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Universities have a long history of collecting student feedback using surveys and other mechanisms. The last decade has witnessed a significant shift in how student feedback is systematically collected, analysed, reported, and used by governments and institutions. This shift is due to a number of factors, including changes in government policy related to quality assurance, and the increased use of the results by various stakeholders such as governments, institutions, and potential students and employers. The collection, analysis, and reporting of results are systematically carried out in many institutions worldwide. However, how to use student feedback to effectively improve student learning experience remains an issue to be addressed. This paper will contribute to this debate by comparing how Australian and Scottish universities use student feedback results to inform improvements. Based on thematic analysis of external quality audit reports of all Australian and Scottish universities, this paper suggests that universities have systematic processes to collect student feedback using a range of mechanisms, but limited work is done to use the data to inform improvements. This paper argues the need for universities to genuinely listen to student voice by facilitating partnership between students and institutions to act on their feedback as part of quality assurance.

The demand for flexible modes of delivery in higher education, especially online learning, has grown over recent years. A number of factors are contributing to the upsurge of student participation in online learning. They include innovations in technology; increased numbers of students in part-time and full-time work seeking opportunities to study at a convenient time and location; and greater use of online modes of delivery by educational providers to take advantage of the developing market. Another new phenomenon is the growth of the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) which enables students across the world to undertake short online courses without financial cost. This paper presents preliminary results from research into how an online enabling program in an Australian university is widening student participation in higher education. The paper compares the participation rates of various equity groups in the online program with those in the equivalent part-time on-campus program, and across the Australian higher education sector. The paper argues that the online program is playing an important role in widening participation for students from regional, low socio-economic, mature-aged and Indigenous backgrounds, and is providing women with past or present child-rearing responsibilities an opportunity to pursue higher education actively through an alternative pathway. This opportunity has made it possible for disadvantaged students from diverse backgrounds to gain a qualification for undergraduate admission and contribute to labour market needs in areas of skills shortage. Key terms: enabling education, online learning, widening participation

Increasing enrolment of Chinese students has become a key feature of internationalisation for Western universities, but there is limited research into how curriculum internationalisation affects Chinese students’ learning experiences. Using the typologies of curriculum internationalisation as a framework, this paper explores and compares how Scottish and Australian universities integrate international and intercultural elements into their curriculum to support Chinese postgraduate taught students’ study. Interviews, focus groups and a survey are used as the main research methods. Analysis reveals that the practice of curriculum internationalisation in both countries is rather limited, and that Chinese students express a desire for more international perspectives in the course content, and for more mobility experiences, in order to prepare for their future careers. The mismatch between academics’ and students’ understandings of curriculum internationalisation is highlighted as an arena of power differential and an area for further study.

Student engagement has an important role in academic achievement in all learning contexts, including e-learning environments. The extent of monitoring and promoting student engagement in e-learning affects the quality of education and is a determining factor for ensuring student’s success. Log data of students’ activities recorded in a learning management system (LMS) can be used to measure their level of engagement in the online teaching–learning process. No previous studies have been found stating a consistent and systematically raised list of LMS-based student engagement indicators, so this systematized review aimed to fulfill this gap. The authors performed an advanced search in the PubMed, Ovid, Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest, Emerald, and ERIC databases to retrieve relevant original peer-reviewed articles published until the end of June 2021. Reviewing the 32 included articles resulted in 27 indicators that were categorized into three themes and six categories as follows: (a) log-in and usage (referring to LMS, access to course material), (b) student performance (assignments, assessments), and (c) communication (messaging, forum participation). Among the categories, access to course material and messaging were the most and the least mentioned, respectively.