This review of the literature clearly shows that ‘the student experience’ is central to government higher education policy throughout the UK, and especially to learning and teaching policies. The expression ‘student experience’ is imbued with political thinking
and forms an inescapable background to the NSS. However, even in the academic literature ‘the student experience’ has multiple meanings. The term covers numerous activities at different points in time in a student’s life and journey such as their accommodation, social life, extra-curricular and ‘consumer’ experiences, and careers. So the term is not confined to issues about students’ academic experience and their learning and teaching, despite both being inseparable from the student experience. Consequently, there is no single indicator that can capture the multiple meanings of the student experience and it would be unrealistic for a single survey to attempt to address all aspects of the student experience. As the debate continues regarding the idea of student satisfaction indicating quality, the significance attached to the view of the student body on matters of academic judgement it remains a concern of many commentators. Staddon and Standish (2012) suggest that the focus on the student perspective “puts students in a relation to their learning that is very different to what has traditionally been the case…authority is now being ceded to the novice – to those who might once have been thought of as standing in need of induction and, hence, as unable to understand well…the nature of this [educational] good” and further suggests “to see student choice as the arbiter of quality is an abnegation of responsibility on the part of providers of higher education. Standards are not raised but abandoned” (cited in Temple
et al., 2014). It should be noted that the link between student satisfaction and quality in terms of educational gain and performance is not conclusively evidenced within the literature (Gibbs, 2012). As demonstrated, there is also a lack of agreement within the literature regarding what constitutes teaching excellence in the higher education sector (BIS, 2016).
The initial review of the literature has revealed that the process of widening access to a university education to improve participation rates has been a long-standing objective by all the major political parties within the UK including the current government. As the policy of increasing participation has continued to develop so has the issue of how higher education is funded. Given the priority successive governments have given to the higher education sector it may seem surprising that the funding in real terms has fallen significantly over the same period of time. The current policy seeks to address the issue of funding by requiring those who take advantage of a university education to make a significant contribution to the cost. The rationale for this is that the graduate will
benefit from the experience in terms of improved employability and higher earning as compared to those who have not gained a degree. Many commentators and student groups do not share the view of the government in terms of the rate of return for the student for their investment. The development of higher education policy has been a gradual process over four decades that has resulted in the current position as developed from the recommendations of the Browne Report (2010). However, as shown the government policy towards higher education continues to develop with further changes proposed with yet more changes to the funding regimes linked to the quality of teaching and the student experience and also opens up the possibility that for those institutions that reach the required targets for teaching and learning, increased student fees could be charged. The introduction of the current student fee regime has unfortunately coincided with a national and global economic climate struggling to grow after a deep recession resulting in high unemployment and stagnation of salary levels. The major changes to the funding system will present higher education institutions, students and construction industry employers with considerable challenges. The key stakeholders within the provision of built environment higher education reflect the symbiotic relationship between universities, students and industry.
The rationale for the research focussing on built environment student satisfaction stems from a desire to meet the expectations of students wishing to build a career within this sector and to understand the reported significant differences in perception of the experience by students on the same course, undertaking the same modules, in the classroom environment, with the same tutors and undertaking the same assessment. These students are also subject to the same process and procedure at a School and institutional level. The research seeks to understand the diversity of the student cohorts within built environment education and the complexity of the expectations the students bring with them and propose ways to enhance the experience for all students within the cohort. Identified gaps in knowledge – mature student experience, experience of mixed student group and impact on learning, mix of full-time traditional, mature students, part- time employed students.
As the literature has demonstrated, across higher education in England there is a knowledge gap around the experiences of, and barriers faced, by part-time mature
students in higher education that is particularly evident with the built environment sector. This research seeks to help fill gaps that exist in our understanding of the complex issues facing higher education providers and the ways in which the “as-lived” experience of students impacts on the perception of the experience. As previously discussed, the growing importance of the student experience and the increasing need for this to be considered as a management issue at an institutional level, in order to meet the expectations of students, thus satisfying the requirements of the on-going government higher education policy developments particularly surrounding the needs of built environment students is not matched by the empirical research in this area. The review of the literature demonstrates that there is a paucity of research considering the needs of the diverse population of built environment students and how to address these needs as a heterogeneous group.
As stated, the rationale for the focus of the research on built environment student satisfaction stems from a desire to meet the expectations of students wishing to build a career within the built environment sector and to understand the reported significant differences in perception of the experience by students on the same course, undertaking the same modules, in the classroom environment, with the same tutors and undertaking the same assessment. The identified students are also subject to the same process and procedure at a school and institutional level. The research study seeks to understand the diversity of the student cohorts within built environment education and the complexity of the expectations the students bring with them and propose ways to enhance the experience for all students within the cohort. A significant aspect of the study is to address the challenges faced by a case study provider in improving the quality of student experience and as a consequence the level of satisfaction reported in the National Student Survey. The decision to concentrate on one institution as a case study is to ensure that institutional level factors can be addressed as part of the framework to improve satisfaction rates. The literature indicates that many factors contribute to the overall perception of the quality of the educational experience producing a very complex picture. The institutional context coupled with factors such as the student cohort demographics and programme of study result in difficulties producing a ‘one-size fits all’ solution.
Chapter Three The Conceptual Framework
3.1 Introduction
The critical review and synthesis of the literature in Chapter 2 considered the main knowledge domains relating to higher education policy, student experience and education theory. As stated in in Chapter 1, Objective 6 of the research is to develop a conceptual framework to influence measures taken by providers of Built Environment higher education to provide an improved student experience and as a result increased student satisfaction rates as measured by the National Student Survey. This chapter seeks to explain the development of the conceptual framework and its refinement at each stage of the research process.