Engaged Students
Student experience
In response to student feedback, we have replaced and upgraded 665 new desktop PCs across our study spaces in the Main Library and Alan Gilbert Learning Commons.
Our Digital Support Team have continued to provide remote support to students via the Library Chat service, reaching students in 108 cities in 27 different countries worldwide.
Get Started
Every year, we run our Get Started campaign, which introduces the Library’s services to new and returning students. In 2021, our Get Started offer included an on-campus fair, virtual fair, online drop-ins and virtual asynchronous support.
Over the course of three weeks, we saw almost 600 students at the online drop-ins, with 60% being postgraduates.
We also launched a bespoke asynchronous online resource and a dedicated support page and form to simplify and speed up the process of embedding support in the curriculum.
We fulfilled 41 requests to embed materials for Get Started with a 99% positive response from students. Comments from those surveyed included specific reference to the ‘how-to’ videos, My Learning Essentials resources, and ‘hearing other students' experiences’.
Exam and Assessment Support
During the exam periods, the Library provided students with additional support for assessment. In 2021, this comprised 20 workshops and drop-ins (including the popular Calm your Brain session run by the University’s Counselling Team), 124 promotional tweets, and a selection of asynchronous online resources embedded in 13 academic spaces.
Online support was particularly popular. Our tweets saw 543 engagements and 135 likes, while online resources offered through this campaign were viewed over 1,500 times.
Digital Society
Digital Society is the Library’s credit-bearing teaching course, offered through the University College for Interdisciplinary Learning (UCIL). The course is open to all undergraduates and has wide appeal, with 40 students registering for 2020/21. It is now in its ninth year and has run asynchronously and entirely online for the last three years. In July 2022, we were invited to present on our use of authentic assessment at a UCIL practitioner event. This year we introduced new developments to the programme, including a section on chatbots, and involving the Library Student Team to develop and deliver a topic.
The Student Team plays a fundamental role on the course. They lead initiatives such as the Digital Society podcast series, which we developed this year to include information and advice on assessment.
Students and staff have given positive feedback about this course, specifically on our pedagogical approach. Students praise the freedom the unit gives them, both in terms of their schedule, and ability to be creative. Many also remarked that they had developed a hobby for blogging, re-evaluated their relationship with technology, or developed valuable skills for their future career.
The combination of weekly learning and regular assignments in the Digital Society course has given me the ability to study independently in addition to face-to-face lectures
It’s really cool to me how forward thinking this module and its creators really are
Not only were the module topics fitting to my chosen course, but the asynchronous nature of the module fitted perfectly into my weekly schedule. By having all the resources available from the beginning of the semester, I was able to complete the necessary work when it suited me best (just like remote working!)
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