The Covid-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges to Higher Education (HE), reshaping the landscape of student experiences. Throughout our series The Interview, we’ve collated insights from leading HE professionals on how they've adapted to these changes. Here are some key focus areas and strategies they've implemented to enhance student experience in the post-Covid era.

1. Prioritising Mental Health and Wellbeing

Mental health has always been a critical component of student life, but the pandemic heightened its importance. Universities have had to rethink and formalise their approaches to support student mental health effectively. During our interview with Cassie Wilson, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Student Experience at the University of Bath, she shared what her organisation has done to meet these heightened needs:

Mental health and wellbeing have always been an integral part of the student experience, but never more so than during the pandemic, and the formalisation of approaches to student experience in my role has meant that we pay more and more attention to it going forward. Signing up for the new University Mental Health Charter was a very easy decision, but it has also been an extra motivator in our push to offer better support and identify weak spots in our existing offering. 

Learn more from Cassie's experience and expertise in her full feature here.

2. Enhancing a Sense of Belonging

A sense of belonging is fundamental to the success of all students, but building this is far more challenging when it comes to commuter students who didn’t have access to a physical campus for several years over the pandemic. Rosie Jones, Director of Student and Library Services at Teesside University, explained how her team address this:

A lot of our students are commuters, and we’d always used the physical campus to drive a sense of belonging. So Covid really changed things. We’ve really had to rebuild that appetite in students, and to think about what belonging and inclusivity mean to us, whether it’s on campus or online. One active thing I’ve done is to change one of my assistant director roles so it now focuses on this directly. This particular post now drives our innovation and new initiatives. 

Learn more from Rosie’s experience and expertise in her full feature here.

3. Evolving Academic Structures

Over the course of the pandemic, traditional academic structures faced scrutiny as universities sought to align teaching and assessment more closely with student needs. Adapting the academic calendar emerged as a key strategy, as Peter Miskell, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education and Student Experience at the University of Reading, explains:

[The University’s Strategic Foundations Programme] is a broad-based set of initiatives that were put in during Covid, and it was a way for the university to develop an organisational response to the challenges we were facing that could be more long-lasting. This meant thinking about how the university was evolving and changing. Through our portfolio review, we are looking at how to restructure the academic year, for example. The old term system we had meant a teaching term in the autumn and another one in the spring, then exams in summer, but students were telling us it was frustrating to complete modules in autumn and not sit an exam on that module until the following summer — moving to semesters means that assessment happens much closer to the point when modules are taught. It also means the pressures on students can be balanced more evenly, with less of an assessment bottleneck in the Summer Term.

Learn more from Peter’s experience and expertise in his full feature here.

4. Building Student Communities

Isolation and disconnection were widespread issues during the pandemic. To combat this, universities initiated efforts to build and strengthen student communities, ensuring students remained connected and engaged. Claire Slater, Director of Student Life and Well-being at the University of Bristol, notes:

Covid had a big impact, and many students felt isolated and disconnected. We saw a significant increase in the volume and complexity of well-being issues. So we set up a new group called Community Development which brought together different teams from across the university and the Students Union. It now serves as a forum to plan a range of diverse campaigns and activities which enable students to get together, get involved and build communities. The key is listening to students, understanding their lived experiences, and responding to feedback.

Learn more from Claire’s experience and expertise in her full feature here.

5. Encouraging Campus Engagement

Re-engaging students with campus life has been vital post-Covid. Universities have focused on promoting the benefits of on-campus interaction to counteract the isolation experienced during lockdowns. Phil Gravestock, Dean of Students and Education at the University of Wolverhampton, shares:

Post-Covid, we’ve made some changes in our approach to well-being. We’ve noticed students are more willing to talk about how they are feeling, so if we have students who need support, we can make sure they get that. Students faced a lot of challenges during the pandemic: many of them felt isolated when they had to stay at home. But now we’re back open, we are encouraging students to return to campus and benefit from interaction with their peers.

Learn more from Phil's experience and expertise in his full feature here.

Conclusion

As these HE professionals illustrate, the post-Covid era requires a dynamic and empathetic approach to the student experience. Prioritising mental health, fostering inclusivity, and encouraging campus engagement are essential strategies to navigate the new normal in HE. By embracing these changes, institutions can create a more supportive and resilient environment for their students.

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