Could a more flexible and personalised higher education experience better meet students’ needs?

Iain Sloan, the senior solutions consultant at Ellucian, examines how going to university could be better tailored to students’ academic and emotional needs.

As the new academic year fast approaches, universities are focused on ensuring students get the help they need to succeed, wherever their learning takes place. However, the lines are increasingly blurring between students’ expectations of high-quality in person learning and what they want when they access their coursework remotely. In one recently published study, 91% of students said what their university offers in digital services should be as strong as face-to-face lectures and life on the physical campus. This comes at a time when one in four university students reports feeling lonely most or all of the time.

With the pressure of a growing cost-of-living crisis bearing down on those heading to university this year, it’s becoming clear that what students want and need from their institutions is evolving.

A more personalised higher education journey.

Casting minds back to the pandemic and the rapid shift of learning online, there were some university students who undoubtedly thrived on the flexibility they suddenly had to study around work, family and other responsibilities. But this wasn’t the case for all.

Others found they quickly fell behind as they hadn’t yet developed the independent learning skills they needed to keep on top of their studies and felt isolated from their tutors and peers.

Similarly, pre-Covid, there were students who relished the experience of contributing to a group discussion in a face-to-face lecture, and others who found learning in a large and very vocal group daunting so would remain silent.

So what steps could the sector take to deliver a more personalised experience that supports students academically and emotionally?

Flexible learning options

Having a clear understanding of how a student learns best is the first step.

Some institutions have already started along this route by asking their students what aspects of learning they want to happen in person and which services they would rather access digitally. When no two students are alike, the results of such an exercise could be interesting.

A lecturer might find one of their students prefers to learn remotely on Thursdays and Fridays to fit in with childcare responsibilities or a part-time job. Others might feel they get more from their course when they attend all in-person sessions.

Meeting all students’ preferences may not always be possible in terms of staffing, available learning spaces and remote access to course content. Still, there could be a middle ground that would provide some flexibility.

Wellbeing focused

The higher education sector is set to become much more proactive at identifying the early indicators that a student might need extra support, whether that’s academically, socially, or emotionally. This

will require a fundamental shift in the way institutions have typically managed student information to close gaps.

Bringing information on a student’s academic and social experiences at the university together will help to create a single pane of glass view that staff can use to spot changing patterns in behaviour or alert student support services sooner if there are concerns.

Imagine a student who previously attended every lecture suddenly stops coming in or disappears from the economics department student WhatsApp group. With a joined-up picture of their university life, instructors and student services teams could quickly flag issues and put help in place straight away if the student needs it. This could make the difference between a student who achieves the qualifications and skills they set out to and one who is at risk of dropping out altogether.

Innovative teaching and learning

People and systems need to be brought together to deliver a tailored student experience. Information that flows swiftly and securely across departments cuts staff workloads and opens up opportunities for much greater innovation in higher education.

We are on the precipice of seeing technologies such as AI and machine learning revolutionise the way universities support students’ well-being and academic progress – identifying and supporting a student who is capable of much more than they are achieving or even using data on students’ background and circumstances to flag them as at risk of feeling isolated when learning remotely.

Now is the right time for universities to be prepared to deliver this holistic and more personalised experience of going to university.

Iain Sloan was formerly student systems development manager at Oxford Brookes University and is currently a senior solutions consultant at Ellucian.