Opinion: Closing the data gap to drive student engagement
Paul Finley, Digital Learning Advisor at Durham Centre for Academic Development (DCAD), explains how Durham University has embraced a data-driven approach to close the engagement gap and, in doing so, bucked a troubling trend across the sector.
Across higher education, engagement of researchers in professional development and training programmes has become a growing concern. This is due in part, no doubt, to the use of outdated systems to support provision. Postgraduate researchers and staff alike often struggle to access the opportunities they need to develop essential skills, frequently having to rely on outdated systems that are difficult to navigate. As a result, engagement rates drop. Moreover, without the right data and insights, universities cannot fully understand engagement levels, nor identify where the gaps lie in provision or how to address them effectively.
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This was precisely the challenge we faced at DCAD. Among other shortcomings, our previous system for managing researcher training lacked the functionality to allow users to easily search and find development opportunities. The complexity of the system created an administrative burden on our team, too, and the minimal data it provided on our users and their interactions with the platform made it difficult to plan and improve our offering.
Phasing in a data-driven solution
To address this engagement gap, DCAD partnered with Inkpath, a professional development platform, to approach the implementation of its new system in phases, starting with a focus on researchers and researcher training.
In the first phase, we tracked two critical metrics: the number of users signing up for training programmes and how easily they could navigate the system. The results were almost immediate. Within just eight weeks, we rolled out the new system, and in the first three months, sign-ups jumped from 600 to 1,000 – a significant increase that underscored the platform’s effectiveness in making development opportunities more accessible.
The real game-changer
One of the key benefits of Inkpath was its simplicity and user-friendliness. Students and staff could quickly log in and easily find the training information relevant to them. From an administrative perspective, the platform was much easier to manage, saving time and reducing unnecessary complexity for our team.
But the real game-changer came from the data. For the first time, we were able to collect detailed insights from students through post-workshop evaluations. Previously, our evaluation response rate was around 4.2%. After implementing Inkpath, this figure increased to a staggering 84.6%, providing us with a wealth of actionable data.
With these insights in hand, we could make more informed decisions about how to structure our programmes. As a result, we were able to release a coordinated training programme at the start of the academic year, giving students and staff much more foresight and allowing them to plan their professional development journeys effectively.
Bucking the trend and driving engagement
At DCAD, we are proving that, with the right tools and a commitment to using data-driven insights, we can drive engagement. By leveraging the right technology, we’ve not only made our training more accessible but also more effective. The new data has given us the power to continuously refine and evolve our offerings based on real-time feedback.
As we move into phase two of this project, we are focusing on improving attendance, conversion rates and expanding our programme to cover a broader range of workshops. We are also working to create a data dashboard for senior management, allowing for even more informed decision-making and truly strategic long-term planning.
A model for the future
What we’ve learned from this experience is that the engagement gap can be closed, but only if universities are willing to rethink their approach to training and development. At Durham, we’ve embraced a new way of working that puts data at the heart of our strategy, and the results speak for themselves.
As we continue to expand our new approach across the university, including for undergraduate and postgraduate taught students, we are confident that we will see even greater improvements in engagement, and ultimately in student satisfaction.
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