THE pandemic created another level of difficulty for students during the course of 2020 as well as pushing institutions to develop alternate means of continuing courses by going online.
The latest Student Experience Survey results from the Federal Government’s Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching, have shown that for the fourth straight year La Trobe University has improved student satisfaction with support services.
La Trobe University is one of only two Victorian universities to have improved experience of student support during the pandemic and saw the greatest improvement of any Victorian university (up 1.2 percent).
Deputy vice-chancellor (Students), professor Jessica Vanderlelie said, “Despite the difficulties encountered by all universities in the face of COVID-19, I’m pleased to see La Trobe’s student support satisfaction levels increase more than any other university in Victoria. This is a testament to incredible work of our staff to innovate our service.”
Initiatives introduced to support students in 2020 included refunding the Student Services and Amenities Fees, allocating more than $4M in bursary payments for those facing financial hardship during the pandemic, providing accommodation rent relief for on-campus residents, not recording fail grades on academic transcripts, providing ready access to wellbeing support, and establishing COVIDsafe study spaces for students without access to technology at home.
Professor Vanderlelie said as the university resumes more face-to-face learning at the same time as continuing to provide quality remote learning experiences where required, La Trobe University will continue to develop new ways to ensure students remain engaged and supported throughout their time at the university.
