Revitalising student voice through a trilateral partnership approach: How a university and students’ union sought to refresh practice and re-boot student engagement and representation
Keywords:
Student Voice, Student Charter, Students' Union, Partnership, Policy, RepresentationAbstract
This case study explores the trilateral (three-way) partnership approach undertaken at an English university and students’ union to revitalise student voice and ‘re-boot’ student engagement against the backdrop of the existential challenges facing UK higher education providers. The approach included the reworking of the ‘Student Voice & Representation Policy’ to formalise student voice and representation mechanisms; the creation of a new trilateral ‘Student Charter’, to clarify expectations and commitments of each party for successful student engagement; and, the pilot of the innovative ‘Student Experience Collaborators Scheme’ that empowered students to work in partnership with senior staff and students’ union elected officers to shape the student experience, as an alternative approach to the traditional Student Advisory Council. Further considerations and reflections have been contextualised against key debates concerning inclusive representation within staff–student partnerships.
Downloads
References
Adams, T. (2023). How to engage students in your educational developments: A student leader’s view. In T. Lowe. (Ed.), Advancing student engagement in higher education: Reflection, critique and challenge (pp. 94–102). Routledge.
Bovill, C. (2020). Cocreation in learning and teaching: The case for a whole - class approach in higher education. Higher Education, 79(6), 1023–1037. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-019-00453-w
Cabral, A., Fuller, S., De Wilde, J., & Melsen, M. (2023). Cochairing and cocreating in Staff–Student Liaison Committees: The experience of cocreating and running a course for staff acting as cochairs. The Journal of Educational Innovation, Partnership and Change, 9(1).
Cook-Sather, A., Bovill, C., & Felten, P. (2014). Engaging students as partners in learning and teaching: A guide for faculty. JosseyBass.
Cotton, C., Gifford, J., & Young, J. (2022). Incentives and recognition: An evidence review. Practice summary and recommendations. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Dickinson, J. (2023). The problem with student engagement during COVID-19. In T. Lowe. (Ed.), Advancing student engagement in higher education: Reflection, critique and challenge (pp. 114–122). Routledge.
Dunbar-Morris, H. (2023). Authentic leadership for student engagement. In T. Lowe. (Ed.), Advancing student engagement in higher education: Reflection, critique and challenge (pp. 60–70). Routledge.
Flint, A., & Goddard, H. (2020). Power, partnership, and representation. In L. Mercer-Mapstone & S. Abbot (Eds.), The power of partnership: Students, staff, and faculty revolutionizing higher education (pp. 73–85). University Center for Engaged Learning. https://doi.org/10.36284/celelon.oa2
George, M. (2023). Defining, delivering and evaluating student engagement in a professional service in higher education: A case study of a student engagement team in an academic library. In T. Lowe. (Ed.), Advancing student engagement in higher education: Reflection, critique and challenge (pp. 179–188). Routledge.
Healey, M., Flint, A., & Harrington, K. (2014). Engagement through partnership: Students as partners in learning and teaching in higher education. Higher Education Academy. https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/engagement-through-partnership-students-partners-learning-and-teaching-higher
Islam, M., Burnett, T.-L.., & Collins, S.-L. (2021). Trilateral partnership: An institution and students’ union collaborative partnership project to support underrepresented student groups. International Journal for Students as Partners, 5(1), 76–85. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v5i1.4455
Lowe, C.V., & Lowe, T. (2023). Accessibility to student engagement opportunities: A focus on ‘hard-to-reach’ universities. In T. Lowe. (Ed.), Advancing student engagement in higher education: Reflection, critique and challenge (pp. 82–93). Routledge.
Lowe, T. (2023). Advancing Student Engagement in Higher Education: Reflection, Critique and Challenge (T. Lowe, Ed.; 1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003271789
Lowe, T., Shaw, C., Sims, S., King, S., & Paddison, A. (2017). The development of contemporary student engagement practices at the university of Winchester and Winchester student union, UK. International Journal for Students as Partners, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v1i1.3082
Matthews, K. E., & Dollinger, M. (2023). Student voice in higher education: the importance of distinguishing student representation and student partnership. Higher Education, 85(3), 555–570. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-022-00851-7
Mercer-Mapstone, L., Dvorakova, S. L., Matthews, K. E., Abbot, S., Cheng, B., Felten, P., Knorr, K., Marquis, E., Shammas, R., & Swaim, K. (2017). A Systematic Literature Review of Students as Partners in Higher Education. International Journal for Students as Partners, 1(1), 15–37. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v1i1.3119
Molesworth, M., Scullion, R., & Nixon, E. (2011). The marketisation of higher education and the student as a consumer. Routledge.
Sutton Trust. (2023). New polling on the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on students. (06 March 2023). https://www.suttontrust.com/news-opinion/all-news-opinion/new-polling-on-the-impact-of-the-cost-of-living-crisis-on-students/
University of Southampton. (n.d.). Staff–Student Liaison Committee (Taught Programmes): Terms of Reference and Constitution. https://www.southampton.ac.uk/quality/governance/sslctaught.page#:~:text=The%20University%20of%20Southampton%20and%20the%20Students%27%20Union%20are%20committed%20to&text=quality%20of%20programmes%20and%20modules%20overall;
University of Winchester. (2016). QAA and the University of Winchester. https://www.winchester.ac.uk/About-Us/Academic-excellence/A-Quality-Culture/QAA--the-University-of-Winchester/
University of Winchester. (2024). Student Voice and Representation Policy. https://www.winchester.ac.uk/media/Student-Voice-and-Representation-Policy.pdf
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:a. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
b. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
c. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
