to ensure that women know they have a place in our gymCommunity-led initiatives: a community exercise referral scheme works in partnership with our local surgeries, and a refugee opportunity has included hockey and swimming opportunities – in some cases delivered by studentsGym packages enable those from a low socio-economic background to participate.To hold us accountable to our plan and mission, we developed an equality, diversity and inclusion commitment statement to active lifestyles. The Active for All motto has enabled us to ensure that everyone within our community knows what we are all about; it has truly helped with our local team as well, and in 2023, we were awarded the National UK Active Physical Activity Excellence award for our work in the physical activity space.Place-centred work, a high-performance pathway, and more of our students and wider community engaging with physical activity is the way forward. We hope to achieve a working 360 journey, where our physical activity community support one another to try new things and move more.Phil Malatesta is head of community services (sport and early years) at the University of Southampton.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.

Fitness and sport programmes are not only for elite athletes. Here, Phil Malatesta offers advice for how to maximise students’ opportunities for movement and physical activity

Making sport accessible to everyone on campus

Student career support is an enduring priority for universities, particularly in the employment landscape&nbsp;driven by constantly advancing technologies, changing market demands and shifting economic trends. These three factors contribute to developing new industries, business models and work practices, leading to rapidly evolving role and skill requirements. While facilitating students’ acquisition of professional knowledge and technical skills is essential, empowering them to develop in their chosen profession through lifelong learning continuously is equally important.&nbsp;Creating industry-relevant learning experiencesInternships are common, but it is crucial to ensure that students can use them to connect classroom theories with real-world applications.PolyU has taken a pioneering step in Hong Kong higher education by mandating that all undergraduate students complete a Work-Integrated Education (WIE) component in their curriculum, requiring them to undertake an internship before graduation. The distinctive feature of WIE is that the work-based experience must take place in a genuine work environment related to a student’s academic discipline. Students can hone the necessary competencies and familiarise themselves with the latest workplace requirements and practices relevant to their chosen career paths. Some students complete their WIE internships outside of Hong Kong, reaping the dual benefits of gaining relevant work experience while also expanding their global perspectives.&nbsp;Tried and tested ways to teach your students soft skillsCareer mentoring can support student employabilityHow we can use AI to power career-driven lifelong learningTo ensure a successful transition from classroom to workplace, we should provide pre-internship orientation and training in areas such as work attitudes, cultural awareness and risk management to students. In addition, it is highly desirable to offer both on-site and off-site support during their internships.&nbsp;On-site support can include ensuring that a supervisor is available to provide guidance and feedback, while off-site support may involve regularly reaching out to students to discuss their experiences. To help ensure the effective implementation of this university-wide initiative, quality assurance measures must be in place, including the evaluation of learning outcomes on factors that align with the current curriculum, such as employer assessments.Leveraging the university’s robust networkRecognising that students’ career success goes beyond academic knowledge and technical skills has informed another flagship initiative. The university-wide mentorship programme “INSPIRE”&nbsp;adopts a holistic approach to promoting students’ long-term career development. This programme sets itself apart by emphasising mentees’ career development and personal growth and fostering lifelong mentoring partnerships.“INSPIRE” taps into the expertise of role models and prominent leaders within the university community, namely court and council members, university fellows, outstanding alumni and strategic partners, to serve as mentors to students across all faculties and schools. In addition to helping mentees&nbsp;optimise their career plans, offering guidance on enhancing in-demand skills, providing advice on reskilling and transitioning, and expanding their professional networks, the mentors also offer guidance and inspiration to help nurture global citizens, who have the competencies and qualities integral to both personal and professional success.During the mentorship period, mentees are expected to participate in regular gatherings, maintain frequent communication with their mentors, and engage in various mentoring activities organised by the university or the mentees. It is encouraging to see that many of these mentoring relationships continue, even after the mentees graduate.Powering career services with new technologiesWe’ve enhanced our career services for both students and employers by incorporating new technologies, going beyond simply following the latest technological fads. For students, for example, artificial intelligence (AI) tools are used to help transform general content into job-specific CVs, as well as improve students’ job interview skills&nbsp;through simulation and automated feedback. This not only enhances a student’s job search but&nbsp;also&nbsp;enables the career centre to allocate resources more strategically for personalised support. Students are encouraged to dedicate time to practising AI-powered interviews and online assessments to gain a competitive edge in navigating these increasingly common hiring methods.For employers, our dedicated online one-stop recruitment platform streamlines the process of selecting talents through a suite of online tools, including video assessments, virtual interviews and pre-employment tests. Such a platform is particularly beneficial for employers outside the local area.We believe that balancing industry-relevant competencies and adaptive mindsets is critical to bridging the gap between academia and the workplace. This principle underpins PolyU’s multifaceted strategy of blending experiential learning, mentoring networks and emerging technologies. By continuously seeking feedback and input from both students and industry partners, universities can help ensure that their career services remain responsive to the evolving needs of their students and the modern workplace.Kelvin Cheng is section head of careers and placement at the student affairs office at the Hong Kong Polytechnic.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.

Innovative career services for a well-prepared workforce

How can universities enhance their student career support in response to the rapidly evolving employment landscape? Kelvin Cheng recommends three approaches to prepare students for better careers

Developing the skills needed for the jobs of the next 10 to 15 years requires digital fluency – the ability to use available technologies in creative ways across all disciplines. Digital skills development is most impactful when in the context of students’ interests and ambitions and where students can see the connection to their careers. But keeping abreast of specific uses across a range of disciplines is more than any digital skills team can do on their own.&nbsp;The LSE Digital Skills Lab mission is to “create digitally confident social scientists, with the right opportunities at the right time”. When considering student employability, the right opportunities have developed through collaborations that combine our practical approach to digital skills development with academic expertise, alumni insights and industry partnership. With these three collaborations, we’ve helped students develop the digital fluency and confidence to step out into the workplace of the future.Working with academic expertiseWhen students are time poor, they’re practical. We find our students are most motivated when they can see a direct line from their discipline through to the digital capabilities needed to succeed in the workplace.&nbsp;Tried and tested ways to teach your students soft skillsStrategies to train students in three transferable skills wanted by employersCreating opportunities to enhance student employability onlineA great starting point when looking for ways to develop student employability is contacting academics with industry insight.A recent collaboration with Ken Lee, an associate professor of accounting and former managing director at Barclays Capital, to deliver workshops on data modelling with Excel for our accounting students, saw hundreds of students give up their weekend to gain practical experience with the tools and frameworks they will encounter in the banking industry.&nbsp;Leveraging alumni insightsOur academic colleagues are also a great source of connection to alumni. Former students have generously shared their experiences and insights on the key tools and digital capabilities required for graduates entering the workforce.&nbsp;A recent pilot that integrated data cleaning, analysis and visualisation tools into a course on our MSc International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies was based on advice and insight from former and current students with experience in international organisations. Such advice, which can be sought via LinkedIn connections, means students are engaging with the most industry-relevant tools. They can also produce examples of work to share with potential employers. Students find the practical advice from those in the workforce invaluable, and the experience of learning about real-world applications of tools extremely helpful.&nbsp;Some student feedback we recently received was: “Keep up the amazing job in teaching people the application of Excel in real-world scenarios. I also loved how engaging the team was at the workshop.”Partnering with industryOur collaborations with industry are made possible through fruitful working relationships with our careers service and alumni engagement teams. Finding alumni and companies who are willing to share their time and expertise directly with students provides them with cutting edge insights into the world of work.&nbsp;One such example is a department of management alum and AI company founder who will run this year’s Code Camp with MSc students, studying information systems and digital innovation. Each year, this extracurricular opportunity is designed to give MSc students hands-on experience with some of the technologies and theories they’ve been studying. This year, Code Camp participants will be taught about designing and developing an AI model to meet a specific business need, identifying the unique risks introduced during AI design and how these can be mitigated.Open students’ minds to alternative careersThese hands-on practical experiences can also be valuable for providing students with exposure to industries and career paths they may not have previously considered, and providing them with the confidence to pursue alternative careers. Now in its fourth year, the Optiver Coding Challenge (run with market making company Optiver) sorts students into interdisciplinary teams to design, refine and run trading algorithms on a virtual market exchange, before reflecting on their performance as coders and as team members. Such opportunities bring together students’ academic knowledge, digital capabilities and workplace skills of communication and teamwork, equipping them with excellent examples of their workplace readiness across a range of skill sets.&nbsp;“Everyone was enthusiastic and keen to learn and share knowledge,” said one student who learned coding alongside trading theory. “The experience has broadened my horizon on alternative careers and LSE modules outside of my curriculum. Taking part in the challenge will give me an edge in future interviews, as I know employers are keen to learn about how students apply their knowledge and skills to real world situations.”Through thoughtful and creative collaborations with academics, alumni and industry, we can provide students with valuable, cutting-edge opportunities to work with real-world problems. In doing so, they better understand how to transfer their existing skills and learn new ones to solve the problems of work – ultimately gaining digital fluency, not just digital skills.Jeni Brown is head, and Nedelin Velikov&nbsp;is a staff member, at the LSE Digital Skills Lab at the London School of Economics and Political Science.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.

Three key collaborations to foster digital fluency 

While digital skills development is all-important for employability, no one can predict what the job market will look like in a decade. Instead, focus on digital fluency for well-rounded future employees. Jeni Brown and Nedelin Velikov explain how

Three key collaborations to foster digital fluency in students

In a fast-changing employment market, it’s down to universities to prepare their students for future careers. While teaching employability skills can help, what’s important is allowing them to dip their toe in the world of work while benefiting from the support and encouragement of their university educators and peers.Here, we’ll offer hands-on recommendations and information for university and college professionals to strengthen students’ employability with work experience and job opportunities.Set up internshipsEvery year, approximately 700 to 800 students from Nazarbayev University (NU) participate in internships across various industries, including engineering, business, government and technology. These internships provide students with valuable industry insights and practical experience, significantly enhancing their employability upon graduation. The programme is designed to offer students opportunities to work with leading companies in Kazakhstan, so they can apply their academic learning in real-world settings and gain critical skills needed for their future careers.Partnering with industry for authentic experiences and assessmentThree tips for using capstone projects to improve employabilityFour ways to create an entrepreneurial culture at your institution&nbsp;To initiate our internship programme, we began by identifying key industries that aligned with our academic programmes. We reached out to leading companies in engineering, business, government and technology sectors, presenting the benefits of partnering with Nazarbayev University (NU). By establishing strong relationships with these companies, we were able to create a network of internship opportunities for our students.&nbsp;One of the challenges we faced was the mismatch of expectations, where sometimes a student’s internship placement did not align with their values or expectations owing to workload or work culture. To address this, we conduct onboarding sessions and invite industry representatives to provide information sessions about their specific sectors, helping to set realistic expectations and preparing students for what to expect in their internships.Another challenge was geographical constraints, as some students were unable to relocate to the location of the internship placement. We worked closely with companies to offer remote internships or internships within the students’ geographical area whenever possible. For students who had to relocate, we provided guidance and support to help them plan and manage their move effectively.&nbsp;Financial problems were another issue, as some students faced difficulties that prevented them from participating in internships. We advised students to save a portion of their stipend throughout the year to cover their internship expenses and sought financial support and grants from university funds and industry partners to assist students in need.One surprising aspect was the overwhelmingly positive feedback from industry partners regarding our students’ preparedness and performance. This reinforced the importance of our approach to integrating academic learning with real-world experience and highlighted the need for continuous collaboration with industry to keep our curriculum relevant and effective.&nbsp;Help students work on campusAt NU, we provide on-campus job opportunities to 20 to 30 students each year, depending on the hiring budget of various university departments. These positions enable students to gain experience in administrative and technical roles across different departments. The programme offers a flexible working environment that fits students’ academic schedules and allows them to develop professional skills in a supportive setting.&nbsp;First, determine the budget for the Work on Campus programme. This will help you to understand how many students you can employ and the types of positions you can offer. It’s crucial to ensure that the budget is flexible to accommodate variations in funding.&nbsp;Creating job descriptions that allow for flexibility in working hours to accommodate students’ academic commitments is also important. The positions should provide valuable experience relevant to students’ future careers. Provide training and support for student employees too, including orientation sessions, regular check-ins with supervisors, and access to professional development resources.&nbsp;Promoting the programme through various communication channels, such as email newsletters, the university website, social media and campus noticeboards, will help ensure that students are aware of the opportunities and benefits.&nbsp;At NU, our Work on Campus programme has been highly successful in providing students with meaningful work experiences that complement their academic pursuits. Administrative roles help students develop organisational and communication skills, while technical roles enhance their IT and problem-solving abilities.&nbsp;Foster industry collaborationsWe place a strong emphasis on industry partnerships and collaboration to ensure that the curriculum remains relevant to current market needs. We frequently invite industry professionals to deliver guest lectures and conduct workshops. These sessions expose students to real-world perspectives and enhance their understanding of industry expectations. Through these interactions, students gain valuable networking opportunities, which can lead to internships, job placements and mentorships.Businesses benefit from our partnerships by gaining direct access to a pool of talented and highly skilled students who are trained with the latest knowledge and practices. We emphasise how our institution can assist in the selection process by providing tailored recruitment services on campus, such as targeted job postings, internship programmes and collaborative research opportunities. This mutually beneficial relationship ensures that our students are well prepared for their future careers, while businesses can tap into a steady stream of highly capable professionals.Robust career services are essential for guiding students in their career planning and job search. At NU Career and Advising Center, we offer personalised career counselling to help students enhance their job prospects. These services include:Résumé/CV reviewsCover letter assistanceMock interviewsJob search strategiesGraduate school applicationsAlumni mattersInternship supportCareer fairs and networking events.We organise various career fairs and networking events throughout the academic year, providing students with opportunities to interact with potential employers, learn about job openings and build valuable professional connections. These events include:Career development courses: workshops on employment market trends and preparations for entering the world of workFuture-ready skills programme: designed to enhance students’ soft skills, which are highly valued by employersMock interviews: sessions where students can practise their interview skills with industry professionalsField trips: visits to companies and organisations to give students an inside look at different industriesCareer weeks: intensive events featuring multiple career-related activities and employer interactionsOn-campus recruitment: opportunities for students to meet recruiters and apply for jobs directly on campusJob postings: the CAC CareerNet platform where job vacancies are regularly posted for students to exploreAlumni talks: sessions where alumni share their career experiences and provide advice to current students.By integrating these comprehensive career services and strong industry collaborations, we can help our students prepare to enter the workforce and succeed in their chosen careers. The university’s commitment to providing practical experience and professional development opportunities makes its graduates highly competitive in the job market, both in Kazakhstan and internationally.Liliya Tleukenova is general manager of the NU Career and Advising Center and Gaini Yessembekova is director of NU Career and Advising Center, both at Nazarbayev University.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.

Experiencing the workplace helps students’ career readiness

How to help your graduates step straight into the world of work? Give them a taste of it while they’re still students. Gaini Yessembekova and Liliya Tleukenova offer advice

Experiencing the workplace can help students’ career readiness

The idea for brief winter internships – we call them W_Internships – first came up during an early architecture advisory board (AAB) meeting. A couple of board members were concerned about two groups of students: those who couldn’t take summer internships because they needed more lucrative jobs to pay for collegiate expenses; and those from small towns with no architecture firms nearby where they could intern. That didn’t strike us as fair to those students; everyone should be able to participate in enrichment and career-readiness opportunities such as internships.As then undergraduate architecture chair in the&nbsp;College of Architecture, Arts, and Design at Virginia Tech, I was initially skeptical about the short duration: how much could students learn in just two weeks? &nbsp;So I tried the programme at my architecture firm, inviting four interns to join us in New York City for a fortnight over winter break. The outcomes surpassed my expectations. One talented student designed a 12-foot-wide townhouse, presenting their work to the entire development team – twice.&nbsp;This internship experience led to a full-time position with our firm and the realisation of their townhouse design. The other three interns collaborated on an early design concept for a gender equity non-profit, presenting their ideas to the organisation’s board of directors.What support students need to succeed in work placementsFour ways to weave job skills teaching into the university experienceTutor training for architect-educators: twinning, observation, reflection and testingAfter observing the W_interns’ substantial learning, personal growth and accomplishments within the programme’s compact duration, I&nbsp;was&nbsp;convinced&nbsp;of its value and impact. This coming winter will mark the programme’s third official year.&nbsp;Short-term internships: how they workA cohort of third-year architecture students participated in the second year of the W_Internship from 2 to 12 January 2024. Partnering with architectural firms, the School of Architecture at Virginia Tech organised two-week paid internships over winter break, which students secured through interviews. During their internships, students contributed to project teams, conducted research, developed case studies and even created drawings, models, graphics and design concepts. The W_interns received feedback from firm members on their interviews and portfolios, significantly boosting their professional development and readiness for future careers.&nbsp;To recruit employers for internships, we started with a call to those firms that attended the School of Architecture’s annual career day, and we had about 35 firms express interest. The first year we placed nine students; the second year 18.&nbsp;We are building the programme by word of mouth as well as targeted recruiting.We launched W_Internship in collaboration with Virginia Tech’s&nbsp;Cooperative Education and Internship Program, which gave us scaffolding that included a standard hiring platform (Handshake), learning and employer agreements, pre-onboarding training for students, structured and shared reflection, and a post-experience employer survey. This year, we are using what we’ve learned to streamline the experience while maintaining the core aspects of bridge programmes that enhance the student learning experience.Interested students apply, interview and are selected by participating firms, which conduct interviews over Zoom. During two weeks of their winter break, the students intern at the firm, maintaining a full-time work schedule. The students are compensated for their work either through an hourly wage or a stipend provided by the firm. In the programme’s second year, many students reported using the opportunity to test out living in a large or unfamiliar city.&nbsp;These students found temporary accommodation with relatives or friends.Participating students praise the programme for improving their confidence, honing their understanding of what type of architecture they want to practise, and demonstrating the on-the-job value of their studies. Many students come from small towns or&nbsp;suburbs, and getting a taste of life in a large city helps them prepare for their future.&nbsp;Students with W_Internships also reported having a leg up on other students when competing for summer internships, and many were invited to join their host firms. One of last year’s interns pointed out the low-risk/high-return structure of the programme for both employers and interns. A two-week commitment is far less daunting than three months.The future of W_InternshipsAligning with Virginia Tech’s broader vision, this programme is poised to become part of the&nbsp;Bridge Experience Program, which aims to provide all undergraduates with place-based, experiential learning opportunities. It also furthers the&nbsp;Virginia Tech Advantage&nbsp;presidential priority, focusing on transformational experiences for all students, including those with unmet financial needs.&nbsp;Working with the AAB board, we have set two clear objectives for the coming years: to expand the geographical reach and experiential scope of W_Internships. The first goal involves seeking opportunities with firms in more cities that align with students’ potential post-graduation career destinations. To broaden the diversity of professional experiences available, we are working to include a wide range of ownership models, scales and specialties within the built environment.Internships play a crucial role in preparing college students for their future careers through:Hands-on experience: students gain practical, real-world experience in their chosen fieldsSkill development: students benefit from opportunities to develop their abilities in areas such as communication, teamwork, problem-solving and time managementIndustry insights: students learn about the industry they are interested in.&nbsp;They see first-hand how companies operate,&nbsp;what the day-to-day responsibilities are, and the challenges and opportunities within these industriesNetworking: students network with professionals in their field, which can open doors to job opportunities and mentorshipRésumé-building:&nbsp;internship&nbsp;experience makes college students more attractive to potential employers&nbsp;Clarifying career goals: students can test out career paths and industries to see what aligns best with their interests, skills and values.Overall, internships bridge academic learning and the professional world, providing students with practical experience, skills development, industry insights, networking opportunities, résumé-building and clarity about their career goals. W_Internships do all&nbsp;this in a condensed time frame, freeing up summers for higher income-generating work – a win-win situation.Margarita McGrath is associate professor in the School of Architecture at Virginia Tech. She also owns a Brooklyn-based architecture practice.&nbsp;If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.

The case for abbreviated winter internships

Internships give students professional experience, guide career choices and boost job market competitiveness. But what if students need higher-paying summer jobs or can’t afford three months in a far-flung city? That’s where abbreviated winter internships come in

Balancing career readiness and finances: the case for abbreviated internships

In today’s ultra-competitive job market, strong interview skills are paramount for students taking their first steps into the professional world. University careers services play a crucial role in equipping our students with the tools and confidence needed to excel in a range of interview settings. From pre-recorded video interviews to live online sessions and traditional face-to-face meetings, students must be adaptable and well-prepared. Here, I’ll explore ways universities can teach interview skills to students and graduates, helping them to present themselves and their skills in the best light possible.Preparing for different interview formatsStudents need to be ready for many interview types, each of which requires its own preparation. &nbsp;Tried and tested ways to teach your students soft skillsStrategies to train students in three transferable skills wanted by employersCareer mentoring can support student employabilityPre-recorded video interviews, online interviews conducted on platforms such as Zoom, in-person interviews and assessment centres present their own challenges. Recognising the importance of addressing these diverse formats is essential in developing a comprehensive interview skills training programme.LSE Careers’ approach to interview skills trainingAt the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), we take a proactive stance in preparing students for interviews. We offer practical support through:30-minute practice interviews for students with upcoming interviews, allowing them to refine their techniques and receive constructive feedbackspecialised seminars covering a range of interview types, including strengths-based, online and intercultural communication-focused interviews, providing targeted guidance tailored to specific scenariostwo-hour workshops throughout the academic year, where students can immerse themselves in interactive exercises designed to enhance their interview skills, focusing on real-world scenarios and practical strategies.In addition, we keep track of where our students are interviewing to ensure we can give up-to-date information and add insights into specific sectors and organisations.We have found that running sessions alone is not enough. To complement our online and in-person seminars and workshops, we provide students with access to digital tools and resources, including:CaseCoach, a platform enabling students to practice-case interviews, a common format used by consulting firms and other industrieseCareersGrad’s Interview Success course, an engaging e-learning module that covers essential interview techniques and best practicesShortList.Me, where students can practise pre-recorded video interviews and receive instant feedback on their performance.Additionally, we have a wealth of information and resources on our website, covering topics such as interview etiquette, common questions and industry-specific advice.While online interviews are prevalent, traditional face-to-face interviews remain a cornerstone of many recruitment processes. We focus on body language, effective communication and confidence-building strategies when preparing students for in-person encounters.Students will often encounter assessment centres as part of the recruitment process, which means tackling complex scenarios designed to test them for multiple skills simultaneously. We offer mock assessment centre sessions, run group exercise simulations, give feedback on performance and offer advice on how to manage any feelings of stress or anxiety on the day to help students prepare.To meet the ongoing needs of our students, we started to further involve alumni and employers in our activities. For instance, this could be inviting alumni to share sector-specific interview advice in a session or having an employer present to offer the interviewer’s perspective during a panel event. These inputs ensure our educational content stays up-to-date and relevant.We believe in learning by doing. Practical exercises such as role-playing, mock interviews and peer-to-peer feedback sessions actively involve students in their skills development. These interactive activities foster confidence and enhance interview performance. Investing in interview skills training is an investment in students’ future success. By giving students many ways to practise their interview skills, and by offering a range of online tools, universities can empower students to navigate interviews with confidence. Comprehensive interview skills development should be an integral part of career readiness programmes.We invite you, the reader, to explore similar initiatives at your own institution. Together, we can ensure that the next generation of graduates is well-prepared to succeed in the workplace. By embracing comprehensive interview skills training, universities can play a pivotal role in shaping the professional trajectories of our students.Lewis Humphreys is the careers education manager at the London School of Economics and Political Science.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the Campus newsletter.

Sharpen your students’ interview skills

The employees of the future will need to showcase their skills in job interviews. Make sure they’re prepared for each setting, writes Lewis Humphreys 

Capstone projects&nbsp;are an impactful and practical way to ensure students emerge&nbsp;from university workplace-ready. When undertaking a capstone project, students apply learning from their academic studies to live business briefs provided by industry partners.&nbsp;With concerns from&nbsp;employers on declining career readiness and a widening gap between education and employment skills, how can universities ensure that initiatives like these prepare students for the workplace? Here are three tips on bridging the gap between academia and industry, or sponsors, via capstone projects:Prioritise project fitThis is the most important point to establish from the beginning. Does the sponsor’s project brief align with the curriculum? Spotting synergies between business needs and course content is the foundation for sourcing and establishing potential collaborations.&nbsp;What support students need to succeed in work placementsHelping students to see the future career value of their work-integrated learningHow to develop partnerships that offer students real-world learning experiencesIn addition to relevancy, does the project offer opportunities for students to develop industry skills and knowledge? Although undertaking research is typically part of the process, students should also have opportunities to make connections with networks outside academia. Crucially, they can then present business recommendations to sponsors and stakeholders as a result of their research. This is what differentiates capstone projects from traditional research projects.&nbsp;Having regular touchpoints and opportunities to meet and present in sponsors’ offices&nbsp;is great workplace practice for students, in addition to helping them feel more immersed in the project.&nbsp;Finally, is&nbsp;the project exciting for students?&nbsp;&nbsp;Forward-looking topics (such as sustainability, AI and technology, and the social and technological changes in the post-pandemic workplace) are perfect for students because they will be a part of their future&nbsp;– and where they can make the most difference.&nbsp;It may also be tempting to prioritise projects from large multinationals, especially as students are usually keen to add brand names to their CV. However, prioritising project fit over employer brand allows students to discover the hidden SME sector, which&nbsp;makes up three-fifths of employment and half of the UK’s private sector turnover.&nbsp;Moreover, because SMEs have fewer resources than multinationals, they benefit even more from gaining access to university talent and often have less bureaucracy&nbsp;for students to navigate.Develop student successWhile sponsors offer capstone projects with a business need to solve challenges or develop new initiatives, it makes a huge difference when they have a coaching or mentoring mindset in their approach with students. Set the expectation that in working with students (as opposed to working professionals), sponsors play a valuable role in supervising and training students to succeed. Remind them that for some students, this may even be their first experience of a professional role in industry.&nbsp;Capstone projects are part of the curriculum and students will need to meet academic requirements and deadlines, so sponsors should be understanding and flexible. Students are typically assigned an academic coach too, who will guide them to apply their learning and deliver a final presentation or report to their sponsor. A business presentation –&nbsp;which typically emphasises concise communication, solutions and outcomes – is very different to an academic presentation,&nbsp;which needs to reflect depth of understanding, research methods and critical analysis. Discuss incorporating this guidance with the sponsor and academic coach to make sure students balance or target their approach with different audiences, developing these often-overlooked soft skills for the workplace.&nbsp;Working with careers consultants to include mechanisms for students to track and reflect on their experience is equally important to help them articulate their capstone experience in future job applications and interviews. This can be via induction sessions or resources on working with sponsors or post-project with short statements and feedback forms.Look beyond the projectCapstone projects allow students and sponsors to engage closely over a period of time, typically with a dedicated supervisor, but also with stakeholders across the organisation with an interest in the brief. Encourage students and sponsors to actively build a relationship and stay connected after the project. Sponsors might have recruitment opportunities or be able to support students into the industry by introducing contacts and offering careers advice and mentoring. It can be a great starting point for students in building their professional networks.Celebrating success at the end of projects, such as holding a thank you event or a capstone projects showcase,&nbsp;can be a wonderful way to conclude the experience for all parties, facilitate networking between students and sponsors and communicate appreciation for their commitments.Let’s invest in career readinessCapstone projects bridge the gap between academia and industry, helping us work together to cultivate the key skills and talent needed. Interdisciplinary projects, which combine students from different subjects&nbsp;–&nbsp;or even schools&nbsp;– can foster innovation, diversity of thought and develop students’ cultural sensitivity (especially attractive to global employers). By developing high-quality collaborations such as capstones, working with industry to develop student success and guiding students to build relationships, we can play a powerful role in ensuring students’ career readiness.Ardy Cheung is employer relations manager in the department of management at the London School of Economics and Political Science.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the Campus&nbsp;newsletter.&nbsp;

Three tips for using capstone projects 

How can we make sure our students are workplace-ready? Capstone projects may hold the key, writes Ardy Cheung 

Three tips for using capstone projects to improve employability

In the library, first-year students are taking photos of themselves with their unit textbook. They have followed picture clues to find the section containing the books they will use for their studies.Why would they do such a thing? As unit convener for a sizeable first-year unit, and inspired by the Where’s Wally? puzzle books, I’ve introduced a “Where’s Hector?” scavenger hunt aimed at transforming the student experience. University life, after all, should extend beyond textbooks and assessments. It’s about fostering a sense of community, having fun and forging connections with peers.Unveiling the adventure: Where’s Hector? photo cluesThe objective of the Where’s Hector? scavenger hunt is to help students make friends and have fun while discovering hidden gems and learning more about the campus. Throughout the semester, they decipher picture clues to find “Hector” in a secret location. Through discussion, they identify the answer, then take a picture of themselves as proof of their success.To kick off this activity, armed with my camera and the iconic Where’s Wally? hat and scarf (see below), I&nbsp;take snapshots of intriguing locations across the campus to create the clues. If it is a location that students might not know well, I&nbsp;might include a clue in the background or use two pictures to form the clue.

  
      
  
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The author creating scavenger hunt clues. Photo courtesy of Hector Viveros Tapia

&nbsp;I brief students every Monday, starting in week two, when I&nbsp;reveal a picture clue in the learning management system (LMS). I&nbsp;ask students to review the picture and discuss it with classmates (during or after class) to identify the location, and then take a picture of themselves in that location, making sure it is similar to the provided clue. They have up to two weeks to do this.For each round, students upload their photo to a file on the LMS, and the next clue is revealed. I&nbsp;review their submissions once a week and provide feedback on their pics as a way to acknowledge their participation and encourage them to continue to the next round.Resource collection: Cultivate a sense of belonging on campusHow to create extracurricular activities students will want to attendTHE podcast: human connection and the student experienceThe game has ground rules. I&nbsp;instruct students to take clear, well-lit photos. They must also be respectful of the locations they visit, follow any rules or guidelines associated with them, and not disturb the people in and around those locations.The activity is not mandatory. I&nbsp;tell my students they should do it because it’s fun, because they will discover their campus, because they can work with and meet classmates, and because walking is good exercise. You could provide active engagement marks as an incentive or have small prizes for those completing the activities.Diverse participation optionsRecognising the diverse comfort levels of students, the activity should include participation options. Camera-shy students could upload shots of the location without being identifiable in their photos, while those eager to showcase their discoveries might take full-face selfies. The aim is to make participation enjoyable and flexible. Collaboration in duos or teams can also make the exercise more fun and productive.Why engage in Where’s Hector?To address the inevitable question of “why participate?”, I&nbsp;emphasise that the activity transcends mere extrinsic rewards. It’s about enjoying exploration, discovering your campus and fostering camaraderie with classmates. Walking, a simple yet beneficial exercise, adds another layer of well-being to the experience. To sweeten the deal, a “lucky draw” at the end of the semester promises small prizes for the most engaged participants.Observable outcomes and benefitsSocial connection and fun: The uploaded pictures reveal students engaging in pairs or groups, enhancing social skills and creating connections with their peers.Increased classroom engagement: The shared experiences translate into more robust teamwork during class discussions, as those collaborating outside the classroom continue to do so inside.Impact on international students: For first-year international students, who are often navigating a new country and culture, the activity becomes a gateway to explore, participate and share experiences with their peers.Friendship building: As making friends becomes more challenging with age, this activity offers a light-hearted opportunity for students to form lasting connections.LMS engagement: Participation acts as a barometer for students’ engagement with the LMS, ensuring that they stay informed about weekly content. If&nbsp;I&nbsp;see that a student has gone to a location, taken and uploaded a picture, that means that they have checked out what is going on in the system for that week (and that may include reading content material).Unit and assignment discussions: In the pursuit of clues, students discuss their experiences and even unit-related topics, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange.Exploration of campus spaces: From the library to a gallery or cafe, the activity encourages students to discover key campus spaces, promoting a deeper connection to the university environment.Ready for the challenge?This initiative is not limited to first-year students. This year, a colleague and I&nbsp;are extending the adventure to a postgraduate unit with a large cohort of international students. The Where’s Hector? challenge is not even just a student affair. This can be done among staff to encourage a social walking exercise with colleagues as an opportunity for staff camaraderie.Hector Viveros Tapia is a lecturer in the department of management at Macquarie Business School, Australia.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.

How a scavenger hunt helps students discover their campus

A collaborative discovery activity has benefits that go beyond simply helping new students get to know the university grounds. It fosters belonging and fun – and even promotes physical well-being, writes Hector Viveros Tapia

Where’s Hector? How a scavenger hunt helps first-year students explore the university campus

Universities encounter different types of prospective students during the application process, each with specific needs. During a session held in partnership with Springpod at the 2024 THE HashtagHigherEdUK event, Steven Morton, head of B2C marketing at Springpod, explained why universities should personalise their engagement with prospective students early in the decision-making process. He spoke about how Springpod’s online community of student users has helped to create personas that represent prospective students, each with varying degrees of confidence and certainty about their higher education goals.&nbsp;The cost of living crisis, A-level grade drops and exam anxiety have compounded to create the most demanding decision-making landscape in recent years for young people, Morton said. Springpod found that these factors affect all young people but how they respond varies. This means delivering the right information for each student in the right way is critical.By surveying its user data, Springpod was able to understand the common approaches and routes that students take when considering their higher education options. Morton shared four student personas that Springpod has identified based on its users. “We’ve looked at our database and we’ve looked at the behaviour of the users within them to find our key clusters and segments,” Morton said. These segments can be used by universities to identify prospective student types and create tailored messaging.The first persona Morton introduced was called Perusing Pasha. This low-confidence candidate type is typically interested in three unrelated subject areas. They’re more reactive than proactive and are unwilling to engage with direct response advertising because it makes them feel more pressured.&nbsp;“When you’re thinking about how to engage them, they really need to understand how something benefits them and they need to be entertained at the same time as informed,” Morton said. This persona prefers to browse at their own pace, so giving them agency over how they engage with content is critical. Their decision-making timeline usually extends to the summer as they typically end up relying on Clearing.Morton introduced Selective Samira as the next persona on the confidence scale. “Pasha might be your low confidence underprepared but Sameera is your anxious overpreparer,” Morton said. Such students feel a lot of pressure and want to explore all options available. “They want to compare and contrast and get kinaesthetic with all of the content that we have online,” he added.&nbsp;The best way to engage with this type of prospective student is to strike a balance between informational and interactive content and offer them the chance to discuss their findings with peers. “Creating channels and curating conversations between a Sameera and other students around them is going to resonate well,” he added.In the mid-to-high confidence band sits Interested Isla. These students are detail-orientated and will event investigate the modules included on a course, Morton said. This student persona looks at courses based on how it helps them to connect what they are studying at A-level and their choice of career. They will research application guidance and welcome any last-minute advice that might help them to optimise and fine-tune their personal statement and application.&nbsp;The smallest segment among Springpod’s users is Focused Francis. These students are high achievers who are driven and confident about their specific academic and career goals. They welcome detailed information and targeted communications from universities that help them take the next steps in their academic journey.&nbsp;By identifying target segments and their probable pathways in the decision-making process, universities are able to customise their marketing messages during recruitment to improve engagement and enrolment rates.The speaker:Steven Morton, head of B2C marketing, SpringpodFind out more about Springpod.

Universities can improve engagement by tailoring their marketing communications to different types of prospective students

Universities must match their messaging with different personas of prospective students

Why should students get involved in academic blogging? As recently outlined in a Campus resource written by my colleagues Rosemary Deller and Michael Taster, blogging is an accessible way for students to explore the ideas germinating through their studies and interrogate the conventions that shape learning experiences in higher education.More than that, blogs are a way for students to build community, helping them to feel actively engaged in knowledge production and exchange around the subjects they’re studying. But how can educators and staff running academic blog platforms encourage students to get involved?Use blogs to complement academic studyMake students aware that writing about what they’re learning outside of formal assignments benefits rather than detracts from their studies. It’s a space where they can gain experience, skills and confidence in writing, as well as bylines to add to CVs. They’ll also learn how to express complex concepts in simple and engaging ways.What does it take to encourage students to use their voice?Four ways to cultivate an engaged social media communityDigital marketing for universities: strategies for successCrucially, a good academic blog will have an editor who can work with students to set the topic and parameters of the article and provide editorial feedback. From my time working with students at two London School of Economics blogs, I&nbsp;know that students value this guidance and a sense of working collaboratively to produce a stronger, more polished piece of writing.Run workshops and featured seriesFor students who haven’t written much before, blogging can seem daunting. Running an information session or an informal “Blogging&nbsp;101” workshop, where students brainstorm and write a short piece by the end of the session, can be a great way to get the ball rolling.Creating themed series of posts is another way to make it more approachable. On the LSE International Development Blog, features such as write-ups on events and lectures or on class trips and fieldwork, insights and reflections on group projects and call-outs for posts on particular themes like decolonising academia yield great student uptake.On LSE Review of Books, book reviews are an excellent format through which PhD students can engage with the latest research and emerging debates in their disciplines.Foster accountabilitySetting standards and deadlines is important. Academic blogging involves plenty of creativity and exploration, but it also requires structure and guidelines to make contributors aware of the expectations and to ensure accountability. Encouraging short-form contributions and setting realistic time frames that work with, rather than against, coursework submissions and assessments will produce a better experience and less likelihood of abandoned commitments.Spread the wordGetting the word out to students about blogging is most effective through a multifaceted approach. Circulating opportunities in university-wide communications is useful, but these can often be missed. Sharing tailored call-outs through departmental newsletters, message boards and meetings or classes helps students to recognise the relevance of blogging to their studies and experiences.Students look to staff mentors, heads of departments and other academics for guidance, making them well placed to reinforce the value of blogging. Tutors can also encourage students to rework insightful, engaging essays and assignments into blog posts.Finally, it’s a good idea to involve students in this publicity effort, too. Foster a peer-led approach by selecting blogging ambassadors – enthusiastic students with interest or experience in writing – to set an example and encourage their peers to join in. Once you have built up a strong reputation and catalogue of posts, students will see the benefits of contributing their own ideas and experience.Anna D’Alton is managing editor of the LSE Review of Books at the London School of Economics and Political Science.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.

Four ways to engage students in blogging

Enrich the conversational scholarship of blogging by including student voices. Anna D’Alton offers her tips

The theme of “student voice” is a key target in curriculum design. Its inclusion helps students feel engaged with course material and more integrated with the university as a whole. However, in the UK, the National Student Survey (NSS) has shown this to be an area where many courses are lacking, with only 74 per cent of students believing their opinions are valued by staff, and 61 per cent feeling that their feedback was acted on.To tackle this at the University of Southampton, we designed a feedback scheme as part of the undergraduate chemistry teaching labs. Students complete one experimental session per week and can fill out a short, anonymous online feedback form at the end. Our motivation was to give students the opportunity to provide in-the-moment feedback, so their suggestions could benefit them immediately rather than impacting only the following cohort. Students in the lab class rotated through 10 practical stations over 10 weeks, so feedback from week one could improve the following nine rotations, offering a clear benefit to the student experience.This plan was well received when pitched to students, and a pilot scheme was run with a first-year undergraduate cohort. Unfortunately, uptake and retention of the feedback scheme was disappointing, with 34 per cent of the cohort responding to the survey in the first week and dropping to 8 per cent after just five weeks.&nbsp;Resource collection: The post-pandemic university: how to serve the Covid generationWhat is student engagement?Entice students back to the classroom with community quizzesDiscussions with students revealed conflicting views towards the survey. Virtually all believed that the opportunity was useful and should be kept, but the same students acknowledged that they did not regularly submit any feedback. Even students who admitted to having never interacted with the survey still believed it should be continued into the next academic year.So the challenge now seems to be how to give students a voice in a way that encourages uptake and retention. Discussions and anonymous surveys from students who took part in the pilot scheme presented the following opportunities to promote engagement and retention.1. Ease of accessThe feedback opportunity was presented as an online Microsoft form. Students were given a direct link to the survey as part of their lab script, and a QR code for access was displayed prominently around the lab. Despite this, the most reported reason for not completing the survey was “forgetting”. One student suggested that a link to the feedback form could be included in the lab script, not realising it was already there.&nbsp;Prominence of access is clearly important but so too are regular reminders. Students reported that they would have been happy to be more regularly reminded, with more prominent placement of physical reminders in learning materials and the virtual learning environment (VLE), as well as verbal reminders. This would be particularly important in the early weeks of the scheme to cement providing feedback as a positive habit in their lab routine.&nbsp;2. Integration with the courseStudents have many tasks on their minds, and at the end of a lab session they are preoccupied with the data they have to analyse and the report they must write, as well as social plans and other responsibilities. The feedback opportunity was pitched as something to do as they were leaving the lab, which presented a conflict with upcoming responsibilities and social interactions.The end of a lab session is often seen as the end of lab work, and so feedback as an additional task can fall through the cracks. A solution is to position the survey as part of the lab day, rather than a separate entity. This allows it to be completed while students are still focused on laboratory learning.3. Dissemination of outcomesThe feedback survey offered students the chance to suggest improvements to the course design. Many of these were minor and helpful, such as where lab scripts could be clearer or extra resources to aid understanding. These were acted on but still presented a question about perceived impact of the feedback since students who came to the practical after a rotation experienced the improved resources without comparison and would not see their own suggestions being implemented.&nbsp;To address this, students suggested regular dissemination of outcomes from the student survey. This could be verbal, in the form of an announcement at the start of a session, or a published list on the VLE. In this way, proof of the impact of their feedback can be shared and will have a positive effect on uptake and retention.&nbsp;4. Opportunity for discussionMany students reported not filling in the survey because they could not think of anything specific to comment on or suggest for improvement. The sense that “everything is fine” led to a reduced motivation to complete the survey. However, when opening discussions about the feedback pilot scheme, these same students responded enthusiastically to suggestions from their cohort, building on the ideas of others and leading to a dynamic discussion.This highlighted a missed opportunity in the survey that focused on anonymous opinions. Integration of discussion in feedback seems to be vital in providing a more complete view of the student voice. This encourages participation from students who may incorrectly feel they do not have an opinion worth sharing, and builds on suggestions to provide more exciting and actionable contributions from the wider student body. Discussion could also be incorporated into the actions based on student feedback. For instance, if feedback reported that an instruction was not clear, two or three alternate phrasings could be presented to the cohort, and a group discussion could improve on the one that is implemented.&nbsp;5. RewardA simple suggestion, and the most enthusiastically received in student discussion, was incentivising completion of the survey. This is linked to point 3 (Dissemination of outcomes), where the benefits of feedback are seen as the “reward” of a tangible change, although student suggestions for rewards were, perhaps unsurprisingly, more focused on graded rewards and chocolate. In either case, including a reward can be a useful motivator, if only to encourage initial uptake and to encourage the habit of taking part in the feedback opportunity.&nbsp;The recurring question is how to integrate student voice with both inputs and outputs of feedback. Presenting feedback as part of the course design rather than as an after-class activity more seamlessly integrates it as a classwork task, minimising the chance of it getting lost among other after-class responsibilities. Involving students in discussion around, and implementation of, recommendations from feedback provides them with tangible rewards for their efforts.&nbsp;If all else fails, there’s always chocolate!Sam Perry&nbsp;is a teaching fellow in the School of Chemistry in the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the&nbsp;University of Southampton.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the Campus&nbsp;newsletter.

The National Student Survey tells us students want their voices heard, but what if they don’t take up opportunities for feedback? Sam Perry looks at challenges of integrating student input (and wonders if chocolate is the answer)

What does it take to encourage students to use their voice?

Last year marked two decades since the repeal of Section 28, a UK law that prohibited what was described as “the promotion of homosexuality” by local authorities. What this meant, in practice, was that generations of LGBTQ+ children grew up with no safe access to information about LGBTQ+ issues, no role models, no representation. They had no indication, in fact, that they could have a successful life that included employment, acceptance and community.&nbsp;Surely, as hubs of knowledge production, higher education institutions have a social and ethical responsibility to actively repair some of the damage wrought by this law. As LGBTQ+ staff in the sector continue to report&nbsp;discrimination and erasure, are we providing enough opportunities for our students to see their own lived experiences roadmapped and reflected?&nbsp;Pride in HE: how to create an inclusive community onlineI’d tell my younger self that my chequered past would be my strengthMaking LGBTQ+ individuals feel safe, valued and empowered on campusWhile institutional support and backing are essential in amplifying LGBTQ+ representation and visibility, staff on the ground can also make an impact through grassroots initiatives. And where better to push back against the fearmongering of Section 28 than from a place of love? For author, theorist and educator&nbsp;bell hooks, all key social justice movements have promoted a love ethic: a practice that seeks to use knowledge, responsibility, care, trust, respect and commitment. How might that look in your professional context?&nbsp;In mine, I have had the privilege of coordinating a creative writing competition for LGBT+ History Month. Here’s some of what I learned.Knowledge and responsibilityIt’s natural to feel powerless against discrimination. However, take heart – there’s no one defining form of activism. You may not feel you have the capacity or physical ability to protest in the streets or the wherewithal for a strategic campaign. That doesn’t mean you have nothing to contribute to the cause of a more inclusive landscape in higher education. We each have our own offering of knowledge, skills and interests to share. These needn’t exclusively be academic pursuits.What brings you joy? Perhaps it’s a gentle walk in nature or listening to a podcast or crocheting. I’m partial to all three…and I also enjoy using writing to make sense of my inner and outer worlds. A couple of years ago, I started facilitating LGBTQ+ creative writing for well-being sessions in my local community. Last year the chair of our university LGBTQ+ focus group asked if I would use this experience to make our campus more inclusive. We agreed that I would deliver a drop-in session exploring the importance of queer representation, and that I would coordinate a creative writing competition around the same theme. As a “late bloomer” bisexual who grew up with a dearth of positive representation, I felt a responsibility to be visible in our university community. I had first-hand experience of the possibilities that creative writing affords for healing and growth. I am also well aware of how stifling and impenetrable academic writing can feel for many. I saw the creative writing competition as an opportunity to put self-expression firmly back into the hands of a marginalised community.&nbsp;Care and trustOver the past two academic years, I have gained important insights into developing the competition process with care and establishing trust with our participants. Working with students with protected characteristics means a vital aspect of care is gaining consent at multiple stages. For trans students, for example, being named in certain contexts could have immediate and severe material consequences. One student sought me out during graduation week last year to ensure they would be&nbsp;dead-named – otherwise, they said, they wouldn’t be able to return home with their parents after the ceremony.&nbsp;This has fed into my experience with the competition. Just because someone has entered doesn’t mean they will feel willing or able to be named in a university update or read their piece at a public event. However much you think you’ve tied up loose ends, please double-check. It’s better to be mildly irritating with an abundance of care.That said, please don’t let the need for caution be off-putting. Demonstrating this level of care is foundational to developing trust. Repeatedly checking in with participants about how they are represented also helps to build a sense of agency they may not always feel they have in wider society. Liaise with those in your initiative whenever a new context arises in which they may be named.&nbsp;Respect and commitmentUniversity community members who participate in our writing competition are occupying a&nbsp;brave space, and this demands our respect. We value our staff and students’ intersectional identities and recognise how vulnerable it can feel sharing those parts of yourself in your place of work or study. I have shared some of my own LGBTQ+ journey during the drop-in sessions. Another sign of respect has been the active and enthusiastic engagement from our executive director of communications and development, who has sat on the judging panel both years. Having buy-in from senior management is indescribably validating not just for our entrants but for the wider LGBTQ+ community at the university.Commitment to such an initiative can take many forms, the most essential of which are reflection and learning. For example, our inaugural winner, Allison Rosewood, submitted a non-fiction piece about becoming the trans role model she had always sought herself. We platformed her work at the university Pride event – she was unable to speak in person, so we recorded her reading her work and played it during the Pride Literary Hour. We invited Allison to sit on the 2024 judging panel, and the award has been named the Allison Rosewood LGBTQ+ History Month award. Now, our winner will always be invited to read at Pride and to sit on the panel. Allowing the project to evolve has helped create space for students to have their experiences and identities validated, and to build an archive of visible role models.&nbsp;This year, our prompt invited entrants to imagine a world where Section 28 had never existed. Mac McClelland’s winning entry,&nbsp;Brianna, is staggering. The piece eloquently draws a line from past to present, highlighting just how far-reaching and damaging legislation in this vein can be. Opening the door for this creative expression has resulted in something that, in my opinion, is as impactful as an academic paper.&nbsp;Knowledge, responsibility, care, trust, respect and commitment, then…what’s coming to mind for you? Perhaps you owe it to yourself and your community to explore your own initiative. One caveat to this: please also apply a love ethic to yourself. Does the thought of a project like this make you weary? You may be running low on reserves, especially as we so often expect members of marginalised communities to advocate and enact positive change themselves. Someone else can take up this mantle, and that’s fine, too.&nbsp;The legacy of Section 28 is a traumatised, under-represented LGBTQ+ community and a wider UK society that still often struggles to accept those living outside a heteronormative, cisnormative version of reality. But if you do have the energy and resources, projects like ours can be transformative for individuals and institutions. As bell hooks wrote: “When we are taught that safety always lies with sameness, then difference, of any kind, will appear as a threat…The choice to love is a choice to connect – to find ourselves in the other.” Let’s work to make our institutions a place of connection and relish all the richness of experience that entails.&nbsp;Emily Downes&nbsp;is senior student success tutor (academic writing) and LGBTQ+ Focus Group co-chair at Teesside University.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the Campus newsletter.

Grassroots initiatives can promote visibility of marginalised groups, self-expression and community, writes Emily Downes. Here are her key tips from running a creative writing competition to mark LGBTQ+ History Month

‘Creative writing can be as impactful as an academic paper’

As educators, we play a crucial role in shaping the academic journeys of our students. Higher education can provide a brighter future for students and their families but it is a significant commitment. Our responsibility gains an added dimension when our students are also parents.&nbsp;For student parents, the stakes are much higher from the start. As educators and policymakers, we must recognise and adapt to the unique needs of student parents in order to act as pillars of support throughout their journeys. I know this because of my own journey from being an unemployed single parent to becoming an academic, which taught me many lessons.Three ways to support women’s career progression in higher educationTwenty per cent of US undergraduates have children – we must do more to support themWhat parents need to succeed in academia and how universities can helpSo how can we do it?Flexible admission policies are a lifeline&nbsp;Research shows that single parents are less likely to hold a higher education degree compared with their non-parenting counterparts. I returned to education because I wanted to create a future where I could independently support my family and be a role model to them. However, I was a single mum of two preschoolers and I had left school with no higher qualifications. Full-time study was not an option at that time, so my initial step was through the Open University. It requires no qualifications and offers online study, which allowed me to manage my parental responsibilities and gain entry qualifications. This highlights one of the most important lessons to educators: flexible admission policies.&nbsp;Provide clear pathways and support for progressionTo minimise time away from home, studying locally was crucial so I picked Ayrshire College to start my full-time education. However, transitioning from college to undergraduate and then to postgraduate studies requires an understanding of the available pathways and support systems, from both a student and academic’s perspective. Educators can assist by advising on progression options and articulation routes, making scaling the educational ladder more attainable for student parents.Offer academic skills guidanceBeing the first in my family to attend university, I lacked academic support at home. We can fill this gap as educators by providing additional guidance, mentoring and support services tailored to the needs of student parents. As someone who struggled with basic academic skills like referencing, I understand how important additional support is to develop these essential skills and ensure student parents don’t feel left behind.Adapt and innovate delivery&nbsp;There is no getting away from it: studying with small children at home is hard. When I wasn’t on campus or working in my part-time job, I studied at night, early in the morning and during nap times. This is far from the traditional university experience but it’s the reality for many student parents. We should be aware that our students have different experiences and face different challenges, and strive to offer flexible learning options and assessments. An approach like this can help student parents balance their academic and family responsibilities more effectively.Signpost students to appropriate financial support&nbsp;Financial challenges are a significant part of the student-parent narrative. Research suggests that 22 per cent of undergraduate students are raising children, and 78 per cent of these students experience financial issues when returning to education. By clearly signposting scholarships, bursaries, discretionary funds and governmental support, we can help remove financial barriers.&nbsp;This is important at all stages of the student journey, from recruitment to undergraduate programmes, through to helping students identify financial support for postgraduate study. Transitioning to postgraduate study can be particularly difficult, especially for students embarking on research degrees. For me, the prospect of balancing further study with the financial responsibilities of supporting my young family was daunting and if I hadn’t secured a studentship with a supervisor who believed in me I would probably have left academia. We must ensure students are aware of all specialist support available to them to avoid losing student parents at this critical juncture.&nbsp;Foster a community of supportMy family and academic mentors were crucial sources of support in my journey. We should endeavour to build a supportive community for student parents. This can be through mentoring programmes, support groups or simply being a compassionate listener. Student parents often cannot take part in university social activities alongside their peers, so these initiatives can make the journey less lonely and help integrate them into the university community.&nbsp;Advocate for institutional changesReflecting on the entirety of my academic journey, it’s clear that institutional policies and practices can significantly impact the success of student parents. A simple action that makes a huge difference is to publish timetables early to allow parents to organise childcare well in advance of the start of term. Advocating for flexible scheduling, childcare facilities and policies that acknowledge and support the unique needs of student parents is crucially important.&nbsp;My story, while unique, is not isolated. It reflects a universal truth: education has the power to transform lives. As educators supporting student parents, we can draw inspiration from journeys like mine. We should understand that with the right support and opportunities, student parents can achieve remarkable academic and professional goals. Each student parent in our classrooms is not just pursuing a degree; they’re also setting an exemplary standard of resilience and determination for their children and fellow students.Education has transformative power. We should commit ourselves to making this journey accessible and achievable for student parents. In doing so, we contribute to a legacy of learning that transcends generations – because education should be a path open to all, regardless of their starting point.&nbsp;Mia Burleigh is lecturer in sport and exercise at the University of the West of Scotland.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered directly to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the Campus&nbsp;newsletter.

How can universities support student parents?

Educators play a crucial role in getting student parents the support they need. Mia Burleigh, drawing on her own experience, offers seven tips

From prams to postgraduate degrees: how universities can support student parents

Two Australian academics take on the role of person-to-person contact in student success and well-being in higher education – whether that’s the benefits of in-person teaching or the effects of using AI for academic work 

THE podcast: human connection and the student experience

The vision of an empty hall or a blank sign-up list is a nightmare for university staff. When we prepare extracurricular activities for students, we want our multicultural festival or workshops for making toys for shelter cats to have a favourable reception. We want students to be involved, give their time, gain valuable experience and, ideally, recommend to friends that they come along, too. No organiser wants their great idea for additional activities to turn out to be a dud.&nbsp;So, we have 12 tips to avoid this.Why do we even bother organising extracurricular activities?The university experience is more than just research, lectures and exams. It includes the chance meetings and interactions that can result in lifelong friendships (the kind we love so much from the movies, for example). Extracurricular activities can be underrated, but they are the heart of the university experience. And, to be fair, most students are not looking for just a fancy diploma but are also seeking precisely these formative experiences.Resource collection: The post-pandemic university: how to serve the Covid generationDesigning 24/7 hubs for studentsThree steps to unearth the hidden curriculum of networkingOrganising interesting extracurricular activities is without a doubt a challenge. Ultimately, we are asking young adults to give their precious free time to participate in our event. Sometimes the motivation to create extracurricular activities is related to a formal necessity; sometimes it comes from our own lively initiative as educators.&nbsp;However, such initiatives have many benefits for the whole university community. One is that extracurriculars influence the feeling of belonging and community at universities. So, these societies, clubs and events are an important component of our community building. They are also a tool for increasing social integration in higher education institutions and giving students opportunities to develop their practical social skills.&nbsp;Who should extracurricular activities target?Of course, extracurricular activities for students are for students, duh. But some groups are especially important to consider. These are the groups most at risk of exclusion, such as first-year students, those from minority groups and international students. This is probably obvious. Other groups are easier to overlook; these are working students, parents and mature students. They are less obvious because they are often absent. But it’s worth factoring them in and even tailoring activities to them. We want our whole community to participate in our extracurricular programmes.What can we do better to make extracurricular programmes more successful?Bring together established students and newcomers.&nbsp;The former may act as mentors or buddies aiding the latter in finding their voice.&nbsp;Promote, promote, promote! Often students are not aware of the extracurriculars on campus. But promotion must be tailored to students’ needs. Ask advice of and cooperate with already engaged students.&nbsp;Information alone is not enough.&nbsp;Plan and implement adequate topics, forms and content into your communications to encourage students to participate in extracurricular activities. Promotion and visibility are important but not decisive factors. Students’ own motivations might be a more important component of their engagement. Strategies should be developed around how to “nudge” or invite students to participate in extracurricular activities.Support student-led activities. That assistance can be help with meeting spaces, easing bureaucratic requirements for running events (or forming and recognising groups) and possibly creating institutional units dedicated to supporting student engagement.&nbsp;Give students decision-making powers.&nbsp;Share the opportunity to have impact and to make a contribution; give students some responsibility and involve them in decision-making. Maybe they can organise their own projects within your institution. Put in place conditions such as space and materials for the activity, but let them take the initiative and decide on details. It provides real motivation along with broader skills development.&nbsp;&nbsp;Socialising is a goal in itself. Taking part means making friends and spending time with groups in a meaningful way. Remember to include the social aspect when you are planning and promoting the activities. Focus primarily on creating a positive, open and inclusive atmosphere.&nbsp;Lower the barriers to entry. Extracurricular activities should have a low threshold for participation. Maybe students don’t have to commit to attending all meetings right away. One-off actions are also a good idea. You want students to get started and get involved (and not be so overwhelmed that they balk at the door).Mental health is a hot topic. The issue of mental health and well-being concerns many students directly or indirectly, and is widely discussed. Extracurricular activities could include mindfulness exercises, workshops for strengthening and supporting mental well-being, and programmes that support other coping strategies or psycho-educational approaches.&nbsp;Invest in the skills of the future.&nbsp;Information on digital competencies, such as information hygiene and awareness of the right to be offline, could be included in project outputs as helpful resources.Mix up the freshers. Bring together local and international first-year students across study programmes. Often, separate meetings are organised for local and foreign students, making it difficult for them to integrate. In non-English-speaking countries, local students can help international students learn the language. Activities such as “speak dating” (like those organised by the Volunteer Centre of the University of Warsaw) are fun and create a space to meet and gain intercultural skills.&nbsp;Recognise the effort in a formal way.&nbsp;Extra credit points, for example, might motivate students to engage in extracurriculars. Formal recognition could especially attract working students who may feel excluded from university life.&nbsp;Stretch – be flexible. To increase the rate of engagement, activities could be included that are flexible and less time-consuming. Also, it might be more encouraging for students if their tasks and responsibilities increase over time as they train and gain more skills.&nbsp;What now?&nbsp;Let’s do it! It may not be possible to use all our tips at once, but they can be an inspiration for small but important changes. After all, what we as educators want is a close-knit and engaged academic community. See you at the next extracurricular activity!Martyna Iwanicka is internal communication coordinator&nbsp;at the University&nbsp;Community Active Participation Project (UNICOMM) at the Volunteer Centre of the University of Warsaw.&nbsp;This article is based on the Unicomm project report&nbsp;University as Community: Students’ Perceptions of Participation, Engagement and Belonging at European Higher Education Institutions. The Unicomm project is funded by the European Union, however, views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the EU or the National Agency (NA). Neither the EU nor NA can be held responsible for them.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.

How to create compelling extracurricular activities

Participation and enthusiasm are the goals of those hard-working volunteers, staff and faculty who organise campus activities and events. Here are 12 tips to boost university student engagement

How to create extracurricular activities students will want to attend

The job market today is saturated with university graduates, all competing to stand out in crowded fields. In industries such as engineering and technology, employees must continue to learn new skills and stay on top of developments. Changes happen so rapidly that staying informed is key.In this environment, it’s vital for employees to invest in ongoing education and skill improvement. For example, a marketing professional might need to learn new digital marketing techniques to keep up with changing consumer trends. The demands of the market require its workers to have a proactive approach to adaptability and growth.&nbsp;Tips for mastering the Global Shared Learning ClassroomCameras on: how to overcome a key challenge in digital coursesMy teacher’s a robot: beating negative perceptions when teaching onlineOffering flexibility and accessibility in continuous education and skill enhancement, open and distance learning (ODL) has become a popular choice for those seeking advanced degrees while simultaneously balancing full-time jobs, family responsibilities and community involvement. ODL is defined by Unesco as an academic delivery approach that aims to expand opportunities for education and training, liberating learners from the constraints of time and place. ODL programmes provide fully online modes of study, allowing students to engage with course materials and lectures anytime, anywhere and in any manner that suits their needs.As a programme manager for a master’s degree programme, I observed that some students struggled when navigating the complexities of online learning in ODL programmes. In response, I spearheaded a project to develop an onboarding framework, tailored to address the needs of ODL students.The project aimed to enhance the student experience by offering necessary support and resources throughout their academic journey. It can be summarised as follows:1. Acknowledge that the academic department plays an important role in connecting students to the university.2. Implement a yearly activity plan that engages students with a supporting department with dedicated programme contents.3. Provide a direct reference for each supporting department, such as a buddy programme.4. Offer a more interactive lecture experience, involving the educator and supporting department, to provide materials and offer a good platform for interactive education.Here are the three distinct stages we worked through in order to develop this framework.Stage 1: Gather student perspectivesThe first stage of the onboarding framework development involved compiling students’ perspectives to understand what support they needed. By analysing the strengths and weaknesses of existing onboarding sessions, we gained insights into areas where we needed to improve.We held surveys targeting current students, fresh graduates and alumni to identify the factors influencing success in study and how the university could support them better.Stage 2: Incorporate input from supporting departmentsIn the second stage, we gathered input from various university departments, including academics and non-academics, to refine the programme. We clarified the definition of “onboarding”, emphasising how important providing ongoing support was to us. We considered institutional activities and emerging educational technologies in shaping the onboarding process. For example, we now offer virtual campus tours for remote ODL students, using virtual reality, augmented reality and even mixed-reality technologies.By holding interviews with academic and non-academic staff, we were able to inform strategies and initiatives to enhance student success.Stage 3: Develop and execute the onboarding frameworkThe final stage involves the development and execution of the onboarding framework based on insights gathered from previous stages. Finally, we used the insights gathered from previous stages to develop and launch the onboarding framework. We documented and analysed perspectives from students, academics and non-academics to shape the framework.&nbsp;For example, we’ve included ways to connect the students to university-provided support and to offer networking sessions between students, industry experts and academics.&nbsp;We identified themes such as engagement, nurturing and direction, and brought them together to guide the framework’s development. We established success metrics to measure the effectiveness of the framework, based on the following attributes. Students should be:Directed:&nbsp;Have a goal and know how to achieve it.&nbsp;Focused: Stay on the path and keep their eyes on the prize.&nbsp;Nurtured: Feel somebody at the college wants them to succeed and helps them to do so.&nbsp;Engaged: Actively participate in class and extracurricular activities.&nbsp;Connected: Feel that they are part of the college community.&nbsp;Valued: Feel that their skills, talents, abilities and experiences are recognised.&nbsp;We believe the project holds promise in fostering a culture of continuous improvement in teaching and learning practices at the university. Ultimately, we hope it will contribute to the institution’s overall educational excellence. The commitment to enhancing student engagement, improving learning outcomes and developing tailored support mechanisms signifies a forward-looking approach that aligns with Universiti Technologi Petronas’s vision of providing a transformative educational experience.Cheng Yee Ng is a programme manager and senior lecturer in the civil and environmental engineering department at Universiti Teknologi Petronas.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.

The three stages of developing an ODL course framework

Open and distance learning may offer a way for graduates to separate themselves from the herd, but some struggle with online learning practices. Cheng Yee Ng details how she developed the framework to address these challenges 

The three stages of developing a framework to support students of open and distance learning

Finding a sense of belonging at university can be one of the most challenging aspects of student life, particularly for neurodivergent students. To address this problem, the authors and a team of mentors facilitated a neurodiversity meet-ups programme throughout 2023.These social sessions were run over the first six weeks of the semester and offered a safe, informal space for participants to learn and share their experiences of university and life as neurodivergent people, while doing activities such as crafts and using fidget toys. Discussion topics included making friends, disclosure and navigating respectful relationships.&nbsp;We have identified five key attributes that contributed to the programme’s&nbsp;success, which we believe can be used as the foundation for many neurodiverse settings. Here are our tips based on our experience.Bring in mentorsThe first step towards creating a successful neurodiverse programme is to recruit a team of mentors who are enthusiastic about improving the student experience and creating a safe, conversational environment. This will typically include neurodivergent students who can offer genuine and relatable contributions to the programme by sharing their experiences of university life. We also strongly recommend including neurotypical mentors who are willing to share their experiences of uni life and engage with the students, as well as being able to support the neurodivergent mentors when their disabilities affect their ability to make or engage in a session.Provide a clear overview in an accessible formatSocial media is a practical way to share key information about the meet-ups. A Facebook group can provide mentees with a clear overview of the time, place and topics of upcoming sessions and so ensure that everyone is comfortable and prepared for each session. Clear communication is also helpful for newcomers who would like to join later in the programme, and it can improve the student-retention rate from week to week.On the neurodivergent campus, language mattersA tailored onboarding programme can help set neurodivergent students up for successHow can we create accessible and inclusive learning environments for neurodivergent students?Open communication is the foundation of a welcoming and cohesive social space and enhances the way mentors and mentees relate to one another. It’s important that mentees feel comfortable asking for clarity from mentors about the topics discussed, during or after sessions, or via their student emails.Have a strong structureHaving a clear purpose – to meet and spend time together, in our case – is vital to bringing students together. For those with difficulties in social interactions, structure and guidance are critical for fostering these engagements. For example, in our sessions we discussed topics such as respectful relationships, disclosure in class or at work and getting involved in campus life. Advertising the upcoming weekly topic to mentees helps them to prepare for these conversations, but it can also allow them to opt out if a subject is potentially distressing.During the session, be sure to welcome contributions from all mentees, no matter their level of experience with the given topic. Most important, however, is for mentors to foster a culture of empathetic listening to ensure all perspectives are valued and carefully considered.Breaking into smaller groups for crafts or games allows participants to continue a discussion in a more personalised context, which can enhance the social aspect of the meet-ups. It is also an opportunity for mentees to get to know one another.&nbsp;Create accessible environmentsTry to secure the same room for the meet-up each week. This simple measure helps ensure that those who adhere to routines are most comfortable.&nbsp;This room should have sufficient natural lighting (avoid fluorescent lights, if possible) but be enclosed enough that it can be closed off to outdoor sound and the elements. We also avoid eating in this space, because many neurodivergent people are sensitive to food smells and eating noises.Arts, crafts,&nbsp;stim toys and fidgets have proved popular with neurodivergent students who like to keep their hands busy while listening to the ongoing discussion. These can be easily sourced from department stores and are useful for ensuring the comfort of mentees.Nurture the pipeline of potential mentorsEncouraging the mentees to become mentors in the future is vital to the growth and improvement of the programme. It allows students who have previously been “consumers” of the programme to bring new visions and direction to it. This helps us to ensure that the programme is effectively addressing the needs of attendees.&nbsp;The leadership opportunity helps former mentees enhance their employability and involvement in university life. A leadership role within the programme can prepare them to extend their involvement to other aspects of university life in future.For some of our students, the programme expanded on their network of friends and opportunities throughout the university. But for others, a supportive community encouraged them to become immersed in new activities and social settings. Mentees who returned as mentors became advocates for incoming equity students, while others became involved with the Disability Collective. Having these future opportunities linked to the programme underpinned the programme’s contribution to the improved sense of belonging for neurodivergent students.We believe that sharing the successful aspects of our experience as facilitators of the neurodivergent meet-ups programme can provide a framework for people to develop new settings effectively. While the points we have mentioned above should be considered when designing future programmes, the needs of students and each programme’s unique goals should determine the way in which they are implemented.Ben Roden-Cohen is a neurodiversity mentor, and Brooke Szücs is a research assistant in the&nbsp;TC Beirne School of Law&nbsp;and co-chair of the disability subcommittee; both are at the University of Queensland.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered directly to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the Campus&nbsp;newsletter.

Creating impactful social groups for neurodivergent students

Meet-ups can support neurodivergent students (mostly those with autism and ADHD) to navigate the social complexities of student life and the workplace. Here, Brooke Szücs and Ben Roden-Cohen share tips for creating inclusive neurodivergent settings, based on their experience

Creating an impactful social group for neurodivergent students

As inflation rises, student debt soars and the job market changes rapidly, it’s more important than ever that higher education is preparing students for the workforce.A&nbsp;new report by the Strada Institute for the Future of Work and the Burning Glass Institute found that 52 per cent of four-year college graduates are underemployed a year after graduation, and 45 per cent remain underemployed after 10 years. The problem is particularly acute for Black and Latinx graduates, who experience higher underemployment rates than their white and Asian counterparts.Leverage careers educators’ academic expertise to improve careers educationWant student success? Modernising your careers centre is vitalEngaging students with careers resources early and oftenThese findings should be a wake-up call to higher education. But the Strada report also highlights a promising solution. Students who participate in internships during college are 49 per cent less likely to be underemployed. Also, students of colour who complete internships typically see greater benefits from that experience than their white peers. Strada’s report calls for universities to provide quality, personalised education-to-career coaching for all students, beginning early in their educational journey.Unfortunately, the landscape of career services often fails to meet these needs. The latest Student Voice survey by College Pulse and Inside Higher Ed found that more than one-third of students&nbsp;never use their career centre’s offerings, and among those who do, only 17 per cent receive help securing internships and 12 per cent get interview preparation. This gap is even more pronounced for first-generation students and women, who are less likely to land paid internships – critical experiences that can open doors to future employment.At the University of Arkansas, findings like these inspired us to launch a multi-year effort to weave career readiness into the fabric of the students’ college experience. By integrating career services into classes, student organisations and campus jobs, our goal is to ensure all students have equitable access to resources and experiences that pave the way towards fulfilling, skills-aligned careers.Here are four key facets of our approach: Relationship-building with employers of interestResearch shows that over half of college&nbsp;internships and&nbsp;jobs come through personal connections. Students who have opportunities to network with employers are over&nbsp;five times more likely to feel their degree was worth the cost. Yet, while 70 per cent of first-year students want to network with professionals in their desired field,&nbsp;only about 25 per cent of seniors actually do so before graduating. To boot, first-generation students are even less likely to participate in networking activities and&nbsp;secure internships.To help students develop the relationships that accelerate career exploration and open doors to opportunities, we’ve partnered with&nbsp;Career Launch to offer a career readiness curriculum and group coaching that prepares students to identify potential employers of interest, initiate and sustain professional relationships, craft compelling narratives about their backgrounds and goals, and practise career conversations.As a result, 86 per cent of participants report reduced career anxiety after the programme, and 78 per cent say learning strategic networking skills have increased their likelihood of persisting to degree completion. An increasing number of faculty and programme managers are finding value in embedding Career Launch into their courses and student support programmes.Targeting students less likely to find careers after graduationTeaching students to build social capital requires staff and faculty to learn from diverse perspectives and expand their own networks. Within each institution, career liaisons connect students with potential employers and alumni via career fairs, employer information sessions, job boards, class presentations and networking events.Increasingly, liaisons are also forging relationships with faculty members. It’s these internal partnerships that have catalysed more professors to integrate career preparation into their curriculum – especially for majors like English or exercise science, where career pathways are less clearly defined.&nbsp;For example, after data showed exercise science students needed more career exploration support, the liaison collaborated with a faculty member to embed the Career Launch programme into his introductory course requirements. In addition to supporting students in class to build professional relationships and to tell their own stories to others, it also allowed the professor to reinforce the many ways students can explore career options.Career readiness assessment upon entry and graduationWe knew that we wanted to organise our efforts around the&nbsp;NACE career readiness competencies, but we needed a way for students to understand their current skill levels in each area. The Career Launch assessment dovetails with both the NACE competencies and career mobility best practices.For the next academic year, we’ll incorporate the assessment into first-year experience courses, on-campus employment programmes and make it available for all students. We’re also asking graduates to complete the assessment when applying for graduation. As students progress through their academic and co-curricular experiences, they’ll develop greater awareness of career readiness benchmarks and be able to track growth in domains like relationship-building, professional communication, career development, job search skills and interview preparedness.A common language for articulating career skillsDuring résumé reviews and mock interviews, we noticed that students often omitted experiences that don’t seem “professional” – even when those experiences helped cultivate valuable competencies like communication, teamwork or leadership. To provide a unified framework for spotlighting career-aligned skills, we adopted a digital badge system that allows any campus event or activity to be “tagged” with the NACE competencies it helps develop. Students can earn all eight competency badges (plus a “Career Ready” badge for LinkedIn) by attending engagements and reflecting on how those experiences fostered career skills.By making the competencies part of how the university community discusses and frames involvement opportunities, we’re equipping students with a common language for articulating their transferable skill sets in conversations with professionals and potential employers.While still in the early phases of this expanded career readiness integration, we’re optimistic it can broaden access to enriching postgraduate pathways. As the work progresses, we intend to continually analyse the correlation between students’ career readiness assessment results and their post-graduation outcomes to refine and enhance our efforts. By taking a holistic, institution-wide approach that embeds career readiness into the student experience, we’re making sure our graduates are primed to navigate today’s opportunities – and adaptable enough to pivot toward the careers of tomorrow. Erica Estes is assistant vice-chancellor and executive director of the Offices of Career Connections at the University of Arkansas and Sean O’Keefe is the founder and partner of Career Launch social enterprise.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the Campus newsletter.

Four ways to weave job skills into the university experience

With research finding a hefty proportion of graduates underemployed, what can higher education do to improve career readiness? Erica Estes and Sean O’Keefe offer advice 

Four ways to weave job skills teaching into the university experience

To paraphrase former US first lady Michelle Obama, we cannot flourish as a country if we stifle women’s potential and undermine the contributions of half of our citizens. In today’s evolving educational landscape, that means fostering an environment that empowers and supports women students. Education must promote gender equity, increase diversity, fuel economic growth and address systemic inequalities.Coming from a very small town in Virginia – my high school graduating class had only 15 students — I struggled as an undergraduate student at the College of William &amp; Mary. I had academic challenges and I felt lost and intimidated on a campus that seemed so large. I remember those feelings, and I have dedicated my career to helping students find their connection and purpose on campus. 
	Let’s celebrate the qualities women bring to higher education leadership
	Difference matters – and embracing it can change the world for all women
	How to support your staff during personal crises
My own experience informs how I lead the student affairs division at Virginia Tech, and I understand how pivotal our division’s role is in shaping the overall student experience for everyone. I launched my career at the university as a victim services adjudication coordinator in the Office of Judicial Affairs. The experience gave me a clear perspective of what a student facing daunting challenges goes through. To help support women students at Virginia Tech who may be facing similar anxieties – about studying, parenting or working – student affairs emphasises the importance of support networks, listening, promoting leadership opportunities and addressing challenges that inhibit student success, well-being and belonging.Use university resources to create a network of support Students should know that they’re not alone. Universities have countless systems and potential mentors available to support all students. At Virginia Tech, student affairs is a large team of faculty, staff and student employees; it includes more than 20 departments and several critical student life programmes – including new student orientation, residential well-being, student organisations, counselling, health and well-being services, international student services, our dean of students office and more. Student affairs strives to do whatever it takes to support the individual success of every student.Listen to your women students When I was a student, it mattered to me when women I admired listened to me, guided me, supported me and gave me feedback. So, I strive to truly hear and understand women students. Being there for students means asking often-difficult follow-up questions in conversation to get to their pressure points. It’s a delicate balance. As a young woman, I didn’t want anyone to know that I was struggling – but once my challenges were no longer a secret, it was a relief to be heard and helped. Make connections to people and to opportunities Relationships drive the way we help students meet their goals. When a student is seeking a connection to a programme or person on campus, student affairs staff can use their networks to help. This is why relationships are so critical; they are the vehicle to connect students to their passions. We may assume this is a small thing, but at a place as large at Virginia Tech, this is critical to helping students connect to the myriad opportunities. My experiences have helped me to understand the support students are looking for or to identify what is missing so that I can connect students with people who can help with their needs. If I, or anyone on my team, can help a student connect to service learning, student employment opportunities, internships or mentorships, I know we have helped that student feel connected and appreciated.Promote leadership development opportunitiesWe can amplify women students’ ambition when we give them the chance to hone their leadership skills. The best leaders and mentors are those who are generous with their time in helping others.For example, my supervisor of 13 years, and former vice-president for student affairs at Virginia Tech, was an extraordinary mentor. He believed that nurturing talent was an integral part of his leadership. He helped me grow as a professional and when we were in spaces where I was junior to many others, he would actively amplify my thoughts and opinions. In doing so, he lent me his authority; he expressed his confidence in me in front of others. He took my potential seriously and signalled that publicly. Throughout student affairs, we offer workshops, seminars and training sessions that cover topics such as effective communication, decision-making and strategic planning, which empower women to take on leadership roles both within the university and in their future careers. At Virginia Tech, we offer a cohort experience for women leaders. The I WILL (Inspiring Women in Lifelong Learning) connects undergraduate, graduate and professional women students with alumni and friends of the university for transformative conversations on leadership and professional development.Address gender-specific challenges Women students may face unique challenges that impact their academic and personal development. Let’s be clear; despite our – and society’s – best efforts, gender bias, intimidation and harassment still exist in many spaces. We must proactively address these challenges through targeted resources and support, through education and, when needed, access to supportive counselling services. Student affairs can play a crucial role in shaping the holistic development of women students and in nurturing their ambitions. We empower students to connect knowledge to the possibilities for improving humanity near and far. Frances Keene is vice-president for student affairs at Virginia Tech.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the Campus newsletter.

Student affairs’ role in supporting women students

Student affairs departments, often the heartbeat of campus life and well-being, can significantly influence the personal and professional development of women university students. Here, Frances Keene looks at proven ways to nurture and support female students

Empowering ambition: student affairs’ role in supporting women students

Ask the average person in the street to guess the economic value of the UK’s higher education sector and other than a confused look, you’ll likely get a massive underestimation.£500 million? £1 billion? £10 billion?Actually, the sector is worth a staggering £116 billion to the UK economy; a figure that rises to £130 billion when you include the spending of international students. To add some perspective, that’s only slightly less than the financial services sector (£173.6 billion) and more than double the contribution of media and entertainment to the UK economy (£43 billion).Resource collection: What innovation needs to thrive in higher educationShow your research impact: a guide for academics and researchersWant your research to have an impact on policy? Know your audienceAgainst this backdrop, the sector’s distinctiveness is grounded in how it supports and cultivates start-up companies.&nbsp;Over the next five years, it’s estimated that more than 20,000 of them will emerge from colleges and universities across the UK. It’s a high number, a figure that academics – regardless of discipline – should not ignore. Here, we examine why.The higher education sector helps start-ups survive – and thriveWe know that start-ups with links to universities are much more likely to survive than comparable businesses. Graduate start-ups and university spin-outs generate billions in turnover every year across the UK. University collaboration assists budding entrepreneurs in translating innovative ideas into novel products and services, helping start-ups compete internationally. It’s about the education we provide and the expertise we can contribute. All of it melds together to help an individual go from thinking their idea is a good one, to knowing, based on evidence. &nbsp;Academics play a catalytic role in the start-up ecosystemEntrepreneurship is now embedded right across the UK. We can see this in the high-growth start-up development and business survival rate figures. Academics are ideally placed to foster entrepreneurship among their students. They play a nurturing role and can help build solid foundations of knowledge with their wealth of expertise. For potential entrepreneurs who wish to translate their ideas into viable and sustainable business ventures, this help can be invaluable. &nbsp;Educators of any discipline must be aware of the support available to assist start-ups at their institution. Something said during a lecture or tutorial could be the spark a student needs to take their ambitions forward.Academics also make the effort to create opportunities on their own, providing extracurricular support and encouragement through things such as start-up competitions, summer schools, entrepreneurs in residence and mentorship programmes. These may not form part of the academic qualification, but they are important when it comes to developing awareness, interest and inspiration.&nbsp;An example of a typical student journey that we see in our institution is a student who comes to us with an idea but doesn’t know where to go next. The first step is usually to undertake an enterprise module which helps them to develop their entrepreneurial knowledge and mindset. From this, they apply what they have learned and enter one of our internal business competitions which, with mentoring support, allows them to develop their idea and their entrepreneurial skills. They then apply for seed funding and expert support from the university and, at this point, may also enter external enterprise competitions which provide additional help. At the appropriate time, the student will be introduced to relevant business support agencies which will provide additional assistance as they move towards starting the business.&nbsp; &nbsp;It’s not only&nbsp;about understanding businessWe need to educate students about entrepreneurship, but it’s also worth noting that a key reason for the success of university-linked start-ups is related to our unique position and mission. University courses emphasise research, innovation and development – crucial skills for entrepreneurs in today’s marketplace. Idea generation, innovation, understanding of societal context and trends and even market-testing are all encountered in various formats. This contributes to the logical development process for start-ups, and ties in once again to the suggestion that all academics should be alert to the role they could play in the formation of one.The landscape is changing – and new solutions are requiredOur careers, experience and wider research have all emphasised the importance of enterprising cultures within higher education. Embedding entrepreneurship and business-related start-up programmes into the curriculum typically leads to significant expansion of start-ups. Universities must continue to make steady progress, evolving the support they provide.The reality is that we live in a rapidly changing business landscape right now, with obvious, yet unresolved challenges. How will AI impact the average business? What about climate change? In times of economic turmoil, how can a start-up adapt and thrive? Answers to these questions will inevitably be formulated at universities – making the role we play concerning businesses even more important.Looking to the future, universities have a key role to play in developing entrepreneurial graduates who, as entrepreneurs, will add value to the businesses they start or, as intrapreneurs, will bring about change in the organisations that employ them. The challenge for the university is to ensure that the support they provide both inside and outside the classroom remains relevant and meaningful and is aligned with the realities of the world of business.Alan Murray is a reader in enterprise; Robert Crammond is a senior lecturer in enterprise and Kingsley Omeihe is a senior lecturer, all at the University of the West of Scotland.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the Campus newsletter.&nbsp;

Create an entrepreneurial culture at your institution

Universities are perfectly placed to help start-ups get off the ground. Alan Murray, Robert Crammond and Kingsley Omeihe advise on how best to get your students thinking with a business mindset

Four ways to create an entrepreneurial culture at your institution

Higher education institutions are continuing to struggle with the rising mental health needs of their students. Since 2014, the share of college students experiencing depression has risen from 21 per cent to 41 per cent. Students reporting symptoms of anxiety rose from 20 per cent to 36 per cent. At the same time, half of students with mental health conditions&nbsp;have never used any campus counselling services. Just two-thirds of students say they know who and where to turn to when experiencing a crisis.&nbsp;&nbsp;This rise in mental health concerns comes at an especially challenging time. Institutions are having trouble finding enough health professionals to hire, existing staff are experiencing immense burnout and counselling centres are seeing unprecedented turnover among their directors. A growing number of institutions are augmenting their mental health services by partnering with online providers, but gaps in care continue to persist.&nbsp;College leaders are going to have to get even more creative to fill these gaps – but they won’t have to look far to find one possible solution. While the expertise and experience of qualified mental health professionals are irreplaceable, institutions can tap into their faculty and staff to create an environment that proactively supports the well-being of all students. Providing coaching and training to the people who support and interface with students every day must be a crucial part of the solution.As it turns out, many students already expect a range of college employees to play a role in helping them with their mental health challenges. According to a survey conducted earlier this year by Inside Higher Ed and the consultancy College Pulse, nearly half of students say they believe professors are responsible for helping them when they are struggling with their mental health. An earlier survey carried out during the pandemic found that students relied on their professors for mental health assistance at the same rate they relied on official campus health services.&nbsp;Other research suggests that members of faculty are frequently thrust into the gatekeeper role of identifying when students are in distress and connecting them to other resources. Unfortunately, they too often serve in this capacity without the proper training. While about 80 per cent of faculty members report having one-on-one conversations with students regarding their mental health, just half feel as though they have a strong sense of how to recognise when a student is struggling. Three-quarters of faculty would welcome professional development around student mental health, with nearly two-thirds believing it should be mandatory.&nbsp;
	Resource collection:&nbsp;Using data to support student success
	Resources on mental health and well-being in higher education
	Creating safe spaces for students to talk about financial difficulties
Some colleges and universities have begun to explore ways of providing faculty and other campus workers with training that can bridge the divide between their care for their students and their mental health expertise. At the University of North Carolina, for example, more than 900 faculty and staff have received coaching through mental health first-aid, a US skills-based training programme that teaches participants how to identify and respond to mental health and substance-use issues. Since 2020, Pennsylvania State University has offered training through its Red Folder initiative. Last year, Harvard University adopted a similar programme called Crimson Folder.&nbsp;Institutions are also investing in training to help staff gain a deeper appreciation for how issues such as trauma and toxic stress can manifest in ways that affect studies. Equipped with this stronger understanding, faculty and staff can better address any obstacles that might stand between students and their education and career goals. At Philadelphia’s Peirce College, for instance, staff receive professional development to help them forge stronger relationships with the students they serve by foregrounding their emotional well-being. Funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Predominantly Black Institutions (PBI) Program, the initiative empowers staff to navigate challenging conversations around trauma and stress more productively and with greater empathy.These are just a few examples of how institutions are building campus communities where students feel supported anywhere they turn. According to research from Uwill, an online mental health provider that partners with colleges across the country, social isolation and loneliness rank among the most common mental challenges students are struggling with. Creating a culture that prioritises students’ well-being means ensuring they know they are not alone and that they can easily find a helping hand or caring ear.&nbsp;At the end of the day, faculty and staff are not a substitute for skilled, licensed mental health professionals. With the right training, however, they can serve in a valuable preventive role and as critical first responders. They can identify when students need assistance and point them toward campus resources that can address their physical and mental well-being. Tackling the campus mental health crisis requires a collaborative approach with healthcare providers, student support professionals and educators working together. Indeed, at a time of such acute need and stretched capacity, every member of a college community has a role to play in supporting the mental health of its learners.&nbsp;Ruth Bauer White is the president of InsideTrack.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the Campus&nbsp;newsletter.

Tackling the campus mental health crisis must be team sport

Tackling the campus mental health crisis requires a collaborative approach with healthcare providers, student support professionals and educators working together, writes Ruth Bauer White

Tackling the campus mental health crisis has to be a team sport

Even with scholarships, grants and loan funds available to cover most or all of their tuition expenses, many students still face personal financial challenges that could jeopardise their ability to stay in school. Colleges can use programmes and resources to help minimise this financial stress and keep students on track to graduation.When designing a strategy to help students, it is helpful to focus on the fundamental student needs that are commonly a source of stress: academics, food and housing.Key financial stressors on college studentsAcademic needs
	Books and other academic supplies: Students’ inability to access books and other academic supplies can compromise their readiness for their classes or their ability to produce their best work.&nbsp;
	Academic support: Many students benefit from additional academic support, such as tutoring. While the institution might provide basic tutoring services, some students will need more advanced support, which comes with additional costs. This is particularly true for many students with disabilities.
	Transportation: For some students, just having reliable access to and from campus can be a challenge. Poor class attendance is one of the biggest risks to a student successfully completing a course.
Food insecurityStudents experiencing food insecurity often find themselves forced to divert time and energy from their academic priorities to manage their basic living needs. In the most challenging circumstances, some students must choose between buying groceries or fuel to get to campus. Housing insecuritySimilarly, the lack of a stable housing situation can abruptly force students to put aside their academic priorities to focus on securing new living arrangements. Unfortunately, these new arrangements are often just as temporary.How can universities support students in times of financial difficultyTo help mitigate challenges caused when money is tight, universities can strategically use their resources to help students stay focused on their academic progress and success. The following are strategies to consider. Food pantries&nbsp;and campus partnershipsMany campuses now offer food pantries for their students. Some pantries can be simple, providing primarily canned goods and microwavable meals. Other pantries are more comprehensive, providing fresh produce as well as household needs. 
	A ‘grocery store’ model can help your campus food bank reduce waste
	Food for thought: advice for building a university-community collaboration
	Food insecurity and homelessness affect all our campuses. Here’s what we should do about it
Universities do not have to absorb all the financial burden for helping students facing financial challenges. Collaborating with campus partners such as your bookstore or library could provide additional opportunities to give textbooks and supplies to students. Frequently, libraries can put extra copies of textbooks on reserve for those students who cannot afford them. Also, corporate bookstore partners might be open to providing credits or other subsidies for students identified by the university.Food service providers can be another source of corporate partnership. For example, Chapman University partner Sodexo offers the Swipe Out Hunger programme, which supplies meals in the campus cafeteria for students who are experiencing food insecurity.&nbsp;While housing assistance programmes are not typically specifically for college students, some high-need students might be eligible for housing subsidies from state or county programmes. Or these programmes might help them to find more cost-effective housing options.Campus employment&nbsp;Another way to help high-need students is to provide stable, convenient employment opportunities for them. For a student, having a job on campus offers many advantages over a job in the community. They can pick up a few hours between classes and do not waste time on&nbsp;a bus or in a car commuting to and from jobs in the community. In addition, campus jobs tend to be more stable and students are less likely to have their hours reduced. Campus employers will be mindful not to work students for too many hours, which would threaten their ability to keep up academically. Emergency or hardship fundsPerhaps the most versatile method of helping high-need students is through a hardship or emergency fund. Often created through donations, these assistance funds can be used for a variety of purposes:
	Academically, hardship funds subsidise books, supplies or tutoring services. For students struggling with transportation challenges, hardship funds can be used to buy bus passes or even provide fuel subsidies for commuting students.
	A student will use hardship funds when they have encountered a personal emergency that creates an unexpected additional financial hardship, such as medical bills or car repairs. 
	Another possibility is to partner with financial aid colleagues to provide campus housing subsidies for students experiencing housing insecurity. 
Explore fundraising opportunities&nbsp;While some colleges might budget for emergency needs, hardship funds typically are made possible by donations.&nbsp;Since faculty and staff are likely to know students who are facing financial challenges, they are a promising source for donations, in addition to parents and alumni. Offering an opportunity to donate to a hardship fund through a payroll reduction programme can be an effective way to raise funds. As you approach potential donors, it can be effective to provide specific, but anonymous, examples of how the hardship funds are being used. Real-life examples of the struggles students face and how hardship funding helped them stay in school can be powerful selling tools.Maximising fundraising opportunities, along with the other methods described above, should help you devise a strategy to minimise financial stress and help keep students on track to graduation.Jerry Price is the dean of students and vice-president for student affairs at Chapman University.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the Campus newsletter.

How to support students when financial aid falls short

When students lack money for books, transport or even food, universities have ways to help them manage and stay on track with their studies. Jerry Price looks at strategies for assisting students in financial need 

What separates us from the robots? It isn’t our minds. It’s our hearts.And it isn't just our love lives that can be improved by leaning into this difference. It’s also the future employability and careers of our students. “Jobs increasingly need us to use our hearts,” according to Deloitte’s 2019 report The Pathway to Prosperity: Why the Future of Work is Human. By 2030, it’s estimated that artificial intelligence or automation will replace close to 400 million&nbsp;jobs globally, in part or in full. “Creatives”, including artists, designers, entertainers and media workers, will be in demand, as will those with technological skills. Also needed will be people with human-centric interpersonal skills – in other words, employees with heart. Amid growing depersonalisation, work is about remaining human.Spotlight:&nbsp;Skills every early career academic needsThree innovative authentic assessments to encourage soft skill masterySoft skills: how to promote student collaboration in online environmentsInterpersonal and social skills are the future of embodied employment, which incudes our minds, bodies and hearts. We can no longer separate physical, emotional and psychological well-being. In the context of increasingly conflicted personal, professional and political climates, debates around civility, and the long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental and emotional health, our students will need such skills more than ever. But they’re challenging to teach (and sometimes considered a bit touchy-feely). We incorporate mindfulness exercises and somatic self-awareness, and link empathy with the arts to fuse moral imagination and social feeling.These 10 human-centric skills – sometimes called “heart skills” – are drawn from my research in the emerging field of love studies and from my long-term teaching and learning practice in a first-year interpersonal skills unit in the School of Arts and Humanities at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia. Students come to the unit from social science, counselling, psychology and social work, criminology, business and law, as well as the arts and creative humanities.Heart skills are located within an open, humanist framework, encompassing ethical, philosophical and educational perspectives, as well as psychological and therapeutic approaches. They emphasise personal values and authentic human existence. The humanistic approach provides an atmosphere of support and empathy. For their scaffolded assessments, students focus on one heart skill. I’ve been amazed at how they develop their skills with creativity and flair.The heart skills include:Heartful (self-awareness): Embodied, ethical interpersonal skills begin with self-knowledge. Ethics emerge from “the cave of our inner being”. They start with a humanistic, person-centred approach and with being mindful to join heads, hearts and hands.Heartfelt (communication): Effective communication is more than reading, writing, talking, listening or adding an emoji. It includes engaging, attending, following and reflecting content, feeling and meaning in diverse contexts, without losing the human connection.Open-hearted (empathy): Empathy requires openness, vulnerability and moral imagination. It is more than feeling for; it is feeling with. It can be learned authentically but not simulated artificially; it is our true humanity.Brave heart (assertiveness): Asserting, defending and protecting rights and responsibilities requires courage, a word that comes from the Latin cor, meaning heart. To skilfully speak up, call out, set boundaries and advocate for ourselves and others, we must be strong of heart.Mending hearts (conflict resolution): Conflict resolution is not for the faint-hearted. When passions run high, hearts can be torn and broken. The techniques of negotiation, resolution and mediation can allow understanding, acceptance and healing to take place.Heart’s ease (compassion): Compassion means “to suffer with”. It is a humane response to those who may be discouraged or downhearted, who have lost heart or are experiencing heartache. To be caring and kind, to acknowledge and address suffering in our societies, is to respond as humans and allow our hearts to be moved.Heart to heart (collaboration): As technology means that working together is increasingly disembodied, the human element becomes ever more important. Understanding commitment as a key to synergistic, cross-temporal social and group practices and processes is vital to productivity and satisfaction.&nbsp;&nbsp;Take heart (self-care): Holistic self-care goes beyond taking time out. In the evolving workplace, wellness is about resilience and regenerating our physical, emotional, mental, energetic and spiritual selves: mind and body, heart and soul.Follow your heart (creativity): Do what you love. Love what you do. Creativity is integral to interpersonal skills. It stimulates happiness, seeks innovation and embraces opportunity. It allows us to dream and inspire, imagine and generate human futures.Winning hearts (leadership): Heart-centred leadership for the 21st century goes beyond physical force, mind games or power plays. It moves us towards passionate engagement and dynamic encouragement. Change from within comes from the heart.Heart skills are no longer an optional employment extra. All students will need them in the workplace. I’ve found that the heart skills model creates a sense of embodiment and a warm context for both on-campus and online learning. Feedback has been positive, with high levels of student engagement and interaction, and individual students getting in touch to say they’ll remember and use heart skills in the years to come.Love is increasingly the subject of research across a range of disciplines, including social science, psychology and counselling – areas that have traditionally focused on developing strong interpersonal skills, including in therapeutic settings. Translating these skills into diverse and digital contexts is how we can learn to teach love into the future.Heart skills may sound as soft as the centre of a Valentine’s Day chocolate, but there’s no arguing that love is what the world needs right now. For the sake of humanity, it’s time to wear our hearts on our sleeves.Elizabeth Reid Boyd is a senior lecturer in social science and creative writing in the School of Arts and Humanities at Edith Cowan University. Elizabeth is a novelist and co-founder of #Love@ECU, a love studies research network, and co-editor of Contemporary Love Studies in the Arts and Humanities: What's Love Got to Do With It? (Palgrave Pivot, 2023).If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the Campus&nbsp;newsletter.

These 10 skills might sound as soft as the centre of a Valentine’s Day chocolate, but they are essential for the careers and employability of our students, writes Elizabeth Reid Boyd

Heart skills to future-proof students

Since the pandemic, people all over the world have experienced a shift in their economic circumstances, with soaring inflation and the post-lockdown effect on the economy causing the price of essentials to rise everywhere. The United States government paused interest on student loans for three years and developed debt forgiveness plans to help working people gain financial stability. Concerns over loans and higher education costs have made people shy away&nbsp;from pursuing their education.

As time passes, more companies are dropping the degree requirement from their hiring practices – but what isn’t being discussed is that this is often from entry-level positions. Progressing beyond these roles will still require&nbsp;a degree or certain certifications. 


	Creating safe spaces for students to talk about financial difficulties
	How can we encourage students to seek academic assistance ethically?
	We must remove technology worries from the student cost-of-living crisis


But how can universities entice these hesitant individuals&nbsp;back to higher education, from as early on as the application process? Here are some key factors to consider:

Promote scholarships

Given that the cost of education is the main deterrent to students, scholarships are currently too hard to find. Unfortunately, some universities, the students’ former high school or the company offering the scholarship may&nbsp;gatekeep the opportunity at the expense of struggling students, possibly to avoid an excessive number of applications. I was a recipient of a local scholarship from my high school, as well as one from an on-campus club, and there should be more awareness and willingness to share these opportunities. Counsellors should familiarise themselves with the companies, local organisations and even on-campus organisations which offer scholarships, to best point unsure students in the right direction.

Highlight student work options early

Most students do not learn about on-campus jobs until after accepting admission. Like scholarships, this should be an option on the application. A student should be able to select “will need on-campus work”&nbsp;as part of the application form, informing the university that they would potentially have a student worker and can offer it as a part of their acceptance.&nbsp;

Reach beyond the campus walls

While on-campus jobs would be more for students already at the institution, they could also be advertised to potential students. Often universities have feeder programmes into different companies or working relationships with them from years of job fairs and alumni networks. This potential opportunity could be considered a paid internship or job. Having access to a network of local companies that would hire direct from the university and work with their schedules&nbsp;would be an additional way of lessening the financial burden.

Promote online options

A few other areas that could cause individuals to take pause would be living on or near campus. The cost of housing or rent could be an additional factor. Even with several room-mates, it can be an exorbitant cost, especially if attending university in a high rent area. Universities have had to develop online classes, degrees and certificate programmes to remain open during the pandemic. This new part of the university should be highlighted and promoted just as much as on-campus course work. This could allow a student to remain at home without incurring further financial costs and offer flexibility if they wanted to work to supplement the cost of tuition, opening more doors for students who may not have considered higher education previously. 

It is time we stop gatekeeping these avenues of monetary support. We need to entice and show potential students that it can be done, and we are here to assist them from the very start of the process.&nbsp;The new normal of financial instability will be a theme for the next several years as these shifts and changes occur. It is important that we as educators adjust with them too. 

Brooke Wilson is a credit and risk management professional alongside her work in academia as an adjunct professor. She serves as a faculty member for CSU Global’s MBA programme.

If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the Campus&nbsp;newsletter.

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How to attract students who cannot afford higher education

As people all over the world grapple with rising costs, what can universities do to ease the financial burden of higher education from the very start of the process? Brooke Wilson offers her advice

How to attract students who think they cannot afford higher education

In today’s interconnected world, education often transcends borders. Study-abroad programmes and transnational curricula are becoming more popular with students. Yet, for those in the LGBTQ+ community, they can pose challenges. Within the landscape of global education lies a complex interplay of legislative changes, cultural norms and personal safety concerns for this demographic that must be navigated with care.Make it personalAs part of global education programmes, students can end up travelling to less tolerant countries.&nbsp;Educational institutions should carefully consider a student’s personal risk profile, including gender identity, sexual orientation, race, gender, religion, among other crucial aspects, to make informed travel decisions and put the appropriate risk mitigation measures in place.
	Steps to promote LGBTQ+ students’ well-being on campus
	How can universities support global LGBTQI+ human rights?
	Small steps that make a big difference to LGBTQ+ inclusivity
Our recent Risk Radar report showed that those in the higher education sector considered gender identity and sexual orientation as the primary factors impacting a traveller’s personal risk profile, ahead of past travel experience, medical history and race and ethnicity.While this recognition isn’t new, what remains a challenge is securely collecting sensitive information. We can see this in our research, where only 39 per cent of respondents integrate personal profiles into their travel risk assessments.Navigating legislative and cultural boundariesSome destinations lack a protective framework for students’&nbsp;rights and even disclosing personal information can pose significant risks. Legislative changes across the globe further compound the challenges. Recent advisories, like Canada’s caution to its LGBTQ+ citizens about potential repercussions of US laws on their travels, underscore the necessity of understanding the legal terrain these students are navigating. Yet, legislation is just one aspect – the cultural landscape can diverge starkly. Take Brazil, where same-sex marriage is legal but intolerance lingers, or Singapore, where recent legal changes clash with the traditional conservatism still prevalent in society. These nuances demand meticulous planning and highlight the importance of detailed travel security briefings to address specific concerns. Prepare for the unexpectedPut a rapid response service in place for emergencies and provide access to 24/7/365 medical and security assistance for students.Consider a scenario where a student is receiving treatment for gender transition. Being denied access to their medication could be a very serious situation. In many countries, this kind of treatment may be supported or subsidised by the national health service, but in others, accessing these services could be much more difficult. Trans or non-binary students may be afraid to be open about their gender identity or unsure about travelling with a passport that states a different gender than their gender identification – this is even true of some US states.Train faculty as well as studentsLGBTQ+ pre-deployment safety training provides comprehensive guidance not only to students but also faculty. Training fosters a collective understanding of the available support systems and how to access them. While covering fundamental principles of safe travel and situational awareness, the training should primarily focus on addressing the specific risks encountered by LGBTQ+ travellers. Ideally, training should be delivered in conjunction with any review of the university’s travel risk policies. Beyond the individual traveller, open up and nurture communication channels between the institution and parents, guardians and families to help mitigate travel risks.By its very nature, student travel overseas into potentially problematic countries is a cause for concern. Add to this the vulnerability of an LGBTQ+ student navigating their gender identity or sexual orientation, at a time when they want to be concentrating on their academic experience.&nbsp; Ultimately, ensuring a positive educational experience for LGBTQ+ students isn’t just a moral obligation. It’s an investment in the future global workforce and the responsible path for shaping a more inclusive and empowered generation of leaders and professionals.Raquel Recuero is regional security manager for the APAC region at Healix.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the Campus newsletter.

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How to keep LGBTQ+ students safe when studying abroad

What can universities do to help their LGBTQ+ students study abroad and travel the world, without compromising their safety? Raquel Recuero provides advice

I have attended my fair share of graduation ceremonies, as both student and begowned staffer. Of course, it’s important for family and supporters to publicly celebrate a loved one’s achievement. But my abiding memory is dullness. Surely only the task of invigilating exams surpasses graduation on the boredom and inertia quotient.To be clear, as an academic attending my students’ graduations, I&nbsp;am proud for them, as they are for themselves, and delighted to clap mightily. But most of the fun comes pre- and post-ceremony – in the daft photos, horsing around, laughter, food and memories of field trips.The graduation ceremony must be due for a 21st-century makeover. Why not make space for other voices or capitalise on new technology to move with the times and bring on the sparkle?Let’s give students a voice at graduationIn particular, I’d like to see and hear much more of the student voice. We make a big deal of student-centred learning in our teaching. So why not give over at least part of graduation to hearing from students and their view of the university experience? For example, for the arts, why not reprise artefacts and exhibits from graduation shows or project these as a backdrop? Why not hear from students about their work-based learning through internships? Or organisers could bring back recent graduates. They could point the way for the latest batch, showing how they are faring at work and (hopefully) the positive difference they are making in the big, wide world?
	Alumni as a benchmark of student success
	A whole-campus approach to boost belonging for student success
	Preparing students to succeed in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world
This would put into practice Lev Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development, which states that more knowledgeable individuals can act like a team leader in a peloton; in this case, that is graduates drawing graduands in their wake to enable them to gain new knowledge and insights.Invite (or give space to) engaging speakersGraduations can be stuffy affairs, lasting an hour or two, in which the most significant interventions are by parents and supporters shouting and (rightly) whooping as their graduand crosses the stage to shake hands with a worthy. I&nbsp;remember attending a family member’s graduation at which the perplexed audience had to stumble through an obscure university hymn. If you would like an irreverent antidote to such stupefying dullness, do watch comedian Tim Minchin’s speech when his alma mater conferred on him an honorary doctorate. His life lessons are hilarious – and somewhat more than the higher education institution or audience may have bargained for.Celebs receiving honorary titles can be interesting, so long as their contributions are short and geared to the purpose of the occasion – that is, celebrating student achievement and not the individual’s own fame. I&nbsp;recall a Holocaust survivor telling her story as an extreme instance of survival against all odds and using her experience to educate future generations.To link this point to student voice, there is the case of Callum Goode and his non-violent protest, which drew attention to the immediate need for meaningful action on climate change, at his own Lancaster University graduation. A university degree is supposed to enable students and graduates to think for themselves, to question and come to evidence-based decisions and positions. He seems to have been using his BA (Hons) in philosophy, politics and economics to good effect.Graduations can be more immersive, grand and funWith technology, graduation ceremonies could become much more immersive experiences – with well-curated audio and visual inputs. And why not hear – briefly – about an aspect of staff research linked to the graduation subject area. For a natural sciences event, it would be fascinating to hear about the use of drones as an anti-poaching mechanism, in Africa, for example.Then there’s the venue itself. In 2024, I’d suggest that a worthy municipal building or dusty cathedral may not project the dynamic, urgent nature of world problems and opportunities, and the way in which students are taught about these. My old university, as a positive example, used a purpose-built conference venue with panoramic views of an iconic racecourse. It can also show that universities and colleges are in the world, and not apart from it.In conclusion, let’s keep some 20th-century ceremonial pomp and ritual but add 21st-century technological wizardry, engagement and awe to the proceedings. A graduation is, after all, a rite of passage, a coming of age, to be celebrated. Let’s put the focus firmly on the graduates and their achievements (not the grandiosity of the university). Complement the award ceremony by unleashing the graduate voice, in the form of short cameos, “talking heads” and snippets of quality products from student learning: such as artworks, videos, podcasts, projects, field visits and a host of other outputs that comprise student assignments. Let’s make the grad grand.James Derounian lectures on community governance. He is a national teaching fellow and a visiting professor at the University of Bolton, UK.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.

Giving graduation a 21st-century makeover

Graduations can be stuffy affairs, writes James Derounian. He suggests that with technological wizardry, student voice and a little awe, universities could add sparkle to the pomp and ritual

Placements and work-based learning are a driving factor in graduate employability. Studies suggest that work-placement opportunities positively influence employment outcomes for students as they drive the acquisition of technical, social and professional skills.A study exploring the positive influences on graduate employment outcomes following completion of undergraduate work placements indicates that compared with peers who had not completed a work placement, 50&nbsp;per cent of placement students were more likely to secure a graduate-level job with a higher starting salary. Also, after placement, students show more motivation towards their final-year studies, as it links their practical experiences with academic work and enhances their understanding and learning. A&nbsp;2023 study demonstrated an increase in academic performance of 5.7&nbsp;per cent among bachelor of engineering students compared with their peers who did not undertake a placement; it allowed students to better manage year-long projects and independent learning, resulting in higher grades in independent research assessments.What does an academic placement tutor do?But what support do students need to embrace and succeed in a placement? What is the role of the academic placement tutor? And what are the key elements for supporting students on placement?
	Helping students to see the career value of work-integrated learning
	Equitable access to work-integrated learning in Australia
	Show off students’ employability with e-portfolios
Collaboration and cooperation among the university, employer and student are key elements for a successful experience before, during and after the placement. The university plays a pivotal part in helping students secure a placement. It provides information, advice and guidance about the benefits of placements, explains the requirements of the placement, facilitates subject-specific opportunities and delivers workshops to increase the chances of gaining a placement (to develop skills such as CV&nbsp;writing, applications and interview preparation).The university also builds and nurtures relationships with employers long before students are placed, ensuring consistency of communication, providing clear support structures and outlining the responsibilities of each party.Academic placement tutors act as the link and ambassador between workplace and university, enabling students to connect theory with practice and overseeing the progress of placement so it supports learning outcomes and enhances self-efficacy. They deliver pre-placement and onboarding sessions to prepare students for the experience and associated assessment. These explain how placement tasks can be aligned with academic knowledge and make clear what support is available to students while on placement.Support for students during work placementsPlacement tutors mentor students throughout their placement journey, maintaining communication between the student and university, providing pastoral and academic support, and delivering interactive online taught sessions that enable placement students to stay connected with peers, and share experiences and best practice.Placement tutors play an active role in enhancing students’ career interests, encouraging self-exploration and providing guidance and emotional support. The career self-management model acknowledges how support influences a person’s career-related behaviours. Students do not always recognise the importance of work-based learning and sometimes underestimate the importance of professional skills such as communication, organisation, self-efficacy, critical thinking and reasoning. Placement tutors provide formative feedback on critical reflections of work-related activity through monthly journals, maintaining the link between employment and academic development.A strong relationship with the employer and recognising the triangle of student, employer and placement tutor is fundamental in shaping the overall placement experience. The expectation of the host organisation is that students are given clear objectives, guidance and structured support from a dedicated workplace supervisor/manager. The placement tutor and employer facilitate student engagement with tasks and development against a range of workplace goals.Ruth Brooks and Paul Youngson of the University of Huddersfield have recognised, however, that not all students benefit or are satisfied with placement; some may face difficulty “fitting into the workplace”, lack understanding or be unable to cope with challenging tasks and employer expectations. Therefore, understanding each stakeholders’ role and commitment to supporting the experience, combined with frequent, open communication contributes to effective placements, ensuring placement retention and the development of work-based and academic skills. Placement tutors help to support this understanding during pre-departure sessions that set the scene around expectations, and further explore the student’s understanding of this during placement meetings involving the employer.How to support the whole student in their placement experienceAlongside their academic role, the placement tutor also provides pastoral care. Co-author Saheda Begum, acting as a placement tutor over the past year, is cognisant of the diverse needs of students that influence engagement and success of placement year. A trusting and empathic relationship with students is achieved through open dialogue as well as signposting and support intervention through compassionate approaches and active listening.Students often display a range of emotions combined with uncertainty and anxiety when entering the world of professional work, which affects how well they settle into their placement. The placement tutor can best support them by initiating early contact and providing a communication route to address and reduce concerns. Students are reminded of the support services available at university and with their employer, including options to engage with workshops around budgeting, accommodation advice, finances, welfare and well-being. Early contact and frequent communication create familiarity and increase students’ confidence, providing a sense of belonging and connection with the university, allowing a smoother reintegration to studies upon return.In summary, students embracing placement need support into, through and when returning from their work-based experience. Stakeholders (student, employer, placement tutor/university) must work together to support the student in achieving their full potential in the placement opportunity.Saheda Begum is a placement tutor and Zoë Allman is associate dean (academic) in the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Media at De Montfort University. If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.

What support students need to succeed in work placements

Students in work-based learning placements need support before, through and when returning from their experience. Here is advice for universities and academic tutors to maximise the benefits of the opportunity for all

Campus interview: Mike Ibba, Chapman University 

In this video podcast Mike Ibba, dean of Schmid College of Science and Technology at Chapman University, talks about undergraduate research, what philosophers and scientists can learn from each other and the state of US federal funding for science and technology research

Student success

Student cohorts are increasingly diverse in their needs and objectives. Here universities share how they are working in new ways to help them enter, progress in and complete a university degree

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