Complexity Requires a Multi-Faceted Approach: Staff Experience of Student Support in the School of Health Sciences

Alys Einion; Julie Smith; Emma Duke-Williams; Richard Holme; Sundar Srinivasan; Gordon Spark; Linda Martindale; Susan Kinnear

doi:10.20933/100001449

Complexity Requires a Multi-Faceted Approach: Staff Experience of Student Support in the School of Health Sciences

Alys Einion
, Julie Smith (Editor)
, Emma Duke-Williams (Editor)
, Richard Holme (Editor)
, Sundar Srinivasan (Editor)
, Gordon Spark (Editor)
, Linda Martindale (Editor)
, Susan Kinnear (Editor)

Research output: Contribution to conference › Poster › peer-review

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Abstract

The School of Health Sciences has some of the largest cohorts of students in the University of Dundee, and a diverse demographic, with large numbers of mature and non-traditional students. As part of the Programme of Work for student support and strategic objectives agreed by SEG/SLG in the School of Health Sciences, a mixed methods, anonymous survey was carried out using the JISC online survey tool, with ethical approval from the SDEN/SHS Ethics Committee. A mixture of quantitative questions and qualitative, open text questions were used.

The overall aim was to identify what was being done well, what areas needed improvement, and what staff needs were in relation to supporting them to provide effective and appropriate student support, within current resources.

This paper reports on the initial findings and the thematic analysis only. Themes included: The Importance of Student Support and Effective Support of Staff; What Worked Well; Challenges in Delivering Support; Variability and Consistency; Signposting and Boundaries; Structural and Process Issues; Training; and Impact on Staff. From these findings, we can better understand the implementation of effective approaches to enhancing student support in a unique student demographic.

Original language	English
Number of pages	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.20933/100001449
Publication status	Published - 30 Sept 2025
Event	University of Dundee Scholarship Conference 2025 - Dalhousie Building, Dundee, United Kingdom Duration: 2 Sept 2025 → 3 Sept 2025

Conference

Conference	University of Dundee Scholarship Conference 2025
Country/Territory	United Kingdom
City	Dundee
Period	2/09/25 → 3/09/25

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10.20933/100001449Licence: CC BY

Complexity Requires a Multi-Faceted Approach: Staff Experience of Student Support in the School of Health SciencesLicence: CC BY

University of Dundee Scholarship Conference 2025
Smith, J. (Organiser), Duke-Williams, E. (Organiser), Holme, R. (Member of programme committee), Srinivasan, S. (Member of programme committee), Spark, G. (Member of programme committee), Martindale, L. (Member of programme committee) & Kinnear, S. (Member of programme committee)
2 Sept 2025 → 3 Sept 2025
Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference

Cite this

Einion, A., Smith, J. (Ed.), Duke-Williams, E. (Ed.), Holme, R. (Ed.), Srinivasan, S. (Ed.), Spark, G. (Ed.), Martindale, L. (Ed.), & Kinnear, S. (Ed.) (2025). Complexity Requires a Multi-Faceted Approach: Staff Experience of Student Support in the School of Health Sciences. Poster session presented at University of Dundee Scholarship Conference 2025, Dundee, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.20933/100001449

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title = "Complexity Requires a Multi-Faceted Approach: Staff Experience of Student Support in the School of Health Sciences",

abstract = "The School of Health Sciences has some of the largest cohorts of students in the University of Dundee, and a diverse demographic, with large numbers of mature and non-traditional students. As part of the Programme of Work for student support and strategic objectives agreed by SEG/SLG in the School of Health Sciences, a mixed methods, anonymous survey was carried out using the JISC online survey tool, with ethical approval from the SDEN/SHS Ethics Committee. A mixture of quantitative questions and qualitative, open text questions were used. The overall aim was to identify what was being done well, what areas needed improvement, and what staff needs were in relation to supporting them to provide effective and appropriate student support, within current resources. This paper reports on the initial findings and the thematic analysis only. Themes included: The Importance of Student Support and Effective Support of Staff; What Worked Well; Challenges in Delivering Support; Variability and Consistency; Signposting and Boundaries; Structural and Process Issues; Training; and Impact on Staff. From these findings, we can better understand the implementation of effective approaches to enhancing student support in a unique student demographic.",

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Einion, A , Smith, J (ed.), Duke-Williams, E (ed.), Holme, R (ed.), Srinivasan, S (ed.), Spark, G (ed.), Martindale, L (ed.) & Kinnear, S (ed.) 2025, 'Complexity Requires a Multi-Faceted Approach: Staff Experience of Student Support in the School of Health Sciences', University of Dundee Scholarship Conference 2025, Dundee, United Kingdom, 2/09/25 - 3/09/25. https://doi.org/10.20933/100001449

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AU - Einion, Alys

A2 - Smith, Julie

A2 - Duke-Williams, Emma

A2 - Holme, Richard

A2 - Srinivasan, Sundar

A2 - Spark, Gordon

A2 - Martindale, Linda

A2 - Kinnear, Susan

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AB - The School of Health Sciences has some of the largest cohorts of students in the University of Dundee, and a diverse demographic, with large numbers of mature and non-traditional students. As part of the Programme of Work for student support and strategic objectives agreed by SEG/SLG in the School of Health Sciences, a mixed methods, anonymous survey was carried out using the JISC online survey tool, with ethical approval from the SDEN/SHS Ethics Committee. A mixture of quantitative questions and qualitative, open text questions were used. The overall aim was to identify what was being done well, what areas needed improvement, and what staff needs were in relation to supporting them to provide effective and appropriate student support, within current resources. This paper reports on the initial findings and the thematic analysis only. Themes included: The Importance of Student Support and Effective Support of Staff; What Worked Well; Challenges in Delivering Support; Variability and Consistency; Signposting and Boundaries; Structural and Process Issues; Training; and Impact on Staff. From these findings, we can better understand the implementation of effective approaches to enhancing student support in a unique student demographic.

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M3 - Poster

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ER -

Complexity Requires a Multi-Faceted Approach: Staff Experience of Student Support in the School of Health Sciences

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University of Dundee Scholarship Conference 2025

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