Staff endorsement encourages students to seek academic support

The University’s Studiosity service is part of a comprehensive system of academic support provided for students through the Student Academic Skills team (including the Writing Centre, Maths Learning Centre and PASS) to help them engage confidently and successfully in their studies.

All staff who work to support students’ engagement with learning and teaching can help set students’ expectations and direct them appropriately, both to reduce cognitive load on students and to ensure they access the right support at the right time. 

Students smiling on computers

While 8 out of 10 students in a recent Studiosity survey agreed that it is “smart” to ask for feedback” on their work, 63% of respondents were also worried that they would “embarrass” themselves by asking for help, or using support services and resources.*

Students were found to respond strongly to staff recommendations endorsing support services, especially when these come as direct advice from their lecturers, echoing data collected over the past five years of the SAS team’s student surveys, and staff are encouraged to include these simple promotional slides in their lecture materials, and reach out to Student Academic Skills Support for promotional slides to include in slide decks and lecture recordings.

One tip for this semester to encourage students to submit their best work for assignments is to add a mini-modification to assessment tasks, advising students to seek feedback on their writing in the week before their assignment is due, so that they have time to consider and apply it to their work. Direct students to find Studiosity in the "Assignment Help" tool in their MyUni course menu for 24 hours out-of-hours writing feedback and/or trusted assignment support between 2pm-midnight each weekday, and 24/7 across the weekend.

*In a survey of 1,141 university students, 40 universities, May 2022.

Tagged in #studiosity, Student Academic Skills support