Launched at the sparqs' 20th birthday event on Thursday 5th October 2023, we are delighted to share our new Student Learning Experience model, developed as part of the single tertiary approach to quality for colleges and universities. The new model seeks to put the experiences of students at the centre of the sector’s approach to quality.
The model was commissioned by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), following the publication of their Review of Coherent Provision and Sustainability report. It was developed by students in partnership with staff across the sector, in order to be focused on what matters most to our students. The model is designed to sit at the heart of conversations with students, enabling students and staff to work together to identify priorities to enhance the quality of learning. It plays a key role in Scotland’s quality arrangements and will continue to evolve alongside the tertiary approach to quality.
In developing the model, we built on our existing Student Learning Experience (SLE) tool. The existing tool has been used widely across the sector for many years and is the foundation of the training that sparqs delivers to course representatives.
The new SLE model is comprised of 9 building blocks. These are the key elements that make up the learning experience. They support students to begin to consider the distinct aspects of their experience which come together to provide a high-quality student learning experience.
The model is underpinned by 3 lenses. These are areas of focus that can be applied across all 9 of the building blocks. The resource will be updated during the 2023-24 academic year, to develop the lenses, allowing institutions and students to apply them to the model in order to highlight aspects across the learning experience that relate to these 3 areas.
Each building block has an accompanying set of 10 reflective questions. The questions support dialogue between students and staff on various aspects of the building blocks. They will help develop an understanding between students and staff of strengths within the student experience, as well as areas for development.
You can read more about the development of the new SLE model on our website, which details the extensive process to ensure the model was founded upon the views of students across Scotland on what makes an excellent quality learning experience. During the process we held 24 workshops across the sector, with over 300 students engaging and contributing.
In 2023-24, sparqs will work with the sector to embed the SLE model within forthcoming quality arrangements and to create supporting guidance for students’ associations and institutions to use the model across a range of activities.
Suggested uses for the SLE model include:
- As a basis for student rep training.
- To collate evidence on the learning experience for use in in self-evaluation and enhancement planning.
- As a reference point for review teams in internal and external review.
Thank you to everyone has contributed to the development of the model over the past year, including all the students who took part in the workshops, the students’ associations and institutions who hosted and supported the workshops, members of the student and staff consultative group, and members of national sector committees who provided feedback on draft versions of the model.
If you have any queries around the model, please contact Megan Brown, Development Consultant (megan.brown@sparqs.ac.uk) or Eve Lewis, Director (eve.lewis@sparqs.ac.uk).
