Positive ratings for units across the University, as we launch a new President’s Student Partners Scheme to continue working closely with students.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to the Semester 1 unit evaluation surveys – we have seen a marked increase in the number of responses this semester. We are grateful for every response, as your feedback is the key to us improving what we do.
I am pleased to share encouraging results from the surveys, with many of you giving positive responses when asked about the units you studied last semester. Averaged across all Faculties:
- 80% of you agreed that the course unit in question was “excellent”
- 79% of you agreed that the online learning on that unit “was delivered very well”
Of course we are still facing difficult and uncertain circumstances, and there are still improvements to make in the future. However your positive response is a testament to the outstanding work of our academic and professional services staff over the last year – and to all of you who have worked hard to engage with your studies and academics under difficult circumstances.
These positive results are also a credit to the brilliant work done by 15 paid student interns, who have provided vital feedback to help improve learning materials. This partnership working is incredibly important, as it helps us continually develop our teaching and learning to offer you a great experience.
Your positive responses, as well as your constructive criticism, are hugely appreciated by all University staff. We know you are looking forward to being back on campus – we hope your experience will continue to improve as we are able to re-introduce the vital on-campus component to our blended learning model.
New President’s Student Partners Scheme
We recognise that our students and staff are still facing very challenging times, and there will always be issues to address and improvements to be made. To build on this positive feedback and continue our commitment to working directly with you, we are launching the President’s Student Partners Scheme, which will recruit 20 students to work with Faculties and teams across the University on developing teaching and learning.
Student Partners will work with staff to review student feedback, identifying and promoting successes and best practice, and ensuring we keep learning from each other. They will also help design future surveys to ensure we ask the questions that matter to you, to focus our continued developments in the right direction.
The scheme will offer part-time, paid work for 12 weeks and will run in Semester 2 of this academic year and Semester 1 of the 2021/22 academic year. More details on the Student Partner roles and how you can apply will be released soon.
Once again, thank you to all of you and our amazing students and staff for coming together in this incredibly difficult time. You are all doing an exemplary job supporting your classmates and teachers. We are extremely pleased to see the constant improvement in online teaching and learning, and increasing numbers of you feeling positive about your experiences. Rest assured however, that we are not resting on our laurels – as we continue to listen, learn and improve.
Professor April McMahon
Vice-President for Teaching, Learning and Students.