Focus Group 2 (FG2) with students

The students were presented with version 2 of the Guide, which had been enhanced to reflect the actioned suggestions outlined above that were put forward by the SU. All of the students agreed that they liked the content and the fact that essentially the same information was being provided to both staff and students. As one student stated:

‘It shows the students what exactly the staff are trying to achieve and then the staff can see what students are trying to achieve and what they can do to work together to get it working.’ (Female student, 2nd _Year)

The students all agreed with this and added that the advice should be aimed at both staff and students as it’s a partnership and there are expectations on both sides. They didn’t have any other specific comments on the nature of the content or whether anything needed to be added. They were quite passionate about how the Guide should be disseminated. In relation to the format, all the students were very vocal on how information is currently consumed and had some ideas based on their own preferences and that of their friends and peers. The students suggested that the Guide should be available online as opposed to just available in paper. The

suggestion was that ‘paper is out the window now’ (Male student, 2nd

year) and that if it were on a webpage that is colourful then students are more likely to read it. The students also suggested that the Guide could be turned into an ‘Infographic’ (graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge intended to present information quickly and clearly)and they referred to one developed by their school for prospective students – targeted at students in upper sixth form at secondary school. The infographic provides clear information that helps these students make an informed choice about whether to pursue the university course on which it is based. It also helps existing students to choose optional modules as it shows the different pathways and possible career choices through the chosen modules. The focus group students went on to state that the infographic is a modern thing too and enables the information to be kept current. Once all of the

information is input to the infographic, it can be housed on a website as an image which makes it relatively easy to print.

The students then went on to suggest that perhaps a better idea would be to make a short video. They felt that this could be shared very easily and could be used for multiple purposes e.g. induction days, Insight evenings etc. All text-based information could then be put on a website to which the video could direct the audience. The students felt very strongly that it would be a shame to put two or three years of work and effort into a text-based format which could prove very difficult to get people to read. Further suggestions were made on how the video should be made and what it should constitute:

 It should be a short video, no more than 3-4 minutes with the first 30 seconds being critical to get engagement;

 Keep it simple, short and sweet;

 It could also involve an animated colour spider diagram;

 It should incorporate staff and students speaking about their experiences relating to the Guide;

o Perhaps use a year 1, year 2, year 3 student – talking about their experiences. The students could illustrate what is in the text.

The benefits of this were articulated by the students as:

 It would take less time for staff and students to access the information;

 If those that watched it were interested in follow-up information, then a link to a website could be provided. The video becomes the hook in which to get people to read and engage with the materials;

 The video could be used at Insight evenings, Open days etc. and it could be accessed all year round. It could become an Ulster selling point in that course teams could talk about the partnership ethos as well as talking about the course content. It might help some students make an informed choice and to consider Ulster as their first choice, because of this.

In relation to how and when the Guide could be used, the students suggested that it could be emailed to all staff and students. They all felt strongly that it

should be sent to new students before they come in, before induction. As stated by one graduate:

‘Students are pretty keen before induction, they are more likely to be motivated to read this kind of material, it’s a first hit and maybe reinforce the content again at induction and in the first few weeks’. (Recent male graduate)

They also agreed that for staff, it needs to filter down the different levels of school and faculty. There needs to be buy-in from the level above the lecturers as well. Students agreed that the recommendations would help staff to provide active learning opportunities, which engages students.

Students were very supportive of removing the ‘them and us’ attitude that can prevail in some areas. The students reflected that a lot of lecturers are very good at partnership and engaging students but for others it is very alien. One student felt that some students might find this alien too, some students are naturally shy and they don’t like being outspoken:

‘Some staff might just like going in and doing the lecture – maybe have a bit of engagement – but they have their plan and stick to it – like some students just like going in and happily listening. For both staff and students it may mean going out of their comfort zone’. (Female student, 2nd _year)

A summary of suggestions and subsequent actions are outlined in Table 5 below:

Table 5: Suggestions and actions following focus group 2 Suggestions by

focus group

Reflections and actions by me

Turn the written Guide into an Infographic

I felt this was a great idea and recognise that the text-based Guide could become very lengthy and put staff and students off. Unfortunately this isn’t

something that I can action immediately as we have limited digital support at present as staff in this area are currently tasked with upgrading the University’s VLE. However, this is something that I will consider in 2016/17.

Turn the Guide into a short video for multiple purposes incorporating the voices of staff and students

I was quite taken with the passion of these students. They themselves had experienced being a student partner and could see the benefits from the

perspective of student, staff and institution. I agree that this would make a very useful resource and it is something that I will also consider in 2016/17

Email the Guide to all staff and

students

Whilst this would be relatively easy to do, I don’t think it would be particularly effective. I think the Guide would be better distributed in a more targeted fashion – aimed at critical instances in the staff and student journey, e.g. perhaps use it with staff

preparing for revalidation or new students as they prepare to enter HE. I decided to wait until all the focus groups were completed before acting on this and that this will be considered as part of a wider dissemination strategy.

6.2.3 Focus Group 3 (FG3) with the WWSRS Change Programme