Students expect didactically sound and digitally supported educational experiences

Abstract

This study examines what students expect from teaching and learning at a Swiss university of applied sciences. Qualitative analysis was performed on anonymized free-text responses from a university-wide online survey of students. This analysis resulted in a collection of categories related to students' expectations. These results were the subject of discussion and in-depth analysis in two focus group workshops and two individual interviews with students. The findings suggest that students expect teaching and learning at a university of applied sciences to provide didactically sound and digitally supported experiences that foster both their individual competencies and the community. They are looking for support in social aspects and feel that collaboration skills have not yet been developed in an effective way. In addition, the digital momentum of the semesters impacted by the coronavirus pandemic has not yet sufficiently permeated higher education. Digital skills are part of students' standard expectations of lecturers and urgently need to be developed. These insights can be used to align university teaching and learning with students' expectations, thereby strengthening the development of competencies and the attractiveness of higher education.