Working with Students as Partners to amplify the student voice and develop graduate competencies

Our university launched a Student Experience Leader (SEL) initiative in 2022. This initiative aims to amplify the student voice and facilitate participating students to develop graduate competencies. The initiative provides the opportunity for students to work in partnership with faculty or professional service teams to co-develop and deliver student voice-focused projects. SELs also act as representatives for their schools, enabling collaboration with the Students’ Union and other student representatives. The SEL initiative was evaluated over two academic years using mixed methods, including a student questionnaire, focus group, staff interviews, and end-of-year reports. Our evaluation found that both students and faculty recognized the value of the SEL initiative in amplifying student voice and developing graduate competencies, with participants showing strongest gains in organization and communication skills, while identifying information management and research competencies as areas of improvement. This case study also considers the enablers and inhibitors that influenced the initiative's success.