The case for a new data-driven approach to student support

In June 2022, the Government appointed me the first Higher Education Student Support Champion. Colleagues, institutions, student unions and sector bodies from across higher education shared with me their perspectives on current best practice and core issues concerning student support.

From these initial responses and subsequent discussions, it has become clear to me that our current approach to student support needs some rethinking. The arguments for revising how we deliver support services are powerful and the prospect of data-driven approaches to reform is especially compelling.

Drivers of change

The pressures felt by students studying at higher education providers (HEPs) continue to increase. HEPs have responded to these demands by expanding the interventions they offer across multiple domains.

Not all of the interventions employed are soundly evidence-based: in fact, we lack sufficient research on which activities work, for which students, and in which circumstances.

Furthermore, adding ever more activities to the student support menu on an incremental basis has a range of downsides.

We risk making the landscape of student support increasingly complicated for students to navigate.

We commit additional resources at a time of financial constraint.

Crucially, we may be asking academic colleagues to take up additional tasks that are beyond their current remit and, in the view of some, beyond what they are trained or signed up to do.

As we add to the support we offer, there is a danger of creating the impression that we can deal with anything and everything that happens in the lives of our students.

We need to recognise and articulate the boundaries of our responsibilities. We must be explicit that student support is there to facilitate students achieving the educational outcome their ability, ambition, and application deserve.

The solution to this range of problems is the development of a coherent and comprehensible system of student support informed by the application of student analytics.

What role might analytics play in a refined student support system?

Student analytics are becoming ever more sophisticated, predicting as well as reporting on both student engagement and wellbeing.

As the demand for student support grows, analytics will enable HEPs to identify those students most at risk of not completing or of poor wellbeing. This will ensure the right support can be provided to those students most in need of intervention.

As the key regulatory metrics for judging institutional performance – in particular, student continuation and completion – gain ever more importance, it is vital we ensure at-risk students receive the support to stay and succeed.

Analytics will also enable HEPs to evaluate the efficacy of their interventions. We will generate greater insight to determine which activities are most successful at improving outcomes.

Possessing this evidence base will be critical as we look to streamline our student support offering.

Predictive analytics, or those that employ other AI or machine learning methods, may begin to automate some of these processes, automatically signposting students to the most appropriate sources of support at the right moment in their journey.

What might the impact of these analytics be on our organisational practices?

As we collect, analyse, and share these data with colleagues, the expectations of the Government, the Office for Students, commentators, parents and students about the way data shapes our organisational policies and practices around student support are going to grow.

The potential for HEPs to use new approaches to data presents an opportunity for us to understand more about our students and how to support them.

However, it also constitutes a risk, one that may only be addressed by fundamental rethinking of our approaches to student support: HEPs must ensure their support processes are informed by analytics if they have the means to generate insight on student engagement and wellbeing.

Where next?

Supported by Jisc, I recently shared with vice-chancellors, principals and governing bodies a briefing that outlines the core data that are needed to generate insights on students’ engagement and wellbeing.

Our intention is to illustrate there is a relatively small number of data points required to deliver insights into student engagement and wellbeing, and that these are likely being collected by HEPs already. 

It is important that HEPs respond positively to this opportunity. Otherwise, over time, our current approaches to student support may become – and be seen to become – sub-optimal. The best way to develop an effective and sustainable system of support is through the thorough integration of analytics into its design and delivery.

If you would like to hear more about my work I will be speaking about this topic at the upcoming Digifest on 7-8 March.