Feature article

Assignment paper with a C-plus grade and 'satisfactory' comment

How the idea of ‘excellence’ can be misleading in higher education

A new approach to achievement could see a focus on As give way to a suite of mastery that meets students’ needs – and helps faculty balance expectations, writes Michael Dennin

Michael Dennin

University of California, Irvine

Woman's hands holding a fan colour palette

A simple way to improve navigation in online learning

Five simple steps to use colour to design an engaging menu and navigation system that enhances digital learning environments and platforms

Joskaudė Pakalkaitė

The University of Exeter

Top tips on providing useful feedback to students

From showing appreciation for effort to using game-based learning effectively, Preeti Aghalayam outlines some options for making feedback work for your students

Preeti Aghalayam

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Magnifying glass over southern Africa on a globe

Why learning to listen will help you avoid ‘helicopter research’ and make you a better science communicator

A year of failed fieldwork in Africa led Sallie Burrough to ask questions about how researchers interact with the societies they work in. Here, she shares five tips for transparent, inclusive practices

Sallie Burrough

University of Oxford

Young researchers work together on a green city project

Building blocks of university-industry partnerships for positive change

How universities can develop strategic cross-sector partnerships and trans-disciplinary research in order to boost progress towards the SDGs

Tim Bodley-Scott, Ersel Oymak

UCL

red arrow through a wall of wooden blocks

How to advance equity-informed leadership in universities

Increasing diversity at universities requires more than raising aspirations and enrolment among Indigenous and other under-represented students. Braden Hill offers seven ways leaders can address barriers to equity

Braden Hill

Edith Cowan University

Daisy flower representing resilience among university students

The power of failure: a case study to foster resilience in students

Nici Sweaney offers simple strategies to shift focus from outcomes to learning and discovery, helping research students to embrace risk-taking and learn from setbacks

Nici Sweaney

Australian National University

Image of someone typing into a laptop with multi-coloured streams firing out of it

Three ways to refresh your academic writing

To answer the common question posed by researchers, ‘how can I improve my academic writing?’, Anne Wilson outlines three simple steps that can help

Anne Wilson

Royal Literary Fund

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A holistic blueprint for sustainability

Instead of compartmentalising decisions about infrastructure or resource allocation, universities need a whole-system approach to sustainability that shifts attitudes and behaviour, writes Lily Kong

Lily Kong

Singapore Management University

A student addressing a small group of her classmates

Why students are best placed to help students understand feedback

Tips for combining classroom activities and peer-to-peer dialogue to develop students’ understanding of the language of assessment and feedback

Rebecca Westrup, Callum Perry

The University of East Anglia

Tips for adopting the right technology for blended learning

Start simple, practise and consider what IT support is available when choosing online tools for blended courses, advise Carl Sherwood and John Raiti, among other aspects to consider

John Raiti, Carl Sherwood

The University of Queensland

Narrating failure in academia: how to turn trash into treasure

Instead of hiding from failure in shame and despair, and on the way to normalising it, we should learn how to better narrate it, says Lucas Lixinski

Lucas Lixinski

UNSW Sydney

A man standing on a rock, staring out into the distance

A vision for graduate supervision

Supervising graduate students is a responsibility and skill that goes far beyond the mere transmission of knowledge, as Daniel Jutras explains

Daniel Jutras

University of Montreal

Prompt engineering as academic skill: a model for effective ChatGPT interactions

Gathering information from AI requires a new layer of search skills that includes constructing effective prompts and critically navigating and evaluating outputs

Adrian J. Wallbank

Oxford Brookes University

Writing exam questions in a six-step process

Writing exam questions is a meticulous, complex and creative part of teaching. The habit of using a standardised process will make this frequent task more manageable, writes Fiona Lifen Liu

Fiona Lifen Liu

Macau University of Science and Technology

A young female professor talking to students in class

Are we placing too much focus upon higher degrees for university lecturers?

There is growing pressure on university lecturers to achieve higher degrees. Fiona Cust and Jessica Runacres question if this is necessary for those teaching at undergraduate level, particularly in vocational or career-focused courses

Fiona Cust, Jessica Runacres

University of Staffordshire

International students pipeline needs strengthening

How to build a stronger pipeline for international student recruitment

Iain Sloan explores four key strategies universities can introduce to help them continue to attract overseas students in challenging times

Iain Sloan

Ellucian

Man speaking through a megaphone while his shadow is urging silence

Unearthing the hidden curriculum in international classrooms

How educators can help international students navigate the unspoken assumptions, expectations and norms of US higher education

Andrea Feldman

The University of Colorado Boulder

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Individual consultations can help PhD students to complete their studies

Personalised consultancy gives assistance to PhD students and candidates to keep their momentum and build their academic careers, and it also helps instructors identify and train future supervisors

Szabolcs Várbíró , Judit Réka Hetthéssy, Marianna Török

Semmelweis University

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We’ve engaged 250 student volunteers to hold climate emitters to account

The Net Zero Tracker taps into students’ passion for climate action, teaches them net-zero literacy and builds their employability. Here’s how we work with them

Camilla Hyslop

University of Oxford

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The F-word: how to use failure as a learning tool

Fear of failure impacts student well-being and academic outcomes so educators need to help reframe ‘failure’ as a useful learning tool. Claire Davy-Potts explains how

Claire Davey-Potts

The University of Exeter

Active learning strategies to boost student engagement

Practical advice on implementing active learning strategies in the classroom for enhanced learning outcomes

Ibham Veza, Vorathin Epin

Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP)

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What happens when we can’t help a student when they need us most?

The job of university personal tutor is not nine-to-five, and academics in support roles are fallible and don’t always get it right. Catherine Lee shares advice for those times from personal experience

Catherine Lee

Anglia Ruskin University

A man staring up at a board with a one star rating displayed

A checklist for inclusive assessment and feedback, in a post-ChatGPT world

A checklist for creating inclusive assessment and feedback practices that help to improve student learning experiences and respond to challenges posed by ChatGPT

Zheng Feei Ma, Kim Duffy

University of the West of England Bristol

Tips for universities on delivering effective EDI degree programmes

Workplace demand for EDI expertise is growing, and numerous universities are now offering full degree programmes in this area. Eli Joseph offers starting points for doing it well

Eli Joseph

Columbia University

Field journals: a deceptively simple solution for improving engagement

Sending students into the field armed with journals (and latterly iPads) has provided pedagogical lessons that can be applied far beyond my field of natural history, says Michael Brunson

Michael Brunson

Kansas State University

Failure as a career development tool

How to encourage students to actively examine their ‘failures’ to provide useful direction and inform improvements when considering their future career options

Dawn Lees, Rachel Sloan

The University of Exeter

Young male entrepreneur working in a cafe with coffee and laptop

How to support students considering self-employment

Not all students want – nor can they find in a challenging employment market – graduate jobs after university. Victoria Prince looks at what more faculties can do to support students in creating their own business opportunities

Victoria Prince

Nottingham Trent University

A tired looking man at his laptop rubbing his eyes

Understanding compassion fatigue and how to prevent it

Tips and strategies for reducing compassion fatigue among university faculty and staff

Catherine Wehlburg

Athens State University

Careers services must prepare students for workplace abuse

Careers services: how to prepare graduates for workplace abuse

University career services must do a better job of helping students identify and manage psychological abuse following entry into the labour market

William E. Donald, Sucheta Das

Ronin Institute, University of Southampton

Illustration of hands raised with hearts in the palms

Look after the intangibles and the metrics will look after themselves

Unmeasurable elements such as enthusiasm, belonging and motivation are valuable parts of the university experience. Sue Lee looks at ways to embrace these intangible assets

Sue Lee

University of Staffordshire

Individual writing in a notepad with phone and ipad set aside

Silence is golden when you ‘shut up and write’ together

How to build a supportive community of practice and peer learning through the simple practice of meeting online to ‘shut up and write’

Kelly Louise Preece, Jo Sutherst

The University of Exeter

Group of young people in a circle all joining hands in the centre

Why we start undergraduate transdisciplinary research from day one

Hands-on knowledge discovery can give students the chance to put learning into action from the beginning of their studies, write Gray Kochhar-Lindgren and Julian Tanner

Gray Kochhar-Lindgren, Julian Tanner

The University of Hong Kong

ChatGPT and AI can be used to aid university assessment

How ChatGPT can help disrupt assessment overload

Advances in AI are not necessarily the enemy – in fact, they should prompt long overdue consideration of assessment types and frequency, says David Carless

David Carless

The University of Hong Kong

Why it is time to start co-creating professional development with employees

Steps to working with employees to shape and improve professional development programmes

Heather Emerson-Young

Northeastern University

Failing your way to academic success

Failure offers students and educators a chance to explore their shortcomings and come to greater self-awareness. In fact, it can be seen as growth in disguise, write Kelvin Yihang Zhang and Kim Yong Joong

Kelvin Yihang Zhang, Kim Yong Joong

Macau University of Science and Technology

Spruce up lectures to capture the interest of all students

A guide to making lectures more interactive learning experiences that keep students interested

Vitalia Kinakh

The University of Manchester

Develop the skills of the future through challenge-based learning

Modern employers require a broad suite of skills from graduates; Jorge Membrillo-Hernández outlines how challenge-based learning can help, and how to get started

Jorge Membrillo-Hernández

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Primary school children with raised hands

Raising aspirations: lessons in running a young scholars programme

Widening access to higher education for children from disadvantaged backgrounds is a priority for UK universities. Here, Valsa Koshy outlines lessons from a successful programme for primary school pupils

Valsa Koshy

Brunel University London

two mobile phones showing images of hands, digital communication

How immediate feedback motivates both students and educators

Digital tools can give teachers on-the-spot feedback from students and students access to their results and progress in real time. László Tornóci looks at a changing landscape from both sides

László Tornóci

Semmelweis University

Actions to help your university stand out in a crowd

With competition for students fiercer than ever in the higher education sector, Ayten Ordu outlines some of the ways universities can achieve higher visibility

Ayten Ordu

Near East University

illustration of a man climbing a mountain with flag on top

Restructuring a university, part two

When funding pressures made it clear that the University of Alberta had to change, it overhauled its entire way of working. Here, president Bill Flanagan explains how they did it

Bill Flanagan

University of Alberta

Summit of Ha Ling Mountain with Rundle Range and Banff National Park, Alberta, Canadian Rockies in the background

Restructuring a university, part one

When Bill Flanagan took the helm, the University of Alberta was facing a $222 million funding cut – 20 per cent of the university’s operating budget. In this two-part article, he explains how the university undertook a historic overhaul

Bill Flanagan

University of Alberta

How to write more compelling awards entries

How to write better awards entries

From conducting in-depth interviews to telling the whole story, Sam Russell provides top tips for crafting a compelling narrative that will appeal to awards panels

Sam Russell

Arden University

What should be inside a teaching toolkit?

Teaching practices and student support are highly contextual so how can academic developers create institutional ‘toolkits’ that meet the needs of staff across different schools and departments?

Eleanor Cook, Rachel Griffiths , Caitlin Kight

The University of Exeter

I’m finally ready to admit that I’m an academic who suffers from depression

I’m opening up because those of us hounded by mental health issues should not have to add fear of job loss and stigmatisation to our list of concerns, says James Derounian

James Derounian

University of Bolton

Depressed student hiding face on arms in front of laptop

Generation Z presents new challenges for medical education

Digitally savvy and adapted to rapid change, this cohort of future doctors needs emotional support and help managing expectations and setbacks

György Purebl

Semmelweis University

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Steps to building a winning online presence for your university

The majority of students now research universities online, so this is a vital component of marketing. David Riley lays out the foundations of building a strong online presence

David Riley

The University of the West Indies

The four-day week in higher education: can we make it work?

With a culture of overwork eroding well-being among UK university staff, could a four-day working week be part of the solution? Rushana Khusainova looks at whether this mode of working is feasible in higher education

Rushana Khusainova

The University of Bristol

Don’t forget online learning in your university marketing

University marketing often focuses on the campus experience, so what should institutions do to make prospective students aware of their online course offering?

Ari Badlishah

The University of Edinburgh

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