It was great to
attend and participate in the last ACEN NSW/ACT Forum in February. Thank
you to everyone who reviewed and provided really valuable feedback on SELP
(Social Engagement and Leadership Program) 2016.
It really got us
thinking about what we’ve done well and what we need to do better.
Just to recap, SELP is a Western Sydney University extra-curricular program that brings
together international and domestic students to work on a community-based
program.
What works?
In fact, SELP
really plays on student diversity at all levels – the program targets
international/domestic and undergraduate/postgraduate students from all
disciplines, and students across all ages and different socio-economic
backgrounds … working together. Very few programs offer the opportunity
for such a diverse range of students from such diverse backgrounds to come
together to learn and grow. But the outcomes are remarkable.
What doesn’t
work?
We’ve found that it
can be difficult to retain students who are time poor with study and work
commitments. A key challenge for us has been is to ensure that we are
consistently providing these students with useful guidance and support, as they
work through their projects. This year we’re planning to trial a smartphone app
– much like the apps we see at conferences – to keep in touch with the students
with notifications and announcements.
What can we do
better?
Our goal is for
SELP to be more inclusive – we’d like ALL students to join the program, not just
high-achieving students. Yet despite a comprehensive promotional campaign, it
mostly seems to attract the high-achieving students … credit level and above.
We’d like to capture more of those students who wouldn’t normally be considered
‘high-achieving’ – and we’re always tweaking our promotional materials to make
it clear the program is open to all students.
Any thoughts?
Catherine Reed
SELP Coordinator
Western Sydney University
No comments:
Post a Comment