THE Student success forum: taking student life online

The university experience extends far beyond the lecture theatre. Here four student affairs experts from US universities talk about how they adapted to try and offer a holistic student experience after Covid-19 forced a shutdown of virtually all on-campus activities. The lightning round presentations and Q&A sessions were filmed as part of the virtual Times Higher Education Student Success Forum 2020, which hosted delegates from more than 100 countries to examine the impact of Covid-19 on university students across the world. If you’re in a hurry, browse the timeline below for the key topics covered and where in the video to find them.  

02:16 Martino Harmon, vice-president of student life at the University of Michigan, on how they have supported student success while transitioning to an online teaching model by linking co-curricular to curricular experiences 

05:55 Erin Hoffman Harding, vice-president of student affairs at the University of Notre Dame, on creative ways to enhance student life outside the classroom while maintaining social distancing 

09:57 Nancy Young, vice-president of student affairs at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, on how to facilitate student success when academia is only half the picture, by harnessing data on student behaviour 

16:03 Beth McCuskey, vice-provost of student life at Purdue University, on how they have adapted their Steps to Leaps initiative, which aims to boost resilience and well-being among students, since the Covid-19 outbreak started 

20:32 Different approaches to managing the challenge of rapid campus closures and transitioning to a virtual world because of the Covid-19 crisis 

24:53 What have universities kept from that initial response and what lessons have been learnt? 

32:29 How the role of academic staff has changed since the Covid-19 crisis, in particular in relation to ensuring student well-being 

36:44 Advice on helping students behave responsibly when they return to campus 

40:54 Thoughts on the stigmatisation of institutions that suffer Covid-19 outbreaks – what sort of contingency plans do universities have in place in case there is an outbreak? 

This video was produced by the Times Higher Education World Summit Series team as part of THE Student Success Forum. 

Head to the Times Higher Education Student Success Forum 2020 to watch more on demand recordings from the event.