Building trust together: Evaluating the impact of the University of British Columbia’s Students as Partners Initiative

This paper presents a mixed-methods evaluation of the Students as Partners Initiative at the University of British Columbia, a Canadian public post-secondary institution that funded student and faculty partners to redesign undergraduate courses across ten faculties. Grounded in literature on pedagogical partnerships, the study explored how trust operates as a foundational mechanism in partnership. Drawing on qualitative interviews, post-project surveys, and project closure reports, we identified three themes: (1) skill development and professional growth, (2) perceptions of equal contribution, mutual respect, and value, and (3) the dismantling of traditional academic hierarchies. Our findings highlight that trust is both a precondition and a product of meaningful partnerships, enabling authentic student participation, deepening faculty reflection, and fostering inclusive and reciprocal learning environments. We discuss the implications of our findings for institutionalizing partnership models, emphasizing the need for sustained funding, support structures, and responsive practices that center student voice in pedagogical transformation.