One of the key elements I look for when identifying a success story from a student experience is a rapid increase in NSS scores from one year to the next. Bangor University School of Law is a fantastic example of this, with 21 of their NSS question scores increasing from 2012 to 2013 and 6 increasing by more than 15%.
Having been in contact with Yvonne McDermott, Director of Teaching and Learning and Deputy Principal, it is clear that her success in student satisfaction is the result of various initiatives focused on improving the student experience while studying within the school.
Homework Feedback
One of their key initiatives for 2012/13 was the introduction of a new essay cover page, which allows staff to provide more detailed feedback to students. In addition to this new and improved front page, the Law School has been able to ensure that 98% of all feedback is returned to students within 4 weeks, with a target of 100% for this academic year (13/14). .
Ensuring that students receive more detailed feedback, and that they also receive this feedback within the expected time frame, has clearly been seen as a significant improvement by students, with Q06 and Q07 satisfaction scores increasing by a 18% and 19% respectively.
business hours
Another recent improvement has been the doubling of staff office hours, to a minimum of 4 hours per week. Not being able to meet with a staff member can often be very stressful for a student. Increasing staff availability and communicating staff office hours effectively helps reassure students that if they need help or guidance, they know where and when they can reach staff and that staff have time to help .
This change appears to have been received very positively by students and is likely to be a key reason for the 19% increase in Q11 satisfaction from 74% in 2012 to 93% in 2013.
Increased opportunities for students and staff involvement
Q19 is a difficult topic to improve, student confidence often requires more than a change in procedure or policy. However, Bangor University Law School’s increased engagement with its students, combined with initiatives focused on providing opportunities and informational support for its students, appears to have had the desired positive effect.
Some of these initiatives include an Employability Committee focused on providing its students with the best employment opportunities with firms like Hill Dickinson and Hugh James offering student placements. The internship website offers student case studies for students to engage with, helping to build confidence in the initiative.
Increased interaction and engagement of staff outside of the typical teaching week has been another aspect that the School has instilled. Staff train and judge student moot court competitions, as well as take students on trips to destinations such as the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Strasbourg, and Brussels, among others. Creating these additional opportunities and ensuring that staff engage with students throughout their college life is certainly one aspect that has helped students feel safe in their environment.
scholarship scheme
Another aspect that is likely to be a significant factor in improving overall satisfaction is the scholarship system. This scheme gives students the opportunity to apply for financial aid to help cover costs associated with work experience. The scheme measures anticipated expenses, the financial situation of the student and the anticipated value of work experience to ensure that students most in need receive funding. This helps ensure that work experience opportunities are a possibility for all students and certainly an important factor in helping to improve the overall student experience.
Student Experience Success
Student engagement and improving student support are key themes in all Law School initiatives. This underscores how successful initiatives can be, as long as they are focused on the needs of students.
Each initiative has had a positive and measurable impact on the student experience, resulting in greatly improved NSS scores, indicating that students have recognized and appreciated their efforts.
I will continue to publish more articles on the success of the student experience, each of which will discuss different initiatives and ideas that have helped improve the student experience. These are meant to be useful and interesting articles that spark further conversation about the initiatives raised, so feel free to open up more discussions using the comment field at the bottom of each article.
benmoreland
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