How data can encourage empathetic conversations to support student wellbeing

We must consider the targeted use of data and how it can support the provision of personal tutoring to aid conversations and improve student wellbeing

If a student has an issue with their academic studies or university life in general, then this is where a personal tutor steps in.

The role description may vary from institution to institution, from student journey advisers to coaches. Still, private tutoring combines proactive and reactive responsibilities regardless of how it is defined.

Helping improve student wellbeing after Covid-19

Recently, the demands upon those undertaking the personal tutor role have increased. The legacy of COVID-19 affecting staff and student wellbeing and the delivery and engagement with learning and teaching are still evident.

These increased pressures come in addition to a significant increase in students declaring a health condition when entering.

University, rising to 450% in a decade, according to UCAS in 2021. Added to this is the cost-of-living crisis, which is understandably causing increased anxiety.

The challenges are clear, but to better assist tutors in understanding the trends that affect student progression, we must consider the targeted use of data and how it can better support academic and pastoral support.

How we can use data to support student wellbeing

To truly support student wellbeing, progression, and progression, we must understand how we measure engagement.

Historically, at Swansea, we had a variety of systems for measuring student engagement, ranging from paper-based to electronic documents, resulting in inconsistency in data collation, storage, and access.

Locally stored data proved especially problematic when staff were ill, left the University, or needed information to be appropriately shared among departments.

To embrace these inconsistencies, we decided to implement a student engagement analytics platform, which we did in the form of StREAM from Solutionpath, which provides a clear and transparent record of student interactions that address GDPR, storage, access, and sharing issues we had previously encountered.

Changing culture and practice in universities

Within the platform, it is clear which staff members are responsible for which students, and interactions can be clearly recorded and shared appropriately.

The University guides managing confidentiality and privacy issues, recognising that not all data is appropriate for central recording and sharing. The University has been working to ensure that the student engagement analytics platform is used across the staff body, recognising that it takes time to change culture and practice.

Our approach is to ensure that the platform’s use aligns with how the University has provisioned our student support systems and how students will be signposted or referred.

Student engagement analytics ensures that responsibilities are clearly defined, interventions are closed off, and no student falls through the gap.

Delivering successful student wellbeing and outcomes

Staff are encouraged to use their contextual knowledge – about what is expected in terms of student engagement at this point in the academic year or about the student, their program, and the University – alongside engagement insights to support students to get from where they are to where they need to be.

This is particularly important in the context of the Office for Students condition B3 requirement for universities to deliver successful outcomes for all students. The platform can also nudge and encourage more high-performing students in this context.

Remove barriers to access support needed

So, with the data in place, how do we encourage conversation to drive action? At Swansea, we feel strongly about putting the processes in place and removing barriers to access the support needed.

As such, we are continually reviewing how our tutoring and pastoral support is delivered to students to determine whether the approach is fit for purpose.

Most recently, we have decided to revert to a personal tutoring model. Previously, tutors were labeled academic mentors, but the title left students needing clarification on what they could or could not discuss with their tutor.

Moving back to the description of personal tutor now clearly signposts the role to students as involving both academic and pastoral support.

With data in hand, personal tutors can spot trends in engagement, proactively reach out to students they feel may be struggling, listen empathetically, offer advice on academic issues, and signpost students to the Central Services Support team on clinical or personal problems to accurately refer the individual to the most appropriate professional support available.

Now, we are confident that any individual can go to their tutor, who they see as a trusted source, not feel judged, and get the help they need, whether academic or private, for every chance of success.

However, with the data in place, it would be easier for us as an institution to see signs, so adopting the student engagement analytics platform has played a crucial part in this. It has allowed us to embed new ways of working, changing people, processes, and culture, all within the context of how the University wants to provide academic and pastoral support.

We can now spot changes in student behaviours to proactively offer advice, guidance, and specialised support to improve outcomes for all.

This piece was written and provided by Professor Michael Draper, Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor Education, Swansea University