ESCAPES, ePortfolio and Employability

CETIS 2012Nottingham

Kirstie Coolin & Judith WayteUniversity of Nottingham

Centre for International ePortfolio Development

ESCAPES | Enhancing Student-Centred Administration for Placement ExperienceS

Objectives of this session

•The ESCAPES project•ePortfolio touching on the student experience•Community and placement•Retention as an outcome?•Over to you!

ESCAPES | Enhancing Student-Centred Administration for Placement ExperienceS

Personal

Administration

Careers and work

Course Data – XCRIAdmissionsStudent LifecyclePlacements

Learning + teaching

ePortfolio, Placements, Skills and Competences, tutoring, personalised learning, recording achievement

Information, Advice + Guidance, Showcase/engage employers, Open Data, Alumni

Institution

Lifelong / wide learning

Tra

nsitio

n a

nd

Pro

gre

ssion

Community

• Pre-application• Application• Pre-registration• Registration• Induction• Teaching and learning processes• Placements• Pastoral care• Employability and careers services• Graduation• Alumni processes• Marketing

Student LifecycleRelationship Management

ESCAPES

People, Process, Technology

• Examine placement processes from a student-point of view• Make improvements to student experience and administration• Impact on career progression, retention and employability

Addressing placement experiences from a student point of view

Issue Academic staff

Administration / central services

Student Employers

Administration

Communication √ √ √

Tracking √

Publicising √ √ √

Learning √ √

Feedback √ √

Assessment √ √

Skills and employability

√ √

… others …

Do ePortfolios help with retention of students?•Is there evidence?

•Is there correlation between the outcomes of ePortfolio use (engaged, self-directed, community) and student retention?

•Does student satisfaction equate to retention?

HEA Retention and success factors•Pre-entry information, advice and guidance to inform HE choices•Pre-entry preparation, including developing realistic expectations and skills•Induction and transition support•Inclusive curriculum design, learning, teaching and assessment•Social engagement with peers and HE staff•Integrated or aligned academic development•A range of student services•Monitoring and use of data

HEA Retention and success factors•Pre-entry information, advice and guidance to inform HE choices•Pre-entry preparation, including developing realistic expectations and skills•Induction and transition support•Inclusive curriculum design, learning, teaching and assessment•Social engagement with peers and HE staff•Integrated or aligned academic development•A range of student services•Monitoring and use of data

Quotes from a study in the USLinking Student Satisfaction and Retention (Laurie A Schreiner, 2009)

belonging and community and available advisors

“focus on creating a welcoming and responsive campus climate that enhances students’ learning Experiences”

”....learning community where the instructor also serves as the students’ advisor”

Career learning and employability “faculty who are able to engage them in the learning process and help them connect what they are learning to the future they desire for themselves”.. “positions their institution as the place where that future can become reality”

“Research partnerships with faculty, mentoring relationships, and availability to engage in academic discussions that extend learning outside of class all can contribute to juniors’ intellectual growth and satisfaction with their experiences.”

https://www.noellevitz.com/documents/shared/Papers_and_Research/2009/LinkingStudentSatis0809.pdf

• Students on placement in companies felt Mahara kept them in touch with the university; they valued the levels of feedback which in turn made them feel more motivated and that they were continuously improving. It helped them to plan their projects and kept them more organised, and was particularly helpful to them when writing up dissertations.

• Staff felt it was an essential tool that helped them keep in close touch with students and saved them administration time, which they could then spend on other activities, such as providing feedback to the students.

• Employers felt it improved communications with both students and the university.

• Both students and staff believed using the system contributed to the professional development and self presentation of the student

• Using the ePortfolio meant staff were able to monitor students better

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/eportfolio/samson/documents/SAMSON%20final%20report%20v1%200.pdf

PG students on placements, ESCAPES and SAMSON

JISC Infonet – ePortfolios and Retention•ISLE project – goal setting and reflection, learners less likely to give up

•SOLVS – self assessing suitability for a course pre-application

•“a learning space where learners can feel at home… encourage learners to become more involved and connected with the institution” (Sheffield Hallam)

La Guardia Community College, US•Gains in retention for high risk students, increased engagement

http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/e-portfolios/retention

• Pre-application• Application• Pre-registration• Registration• Induction• Teaching and learning processes• Placements• Pastoral care• Employability and careers services• Graduation• Alumni processes• Marketing

Student LifecycleRelationship Management

Information, Advice & Guidance

Peers

Employers

Careers

Tutors

Academics

Societies

ePortfolio as central to a Learning Community

competence

s

professional a

ccredita

tion

career deve

lopment

orientation

preparation

attributes /

qualities

research

group projects

capstone

corner s

tone

foundation

student a

wards

work-based le

arning

placements

application to

employment

volunteerin

g

flexible co

urse desig

n

application to

universi

ty

life-w

ide learning

mentoring

timely feedback

authentic asse

ssment

personal tu

toring

independent study

student g

uild/u

nion

sports

socie

ty

integrative le

arning

Institutional Touch Points

employer e

ngagement

APEL

Thanks to Shane Sutherland – Pebble Learning

Questions + Discussion

1. How do you think ePortfolio activities might support retention?

2. What indicators can we measure that correlate with ePortfolio use?

3. How could further investigation be taken forward?