1. Support Me! Develop Me! Retain Me!
How e-resources can enhance student
engagement!
Becka Currant
Head of Learner Development and Student Engagement
University of Bradford

2. Aims of Session:
• Introduce participants to different types of pre-
entry online support available
• Identify what activities can be used to engage
students in the pre-enrolment process
• Offer an opportunity to discuss what approach
may be appropriate for their students
• Develop ideas of plans that could be
implemented for September 2009 entry

3. Overview
• What do we know about the student
experience?
• Expectations of modern students
• Meeting those needs
• Next steps

4. Student Expectations
What expectations do you think new students
have about University?
• Issues to Consider
– Learning
– Assessment
– Feedback
– Initial experiences
– Support

5. Expectations
“I hope I can become more confident as
well as stretch myself in lots of new ways,
push my boundaries. I hope University
can support me in this and help me when
I flounder”
“I expect to sign up to do a hundred and
one things and then get stressed because
I can't cope with them all. Or I expect I will
try too hard and therefore overload myself
with unnecessary pressure and get
stressed”

6. How do students think they learn best?
“I prefer practical learning as I like to do things
and get bored when just listening to someone
talking. I do quite well when working in a group
as well as it gives me more ideas and opinions”
“Through repetition. I like to study independently initially but
then to consolidate the learning I like to discuss it and have
feedback on it. I have a low attention span and so find a lot of
reading and quiet time very hard work. I like to interact with
people and so the discussion and debate of ideas appeals to
me greatly”
“I learn best from doing things or thinking
through a problem with other people or by
writing something down, drawing it. I don't
learn much by just reading something”

7. What is their best experience?
“I think the best part for me was meeting so
many new people. I didn't know anyone else
before I came here, and I was worried about
not making friends, not fitting in etc. But on my
very first day (the welcome talk), I already got
talking to a few people, and that really worked
wonders for my confidence. Since I've got
here, I've got to know so many different
people, and it's just been amazing!”
“The tutorials were very helpful to guide the
students during the year. Also seminars and
other supporting classes. I felt that the lecturers
were people who we can speak with and this is
necessary for a non English student”

8. What one thing would they change?
“Lecturers that present the course material in such a
way that what could be a boring lecture is
interesting”
“More meetings to promote the relation among student
(same or different years).. to exchange experiences,
knowledge about life in the city, at Uni..etc…”
“I want observers come to observe lecturers
and see how they teaching. I also want them
to ask students in private about lecturers”
“More podcasts from lectures to be
available”
“More online FAQs to assist those of us
who cannot always contact the university
during opening times”

9. What Are Your Students’ Experiences?
• What happens at your University?
• How do you know what students are
thinking? How successful are these
strategies?
• What else could be done?
• 5 min reflection

10. Develop Me!
Meet and chat, pre- Online resources Skills tracking
entry activities
www.bradford.ac.uk/
developme.ning.com developme Mobile guides
Student voice
• Expectations survey
• First Year Experience
questionnaire
www.braduni.mobi

11. A Brief History of Develop Me!
• Extended student model HEA Pathfinder, NTFS Outduction
– Pre-entry to post graduation
• E-induction HEA e-learning Research Observatory
– Seamless transition into University
• Integrated online support
– 24/7 support available
• Responding to diverse students ELESIG/JISC
– Digital typology

12. E-induction
Primary objective: enable students to manage process
of transition in social and academic terms
Social: Academic:
• Start process of making • Early engagement with
links with peers on academic materials and
courses and other development of academic
students in University skills (ning)
(ning)
• Share hopes, fears and • Completion of SaPRA to
concerns about starting identify levels of
course (ning) confidence and develop
• Identify challenges and action plan to reflect on
find answers to burning with personal tutor and
questions (expectations evidence in PDP (online
questionnaire) resources)
• Feel „at home‟ (mobile
guides)

13. Integrated Online Support
Develop E- Induction Course Targeted
Future support (2008 onwards)
Me! Online Materials Specific additional
Information Information
Integrated Generic Bespoke Targeted
support for University interactive information
skills based exercises to relevant to
development information promote particular
and PLUS academic and courses e.g.
understanding plagiarism and social Health &
development referencing cohesion prior Safety
needs materials to arrival and
first few
weeks

14. What are the issues?
• What issues do you think might be
associated with implementing Develop
Me! or a similar activity?
• 5 min discussion in pairs/small groups
• Plenary feedback – make a note of
what you discuss!

15. The Issues We Faced…
• Time
• Updating of materials long term
• Staff engagement and ownership
• Taking it forward to next level
• Institutional buy in – using ning for other
things
• Usernames and passwords – IT buy in
• Competing with other systems – e.g.
facebook groups

16. Things That Weren’t Issues
• Dead space with no
• No one using the space
replies
• It just wouldn‟t work
• Inappropriate content
• Harassment and
• Abuse of the space
bullying
• Too much to
• Ning crashing
handle/moderate
• Using external service
• Support issues for
• USA based servers
students using space
• Yet another social
• Data protection
network for people to
• And so on and so on
join
and so on!

17. The Student Voice
• “The forums are great as you can meet other
people before beginning University. It makes you
feel less nervous.”
• “[I like] being able to meet and talk to people
before starting”
• “You‟ve got his huge edifice which is a University,
but what you need is a human face on it.”
• “Thanks for the warm welcome note, it gave me a
great first impression about the university of
Bradford”

18. Student Reflections
• “I‟ve used Facebook before, and I‟ve used MySpace
before that but found Facebook much easier to use
because it‟s much simpler. Where I was the computers
weren‟t so good, so it was very important to have
something simple and easy to load up. The Develop Me!
website was somewhere between the two in terms of
complexity, I found it quite easy to use”
• “I knew their faces, so I was happy to approach them,
and they recognised me as well.”
• “Most of the things that related to the serious aspect of
University I found on the University of Bradford website.”
• “It was good to be able to find out about things any time
of day.”

19. Comments from Staff
• “This [Develop Me!] is great. I am so pleased that
you have set this up and it‟s an easy way for me
to talk to the new students and get to know them
better”
• “They did seem a lot more self reliant with getting
themselves registered and getting going with
things.”
• “I thought I was too old to do all this [social
networking] but it‟s not as hard as you think and
the students obviously seem to benefit from it”

20. Key messages
• Can‟t get people on board until they see it working –
need to take a risk and see what happens
• Branded social network [not FaceBook!] = less frivolity,
more serious issues and posts
• Need to have someone there moderating every day on a
little and often basis to welcome students – Ruth‟s role
was key. Make people feel welcome and part of the
community.
• Staff can be very reluctant to take a leap of faith into the
unknown
• Technology has to be part of retention strategy – most
students are using this so capitalise on it but not at the
expense of alienating those who aren‟t

21. Discussion Topics
Pre-entry work and/or Induction/Transition Activities:
• What activities do you currently offer?
• What would you like to be able to do?
• How well do your students adjust to University?
Policy Issues
• What implications does this have for your role?
• How will you respond to an ever diversifying student body?
• What else is on the horizon?

22. Next Steps…
• What one thing have you heard about
today that might be of use to you?
• Write down an action point in the card,
address it to yourself and make sure it
happens!