The findings highlighted the prominent factors contributing to student attainment of University Educational Aims (UEAs)/graduate attributes/General Intended Learning Outcomes and overall satisfaction.
This section primarily reports the findings in two areas. The first area is the prominent factors that contribute to student achievement of university educational aims and satisfaction. These factors are Good Teaching, Assessment, Curriculum Design, Support, Peer learning and peer support, Other aspects of student experiences, and the factors with varied influences on the students’ attainment of educational aims and satisfaction. The second area is the centrality skills, which are closely associated with other skills within the domain of student achievements. Enhancing centrality skills is likely to elevate the associated skills.
It is important to note that the key findings are summarised from individual reports of the five partner universities for the purpose of sharing experiences. This section highlights only the common patterns observed across multiple universities. They may not be universally significant across all participating institutions.
Good Teaching
Facilitating a deep understanding of subject matter through effective teaching and learning activities has been shown to enhance a wide range of cognitive skills, including self-managed learning, problem solving, critical thinking, creative thinking, global perspectives, professional competence, lifelong learning, leadership and more. Instructional clarity, practical learning opportunities, well-defined goals and standards for learning outcomes, and collaborative learning tasks are examples of effective teaching practices.
- Instructional clarity
- Practical learning opportunities
- Clear goals and standards
- Collaborative learning
- Academic/professional excellence
- Cognitive skills
- Life-long learning
- Problem solving,
- Critical thinking
- Creative thinking
- Social competence
- Global perspectives
- Interpersonal skills
- Leadership
Assessment
Assessment has been reported as an influential factor in educational attainment, particularly in cultivating cognitive skills, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, self-managed learning and pursuit of academic/professional excellence. Additionally, it plays a crucial role in developing social competence including communication, collaboration, and interpersonal skills. The design and arrangement of assessment, aimed at promoting high-order learning that aligns with learning activities and outcomes, are pivotal for these student achievements.- Assessment promoting high-order learning
- Alignment with learning activities and outcomes
- Academic/professional excellence
- Cognitive skills
- Critical thinking,
- Problem-solving,
- Life-long learning
- Social competence
- Communication
- Collaboration
- Interpersonal skills
Curriculum Design
A well-organized curriculum is essential for establishing academic and professions competence as well as personal growth. In addition to coherence, the breadth and depth of subject knowledge, diverse choices and flexible arrangements, experiential learning opportunities and enriching educational activities remarkably contribute to student success and broaden their global perspectives. These experiences include exchange programmes, internships, service-learning, placements, field experiences, and community-based projects.- Coherence
- The breadth and depth of subject knowledge
- High-impact practices
- Exchange programmes
- Internships
- Service-learning,
- Research placements,
- Field experiences
- Community-based projects
- Academic/professional excellence
- Cognitive skills
- Life-long learning
- Problem solving
- Critical thinking
- Creative thinking
- Social competence
- Global perspectives
- Communication
- Collaboration
- Interpersonal skills
- Leadership
Support
Infrastructure, services and extracurricular activities are essential components of university support that significantly enrich students’ learning experiences and contribute to an enjoyable university life. Examples of quality infrastructure include modern computers, learning commons, and subject-specialized equipment. Exceptional services encompass language learning opportunities, library resources, tutoring, writing centre, health care, counselling and more.- Modern computers
- Learning commons
- Subject-specialized equipment
- Language learning opportunities
- Library resources
- Tutoring
- Writing centre
- Health care
- Counselling, etc
- Enrich students’ learning experiences
- Enjoyable university life
Peer learning and peer supports
Peer learning and peer supports play an important role in enhancing student satisfaction and psychological wellbeing. Collaborative group work and formation of learning communities in class facilitate peer learning, while extracurricular activities, such as society, residential hall experiences, competition, and cultural activities, provide opportunities for students to interact with peers from diverse background. In this respect, extracurricular activities are vital for cultivating communicative, collaborative, interpersonal and leadership skills as well as building social networks.- Collaborative group work
- Formation of learning communities in class
- Extracurricular activities
- Society
- residential hall experiences competition
- cultural activities
- Enhancing student satisfaction
- Psychological wellbeing
- Extracurricular activities
- Cultivating communicative
- Collaborative, interpersonal and leadership skills
- Building social networks
Other aspects of student experiences
English language proficiency is a crucial factor influencing critical thinking skills, leadership abilities and global perspectives at one university, while English support is an important predictor of student satisfaction with life and learning at another university. Active learning has been shown to significantly contribute to the development of cognitive skills, as reported by one university. Additionally, feedback is reported by one university to foster the development of social skills through opportunities for interaction with teachers, whereas feedback is strongly corelated with student satisfaction with the study programme at another university.- English language proficiency
- English support
- Active learning
- Feedback
- Critical thinking skills, leadership abilities and global perspectives
- Important predictor of student satisfaction with life and learning
- Development of cognitive skills Foster the development of social skills through opportunities for interaction with teachers,
- Student satisfaction with the study programme
Factors with varied influences on the students’ attainment of educational aims and satisfaction
The typical dimensions of students’ university experience, as measured in the institutional surveys, impact students’ attainment of educational aims and satisfaction slightly differently across universities. These factors also vary in their contribution to students’ attainment of educational aims and satisfaction. Student satisfaction tends to be more closely associated with curriculum design, infrastructure, support, and social factors (e.g. interactions with staff and peers). Students’ attainment of educational aims tends to be associated with course experiences.- Curriculum design,
- Infrastructure,
- Support, and
- Social factors (e.g. interactions with staff and peers)
- Course experiences
Centrality skills
Leadership has been identified as a core skill by two universities. It plays a pivotal role in enhancing various aspects of student achievements primarily through group work, projects, and participation in extracurricular activities. Other notable centrality skills include innovative thinking, psychosocial competence, lifelong learning, and pursuit of academic/professional excellence.- Leadership
- Innovative thinking
- Psychosocial competence
- Lifelong learning
- Pursuit of academic/professional excellence
- Leadership skills enhanced various aspects of student achievements primarily through,
- group work,
- projects, and
- participation in extracurricular activities
Recommendations for Practices
Given the diverse emphasis on educational aims and policies across institutions, the identifiable causal relationships have shown some variation across the universities. Nevertheless, this joint project was conducted from a holistic perspective, providing a comprehensive understanding of the factors affecting student attainment of educational aims and satisfaction. Institutions can derive implications from the results to review the institutional survey tools and better address student needs based on their specific contexts and learning from each other’s effective practices. The following recommendations emerge from these collective efforts.
Enhance the institutional survey tools by incorporating the identified dimensions
Incorporate the additional dimensions stated in findings of this project into the institutional survey tools.
Universities can consider incorporating the dimensions mentioned in findings section above into their institutional survey tools, if they are not already included, as they emerged as key predictors of student attainment of educational aims and satisfaction based on secondary analyses of institutional survey data and interviews.
Embed student university experiences in alignment with the institutional objectives
Focus on different aspects of the student university experience depending on the institution’s specific objectives or when the resources are limited.
Universities can purposefully focus on different aspects of the student university experience depending on their specific objectives or when the resources are limited.
To enhance students’ academic and professional excellence, universities can concentrate on typical course experiences that contribute positively to student attainment of educational aims, such as good teaching, aligned assessment, assessments that target improving student understanding, and active and collaborative learning.
To help students improve graduate attributes or generic skills, universities can focus more on the enriching experiences (exchange programmes, internships, service-learning, placements, field experiences, and community-based projects). They are frequently cited as instrumental in enhancing students’ practical competencies, professional preparedness and personal growth.
To boost student satisfaction with the programmes, universities might consider placing greater emphasis on the social activities and curriculum design. Doing all, universities can create a more fulfilling and well-rounded student experience.
Enrich the institutional assessment practices to support students
Teachers can coordinate across courses to manage the overall assessment workload and develop students’ assessment literacy.
To improve assessment practices, universities can encourage faculty to coordinate across courses to manage the overall assessment workload that students face. Meanwhile, teachers can be encouraged to support students in developing assessment literacy, equipping them with the skills needed to effectively manage and navigate assessments.
Utilize group work effectively to cultivate students’ leadership skills
Maximize the use of group work to develop student leadership skills, as it enhances students’ communication, intercultural competence, self-reflection, and problem-solving abilities.
Universities can encourage teachers or programmes to make full use of group work to cultivate student leadership skills, and through which enhance students’ communication, intercultural competence, self-reflection, and problem-solving skills.
For example, teachers and programmes can purposefully incorporate some specific steps in teaching, assessment, or activities in a programme:
- explicitly communicate the objectives of group work to students, emphasising the development of leadership, communication, intercultural competence, self-reflection, and problem-solving skills;
- provide opportunities for the development of leadership skills within the group work (e.g. integrating leadership skills development as part of the procedure in the activity or assessment). This might include specific tasks or roles that encourage leadership, such as project management responsibilities, facilitating group discussions, or coordinating team activities;
- include leadership skills in assessments (e.g. assessments can include reflections on leadership experiences, peer evaluations of leadership effectiveness, or project outcomes that require leadership in execution); and
- offer guidance, resources and training opportunities to support student leadership development (e.g. discussion around the assessment that involved leadership, workshops, or access to materials about leadership).
Incorporate the development of critical thinking skills into English language courses to address the challenges presented by generative AI
Offer support and provide a variety of activities to encourage student participation.
While English language proficiency was a crucial factor influencing students’ attainment of university educational aims and satisfaction, the rise of generative AI has challenged the emphasis on English courses. Given that language is a fundamental tool for thinking, and English proficiency was found to be linked to critical thinking, leadership skills, and global perspectives, universities might consider integrating the cultivation of these skills into English language courses, especially as this approach is supported by the well-known infusion approach in critical thinking education (Abrami, et al., 2008).
Allocate resources to specific infrastructure and services
Targeted investment in university infrastructure and services to boost student satisfaction with the university experiences.
As support was found essential for student satisfaction, universities can consider investing in some specific infrastructures and services to boost student satisfaction with university experience, such as drinking water supply on campus, canteen service especially during rush hours, maintaining consistent lift and escalator service, accommodation, and printing service in learning commons.