The View
Flexibility
first
How students are taking control of their learning when selecting a university or programme.
By Dr Gael McDonald, Academic Ambassador for the Hinrich Foundation, Professor Emeritus Global Development Portfolio of RMIT University, Australia
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In some regards, the criteria used by students to determine which universities they attend remains as traditional as ivy-covered halls. Does it offer the programme I want to study? Can I afford it? What is the school’s reputation? Will I have a job when I graduate? Undergraduates tend to consider the size of the school and the campus experience; postgraduates may emphasise the level of real-world experience in their professors, while PhD candidates more often factor in the quality and quantity of research being produced by a professor or an institution.
Most universities periodically survey their students to gauge the evaluative criteria their students are using in their process leading up to their preferred programme of study or their choice of university. While these are largely internal reports, there is a surprising amount of data freely available. Having reviewed survey results from around the world, in addition to the well-established criteria mentioned above, there are several emerging elements that students are coming to see as vital in their decision making.
Flexibility is rarely mentioned as a criteria, but it is worthy of analysis as a potentially critical driver for higher education in the future. Flexibility in higher education has been described as the ability for students to decide what, when, how and where they learn. “Any device, any time for learning” is an ever-increasing expectation. Other related expectations include personalisation, customisation and the idea of the “class of one”, which will essentially enable students to tailor their learning experience based entirely on their needs and to change this experience as those needs change.
"It is no longer the dichotomy of a part-time versus full-time, online versus face-to-face lectures, a short course or massive open online courses (MOOC’s), but rather a more nuanced and broader spectrum of delivery options that may change as the student circumstance changes."
Flexibility is multidimensional and can relate to learning, delivery, assessment, attendance deadlines and even tuition payment. Looking primarily at academic flexibility, the following are considerations:
Learning: From high school, most students become aware of their preferred learning style, and as technology is further adopted, students may expect to be able to choose between lecture-based, lecture catcher (where lecturers are recorded to be played at the student’s discretion), through to simulation and experiential learning. To facilitate this, it has been suggested that there is some preliminary diagnostics undertaken in order to assist a student with understanding their actual preferred approaches to learning.
Delivery: It is no longer the dichotomy of a part-time versus full-time, online versus face-to-face lectures, a short course or massive open online courses (MOOC’s), but rather a more nuanced and broader spectrum of delivery options that may change as the student circumstance changes.
Assessment: This involves exploring students’ preferred means of evaluation. While “I love exams” is rarely heard, some students do perform well in this condensed assessment experience, while others are more well placed on internal assessments. Moving away from traditional assessment, students are now seeking out more authentic assessment where evaluation of knowledge and skill in application is undertaken using a more practice-based approach.
Attendance and deadlines: It has been suggested that students see strict attendance and participation requirements – as well as unrealistic deadlines – as actively impeding their success.
Accommodating learning difficulties: While this is now expected, it is still worth mentioning and will mean the provision of separate assessment space, use of headphones, further reading time on exams etc.
Photo by Levi Guzman on Unsplash
"It has been found that when it comes to the effectiveness of learning, high-level flexibility allows individuals to adapt their learning pathways to suit their interests and abilities, and in doing so, it creates a better experience, higher levels of engagement and better completion rates."
Academic flexibility has been stated as an idealised state, where there is a mixture of education philosophy, pedagogical strategies, delivery and administrative structures, which allows maximum choice for differences in students learning needs, styles and circumstances. Flexibility could be achieved in terms of entry, student choice of content, sequence, time, place and method of learning, assessment, processes access to resources and support. More simply, flexibility is viewed as students being able to customise the learning experience.
Flexibility is seen as a key factor for the future of universities as they enrol more students who are now studying while having demanding full-time jobs, active in childcare, and/or with an overt concern for a balanced lifestyle. It has been found that when it comes to the effectiveness of learning, high-level flexibility allows individuals to adapt their learning pathways to suit their interests and abilities, and in doing so, it creates a better experience, higher levels of engagement and better completion rates.
Fortunately, this need for flexibility is being effectively coupled with technological advancements in learning platforms, machine learning, artificial intelligence and others, for which there is an evidential need for all academic administrators to be actively engaged in.
Other emerging criteria
A review of the criteria used by students indicates subtle shifts. Some of the factors have grown in importance as students demonstrate greater discernment given the cost, both in terms of time and money, that is attached to obtaining a university education. Also, as societal awareness changes, so too will the perceptions of what is valued by future students.
Increasingly, students are looking for tangible outcomes to their investment in higher education. The desired link between learning and career outcomes is now readily apparent and increasingly expected by students.
Some of the other factors that have grown in importance and come into play include:
Industry engagement: Going further than the provision of internships or work-based learning, industry engagement is being viewed by students as the university being active externally and maximising connections with employers and industry bodies to provide opportunities for students. Students want to know who the university has links with, their level of sponsorship, the number of industry guest speakers, project availability and career support for future employment.
Innovation: Covering a wide spectrum of activity, innovation can include everything from e-advising them on course selection to providing data analytics on performance. Students and their perceptions of innovation are largely focused on the curriculum – and while difficult to assess – innovation in this context is usually evaluated by three dimensions. The first is where students endeavour to look at the contemporary nature of the programme of study, such as how it is up to date, and the currency of materials. The second is in relation to teaching pedagogies and the use of experiential learning, flipped classroom or gamification. The third dimension is equipment and the use of technology such as mobile learning, virtual reality, artificial intelligence and Edtech tools. The difficulty of course, is how a student is able to assess this, and hence the importance of externally focussed communication and particularly universities’ websites.
Student support: Support which is in addition to what is provided in the programme, is highly valued by students and therefore a criteria that is now being incorporated into the decision-making process. Support can come in many forms, both academic, and increasingly, mental health support is being mentioned by students as important contributors to their future study success. Student support could also extend to co-curricular personal development.
Return on investment: While certainly not a new criterion, given the rising costs of higher education, students are increasingly seeking evidence regarding the likely return on investment for a specified programme of study. The obvious returns are in the form of new skills and the potential for higher earning post-graduation, however, quantifying with a meaningful measure is inherently difficult.
Approach to sustainability: Given increased societal awareness of sustainability issues it is becoming apparent that students care about the environment and sustainability. With this comes increased expectations by students that the university they will be attending is doing their part. The challenges faced by universities and their efforts to reduce the environmental and social impact in all areas of their operations through sustainable policy and practices on campus are of increasing interest to students. How a school cares for the environment is a reflection on them as a student. In addition, the university’s approach to teaching students about sustainability as it applies to their future careers is also paramount.
Safety: This is an important factor for students in terms of campus security and the surrounding community. Universities have a moral obligation to ensure a safe environment. While students are not necessarily wanting to know what risk management procedures are in place, they will be attuned to any incidences that are publicly reported.
Diversity: Potential students consider this primarily from a gender and cultural perspective and in terms of the makeup among the student body, faculty and staff. However, diversity can also be expanded beyond ethnic and gender identities to include political affiliations, nationality, religious beliefs, income levels and the inclusion practices around these groups.
Public transportation: The ease and availability of public transport to and from the campus seems like a small issue but is one that is being raised by prospective student. Once again indicating that both staff and students are mindful from an environmental perspective.
Healthy eating: It is common for food outlets on campus to be sub-contracted so there is some choice in providers. Interestingly, this criterion of healthy eating options relates to not only the provision of healthy food options, but also being increasingly conscious of dietary restrictions and preferences. Research indicates that it is female students who place more importance on health-related factors followed by special dietary behaviours than male students.
Alumni: It appears that in the private and more prestigious universities, students are interested in the quality of the alumni networks they will be joining, what kinds of access they will have to these networks and how they can leverage being an alumnus to advance their careers.
It is to be expected that the evaluative criteria utilised by a student in anticipation of their choice of university and programme of study will be quite personal. While there is some consistency in terms of traditional factors that are still deemed important, we are seeing present day changes and must be prepared for new criteria to emerge.