Driving Student Engagement at GCU

Challenges

Glasgow City University sought a solution that would address attendance as key to enhancing student retention and academic performance which many third level institutions strive to improve. Such a system was important to GCU because levels of attendance has been proven to be positively linked with student retention and academic performance and the recording of attendance has also recently been introduced as mandatory in the UK with the Tier 4 legislation. Traditional paper-based systems did not take overall student engagement with student life into account and rely on manual input. GCU needed a centralised system that would be able to track the attendance of large numbers of students across the campus and allow automatic reporting and communication.

Process

TDS (Time Data Security) partnered with Glasgow City University to install our comprehensive attendance monitoring system. TDS student is fully compliant with UK legislation and is easy to use for both students and administration alike. The system was integrated across the campus and utilised smart card technology to track attendance. Using the data collected from kiosks and portable devices, TDS Student has been generating reports for lecturers and administration as well as offering features such as automatic communication with students who fall below threshold attendance and notifying students of changes to classes. The system offers insights into student engagement, identifies at-risk students and also offers students the opportunity access to information through an online platform

Results

The 17,000 students at Glasgow City University have been able to come and go from classes with ease and efficiency while lectures and administration have had full visibility of attendance. Student retention is now supported through an integrated system that highlights attendance patterns and offers enhanced communication between students and the university.

GCU benefitted from TDS Student which allows lecturers to identify at-risk students and encourage them to engage in classes. The system also enhanced security on campus furthering safety and accountability for the university.