The Student Engagement Dashboard is a welfare initiative that helps enable staff to identify students who are struggling and reach out with an offer of academic or wellbeing support.
The dashboard compiles existing data pertaining to your use of digital learning tools, as well as attendance data for in-person teaching, to provide key members of academic and support staff with an overview of each student's academic engagement.
If a member of staff notices a significant change in your levels of academic engagement, your personal tutor or a member of the Support and Wellbeing team may reach out with an offer of support. To account for individual preferences and differences in styles of study, your data will only ever be reviewed in the context of your own studies. There will be no judgement attached to an offer of support - merely an offer to help if you need it.
The dashboard is intended as a welfare resource and wil not impact your grades or assessments. If you are on a sponsored student visa a version of the dashboard will also be used to support the monitoring requirements of UK Visas and Immigration.
If your course has been selected to take part in our new engagement management platform - SEAtS - you can find out more information including how to register on our SEAtS webpage.
Frequently asked questions
What does engagement mean?
Engagement is a term used to describe participation in learning: the time and interest invested in the activities and resources provided to support study. Every student is an individual with responsibility for their own learning, and students may choose to study in different ways and at different times, but overall engagement can be an important indicator of how a student is doing in terms of welfare and motivation.
How will engagement data be used?
Engagement data can help staff identify which students are finding university life difficult before it is too late.
Often one of the first signs of low mood is a lack of motivation, so a drop in engagement can be an indication that a student needs support. Attendance at teaching sessions and time spent in the virtual learning environment can be valuable insights into student wellbeing and how students are coping with their studies. This data will enable us to more easily identify possible engagement issues so that support can be offered in a more timely, pro-active way.
Where a student is studying under a sponsored Student Visa engagement data will be used as part of the University’s statutory monitoring of attendance and engagement, as required by UK Visa and Immigration.
Attendance data will also be used to help us maintain accurate records of active students in case an assumed attendance withdrawal process is required. The data will be reviewed once a term for this purpose.
What data is collected?
The dashboard compiles data about attendance at face-to-face sessions through QR codes, use of Moodle, submitted assignments, and scheduled teaching sessions through Microsoft Teams. If you use Echo360 to watch multi-media content like recorded lectures, this is collected too. This data has always been available separately in each of these systems – the dashboard just brings it together in one place so it’s quicker and easier for us to see.
We have compiled this small selection of engagement indicators for all current UK Undergraduate and Taught Postgraduate students, starting from September 2020 to the present day.
Who will see my data?
Only staff directly involved in teaching and supporting students will have access to engagement data. This may include the Senior Tutor and Head of Year. Staff with access to the data will be trained on how to use and interpret it. If there are any concerns about your engagement, your academic unit may be asked to reach out to find out how you are getting on. Where students are studying under a sponsored Student Visa, our Visa and Immigration team will also be able to see engagement data.
Will it affect my grades?
The Student Engagement Dashboard is used for wellbeing purposes only and will not impact assessments or grades.
Can I see my data?
Yes. You can place a request to see your engagement details at any time. All you need to do is email engagement@nottingham.ac.uk including your name and student ID to request a copy. Please use ‘Student Engagement Dashboard – my data’ in the subject line. You should allow 2 weeks for your request to be processed. A copy will be sent to your Personal Tutor for information.
How might I be contacted about my engagement?
You may be contacted either by your Personal Tutor, staff within your academic unit, or the Wellbeing Team. The initial contact will be an email to your University of Nottingham account to check on your welfare. At this point you may be signposted to support services if you are experiencing issues that are affecting your engagement and attendance. You may also be invited to a personal tutorial to discuss your engagement and attendance. If we are unable to reach you at this stage, we will try to contact you via other means. This will be an email to your personal email address(es) and may also include a Teams call or message, a phone call, or an SMS text. If we are still unable to reach you, your details will be passed to the Engagement Dashboard Manager in the Wellbeing Team who will attempt further contacts via email, telephone and text. If this contact is unsuccessful, your case will be referred to the ResX team (if you are living on campus) or to your local Faculty Support and Wellbeing Team (if you are living off campus). In the unlikely event that we are unable to reach you by any of these means, the emergency contact policy may be initiated.
If you are studying under a sponsored Student Visa our Visa and Immigration team may also contact you regarding your attendance and engagement.
Can I opt out of having my data collected in the dashboard?
No. The collection and use of engagement data supports our commitment to the wellbeing and progress of students, and helps us fulfil our duty of care. This data helps ensure that appropriate interventions can be considered and offered where necessary. Where students are studying under a Sponsored Visa the University has a legal obligation to confirm attendance and engagement for the UKVI.
For these reasons, it is not possible for students to opt out of the collection of student engagement data. It should be noted that all data used for the purposes of indicating digital engagement is already held within existing university systems to support teaching and learning. It is not possible, for example, to opt out of records on assignment submissions held within Moodle as these records are an essential component of academic supervision.
How does this affect the university's Privacy Policy?
Our Privacy Policy has been updated to reflect the collection and use of engagement data. It confirms that we will undertake ‘electronic student analytics of engagement to identify possible opportunities to support students with their studies, particularly where engagement appears low, and for students with Tier 4 visas, to monitor and report on engagement as required by law’. You can find out more about our Privacy Policy
here.