1. Advisory Committee on Information Literacy
Annual Information Literacy Seminar
Tuesday, June 11th, 2013
Engagement & the Student
Experience

2. Communities of
place & interest
The general
public
Community
organisations
Voluntary
orgs and
charities
NGOs
Social
enterprises
Businesses
Enterprise
agencies
Regional
strategic bodies
Regional /
national govt
Schools and
colleges
Public
engagement
Civic
engagement
Community
engagement
Business
engagement
Local
authorities
Defining the
territory:
universities and
engagement
Potential
stakeholders
or partners
NCCPE
National Co-ordinating
Centre for Public
Engagement

3. KNOWLEDGE
EXCHANGE & SHARING
Increasing the two-way
flow of knowledge and
insight between the
university and wider society
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
WITH RESEARCH
Actively involving the public in
the research activity of the
institution
ENGAGED TEACHING
Developing teaching
activities which positively
impact on the
community, and enhance
students’ engagement
skills
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Seeking to maximise the
benefits that the institution
can generate for the public
The engaged
university

4. Engagement has to be an institution-wide
commitment, not confined to individual
academics or projects. It has to embrace
teaching as well as research, students as well
as academics, and the full range of support
services. All universities need to develop
strategies to guide their engagement with
wider society, to manage themselves
accordingly and to work with external
partners to gauge their success’
(John Goddard, cited in Hunt 2011: 77-8).

5. Student Success in College?
Academic achievement, engagement in educationally
purposeful activities, satisfaction, acquisition of desired
knowledge, skills and
competencies, persistence, attainment of educational
objectives, and post-college performance

6. Student Engagement
• ….“represents both the time and energy that students
invest in educationally purposeful activities and the effort
that institutions devote to using effective educational
practices”
(Kuh 2001)
• Influenced..“ by student expectations and
perceptions, between challenge and appropriate course
workload, degrees of choice, autonomy, risk and
opportunities for growth and enjoyment, trust
relationships, communication and discourse.” (Bryson et al 2007)

7. Student Engagement Trinity (NESSE, 2007)
1. What students do -- time and energy devoted to educationally
purposeful activities
2. What institutions do -- using effective educational practices to induce
students to do the right things
3. Educationally effective institutions channel student energy toward
the right activities
‘Belonging’ has emerged as a key factor in student retention and is
closely aligned with concepts of academic and social engagement.
‘Belonging’ recognises relatedness or connectedness to the institution

8. What Works? Model of Student Retention & Success
• Early Engagement: to promote belonging must
begin early and continue across the student life
cycle;
• Engagement in the Academic Sphere: nurtured
throughout the HEI - academic, social and
professional services
• Developing the Capacity of Staff & Students to
engage
• Institutional Management & Co-ordination
(What Works? Liz Thomas 2012)

9. DIT Student Experience
Intellectual Professional Personal
 Exhibiting intellectual curiosity
 Applied knowledge - analytical and
critical thinking and for creative
problem-solving
 Effective spoken & written
communication skills
 Accessing, evaluating and using
information for scholarly enquiry –
information and information
technology literacy
 In-depth engagement with disciplinary,
professional and technical knowledge
 Understanding & application of expertise
appropriate to the practice context
 Making sound judgments - Respect for
ethical practice and social responsibility
 A capacity to contribute to, and work
within, the international community
 Managing own work & Life-long learning
 The skills for collaborative and
multidisciplinary work
 Respect for diversity & cross-cultural
understanding
 Capacity for initiative and innovation
 An appreciation of, and a
responsiveness to, change
 The ability to engage in independent and
reflective learning
Supporting the Development of Graduate Attributes:
(Green, 2010, Oliver & Reeves, 2005 )

10. Objectives of Student Engagement Strategy I :
• Maintain & enhance overall student experience
with particular emphasis on 1st year experience
• Contribute to educational quality of Institute
activities. NQUAI Review June 2011 – ‘DIT in its next stage
of development needs to contemplate more deeply the concept of
quality assurance…’
• Contribute to enhanced Student Continuation
rates and overall Student Completion rates
• Contribute to a unique DIT experience – the DIT Offer
• Increase number, range and quality of student
enrichment and engagement opportunities

11. Objectives of Student Engagement Strategy II:
• Enhance the DIT institutional learning
environment, associated policies and
infrastructures to better support processes and
practice that target student engagement
• Improve DITs internal knowledge of capabilities for
enhancing student engagement
• Build an engaged and connected learner
experience
• Build on existing best practice and STEER initiative

12. DIT student engagement strategy
DIT Student experience
‘Creating connections’

13. ‘Most institutions have not yet been able to
translate what we know about student retention
into forms of action that have led to substantial
gains in student persistence and graduation’
(Tinto, V. (2006) Research & Practice of Student Retention)

14. More than anything else, being an educated person
means being able to see connections that allow one
to make sense of the world and act within it in
creative ways.
Every one of the qualities I have described here—
listening, reading, talking, writing, puzzle
solving, and truth seeking, seeing through other
people’s eyes, leading, working in a community — is
finally about connecting
(Cronon, 1998).

15. DIT Connected Student Engagement
Academic Learning & Teaching
Curriculum, Programme,
Quality Assurance
Active Citizenship
- Lifelong Learning
- Community
- Social interactions
Research, Innovation
Development
Student Support, Learning
Environments
Peer Mentoring, Sports, Clubs
Societies, Students Union
Graduate Outcomes /Attributes
- Career Path
- Spirit of Inquiry
- Alumni
Other Higher
Educational Institutes
Industry, Enterprise
Professional bodies
Student
(Local,Regional, National & International)
Integrating

16. Creating Connections: Principles into practice
• Active Learning within the Curriculum e.g.
– At least one lecture per module to be replaced by a student
directed activity e.g. case study, literature review etc
• Learning as a shared responsibility e.g.
– All students registered with DIT will be assigned a year tutor (
sometimes called a year co-ordinator) to advise them on academic
and related aspects of the programme.
• Enriching Educational Experiences e.g.
– Teaching and learning resources to be used to support and
enhance first year of programme.
• Involvement as part of community e.g.
– As soon applicants register for a programme they are sent a
‘Welcome to DIT’ message, ‘Preparing for Study Pack’ and link to
FYI website and Facebook page.

17. Creating Connections: Principles into practice
• Supportive Learning Environment eg
– Students are assigned a learning set involving continuing students /associated
tutor during their first week
– First year informal learning/study spaces established in all campus buildings
• Importance of Staff development eg
– academic development supports, eg workshops, short courses in place for all
staff involved in teaching first year students, building upon current best
practice to support the first year student (incl. non traditional students)
• Student involvement in Quality process eg
– Modifications to first year programmes made on the basis of feedback from
students through Q6c and student surveys
• Informed by DIT’s Internal Knowledge of Capabilities
– Support Teaching Fellowships that focus upon the first year experience and
build upon research outputs and recommendations.
Building on existing Good Practice : LEAD, SLWC, Volunteering, Get Smart

19. Students Learning With Communities
In 2012:
• 1,300 students DIT students engaged in
SLWC projects
• 100+ community partners
• 60 academic staff
• 63 modules
• 46 programmes (Undergrad. & Postgrad)
• 1 in 3 Undergrad. programmes

20. Major cross-disciplinary project:
Grangegorman Lifeline and Community
Garden(ing) Project
• Urban regeneration: how to maximise the
potential of urban green areas, including
community gardening around the
Broadstone railway line in Grangegorman –
for
health, recreation, transport, biodiversity, e
ducation, tourism etc
• Chemistry, Spatial Planning, Sustainable
Development, Architecture, Media/Social
Science etc

21. “Deep learning is learning that takes root in our apparatus of
understanding, in the embedded meanings that define us and that
we use to define the world” (J.Tagg (2003). The Learning Paradigm
College)
DIT Volunteering

22. Get Smart!
• First-year induction which focuses on an introduction
to third level learning;
• Personal & professional development competences
integrated into first year modules, inc. information
literacy skills & mindmapping
• Encouraging engagement among first years through
team building and group project experiences.
…a platform for innovation…….
Ms. Mary O’Rawe,
College of Arts & Tourism

23. Non Progression (non continuation) of Students
2010/11 Universities IOT’s
Level 8 9% 16%
Level 7 N/A 26%
Level 6 N/A 25%
2010/11 IOT’s AIT CIT DIT ITT ITB
Average
Level 8 16% 11% 23% 13% 25% 18%
Level 7 26% 26% 21% 25% 33% 27%
Level 6 25% 24% 22% 15% 31% 29%
Students who did not progress from year 1 to year 2
Loss in income €m – RGAM, Grant in
lieu, cpitation
500x 6,000 = €3m pa excl
personal cost and
recruitment/admin costs
What will the figures be
for 2013? 2014?

24. Student Completion
• Optimise the number of students who progress and
complete their study within DIT
• In the US, improving completion rates in higher
education by 3 % points add 1 % to GDP
• In Ireland this would add €1.5bn to GDP
• In TU Dublin submission to HEA a target completion
rate of 90% was Identified

25. Proposed implementation plan
• Continue to review principles/make targets
realistic, achievable
• Involve stakeholder groups(Nov ‘12 onwards)
– Use Management Forum (early 2013)
– Target Programme Chairs & College Boards
– Work with student reps
– Prioritise actions e.g. transition into first year etc
• Integrate strategy into policy & processes (Jan-March ‘13)
– Incorporate within Quality Assurance Procedures
– Involve all Sub-Committees of Academic Council etc
• Support implementation into DIT mainstream practice
• Review and modify the strategy (ongoing)

26. Student
union
activities
Student
Support –
admin, Advi
ce
Institutional
Strategy
L& Teaching
Research & Development
Civic Engagement
Internationalisation
Community/
Industry
Educational
philosophy/
ethos
Quality
Assurance
Sports, Club
s, societies
Unique
Student
experience/
engagement
Students
and Staff
Broad Agenda
Creation of
TU Dublin
Move to
Grangegorman

27. Engagement
Stakeholders – Communities, students and staff
need to believe that the institution belongs to them
and this spans academic to social, cultural and
economic engagement.
‘Belonging’ recognises relatedness or connectedness
to the institution.
The greater the degree of connectedness or
engagement the greater the benefits that can be
identified and leveraged.

28. Student Engagement/Satisfaction
Irish National Student Survey
Studentsurvey.ie
Update on Survey Project

29. Thank You!

30. Grangegorman 1950’s

31. Grangegorman 2010

32. Grangegorman Campus
Science
LibraryBusiness
Health
?
Engineering
&
Built Environment
Performance and
Applied Arts
Tourism
& Food
Research
Student Hub
Scien
Indus
Park
Primary
School
SportsStudent
accommodation