AMOSSHE is 20: digital and social media in Student Services

Aims and objectives

The objective of this project is to produce a toolkit for managers to support effective use of digital and social media in Student Services. The University of Sheffield envisages that the toolkit would contain:

• A brief contextual overview of the digital and social media "landscape" (accepting this is a rapidly developing environment).
• A strategic framework to help managers step back to consider this fast-moving and potentially complex area as a whole, in the context of the broader Student Services and student experience agenda. The strategic model/framework is likely to encourage exploration of elements such as strategic vision, management and evaluation practice (including assessing value and impact), service integration issues, staff development challenges, and so on.
• A tailored self-assessment tool (for example, a question set specific to Student Services), to help managers assess the state of their own services/operations, in respect of each element of the proposed strategic framework. Depending on feasibility, the project team would also aim to include a completed example (aka “model answer”) to guide managers in completing the self-assessment.
• A set of 10 to 20 current case studies – demonstrating effective use of digital and social media in a Student Services context, with links made to the strategic model.
• “Top 10” tips for Student Services managers – particularly to support managers in getting started and/or for managers who want to develop their existing approach.
• Key student perspectives - the user “voice”.
• References for further research and reading.

Importantly, the contents of the toolkit will be aimed at Student Services managers, not technology experts.

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Methodology

The methodology is as follows.

To develop the strategic framework and the self-assessment tool, the project team will build on work already started at the University of Sheffield, to research and benchmark good examples of digital and social media strategies:

• from outside the higher education sector, and
• from higher education sectors in other educational systems.

In particular, the project team are looking at USA models, where IT practice tends to be better developed. The team have an established link with members of the IT Knowledge Community within NASPA. These colleagues are keen to assist and they have already provided some helpful research leads and reference sites. The project team would intend to have the draft toolkit "sense-checked" by members of that knowledge community to validate its contents against international best practice.

To populate the case studies section of the toolkit, the project team plan to include a combination of:

• Well established successful model/s from the University of Sheffield (for example, the university has recently launched a cutting-edge interactive digital resource to support student mental health).
• UK examples from the AMOSSHE membership, starting first with a request to members of the AMOSSHE executive and also those engaged with the AMOSSHE IT knowledge community, and approaching the wider membership as appropriate.
  The project team will also include a number of international case studies researched by a team of five student affairs Master's students from two institutions in the USA. These students will be working with the team in Sheffield in spring 2013 as part of a well-established international Student Services internship programme that the university runs.
• The project team will devise a simple template/proforma to gather an equivalent set of information for each case study, to include elements such as background information, “stand-out” features, a website reference, staff contact details, and so on.

Top tips will be distilled from the work described above, as a reflective exercise towards the end of the project. The student "voice" will be integral throughout the life of the project. This will be secured primarily through input (already agreed) from the University of Sheffield's Student Union sabbatical officer team and professional staff from the Students’ Union marketing department, alongside contributions from the USA interns mentioned above. In addition the project team envisage a specific reflective piece providing a student perspective as an element in the toolkit.The team have strong endorsement for the project from the President of our Students’ Union (see below).

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Intended outputs

A published toolkit in PDF format, estimated at a total of 10 to 20 pages, of which the project team envisage around 10 pages would constitute the strateg,ic, self-assessment and related material; and around 10 pages would comprise the case studies.

Subsequent to the completion of the project the team are likely to transfer the content from the PDF toolkit to a more interactive website format. This would constitute an additional phase of work, not forming part of the proposal being made here, and it would ensure that the output from the project continues to be updated and developed and thus has an extended longevity and additional impact over time.

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