Our Work

Business Student Voice

Report of a Business Student Focus Group

Oxford Brookes University | 1st October 2010

Eleven students - from six universities, from undergraduate and postgraduate Business programmes, and studying full time and part time - met to share with each other and with BMAF their thoughts on their learning opportunities and experiences.

The day was constructed to reflect the three priority areas established by the HE Academy and to gain the views of students in three areas:

Graduates with impact: Do you feel well prepared for developing a successful career? How can universities make sure you are well prepared?
Better Teaching: How can we improve the learning experiences and opportunities offered to our students?
Flexibility in Learning: What approaches to learning and assessment do you prefer and why?

We asked you what you felt are the attributes which can be associated with being a "graduate". You listed:

Reliability
Honesty
Ethical behaviour
Confidence and self esteem
Tenacity
Respect for others
Humility
Reflective practice
Appetite for learning, and learning skills
Innovation and creativity
Communication and interpersonal skills
Technical skills
Political awareness
Pro-activity
Passion
Humour

We asked you about the curriculum and how it prepares you to be graduates with impact. You agreed the importance of:

Work experience
Extra-curricular learning opportunities
Working links with alumni
On-going employer contributions to courses
Pro-active careers advice
Working in multi-cultural groups
Student engagement in learning
Independent learning

You did not value PDP.

Better teaching, you felt, should include:

Less group work, unless explicitly to develop team-working skills
Teachers Manage disruptive influences
Smaller groups
Less Powerpoint
Legible handwriting!
Examples of successful assignments, so students know what is expected
Regular "homework" and class tests
Interactivity in lectures, a less didactic approach
Good staff/student relations
Staff pro-active in encouraging learning
Peer review
"Challenge" meetings, Dragons' Den, Debates
Variety of teaching methods
Theory related to practice
Opportunities to engage with employers and the work place
Constructive feedback dialogue
Contemporary issues in business

You also felt that good teaching should be rewarded!

The participants valued flexibility in learning, suggesting the following as important:

Social networking sites, texting, mobile phone apps, YouTube - i.e. not just a VLE
On-line lectures and podcasts
Involving students in decisions on assignments and deadlines
Student engagement with curriculum development
Use "real life" contemporary case studies
Simulations and role play
Work-based learning
Extra-curricular learning
Independent learning

What next?

Participants agreed that it had been a useful and enjoyable day, meeting colleagues from other universities and courses, and exploring differences and similarities in their learning experiences and opportunities.

We have established a Business Student Voice Facebook Group to encourage further sharing of ideas about issues related to learning and teaching and are considering planning a larger "Student Conference" to share good practice, from the student perspective.

The views of the focus group participants will be included in a workshop at the Association of Business School's annual conference presented by members of the BMAF team. This will be on the theme "Learning from our students", and include also lessons from the National Student Survey and other student surveys.

Acknowledgements

Our thanks to Meera Shah, a student in the Oxford Brookes Business School, who organised this event for BMAF

Focus Group Participants