Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia
Despite the efforts of many passionate and committed members of the academic community, efforts to address threats to the student experience have generally failed to produce substantive change across the sector or evenly across institutions. Many changes are being implemented across our sector to address the shortfall in the student experience, but their potential success may be hampered by academic disengagement with these initiatives. This paper explores the reasons for the ‘stickiness’ of traditional practice, arguing that traditional higher education values, organisational structures, rewards and notions of academic work are partially to blame. Suggestions are made as to how institutions and individual learning communities can enhance the student experience by redefining academic work, reviewing academic expectations, integrating support for new academics and developing effective learning communities. The paper argues for a more integrated approach to academic leadership to ensure our students are suitably supported during their learning journey.
Keywords: student experience; academic leadership; academic practice; academic development; curriculum reform.