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Leading the Student Experience: Academic and Professional Services in Partnership

Authors
Sarah Parkes, Julie Blackwell Young, Elizabeth Cleaver and Kenny Archibald, Newman University Birmingham

A joint publications between Higher Education Authority and Leadership Foundation for Higher Education

OT-Ext-03 Front Cover

Download the  OT-Ext-03 LtSE Final Report (including Literature Review and Case Studies)

Download the  LtSE Summary Report and Self Assessment Toolkit

Download the  LtSE Self Assessment Toolkit - (Institutional Use)

This research project explored good examples of how academic and professional staff are working together in new ways to deliver the best possible student experience.

Foreword: Final Report

Marketisation of higher education, contrary to expectation, has not led to a highly differentiated sector. Students see that they are paying more for their education and consequently have greater expectations of their university experience. The reality for institutions is that they are having to spend more on attracting and retaining students, whilst financial drivers tend toward cost savings, efficiency and greater cost effectiveness. Institutions are convinced of the need to provide a high quality student experience but in the most cost effective way. However, many of the things that students expect and value in relation to their time at university involve more contact time with academic staff and greater personal support.

There are many different models in the way such support can be delivered but students appear to be less inclined to accept support if it is delivered by professional staff (no matter how highly they are qualified) than by their own, disciplinary academic staff. This highlights the need for closer and more collaborative working between academic and professional staff on issues where the latter may be the more experienced but the former can provide the disciplinary discourse and context.

This timely pilot study, whilst the authors recognise its limitations, provides an overview of the current state of collaborative working within a range of higher education institutions, explores the challenges and barriers faced in developing such working and provides some case studies to illustrate how this is being implemented in different institutions. The study has also resulted in a tool that can be used as a prompt to guide the development of collaborations between academic and professional staff.

This study will act as a stimulus for higher education to break down the barriers between academic and professional staff and provide a holistic, high quality and cost effective approach to the student experience.

Professor Lesley-Jane Eales-Reynolds BSc PhD PFHEA NTF
Pro Vice Chancellor (Education), Kingston University

 

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      4. Towards the family friendly university?
      5. The experience of BME academics in higher education: aspirations in the face of inequality
      6. Challenges for the leadership of transnational education in higher education: balancing risk and innovation
      7. The employability agenda and beyond: what are universities for?
      8. Governance in a changing environment: literature review
      9. Governance in a changing environment: thought piece
      10. The governance of private higher education providers in the UK
      11. Leading academic talent to a successful future: an international perspective
      12. Leading academic talent to a successful future: interviews with leaders, managers and academics
      13. Out in Orbit: strategies and trajectories for higher education satellite campuses
      14. Neo-collegiality: restoring academic engagement in the managerial university
      15. Trends in Governance: Universities in the Southern, African Development, Community
      16. Action Learning as a Tool for Change and Development: The Experience of Registrars and Senior Administrative Officers in Southern Africa
      17. Registrars and Senior Administrative Officers as Change Leaders in Southern African Universities
      18. The Changing Role of the University Registrar: Challenges and Prospects in Southern African Higher Education Institutions
      19. Report from the: Programme for University Leaders in the Southern African Region (PULSAR)
      20. Leading the Student Experience: Academic and Professional Services in Partnership
      21. A Complexity Approach to Leadership Development: Developing Practical Judgement
      22. Performance Management in UK Higher Education Institutions: The need for a hybrid approach
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