This article discusses an example of public engagement involving university staff and students, a local charity and older residents in a community oral history project. It is based on participants' oral and written accounts of their involvement. It critically examines the meanings of public, engagement and public good created through the project…

University campuses are important places of cultural, intellectual, and economic capital, making significant contributions to their surrounding communities. As institutions seek to navigate changing expectations for university teaching, learning, research and impact, an exploration of the interface of individual experience and the campus…

This paper explores how storying can be used to uncover experiences of student belonging throughout their time in Higher Education. It adopts a framing of belonging that is fluid and which recognises shifting notions of belonging over time. A focus on storying is particularly useful for understanding belonging as it enables university staff to…

Following the gradual post-COVID-19 return of international student flows, it is important to examine how higher education institutions and international students are reacting to their new environment and how they relate to each other. Central to this relationship is the concept of "belonging"; what it means for international students,…

This paper considers the topic of student wellbeing using the lens of a different type of support mechanism -- 'dog borrowing' -- which builds on prior research about emotion work and human-animal interactions but in the context of student transitions and pastoral care in higher education. This novel study was about the experiences of students…

Students' perceptions towards synchronous and asynchronous online delivery modes of three engineering courses, in a large UK university is conceptualised, inspired by the Community of Inquiry theoretical framework. Using a qualitative methodology, 76 written student narratives were analysed. An overwhelming focus on the elements that helped them…

This Point of Departure ponders the question of decolonizing assessment of learning in higher education. In addressing this question, we, as scholars of color who work in the academy in the US and the UK, have leaned on the work of Shahjahan, Estera, Surla, and Edwards' (2022) '"Decolonizing" Curriculum and Pedagogy: A comparative review…

Minority ethnic women are underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) higher education. Whilst existing studies, mostly in the US context, have provided valuable insights into racial and gender inequalities, there appears to be limited research in the UK. Through the lens of science identity, this article draws on…

Embedding mental wellbeing in learning is a priority for the UK Higher Education sector, as increasing numbers of students disclose mental health difficulties, challenges and conditions. Technology-enhanced, distance and blended learning is uniquely positioned to make a change for good in the sector; it can provide alternatives to traditional…

When attending predominately residential universities, commuter students are the minority and typically have poorer outcomes than residential peers. Research demonstrates commuter students identify factors impacting on their persistence and success, include time taken to commute, lack of social integration and a poor sense of belonging. In…

Background: Health Education England (HEE) and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) have identified the need to increase placement capacity. Speech and language therapy is a shortage profession in the UK, so services need to consider innovative placement models to increase their placement offers without increasing the time…

COVID-19 changed university life worldwide as campuses closed or offered restricted inperson teaching. Whilst early evidence suggests that educational experiences were satisfactory, concerns were raised about the impact of COVID-19 on social and psychological elements of university including student loneliness. We conducted a UK-wide…

Increasing numbers of UK students now seek mental health support while at university. Clear evidence for the best configuration of student support services is lacking. Most service evaluations have focused on counselling -- with little evaluation of low-intensity support services such as non-clinical mental health and well-being teams or student…

In "Belonging and Identity in STEM Higher Education," leading scholars, teachers, practitioners and students explore belonging and identity in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields, and how this is impacted by disciplinary changes and the post-pandemic higher education context. In STEM fields, positivist…

This article presents the methodological approach taken to investigate students' experiences of synchronous online tuition in health and social care at a large, distance learning university in the UK. Seeing the students as the 'privileged knowers' on the topic of their tutorial experiences, this study took an experience-centred narrative approach…