Discover and share good practice for smarter working universities

The right tools for the job: harnessing the power of student voice through HearNow

In this blog Jo Clarkson, Market Research and Insight Manager at the University of Warwick, shares how the HearNow project increased students’ feedback while minimising survey fatigue. The project by gathering students’ opinions as ‘snap-shot’ sentiments through technology and Gamification raised the number of active users from 200 to 13,000 with an average of 50% response rate.

WHAT DOES GDPR MEAN FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

Rob Hunter is Managing Director and Founder of Hunterlodge Advertising. In this piece he draws our attention to the changing landscape of personal data management and the need for the HE sector as a whole to prepare for effective compliance with the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).
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Is anybody out there?

Changes to key metrics that make up the TEF will mean that universities will become more reliant on good quality outcomes data. Brian Hipkin says more demanding requirements will mean less time chasing staff for up-to-date student data but will require universities to forge a new relationship with graduates.
WonkHE

How clearing is changing

The A-level results are published next week with students entering what has been described as the most competitive admissions market yet. But Dan Benyon writes on Wonkhe that clearing is changing, starting earlier with universities adopting a much more targeted, data driven approach.
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Welcome to the intelligent campus

As 'smart homes' become more and more sophisticated, universities are harnessing technology to improve the campus or classroom experience for students. Now institutions are planning on taking it to the next level, by using data from sensors, tracking and the internet, combined with information from other sources, as Jisc's James Clay describes in this blog.
WonkHE

The need to future proof data on degree value

With data like TEF and LEO, the question of value is at their core and understood largely in terms of students’ expectations and outcomes, particularly those which relate to careers and salaries. But what if the career landscape changes in the future, Adam Wright asks on Wonkhe.
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The benefits of an efficient asset data workflow

Simple changes to your data workflow can bring a range of benefits, according to the latest post on Jisc's equipment sharing blog. The University of Southampton's Adrian Cox writes that the mantra “enter it once use it many times” should be kept in mind when improving an institution's research data workflow.
WonkHE

Have your say on easing the burden of data collection

A seemingly simple request for information can turn out to be a painful experience for providers if data is not well managed within an institution. A consultation has been launched to develop a code of practice for higher education data collectors, which HESA's Andy Youell argues on Wonkhe will influence an approach to the behaviour of data collectors and the assessment of burden.
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Why blockchain could be the future in knowledge procurement

More applications are emerging for blockchain - a formerly obscure technology that underpins the digital currency Bitcoin. Nick Petford, chair of the Procurement UK forum and vice chancellor of the University of Northampton, is excited about its potential for procurement.
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Acronym news: farewell JACS, hello HECoS!

A new acronym for HE professionals to learn has arrived. The replacement for JACS is called HECoS - the HE Classification of Subjects. JACS is used by HESA and UCAS to classify subjects of study; the implementation of HECoS provides an opportunity for a far broader range of stakeholders to use a common subject coding system in the future.