Academic engagement and wellbeing, not attendance monitoring, are words I use a lot in my daily practice, especially when discussing our systems model at the University of York. The blog below explores some key aspects I have considered when managing an engagement system.
When explaining the academic engagement and wellbeing system at the University of York, I always show people the above building. For those who don’t know, this is the University of York’s Central Hall and it is where our students graduate. Where they will stand on the stage, grinning from ear to ear, in front of their loved ones, celebrating the several years of their academic journey here at York. The building is a symbol of achievement, and where our students in their first year will daydream of themselves on that stage, being presented with the degree or qualification they have worked so hard for.
We know, however, that to reach that point can be a journey in itself, with celebrations, triumphs, tears (both good and bad), but that journey can also come with hardship and struggles. We also know that on that journey, students may need help and support, which is widely offered by Universities, through academic support and from well-being teams. But identifying that support sometimes relies on the students themselves reaching out first, to then enable us at the University to ask the question “are you ok?”. Those three words can be extremely powerful and, in turn, helpful, as they can help someone get the support they really need. I also think of a scenario where if your colleague came into the office, clearly upset, with glazed, teary eyes, would you not ask them if they are ok?
The same goes for the use of engagement data. If you noticed there was a significant change, in terms of lower engagement, would you not ask the same question to the student?
At the University of York, we have been using the SIMAC IDS Presto system, renamed ‘Check In’ since September 2023. The system enables us to identify more quickly if a student may be struggling with their academic engagement and/or well-being. As stated above, studying for a degree/qualification can be a journey in itself, and some factors can impact that journey. Thinking specifically about a first-year undergraduate, as an example. This could be their first time away from home, in a different country. There are new friends, new living arrangements, new relationships to consider, alongside studying at possibly a higher academic level.
Check-In enables early identification of students who may be experiencing difficulties academically and enables staff to promptly reach out to help. Student engagement is observed over a five or six week period, these are known as a ‘teaching block’. There are four ‘blocks’ in a year, two in each semester. We use this teaching data to further understand a student's journey throughout the academic year. Consideration needs to be given to the impact and timeliness, including what format these are delivered to our students. In the paper linked below (The Office for Students (OfS) mental health analytics project: an evaluation, pg 16), it mentions that emails were not always the most impactful way of contacting students, and text messages should also be considered. We have trialled the use of text messages and are exploring other ways in which to contact our students, separate from emails.
Impact and contextualising engagement data
The OfS paper also considered the timeliness of the communications to students. For the academic year 2024/25, certain communications from the Check In system became automated, which enabled us to be more timely when reaching out to students. An example of this was at the end of our second block of teaching, which coincided with the start of the winter break. The emails at this time of the year referred to support both internally and externally from the University, including messages about the upcoming assessment/examination period in January. The automation feature also had a stop function, so the staff member could decide not to send the student an email. You may be reading this thinking, ‘why would you stop sending an email if you know the student may need support?’. The answer is that we may already know the reason for the lower engagement. An example is, if a student has told a member of staff something that may be quite traumatic about an experience they have recently had, they have told the University. Therefore, sending them an email may cause more trauma and have a negative impact.
It is therefore important to consider the impact of the messages that we are sending to students. An email saying ‘your engagement is low’ will likely have a negative impact. Using empathy and compassionate communication is key, ensuring they are understanding and engagement-focused. Messages from the system should not be punitive in nature. The overall aim of these communications is to offer support, to increase overall engagement and retention of our students, because we want our students to succeed. The communications from Check In have collaborated with the Student Union, departmental and wellbeing staff. Consideration should be given to other aspects, like not overloading the email with vast amounts of information. Have you ever received a considerably long email at work, and you get lost in what it is trying to say or ask of you? It is the same for engagement focused emails; the use of headers and bullet points can be very useful to convey the message across.
September 2024 saw the introduction of the SITS (Student Information System) feed into our system, meaning that we were able to contextualise engagement data more than we had been able to previously. Amongst the data, we have indication flags of whether a student has a registered disability or a Student Support Plan. It is important to acknowledge that there may be a reason for perceived lower engagement and link with specialist services at the University, where required.
Early interventions
Research informs us that early interventions are more effective, including, for example, Early Years research. Following stakeholder feedback, we can now identify students earlier in the academic year if it appears a student might benefit from the University reaching out to them. Thinking specifically about the beginning of the academic year, we may have students who, given the scenarios above, may already be struggling with their courses early on and may wish to change to another course.
Wellbeing Interventions
Using the Check In data, wellbeing calls are conducted three times a year. Check-In has been able to provide real-time data and insights to help departments prioritise welfare and wellbeing support, and offer a more personalised approach to students. It does so by identifying students, which allows staff to respond by either sending students a supportive contact or requesting Central Services to contact them by telephone, known as Welfare and Wellbeing Interventions. These interventions are designed to be supportive and engaging with specialist support staff, the majority of whom are from the Student Life and Wellbeing Directorate. A ‘sense of belonging’ approach is used when allocating these calls so that the callmaker has a connecting factor to the student e.g. Student Wellbeing Officer from Chemistry will call a Chemistry student. It is considered that with this linking factor, the student will feel more comfortable in expressing any concerns or worries. The key focus is to identify the reason for lower engagement and respond with the most appropriate support intervention, either from within the University or external support provisions. We anonymously collate the reasons the student has identified for lower engagement and share this with the University’s communications team. For example, in the academic year 2023/24, mental health and finances were the highest reasons students gave for lower engagement. It was recognised that if we had a group of students who were being impacted due to these factors, it was likely that other students were being impacted too. Therefore, we promoted support for these factors on interactive screens across the university campuses. I would like to share some feedback about these interventions, the largest response we get from our students is……‘thank you’. This may be ‘I’m ok but thank you for reaching out to me’ or ‘yes I’m worried about this, thank you for calling me’.
Student facing engagement data
One significant factor when considering the use of a system like Check In is for it to be as transparent and engagement-focused as possible. Therefore, sharing the data collated in student facing screens is important to consider, as this assists with the engagement of the system itself from students, and accountability for both the student and the University. When selecting what type of data to share, we worked closely with the Student Union, which is an aspect of stakeholder engagement that is continuing.
What data to use?
When considering what data can be used, it is important to acknowledge what is relevant, defensible and justifiable. An example is that at this current time, Check In does not use geolocation, meaning we do not know a student's location e.g. logging into the system on or off campus. If this feature were used, consideration would have to be given to the impact on the student community in terms of their confidence in the system and data.
In ‘Student analytics: A core specification for engagement and wellbeing analytics’, written by Professor Edward Peck, he explores six key data insights for student engagement, which are
● access to university buildings
● attendance at scheduled teaching sessions
● virtual learning environment (VLE) usage, such as logins and learning resource access
● use of e-resources, captured via single sign-on systems such as Shibboleth;
● library usage, such as taking out book loans
● assessment submissions
At the University of York, we currently have 2.5 of the recommendations, and from September will have supervision data as a further data insight. We utilise the use of student and staff surveys to help decide the future of the Check In system. It is important to collaborate with the University community to understand what data sets are useful, helpful and justifiable when using data analytics alongside wellbeing support. Continued collaboration with students and staff is a necessity when considering data analytics and wellbeing.
Last thoughts
For me, as the Product Owner of Check In for the University of York, you could have a system that has all the bells and whistles in terms of functionality, but it is important to look at what impact that would have. In addition, I believe that regardless of how you use the system, there needs to be an empathic and compassionate human response to the data itself.
I will leave you, as the reader, with something someone once said to me when I was explaining our system and its wellbeing model. They said, “but these are adults you’re talking about”, in terms of using data for an engagement and wellbeing system. My response to that is, yes, the majority of University students in the UK are over the age of 18; however, does that mean that we no longer care, because they have come to a University? The answer, unequivacally……………… is no.
Papers
The Office for Students (OfS) mental health analytics project: an evaluation, Jim Keane, senior analytics consultant – wellbeing, Jisc
Student analytics: A core specification for engagement and wellbeing analytics Professor Edward Peck, CBE, government higher education student support champion
About the Author
Elle has worked for the University of York for almost five years. Before her role as Academic Engagement Manager, she worked in the University’s Conduct and Respect Team. Before her work in higher education, Elle worked in the criminal justice sector, including Youth Offending Teams, Victim Support and Police.
