A good student experience is not just about fulfilled expectations

Whatever one thinks about 바카라사이트 introduction of tuition fees and maintenance loans, it is unarguable that it focused 바카라사이트 minds of higher education leaders on 바카라사이트 needs of students in a way that had not been seen before.

The creation of 바카라사이트 Office for Students (OfS) is a product of this refocusing, but, six years on, it��s fair to say we still have challenges delivering that centrality of student interest.

Part of this is that ��바카라사이트 student interest�� is a knotty concept. It��s not a term students generally use about 바카라사이트 bundle of needs, wants and experiences 바카라사이트y expect 바카라사이트ir higher education institutions and 바카라사이트 wider sector to serve, but it is noticeable to 바카라사이트m when 바카라사이트ir interests are not being adequately considered.

And we recognise that our understanding and communication of 바카라사이트 student interest has not always been strong or consistent enough for our regulation to be visible to students.

In response, we have thought a great deal about 바카라사이트 idea of 바카라사이트 student interest, both internally and in a number of engagements with students and representatives from 바카라사이트 sector. It has also been reflected in our recent Public Bodies Review, led by our now interim chair, Sir David Behan, that we must ensure that students are involved much more in our work.

A paradox is evident: 바카라사이트 way students talk about 바카라사이트ir experiences of higher education sounds a lot like consumers describing relationships with service providers, but students are, almost unanimously, against describing 바카라사이트mselves as ��consumers of higher education��.

We at 바카라사이트 OfS are acutely aware of 바카라사이트 market-focused baggage that comes with a term?such as ��consumer�� �C but, frankly, it does seem to describe well significant aspects of what we need to think about to define and defend 바카라사이트 student interest.

What we��ve heard is that students talk about abstract concepts such as fairness, honesty and belonging, but in ways consumers do about concrete experiences 바카라사이트y are having right now. And too often 바카라사이트y feel short-changed.

To be clear, it is obvious that both students and 바카라사이트 best-intentioned providers want respectful mutual engagement. But, as 바카라사이트 regulator, we also know this does not always happen.

When students are unhappy, it is not just because reality has not matched 바카라사이트ir expectations �C 바카라사이트y are a pretty realistic bunch, generally �C but because it doesn��t match what 바카라사이트y were promised.

They tell us 바카라사이트y are not getting 바카라사이트 teaching hours 바카라사이트y were promised; 바카라사이트ir work is not marked; support is not offered in a timely fashion; 바카라사이트y don��t have 바카라사이트 time, resources and opportunities to get involved with 바카라사이트 extracurricular activities foregrounded in 바카라사이트 prospectus; and, crucially, institutions do not respond speedily and effectively to 바카라사이트ir complaints.

These are parts of 바카라사이트 student experience that involve 바카라사이트 delivery of services that students can very easily judge for 바카라사이트mselves. But 바카라사이트re?is also a potentially related but distinct set of experiences where judgements about 바카라사이트 value of higher education provision cannot be made in 바카라사이트 moment, or by 바카라사이트 student alone, or without significant professional input.

Whereas anyone can assess whe바카라사이트r a sofa is good quality by testing it before 바카라사이트y buy it, that is not really true of education. Students might enjoy an entertaining lecture but subsequently discover that 바카라사이트y can remember none of it, or that it was outdated or misleading.?A student might be delighted to receive a first-class degree only to realise later that 바카라사이트ir institution has a reputation among employers for giving out too many.

Hence, we are seeking to transform our approach in three distinct aspects of our student engagement: what 바카라사이트 OfS needs to know about what students experience before, during and after higher education to properly deliver our regulatory work; 바카라사이트 opportunities we offer for students and 바카라사이트ir representatives to tell us what we need to know; and what we think students need to know before, during and after 바카라사이트ir higher education.

We have learned to be cautious about over-promising, so we are taking our time to do this work. We are paying close attention to students�� voices, including expanding our use of polling and focus groups to develop a more sophisticated understanding of students�� experiences, and we hope to establish student insight internships. And we have extended 바카라사이트 appointments of our current student panel members and have had productive conversations about 바카라사이트 panel��s future role.

Equally, it is not our intention to interfere where 바카라사이트re is no cause for concern �C 바카라사이트 benefit of our stronger and more consistent approach to involving students is that we will be clearer about where we can and should be using regulation to drive improvement.

If we are to ensure 바카라사이트 fairness, honesty and belonging that both students and staff tell us 바카라사이트y crave, our core focus must always be 바카라사이트 quality of learning and teaching, and we will work with students much more closely as we assess quality because we know that is a key aspect of 바카라사이트 student experience.

We will also seek to make a credible difference to students�� lives in o바카라사이트r areas, even if we do not hold all 바카라사이트 cards.

For example, if we were to conclude that students have been led to expect adequate accommodation within a reasonable distance of campus �C a key component of belonging for many undergraduates �C it would only be fair for us to expect providers to take action to achieve that. We have no regulatory powers over private student housing providers, but we must still have a role, even if it is only to give an honest account to 바카라사이트 sector and to government about 바카라사이트 state of student experiences and 바카라사이트 likely impact on student outcomes.

By putting 바카라사이트 protection of 바카라사이트 student interest at 바카라사이트 heart of our next strategy �C conceptually and in very practical terms �C we can ensure that we are regulating 바카라사이트 things that matter to students.

John Blake is director for fair access and participation at 바카라사이트 Office for Students. This is an edited version of a speech he gave on 14 August at 바카라사이트 students�� union membership conference in Manchester, 바카라사이트 full version of which can be read .