The document discusses strategies for increasing student engagement at universities. It defines student engagement as involving students as partners in strategic development of programs, projects, and departments. It discusses establishing student engagement champions in every school and department to lead change. Plans will be developed for student engagement activities and initiatives in each area. The goal is to empower students, provide opportunities for input, and ensure their contributions translate into meaningful changes. Barriers to increased engagement will need to be overcome through buy-in across the university.

1. Working with
your University
or College
#QM13
@danderricott
@ulsu_academic
image © Shradha Mishra

2. workshop overview
introducing Lincoln
where you’re at now
our strategic approach
making the case

3. [introducing Lincoln]

4. [student as producer]
Student as Producer reaffirmed our commitment to
collaborating with students. We have embedded researchengaged-teaching and co-production into every
programme and corner of our University. Delivered with the
SU since its inception in 2009.

5. [defining student engagement]
involving students as partners /
producers in the strategic development
of your programmes of study / projects
/ service / department.
This is as opposed to, for instance, increasing footfall
for your service / attendance at lectures. We would
however expect that footfall for services and engagement
in learning for schools would naturally increase as the
quality of the offering is enhanced.

6. [defining student engagement]
involving students as partners /
producers in the strategic development
of your programmes of study / projects
/ service / department.
Students, academics and support staff working in partnership to produce a
better student experience
Giving students a voice at the table throughout decision making processes /
projects and tapping into their expertise & creativity
Student engagement is creating those opportunities and support students
& staff to make the most of them. It’s a process, not an outcome
Outcome: enhanced quality of education & student experience

7. [introducing the Students’ Union]

8. where you’re at now
where in the university or college does the SU have strong
relationships?
are your relationships mostly with managers?
where is the support, enthusiasm and capacity for student
engagement in your university or college?
what does ‘student engagement’ mean for your staff in reality?

9. our strategic approach

10. [student engagement strategy]
• First attempt at
framework for
transforming the
University
• An institution
level action plan
sitting beneath
our corporate
strategy
• UK (global?) first?

11. [embedding capacity & proactivity]
• Leadership within schools &
departments through Student
Engagement Champions
• Forward planning, innovating and
working differently within schools &
departments through departmental
student engagement plans

12. [inspiring good practice]
• providing you with the ideas and help on
what works through sharing examples
amongst departments
• pushing boundaries and testing new ideas
centrally before rolling out the idea for
adoption
digital by default + tailored consultancy

13. [understanding & celebrating impact]
• mapping the input and impact of
students’ so that we can see what works
well and what does not
• celebrating when things go well (e.g.
with the SU through their annual
awards)
• closing the feedback loop – telling
students about tangible & meaningful
change

14. [in practice so far]
examples from 2012-13:
HR ran a successful pilot to include a student as a full member of
interview panels. Now being rolled out.
Quality, Standards & Partnerships have developing a model &
training for including students as peer reviewers in programme
validations & periodic academic reviews.
Estates have developed the Learning Landscapes Blog as a means
for feeding into campus development projects. 5000+ hits.
The Vice-Chancellor has established a Facebook page to engage
students & staff in her work and keep in touch with uni’ life.

15. capacity and proactivity

16. [student engagement champions]
• currently a champion in most central
support departments
• this year we will have a champion in
every school too
• a network of 36 change leaders
• lead on developing & implementing
school student engagement plan

17. [student engagement plans]
1
Reflecting on your
impact on the student
experience
2
Key activity this year
where students could
engage
A mixture of short and
long term activity to
embed student
engagement in your
day to day, year to
year activity.
All 36 schools &
departments working
collaboratively
3
Sustainable student
engagement
initiatives
4
Contributing to
institutional priority
actions
Complimented by
central support and
sharing good practice

18. [key institutional actions]
asking every school & department to:
01
Empower Student Engagement Champions to lead change within
every school and professional support department
02
Embed regular, productive engagement with elected Student Reps
and SU Officers into the annual planning and evaluation cycle of
each department
03
Increase engagement with priority groups of students: mature
students and international students
04
Report back to students and staff of the impact of student
engagement with tangible and meaningful examples of change
05
Systematically make best use of student survey data that we collect
to inform the development of the University

19. making the case
where in your institution could you get buy-in for requiring all
departments to think about student engagement with the SU?
how could you move towards a shared definition and
understanding of student engagement in quality
enhancement?
what hurdles will you have to overcome and how?

20. @unilincoln
@lincolnsu
Dan Derricott
student engagement officer
vice-chancellor’s office
dderricott@lincoln.ac.uk
01522 88 6275
@danderricott
Ian Antwi
vice-president academic affairs
students’ union
academic@lincolnsu.com
01522 88 6144
@ulsu_academic
thank you!