EER KEQs: How our ‘I See Me’ initiative responds to KEQ #4

Demonstrating how effectively our learners are supported and involved in their learning

In this this post, we look at KEQ #4, the second of four process questions, which asks us to demonstrate how effectively our learners are supported and involved in their learning.

Unitec provides pastoral and academic support for our leaners, and this covers everything from our Student Success Strategies to our teams, including Leaner Outreach, Academic staff, advisors, counsellors, chaplains, advocates, subject matter experts, PASS leaders, scholarships and more. Our support services include a childcare centre, a sports centre and gym, Te Puna Waiora the health and medical centre, shuttle buses between campuses, an ALLY Network, and career development services.

Examples of data sources to respond to KEQ #4 are outlined below as well as a case study of the I See Me Initiatives, which have already shown a lift in learner engagement and satisfaction, particularly with Maori and Pacific learners.

A snapshot of further examples are outlined under the case study.

KEQ #4: How effectively are learners supported and involved in their learning?

We can use data from these sources to respond to this KEQ:

Student NPS Survey – Semester 1 2020
Student Course Survey – Semester 1 2020
Peer-Assisted Study Support scheme
Scholarships
Student Success Strategy 2020-2022 Ākonga Angitū – Student Charter

The overall course rating for Semester 1 2020 was 8.1 – the highest score ever since initiation of this survey

Case study: I See Me

I See Me initiatives are what we do to make all learners feel welcome, supported and part of the Unitec whānau. It is a holistic approach to manaakitanga that ensures our learners see themselves reflected in the organisation and in familiar learning environments that contribute to more successful learning outcomes. I See Me initiatives are the way we ensure we achieves the step change required for parity of our priority groups, and are a key part of our Renewal Strategy – Manaakitia te Rito and specifically, the strategic priority around the success of our learners.

We have taken decisive action under the I See Me to resource the following activities in five key, research-informed areas, beginning in 2020:

Focus Area 1: Onboarding, transition and in the first six weeks activities including a Pohiri, wānanga, Whānau/Fanau evening, Tuākana/Tēina mentoring, early low stakes assessments

Focus Area 2: The Learner Outreach Project, and student monitoring and tracking

Focus Area 3: Embedding Māori and Pacific content in all courses, so that students see their culture reflected in the curriculum; and all teachers use learning and teaching practices that are familiar to Māori and Pacific learners

Focus Area 4: Building staff capability by having all staff undertake capability development and earning a ‘badge’ related to parity targets and supporting Māori and Pacific learners

Focus Area 5: Ensuring all staff understand their responsibilities under the Education (Pastoral Care of International Students) Code of Practice.

Unitec is now seeing the early benefits of I See Me with a significant lift in learner engagement and satisfaction, particularly for Māori learners (Net Promoter Score up from -5 in 2017 to +14 in 2020) and Pacific learners (Net Promoter Score up from +34 in 2017 to +48 in 2020.

The August 2020 SDR shows an increase in Māori Qualification Completion to 49.9%. It is critically important for Unitec that this improved success and retention continues towards the goal of parity. All I See Me initiatives will be carefully evaluated and continuously improved in support of that goal.

Phase two of I See Me is now underway, through the Hāpai Ō project that targets 17 programmes with low performance in relation to Māori and Pacific learners, that require more direct interventions and improvements. These courses include the first year of several degree programmes and the remainder at lower levels, particularly in the Trades and Services area where there is a high Māori participation rate.

Hāpai Ō is expected to improve success and retention in these programmes by ensuring they are culturally familiar and supportive of the needs of Māori and Pacific learners. Specific interventions include:

Teacher capability development through either Te Tīpare or Talanoa badges
Embedding Mātauranga Māori and Pacific knowledge in curriculum
Study plans for individual students
Teacher peer observations
Student focus groups to gather feedback on learner needs
Establishing Tūakana / Tēina peer mentoring systems
In some cases, specific changes to courses and delivery methods to better meet students’ needs

Other examples

Further examples of how our learners feel supported are reflected in:

Student NPS Survey – Semester 1 2020:
- Highest NPS score every, +19, shows that students are increasingly satisfied with Unitec’s strategic direction and their study experiences
- Scores for priority groups have all increased with Māori learners at +14, Pacific at +48, Under 25s at 19 and International at +22
- Learner Satisfaction – Learner Advisors provide academic skills support for our learners: Satisfaction with support services data shows that 18% of learners used this resource in Semester 1 despite COVID lockdown, and student satisfaction for this service was at 90%
- Teaching quality: NPS scores show that teaching quality has been a top reason every year, and support services, course structure, organisation and communication are also consistently stated reasons
Student Course Survey – Semester 1 2020: Overall course rating was 8.1 the highest score ever
- Teachers are knowledgeable about the subjects they teach – average rating of 9.1
- Teachers created a culture of respect for all students – average rating of 9.2
Applied learning – There has been a 185% increase in industry-funded research projects since 2015
- The Diploma in CyberSecurity Level 6 is the first of its type in New Zealand, developed in partnership with Datacom – Cybersecurity diploma ‘responding to a very real need’
- Since 2011, our School of Environmental and Animal Sciences has worked to partner students at Level 7 with external organisations such as Auckland Council, as part of their self-directed study course for their Bachelor of Applied Science degree
- Min Hall, School of Architecture Lecturer, was awarded Early Career Researcher Fund grants for both 2019 and 2020. These awards have enabled her to focus on Project Pātūtū, in which she is the lead researcher investigating the development and use of prefabricated timber-framed, straw-insulated panels for house construction
Scholarships – We provide $250,000 of Level 9 scholarships, including $40,000 Māori Scholarships, and $40,000 Pacific Scholarships, which are distributed in collaboration with the Directors Māori and Pacific Success

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Our next post will focus on process question KEQ #5: How effective are governance and management in supporting educational achievement?

What are ‘key evaluation questions’ – KEQs?

The KEQs – key evaluation questions – are the questions that the EER panel are particularly interested in when reviewing institutions and are what we use when evaluating our programmes.

There are six KEQs; two are outcome questions and four are process questions. They ask us to talk to student achievement, value of outcomes for students and stakeholders, programme effectiveness in design and delivery, student support and engagement, governance and management, and compliance.

It’s important that you are familiar with the KEQs which are not only essential for our EER in October but for the day-to-day analysis of what we do, to ensure our academic quality supports and drives student success.

Getting familar with the KEQs

To learn more about the NZQA KEQs we’ll post a new story each week that captures an example of the KEQs in action, as well as the data and documents we have to demonstrate how we have responded.

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