Student-Staff Collaborative Resources Online Toolkit

Student engagement and partnership are high on strategic agendas; in the context of the marketisation of Higher Education (HE), and the increased tuition fees for students, the need to strengthen the relationships between students and staff for partnership has never been greater. The Higher Education community is seeking to develop a culture where students are empowered as active learners and partners, as opposed to passive consumers, in making positive changes to their learning experiences. When partnership happens well, it can be dynamic, transformational and inspiring for both students, staff and the university. However, in reality, there can be challenges to student-staff partnership which need to be addressed.

Structured activities can be helpful in facilitating communication and building relationships, through making the often implicit and unsaid, explicit, transparent and more easily discussed. When honesty and respect between students and staff is reciprocal, meaningful and authentic, then partnership working can be more effective.

This project addresses some of the challenges of developing student-staff collaborative work to ensure it is authentic, accessible to all students, with clear expectations and communication, and effective in embedding action. The set of 5 resources aim to facilitate collaborative work between staff, students in partnership roles such as mentors or higher education internships; to raise awareness, develop understanding, affect change, and provide sustainability in collaborative working.