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52 stories
Week 10: Changing the way we think about a university education
ACER’s survey of university student engagement is helping learning communities become well resourced and passionately committed to improving outcomes for all learners.
Although many Australian universities are listed in the top ranks of international higher education surveys, these surveys do not tell university leaders – or students – much about the quality of students’ learning experiences. The Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE) provides institutions with valuable data for improving student engagement and enhancing the quality of learning provision.
‘We have a focus on improving learning, and we have the capacity to help universities have richly informed conversations about how they can improve learning, and how they can help students improve learning,’ says Hamish Coates, Director of Higher Education Research at ACER.
‘The most useful thing is to see where students are actively involved in their learning. Gathering that kind of information enables universities to better engage students for the purpose of developing better educational practice, rather than focusing simply on reputation or satisfaction,’ he says. ‘We developed the AUSSE with Australian and New Zealand universities to obtain that kind of data. The AUSSE measures actual behaviour and students’ perceptions of support. We’re able to track, for the first time ever, things like the early departure intentions of students.
‘We provide reports to students that tell them, for example, how they could improve their educational experience by making greater use of university libraries, say, or getting feedback from teaching staff,’ says Hamish. ‘We provide detailed reports to institutions, and conduct seminars and workshops to help them make good use of the data. Universities now have staff whose focus is on student engagement. Governments have subsequently developed policies addressing student engagement, and now include student engagement as an indicator of the quality of university education.’
Such a policy shift is no mean achievement. Put simply, the AUSSE has made student learning and engagement central to higher education policy and management, nationally and internationally, and changed the way we think about the quality of university education. ‘The AUSSE has shifted universities from measuring satisfaction to measuring effectiveness,’ Hamish says. ‘Large numbers of people now accept the importance of, and advocate for, quality in university education.’
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Week 52: State of the art psychometric and statistical analysis
Week 51: Assessing civics and citizenship
Week 50: International research into teaching and learning
GOAL 1
Learners and their needs
every learner engaged in challenging learning opportunities appropriate to their readiness and needs
GOAL 2
The Learning Profession
every learning professional highly skilled, knowledgeable and engaged in excellent practice
GOAL 3
Places of learning
every learning community well resourced and passionately committed to improving outcomes for all learners
GOAL 4
A Learning Society
a society in which every learner experiences success and has an opportunity to achieve their potential
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Pursuing Quality and Equity through Evidence
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