Transcript Implementing a Process for Measuring Student Support in

Implementing a Process for
Measuring Student Support in the
Faculty of Health Science
Sara Booth, Justin Walls, Craig Zimitat, Ellen Ennever
and Jo-Anne Kelder
University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
The Origin of Standards in HE

The overall HE student experience plays a critical role in student success

Student experience can be defined as;
‘All experiences of facets of the university experienced by an individual student’
(Baird and Gordon, 2009)

Difficult to identify ‘the student experience’ as a single construct
→

Includes; pre-enrolment engagement, experience of first-year and subsequent
years of study, graduate studies and graduate outcomes
How do HE providers know students are receiving a quality experience?
University Experience Survey (UES)
Australian Graduate Survey (AGS)
MyUniversity website
 Development of performance measurement instruments
→ Higher Education Standards Framework (TEQSA)




A standard may be defined as;
‘A specification or other precise criteria designed to be used consistently as a rule,
guideline or definition of a level of performance or achievement’ (AUQA, 2007)
HE Standards Framework
Teaching and Learning Standards
Domains
Qualification Standards
Threshold
Standards
Provider Standards-Provider Registration, Provider Category, Provider Course Accreditation
Standards
Research Standards
Information Standards

TEQSA will register and evaluate the performance of HE providers against the
Higher Education Standards Framework

Increased transparency, accountability and monitoring of performance indicators
and measures
→
→
 transparency informs student choice
Monitoring of standards improves student success and HE performance
Current Research in HE Standards
 Sector-wide standards projects:

Macquarie University:
→
DISSRTE-funded development of a Teaching Standards Framework and online
tool (Sachs, J et al. 2012)
→

University of Melbourne:
→

Verification of standards project (Patterson, P et al.)
University of Sydney:
→
Assessing and assuring graduate learning outcomes: Principles and practices
within and across the disciplines (Barrie, S et al. 2011)
→

Proposes teaching standards and data collection frameworks
Investigation of types of assessment tasks and assurance processes that provide
evidence of student achievement
University of Western Sydney:
→
A sector-wide model for assuring final year subject and program achievement
standards through inter-university moderation (Krause, KL and Scott, G 2011)
→
→
11 universities across 11 disciplines
Inter-university peer review and moderation of coursework at unit and program
level
Current Research in HE Standards
 Discipline-specific initiatives:

Queensland University of Technology:
→

University of Adelaide:
→

Navigating a pathway between the academic standards and a framework for
authentic, collaborative, outcomes focused thinking in Engineering Education
(Boles, W)
Harmonising higher education and professional quality assurance processes for
the assessment of learning outcomes in health (O’Keefe, M)
University of Technology Sydney:
→
Curriculum renewal and inter-professional health education: Establishing
capabilities, outcomes and standards (Lee, A and Manidis, M)
Implementation of Standards at the Institutional Level

Australian HE Institutions developing and implementing a Standards Framework:

Charles Sturt University
The next steps: Defining standards in learning and teaching, research and professional
engagement (Burnett, P, Chambers, R and Gorman, L 2008)
→ Monitoring and promoting progress towards achieving CSU standards (Chambers, R 2008)
→

Curtin University
→

Macquarie University
→

Teaching Quality, Research Quality, Administration & Management Quality
University of South Australia
→

Academic Standards Framework
University of Canberra
→

Teaching, Learning Environment and Curriculum
RMIT
→

Curriculum, Staff, Learning Environment, Students, Ethics, Equity and Social Justice
Institutional climate & Systems, Diversity & Inclusivity, Engagement & Learning Outcomes
and Assessment
University of Western Sydney
→
Course Design, Support, Delivery and Impact
UTAS Academic Standards Framework (ASF)

UTAS Academic Standards Framework was approved by University
Learning and Teaching Committee (UL&TC) in August 2011

Academic Standards Sub-Committee was established to:
 Develop the ASF
 Ensure that the ASF aligns with current HE practices nationally and
internationally
 Ensure that the ASF aligns to TEQSA requirements

A comprehensive framework has been developed that encompasses 6
key dimensions
UTAS Academic Standards Framework (ASF)
Learning
Curriculum
Student Support (aligns with HE Framework Provider Standards)
Research
Research Training
Dimensions- The Student Support Dimension
is currently being trialled in the Faculty of
Health Science at UTAS
Teaching
ASF Student Support Dimension
 Student Support Dimension:
 Important component of overall student experience
→ Encompasses pre-enrolment, undergraduate and graduate studies and graduate outcomes
 Composed of 14 standards
 Indicators and performance measures of each standard have been developed based on
their capacity to measure and improve practice
Table 1: Examples of standards in the ASF Student Support dimension
Standard
Students may enter the university on
recognition of prior learning (RPL) and credit
transfer assessments
Performance Indicators
Approval mechanisms ensure that students
who hold the requisite skills and knowledge
are granted RPL
Example Performance Measures
 Number of admissions with RPL
 Number of requests for RPL denied
A range of pathways are provided to students
to promote access and participation
Admissions policies and processes for
alternative pathways are informed by
progress and completion data for specific
cohorts of students
 Analysis of admissions data
 Number of flexible and integrated pathways
for students through UTAS degree structure
 Number of students enrolling in pathway
programs
Students are assessed and supported to
progress in their learning, including modified
teaching and learning arrangements for
students with special needs
Reasonable adjustments to mode of delivery
and assessment negotiated and included in
Learning Access Plan (LAP)
 Student results (success, completion) by
cohorts and study locations
 Distribution of grade point averages
 Increased retention and completion rate
 Number of LAPs
 Special consideration process
Faculty of Health Science (FHS) ASF trial
 FHS is comprised of 5 Schools;
 Department of Rural Health
 Human Life Sciences
 Medicine
 Nursing and Midwifery
 Pharmacy
 A FHS Academic Standards Working Group was established to oversee the monitoring of
Student Support performance indicators and measures
 Individuals within each School were designated responsibility for collecting and collating
evidence against each performance indicator
 ASF Evaluation and Benchmarking Tool was also developed:
 Web-based resource:
→ Hosted on UTAS server
→ Secure MySQL
 System to evaluate and benchmark current practices against a set of standards
ASF Online Evaluation and Benchmarking Tool
Evaluate
Course
School
Faculty
Continual improvement and better outcomes across UTAS
Institutional
Benchmark
Report
Type text
Reporting and Utilisation of Data
 Data from each School was uploaded and utilised to generate a School Report:





Department of Rural Health
Human Life Sciences
Medicine
Nursing and Midwifery
Pharmacy
School reports utilised to generate a Faculty Report
 ASF Reports;
 Identified areas;
→ of best practice
→ for improvement
→ for development
At School, Faculty and Institutional level
 Highlighted areas where some Schools are performing better than others
→ Provide an opportunity to share best practices
→ Leads to enhancement of Student Support practices across Faculty
Project Findings
 Areas of Best Practice across Faculty of Health Science:




Accurate and timely information is provided to students on all aspects of a program
Students admitted to the Faculty satisfy minimum entry requirements
The range and quality of Support Services available is provided to students
A range of pathways are provided to students to promote access and participation
 Areas for improvement at School level:
 Training is required for information collectors to develop knowledge of what data is available and
how to access it
 Utilisation of data from external student surveys should inform practices
 Areas for improvement at Faculty level:
 Design a Faculty student progression database template to be implemented across all Schools to
allow consistent tracking of student cohorts and demographic groups
 Areas for improvement at Institutional level:
 Implement communication processes for reporting results of external student surveys to Faculties
and Schools (e.g. AGS, AUSSE, ISB, UES)
 Targets to be set for admission and completion of specific cohorts
 Provision of student demographic data (e.g. low SES, Indigenous or TSI origin, CALD) to Schools to
allow tracking of specific cohorts
 PASS reports to be provided to Heads of School
Next Phase
 Final report to be presented to the FHS Academic Standards Working Group
identifying operational recommendations and actions at the School and Faculty
levels.
 Student Support framework to be revised;
 Performance indicators and measures made more explicit
 Adjustment and further alignment of performance indicators and measures with
standards
 A User Guide for the online ASF Evaluation and Benchmarking Tool is currently
in development