By Ainsley Carry
In November 2023, I hosted a series of Student Listening Sessions at the UBC Vancouver campus, inviting students to share their thoughts and experiences at UBC with me.
Students were asked to share their perspectives on five guiding questions:
- What is working well?
- What is not working well?
- What should we keep doing?
- What should we stop doing?
- What questions are we not asking?
Participants
Over 800 students participated in the two Student Listening Sessions. The participants represented a diverse mix of undergraduate, graduate, international, domestic, and non-degree students.
Planning and Institutional Research (PAIR) analysts attended both sessions, took notes, and analyzed the data. This report provides a summary of the aggregate data from the Listening Sessions.
Results
The following key themes emerged from our consultation with students:
- Academic experiences
- Student health and wellbeing
- Student affordability
- Navigating the UBC system
- University policies and approaches
- Student experience, supports and services
Please see the full report for a detailed summary of the major themes.
Moving forward
Multiple initiatives are either in development or already being executed to address some of the concerns raised by students.
These initiatives come from the implementation of existing institutional plans and actions such as:
- Student Affordability Task Force
- Student Strategic Plan
- Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Task Force Recommendations
- Inclusion Action Plan
- Indigenous Strategic Plan
As we move forward in the weeks and months ahead, our commitment is to continuously work with students and the respective units to address the issues and concerns raised.
We look forward to engaging with you in the 2023-2024 Winter Term 2 Student Listening Sessions, where we will share how we are continuing to address concerns raised and to hear from you on how we can continue to work together to create an accessible student experience for all.
A message to students
I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to each student who participated in the November 2023 Listening Sessions. Your dedication, engagement, and diverse perspectives showed, yet again, the exceptional nature of the student community at UBC. I greatly appreciate your willingness to show up, share your experiences, and tackle complex and challenging topics.
The insights and feedback from these sessions is invaluable, and continues to shape the evolution of the Student Strategic Plan and guide initiatives across the VPS Portfolio.
I welcome your comments, ideas, and feedback on this report. I look forward to hearing more at upcoming Listening Sessions, student events, and through informal conversations. Talking to students is one of the best parts of my job – please connect with me anytime.