Learner Voice Summary 2015-16

House System and Student Council

Following feedback from the SU and students in the final forum of the 2014-15 year, both of these initiatives were scrapped due to poor engagement. Students felt the House System was ‘too school-like’ and cross-college engagement with the system was low, save for attendance competitions and 2 sports events. High numbers of students reported being unaware of which house they were in. Attendance at the Student Council meetings declined as they year progressed and the final meeting of the year did not go ahead as there were no attendees. As such, it was felt these systems were ineffective and were discontinued.

Tutor Reps

As in previous years, Tutor Reps were elected for each group across all year groups. With the introduction of British Values in the Tutorial Programme, the elections and ‘campaigns’ were linked to democracy and rule of law topics and held as the conclusion of the units. Engagement in the elections was generally good with most groups having at least 3 candidates. There were at least 5 groups, however, where there was only 1 candidate.

Training took place in the following weeks and was delivered comprehensively by the Student Liaison Officer. However, turn out for the training was only around 50% of the elected representatives, in spite of numerous email and tutor reminders.

For each consultation/set of topics, the numbers of Tutor Rep responses was significantly below the number of tutor groups there were. Some handed in responses to the Student Liaison Officer via email, while most were collected via the Tutors. Tutors reported that some Tutor Reps found it difficult to ‘take the lead’ on collecting student feedback and that many times they had to lead discussions and the collection of student responses. As the year went on, Tutors reported that student engagement with the role decreased, as students became more busy with their academic work and the pressure of exams and revision increased.

Student Forums

Engagement in the forums, led by the Student Union and the Student Liaison Officer, was low from the outset, In the initial forum, there was only 39 responses from groups and 17 students in attendance. The majority of these were AGP students. These numbers then decreased further as the year went on with the final forum having just 8 attendees. The Student Liaison Officer attempted to engage the Reps by incentivising attendance, sending reminder emails, notices on plasmas and posters to be displayed in Tutor rooms but they had little impact.

Engagement in Cross-College Surveys

Student completion of the Induction Survey was higher than in previous years as the Tutor team was given access to IT facilities in order to complete the survey with their groups (810 completed compared to 694 in 2014-15). This enabled the College to reflect and act on what was a significant proportion of student views. The Mid-Year survey was completed by teachers in lessons who again had access to IT facilities and so completion was high. However, there was no IT access for Tutors during the End of Year Survey, meaning student completion was significantly below previous years with just 306 students completing the survey.

One Off Consultations

There were two one-off consultations held with students in 2015-16. One run by the Head of Learning Development in regards to arrangements for Muslim students during Ramadan and the exam period. No students attended, however, Tutors had already addressed the issue with most students on a 1:1 basis.

The other was a Student Experience Survey around how the College communicates with students and uses technology. Engagement with this survey was strong and it was able to capture a broad range of learner feedback. It was delivered through tutorial and in the social areas of College.

Have Your Say

Just two forms were completed this year and by the same student, suggesting this system is not publicised enough or not appropriate.

Conclusions

  • The current system is too paper-based and manual. Greater use of IT is needed to engage students more effectively and to enable more efficient and clearer analysis of data collected.
  • The Tutor Rep system does not engage students effectively. It is perhaps too great of a commitment for students whose priorities and availabilities change as the year goes on. It is very labour intensive and a long process with lots of paperwork and meetings. It needs to be more user-friendly and accessible to all students in more places – not just Tutorial.
  • Tutor Forum attendance is low, suggesting we are not covering the topics that ‘matter’ to students.
  • 2Y1 students do not engage with learner voice in any number, so how we can encourage them to do so needs to be addressed.
  • Learner Voice opportunities need to be constant and throughout the year, not just at certain times and most topics College-led. There needs to be a more accessible and engaging platform for students to offer feedback, comments, ask questions etc. The current system is very passive, we need to give students the opportunity to be more active.
  • The importance of Learner Voice and its publication needs to be emphasised more effectively as part of the College strategic plan.
  • Curriculum feedback needs to be managed by the curriculum team and Student Services to focus on wellbeing and student experience.

Learner Voice Action Plan 2016-17

Issue / Action / By Who / Timescale
Low engagement from Tutor Reps /
  • Make this a voluntary position, not compulsory for all tutor groups
  • Tutor Reps invited to forums but not responsible for collecting group feedback which will be individual
  • Feedback to be collected online using Moodle
/ LHH/MP / September 2016
Low engagement in student forums /
  • Open invite all students, rather than just Tutor Reps
  • Provide alternative platforms for students to feedback and participate: online forums, email, ipads in Cafes
  • Consult students and SU on topics or issues they wish to discuss.
  • Consult student societies on topics they wish to discuss
  • Rebrand forums to ‘Student Experience and Wellbeing’ forum
/ LHH/MP/MGr / January 2016
Limited opportunities for online learner voice capture /
  • Purchase iPads for survey use in social areas and other locations in College
  • Work with Moodle staff to develop Learner Voice page and surveys
  • Create an ‘I Need Help’ icon for students which includes: FAQS/Info, Complaints, Comments, Feedback and Welfare links and information.
  • Publicise Learner Voice opportunities and methods more effectively
/ LHH/MP/JW/MGr / January 2016
Feedback on actions not communicated effectively to students /
  • Use SU:TV to communicate results of learner voice and actions taken/planned by College
  • Use bi-weekly SU newsletter to communicate actions to students and encourage a range of student contributors
  • Group Tutorials used to provide feedback to students, as well as You Said, We Did posters around College
/ LHH/MP/AMs / December and Ongoing 2017
2Y1 student engagement with Learner Voice is low /
  • Ensure Learner Voice opportunities are relevant to this cohort (progression, work experience, induction)
  • Raise its importance in Tutorial and through Level 2 assemblies
/ LHH/LCo/AMs / December and Ongoing 2017
Decreased engagement in cross-college learner voice activities /
  • Separate the mid-year survey from the Mentor team, so Support Staff focus on student experience and wellbeing
  • Develop bespoke opportunities relevant to each year group, as well as cross-College issues
  • Develop SU:TV and the SU newsletter as a means of students to engage with College and raise issues
  • Develop and roll out the ‘I Need Help’ icon. Monitor its use and revise as appropriate
/ MP/LHH/MGr / December and Ongoing 2017