DMU to help create new national student experience manifesto

De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has become one of 22 universities to agree to developing a national blueprint for improving post-pandemic student experience. 

The recommendation for the creation of a manifesto was made in the publication of the Student Futures Commission, a year-long study on the effect of Covid-19 on higher education. 

The commission – led by higher education charity UPP Foundation - brought together evidence from students and students’ unions, experts from secondary education, graduate employment and representatives from the charity and voluntary sector. 

It asked how students found the remote learning processes the sector had to adopt to observe national guidance and considered what universities should do to learn from the pandemic and evolve as institutions in response. 

As one of the 22 universities to agree to help co-create the manifesto, DMU will co-produce and publish a series of actions within the six themes the final report of the Student Futures Commission identified for successful student futures:  

1. Support for students before they reach university 

2. An induction into university life for each year of study 

3. Support for mental health and wellbeing 

4. A clear outline of the teaching students will receive and the necessary tools to access it 

5. Activities inside and outside the curriculum that build skills, networks and communities 

6. A clear pathway towards graduate outcomes 

The manifesto, which will be co-produced with students, will be a public statement of the commitments DMU is making and showcase the positive initiatives being undertaken. 

Professor Shushma Patel, Pro Vice-Chancellor Student Experience at DMU, said: “Because the pandemic presented challenges we have never seen before in higher education, it prompted fast and wide-reaching changes to the way we teach. 

“By working in collaboration with students on this manifesto, we will look to examine those changes, embed the most positive innovations and make sure universities learn from the past couple of years to offer the best student experience they can.” 

Richard Brabner, Director of UPP Foundation said: “The UPP Foundation established the Student Futures Commission to support the sector in light of the disruption everyone has faced during the pandemic.  

“We wanted the Commission to be supportive, constructive and challenging. Student Futures Manifestos are exactly this – a positive call to action to put student needs first.  

“We are delighted De Montfort University has made this pledge and expect many more universities to do so in the months ahead.”