Discover and share good practice for smarter working universities

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HEFCE prospective students good practice guide

This guide will help higher education providers follow good practice in supplying easily accessible information for prospective students.

Sir Ian Diamond: ‘We can improve… by sharing best practice’.

In an interview with Efficiency Exchange, Professor Sir Ian Diamond reflects on how universities have adapted to become more efficient.
AskUS at University of Salford (Paul Craig Photography.)

Rethinking student services at Salford

In 2015 the University of Salford’s student services was completely redesigned with students and staff members from other parts of the university co-creating the the new facility. In this blogpost, Victoria Owen, a customer services manager, reflects on the process and how the redesigned service works in practice.

Students as change agents

Meeting students’ expectations is becoming more important for universities. Clare Foyle and Jean Mutton explore what institutions are doing to engage students in influencing change projects in learning, teaching and professional services.

Six ways to give students a warmer welcome

First impressions count, which means welcome communications are among the most important we will send to our students. Based on a recent overhaul at Lancaster University, Luke Davis offers his top tips.

Exploring institutional practices in the post-digital age

The 15th annual Academic Practice and Technology conference included discussions around student engagement and digital provision and provided an opportunity to expand on ideas that can improve the link between students and institutions. Steve Dawes writes on the Association for Learning Technology blog about how the event showed that there is still a willingness to use digital technology to help students individually as well as part of a group.
John Lacey pitching his app at Open Data Mashup Day

John Lacey: ‘my perception of value for money has definitely improved’

Some 20 universities have joined forces to create a more defined path for graduates interested in a career in higher education with the Ambitious Futures programme. John Lacey, who has had placements at two universities in the north west of England, describes how these experiences have offered him new perspectives on the student journey.

Finding ‘pain points’ in the student journey

Like all service users, students have their stories of where their experience could have been improved. Jean Mutton presents some of the findings from a Jisc study seeking to identify these 'pain points'.

The rise of the new academic advisor

Could the advent of the TEF see the emergence of a new breed of data-empowered academic advisors? Student experience consultant Brian Hipkin says the growth in student-generated ‘teaching excellence’ metrics could herald the introduction of this role.

5 May: Design for Education | Service Design Basics, Lancaster

This one-day workshop will show participants how to develop and deliver great services through a design-led approach. This puts students, staff and stakeholders at the heart of delivery helping practitioners to learn new ways to find solutions to problems that impact their institution.