Using a committee as a student staff partnership research group to implement data-driven, research-informed practical applications to benefit the student experience

This case study presents a mechanism for implementing research-informed practical applications to benefit the student experience in an institutional setting.

It describes an approach that uses a formal university committee, with representation drawn from staff (both academic and professional services) and the student body, as a research group. The committee/research group takes a data-driven approach to identifying areas for focus: the members collate, present, and rigorously analyse a variety of available institutional data (internal and external, quantitative and qualitative) in order to jointly draw conclusions each year to prioritise and drive enhancements for the student experience in the forthcoming year(s).

The case study presents the progress made in implementing this new approach, exploring the advantages, and disadvantages, of a data-driven, research-informed approach to implementing practical applications to enhance the student experience in an institutional setting, and presents some lessons learned.