Student ambassadors, key players in widening participation

Increasing access to and participation in higher education for disadvantaged students is a key priority for the Australian government and many others around the world. Working with students-as-partners can help drive such efforts, with student ambassadors providing a vital contribution to widening participation programmes.

These current university students can play a crucial role in delivering outreach programmes both on and off campus. They mentor school pupils and act as role models by sharing their educational experiences with prospective higher education students and raising awareness about various post-school pathways.

Here I will focus on how to implement an effective student ambassador scheme to aid with widening participation initiatives, from planning to recruiting and supporting student ambassadors in their roles. The insights shared are the result of my role as a research lead working closely with student ambassadors during the NSW (New South Wales) Equity Consortium Imagined Futures outreach programme.

• Resource collection: Pathways to better university admissions
• Steps to address the operational challenges of widening participation
• Targeted advice and guidance is crucial for widening participation

Planning widening participation programmes

1. Revisit the purpose: Clearly outline the purpose of the student ambassador scheme. Identify specific goals related to widening participation, such as increasing applications from underrepresented groups, improving outreach to schools and communities, and enhancing the overall student experience.

2. Design outreach activities: Plan a range of outreach activities that the student ambassadors can participate in. These may include school visits, college fairs, community events, and virtual outreach through social media and online platforms. Tailor activities to target equity groups and align them with the widening participation objectives.

3. Evaluation and feedback: Introduce an evaluation system to measure the impact of the student ambassador scheme. Collect feedback from both the student ambassadors and the target audience, such as school students, teachers and parents, to assess the effectiveness of outreach activities and ambassadors and identify areas for improvement.

4. Recognition and incentives: Recognise the efforts of student ambassadors through certificates, awards or other forms of appreciation. Consider offering incentives or benefits to encourage sustained participation. Monetary reward is highly encouraged.

Recruiting student ambassadors

1. Aim for diversity: Seek out enthusiastic and diverse students who are passionate about sharing their stories and have a genuine interest in helping others. Select students from various equity groups, academic disciplines, cultural backgrounds, gender roles and year levels to represent the diversity of the student body.

2. Aim for transparency: Clearly articulate what the student ambassador roles might entail, including the challenges they might face in their roles (for instance, rowdy students, students with special needs, substitute teachers, technical issues) as this is reported as one of the tension areas in ambassador roles. Remind ambassadors that their role, like any other job, entails uncertainty at the beginning.

3. Thoughtful recruitment: Implement a diverse range of recruiting methods, including form submissions, motivational essays on becoming ambassadors, video responses to prompts, and collaborative group tasks. This approach ensures inclusivity and accommodates different types of students.

Supporting student ambassadors

1. Training and development: Provide comprehensive training to the selected ambassadors. This training should include information about the institution, its courses, support services and key messages related to widening participation. Train ambassadors on effective communication, public speaking and building rapport with prospective students and their families. It is common practice in widening participation to recruit a group of ambassadors and employ them across different programmes. Therefore, it is essential to provide specialised training to ensure each ambassador is well prepared for the specific initiative they will support.

2. Support systems: Create a supportive environment for student ambassadors. Assign staff members or mentors to guide and assist the ambassadors throughout their activities. Regular meetings, debriefs, post-activities and check-ins can help address challenges they may encounter and celebrate their successes. Pairing senior ambassadors who have experience in widening participation with the newcomers can be helpful in this regard, too.

3. Use technology: Enhance the scheme’s success by leveraging technology to connect ambassadors with one another through applications like Microsoft Teams. This platform allows ambassadors to ask questions and seek guidance when uncertain. A staff member can supervise these chats to provide support and ensure effective communication.

Continuous improvement stands as a crucial element in all initiatives. As such, it is imperative to consistently collect data from all parties involved in the student ambassador scheme. Regularly review and refine the programme based on evaluation results, feedback and the context in which ambassadors operate. By adapting strategies as necessary, we ensure the programme’s ongoing effectiveness and relevance to achieve its goals.

Encourage ambassadors to embrace a learning approach that allows them to make mistakes and grow within their roles. This fosters reciprocal learning where both school pupils and student ambassadors benefit. Ambassadors can use their roles to acquire valuable transferable skills for their future in the workforce and in life.

Ellie Nik is student equity research lead and evaluation at the University of Technology Sydney.

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