Resource:How to design and teach a student-led course on campus

Students usually navigate the higher education system as passive viewers, believing it to be a rigid system of defined rules and structure that is not responsive to the forces of their inputs and desires. The truth is quite the opposite, each higher education institution is malleable under the force of its students’ ideas and inclinations. This idea of educational programs that can be transformed by the students themselves is progressively gaining traction as institutions try to innovate and reimagine a more democratized education relevant to the 21st century.

One of the best and most direct ways for students to influence their own education is by having them design and lead their own class. In this guide we provide an outline of a plan to create a student-led class on your own campus as well as some tips and tricks from individuals with past relevant experience.

Gaining support and finding the right team

This guide is a work in progress, please check in a bit later.

Networking and contacting influential people

Networking is not always about contacting as many people as possible. Sometimes, it’s about contacting the right people. Faculty are the first people who spring to mind when we think about designing a course. However, they have limited ability to actually get your program off the ground. Aim bigger! Go straight to the administration. People like the Dean of Academic Affairs, the Dean of Studies, and the Dean of External Affairs will have the authority to approve your project and connect you with possible funders.

On the topic of funding, once again, check your initial impulse on who you might contact and how you may go about raising funds. Think about what kinds of people might have money to willingly donate in support of your vision. One excellent group is alumni. Contact your Dean of External Affairs and ask them to put you in contact with wealthy alumni who have a history of donating to the school. Contact your Econ professors and see if they know any entrepreneurial alumni that have gone on to create successful startups. These alumni will have money, and will also immediately recognize the value of your venture.

If you plan to have influential people come and speak for your class, the “shotgun method”, or cold calling, can come in handy. Send out “template letters” (emails with the exact same content, but with names changed) to as many interesting people as possible, and you are guaranteed to get at least a few positive replies.Finally, enlist a few faculty to help out with logistics and to act as mavens who will provide important contacts.

Raising awareness about the course

It is important that people are aware and interested in enrolling in the course. Some of the best methods of spreading awareness are digital – use social media and other online resources to expose students to the class. Think about where it is that most students would take the time to read about something happening on their campus, Facebook groups endorsed by your university are a natural choice for putting a message out that is seen by many students and showing legitimacy. Make sure to reduce the core message about the course to its smallest size and think about the most eye catching way to present it (in a video, a picture with a caption, etc) so that students are sure to notice it and process the message before losing interest.

New innovative education style

Innovative ideas to shape the higher education system are being formed worldwide. This is due to an increase in class sizes leading to a decrease in learning capacity among students. A new form of education that various universities are experimenting with is a program that flows with what the students want. There is also an issue with the assessment aspect of current programs, relying on the flawed test based system, that does not entice students to join the course, but instead turns students away. New programs concentrate more on feedback based alternatives. Many innovative ideas can be developed in order to overcome the hard task of providing individual feedback within a large group of students. Sean has introduced ideas such as simply attendance “check” questions and reviewing group class presentations. He also mentioned a more time constraining concept of individual check-in meeting between students and support staff. Finally, there was a possible concept of students blogging throughout the duration of the course on subjects covered by the course. This provides a proof of attendance and understanding, as well as acting as a form of advertisement or outreach to promote the course.

Sustainability

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