One aspect of our mission at eLearning Miami is that we carefully consider the student experience.
What do we mean by student experience? To recap our last email, the student experience encompasses all the activities and interactions students have. Throughout their time at Miami students will have many touchpoints, ranging from using the dining halls and learning to research in the library to, of course, their academic experiences. All of these interactions impact students on a physical, emotional, or social level.
How do we assess the student experience? Having broadly defined the student experience, how do we begin to assess the various aspects of this myriad of interactions? How can we do so in a way that ensures we have gathered the right data, analyzed it properly, and in a manner that allows those making decisions based on it to believe in the findings?
As you might imagine, there are many ways to go about this. Each has its limitations, so keeping those in mind from the outset is essential to building a holistic approach. Thinking through what is being assessed, what methodology is being implemented, and what format the data will be collected in, are all crucial considerations.
Surveys for instance are widely available in a variety of forms—e.g. Consortium surveys, bespoke campus surveys, and those from consultant groups are just a few of the types we ca use. Regardless of origin, things like low response rates and the limited nature of each group doing their own surveys can limit their broader usefulness.
To get a more holistic idea of something like student experience requires that you augment things like surveys and data mining with interviews, focus groups and observations. Doing so will allow you to effectively address the challenges of student experience assessment.
In our mission to partner, our office can be a resource for faculty and staff seeking to enhance the student experience through digital and innovative means. If you are interested in exploring, discussing, or evaluating your touchpoints, we are here to help. Contact us today to collaborate on ideas you have on how you can improve your students' experience.
