Keynote speakers

Bio

George Kuh is the Chancellor’s Professor of Higher Education, Indiana University, and the Director of the Center for Postsecondary Research and founding director of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). George is also the co-director of the U.S. National Coalition for Learning Outcome Assessment (NCLOA).

The NSSE is an annual survey of more than half a million US college students that provides information to colleges, universities, states, and policymakers to help improve undergraduate education. Since its launch in 2000, the NSSE project has enriched understanding about what matters to student success and reshaped perceptions about the quality of undergraduate study in the US. It has also helped colleges and universities use the survey results to improve teaching and learning as well as student services through providing establishing national roundtables, regional users workshops, an accreditation tool kit, and a five-year initiative to improve student attainment at universities that target minority groups. The widely used Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE) administered by the Australian Council for Educational Research is based on NSSE.

In the U.S., the assessment of collegiate learning outcomes occupies a prominent place on higher education’s national agenda. Over the next three years the NCLOA will chronicle the journey of learning outcome assessment as it unfolds at the campus and sector levels.

Keynote

What is the one thing we should do to increase student engagement and success on our campus?

Abstract

Some programs and activities appear to engage participants at levels that elevate their performance across multiple engagement and desired outcomes measures. Through the work of NSSE and the NCLOA colleges and universities and their stakeholders have comprehensive, accurate information about what institutions are doing to evaluate and report student learning outcomes and how they are using the data to improve student learning.

George will discuss the work of both the NSSE and the NCLOA, including their work to facilitate the dissemination and adoption of best practices in the evaluation of college learning outcomes, with a focus on the use of evaluation data internally to inform and strengthen undergraduate education, and externally in communication with external publics – parents and students, policy makers, accrediting groups and others. Colleges and universities and their stakeholders will have comprehensive, accurate information about what institutions are doing to assess and report student learning outcomes and how they are using the data to improve student learning. In addition, best practices in learning outcomes assessment and data-informed institutional improvement will be documented and disseminated based on national surveys and case studies of institutions engaged in productive assessment work to guide efforts across all postsecondary sectors.

Bio

Professor Harman has been Vice-Chancellor and President of Victoria University since 2003. A Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration, she has over 20 years experience in government, industry, and education. Professor Harman is a contributor to Australia’s national developments in higher education as a Member of the Board of Universities Australia and the Business-Higher Education Roundtable She is currently a member of the National Diploma Supplement Advisory Committee, an Advisory Board member of the L H Martin Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Management, and a foundation Board member of the Australian Learning and Teaching Council. She has previous experience as an auditor for the Australian Universities Quality Agency and has served as several other boards.

Professor Harman completed her PhD in Canada in 1976 in economic and policy advisory roles for the Canadian Government and the Western Australian Deputy Premier and Premier. She has worked extensively in the private sector, and held several executive leadership roles in higher education institutions. Professor Harman has held senior positions on the executive and boards of several public agencies and was a member of the Federal Prices Surveillance Authority (now part of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.) In 2006, she joined the board of the Western Bulldogs Football Club.

Professor Harman has presented and published on industry policy; minerals and energy; trade; public sector reform; government accountability; and Australian competition policy. She regularly presents keynote addresses and publishes on a range of education topics, including university engagement with community and industry; globalisation and education; quality; access and equity; and workplace and service learning.

For further help, please contact Claire Brown claire.brown@vu.edu.au
Phone: + 61 03 9919 4198

Keynote

Diversity and the student experience: targeting specific student needs ina multi-sector university

Abstract:

One of Victoria University’s central commitments as part of its Making VU a New School of Thought change program has been to provide customised student learning experiences that reflect the specific needs of a diverse student body. VU College, established in 2007, is a portal to learning preparation and support for students across VU, working with them to consolidate their English language skills, literacy, numeracy, personal and career development. In order to target these services and facilities effectively, VU needs a complex and nuanced understanding of the nature of the student body. The newly released landmark study, The Diversity and Performance of the Student Population at Victoria University, looks at all aspects of the diversity of the student body at VU over 2003-2007. The study is a rich source of insights into the ways in which diversity and other factors affect student outcomes.

Cluster analysis shows there are three major segments for VU Australian students and a further three segments for the one in four VU students who are international students. The challenge for VU now is to provide first class facilities and services on, and beyond, its campuses appropriate to the needs of these different student segments. These include language and learning support, advisory services, leadership programs, and course choice options. VU is currently developing a holistic approach that will deliver customised services across three spheres:

• VU College ‘shopfronts’ or outlets for prospective students, located either on campuses or in central business districts, providing career and course advice, diagnostic literacy and numeracy assessment, and Recognition of Prior Learning
• Integrated language and learning support as a component of all VU courses
• Community learning spaces (Learning Commons) providing extended hours access to the university library collection; computer facilities; language, learning and career development support; peer support; and opportunities for socialising.

VU’s student population varies across a number of dimensions that are central to current policy debates. These include socio-economic status, cultural and language diversity, the interaction between work and study and the differences and similarities between vocational and higher education students. Responding to the Federal Review of Higher Education (the “Bradley Review”), VU will advocate strongly for recognition of the need for targetted, outcomes-based funding for universities educating a socially inclusive student group. The VU experience will hold special interest for other educational providers and policy makers facing similar complex educational challenges.

Bio

Professor Ron Oliver is Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) at Edith Cowan University in Perth, Western Australia. Previously he was Associate Dean of Learning and Teaching in the Faculty of Education and Arts at ECU and Professor of Interactive Multimedia.

Ron is a member of various Editorial Boards including the British Journal of Educational Technology, Journal of Educational Media and Hypermedia, Distance Education, Journal of Interactive Learning Research. Australian Journal of Educational Technology, Australian Educational Computing and ALT-J.

Ron has used technology extensively to engage and motivate his students and has considerable experience in the design, development, implementation and evaluation of technology-supported learning.  He is an active researcher and has published in most of the major international journals in this field.  His particular interests include authentic and task-based learning and the sharing and reuse of technology-supported learning activities.

He is an Associate Fellow of the Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, and a Fellow of the Association for Advancement of Computers in Education.

Keynote

Taking the distance out of off-campus learning

Abstract

Whilst information and communication technology (ICT) has now become integral to the delivery of off-campus courses across all sectors, in many instances its use fails to take full potential of the learning opportunities offered.  This presentation will explore contemporary technologies and learning approaches that engage and motivate distance learners.  It will showcase examples of strong practice and provide pragmatic and practical solutions that teachers can use to create effective learning settings for their off-campus learners.