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Our student-centred approach to education

A student-centred approach means placing students’ needs and interests at the heart of everything we do. We are committed to establishing and maintaining strong educational standards to create an environment where all students can succeed together.

Learn more about what a “student-centred” approach means to us

Programme Simplification and student-centred timetabling

Our “Programme Simplification” agenda aims to give students a better-curated choice of modules, leading to greater programme coherence and skills development opportunities.

What this means for our students:

• Reducing the sense of overwhelm in navigating a large range of modules.
• Enabling students to access cutting-edge research more easily.
• A reduction in unnecessary assessment to alleviate student anxiety and give more space for deeper engagement with core learning materials.
• Larger cohorts studying particular modules or programmes to create a greater sense of belonging and stronger connections.

Our move to a student-centred timetable will help us realise the benefits of Programme Simplification. Less complexity in programme design and delivery lets us create fairer, more effective timetables. Students’ timetables will be based on teaching needs, taught in appropriate spaces, and have fewer clashes or bunching of learning during the week.

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Academic tutoring and student progress

The University has adopted a single academic tutoring policy that emphasises students’ academic progress. Every student has access to a dedicated tutor who will support them throughout their academic journey.

How academic tutors support our students:

• Academic tutors are trained to discuss academic skills development, assessments, employability, module choice and to signpost the University’s specialist support services if required.
• Our new Academic Tutor dashboard enables tutors to access key data about students’ academic progress, and identify students from widening access or participation backgrounds to understand any additional barriers they might face.

Find out more about how our academic tutors support students

Assessment practices 

• Our Marks Management system will let us look at component marks to identify where gaps appear at an early stage, or if there is a correlation between assessment type and student attainment.
• Our  (University login required) will ensure students have greater clarity on how their marks are awarded for each assessment. Familiarising teaching teams and students with programme-level marking criteria will bring clarity and consistency to assessments within programmes.
• We’re addressing rising trends in exam adjustments to ensure we meet the needs of students requiring additional support, and giving more consideration to the use of alternative assessments where necessary.
• More intentionally designed assessment will improve the quality of feedback and allow students to focus their energy on demonstrating mastery in key areas.

Our work on assessment will help to address awarding gaps. These gaps show that certain disadvantaged groups attain lower grades than their non-disadvantaged counterparts.

Inclusive education practices

The University has published new guidance on the expected standards for inclusive practices for all our programmes. This incorporates common adjustments found in the Learning Support Plans we produce to support disabled students, meaning students can have clear expectations for what they will receive as standard, increasing our ability to respond to more complex adjustments.

Further work on inclusive curriculum and teaching practice will support our academics to build universal design principles into their teaching. This creates a learning environment where all students can succeed.

Learning more about our approach to inclusive education

Our virtual learning environment (VLE)

At the heart of our online eco-system is our VLE. Our move to Blackboard Ultra ensures we have one institutional VLE with a course template that is common across all programmes. 

How our VLE ensures a consistent and inclusive learning experience:

• All students experience the same quality of materials, curated at a programme level, which is navigable and coherent.
• In-built accessibility features enable students to adapt content to meet their needs. Blackboard Ally scores demonstrate the accessibility of course materials at the point of creation.
• Surfacing the Sheffield Graduate Attributes in the VLE helps students to understand and reflect on their skills development as they move through their programme.

More information on digital education at Sheffield

Staff development and support

Our focus on a student-centred approach is also embedded in our comprehensive CPD offer for all teaching staff through Elevate.

How we support our staff:

• Institutional job descriptions for more experienced staff emphasise the importance of adopting inclusive practice in  (staff university login required). Staff in these roles will be supported through a package of support.
• Colleagues applying for Higher Education Academy recognition now have to provide evidence of how their teaching practice is inclusive.
• Our Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching for Learning in Higher Education introduces new academics to strategies for ensuring equity of opportunity for all students.

How we’re addressing risks to equality of opportunity

The University’s values of inclusivity and fairness guide us to provide opportunities for all students to succeed, regardless of their background. 

Our Access and Participation Plan (APP) 2025–26 to 2028–29 is an important vehicle for realising these values. It sets out how we plan to improve equality of opportunity within higher education, the South Yorkshire region, and the University itself.

Barriers, whether real or perceived, prevent some people from accessing, participating, and progressing in higher education at the same rate as others, despite having the same potential and academic ability.

We've identified these key areas to prioritise:

• Students from lower socioeconomic groups are less likely to come to the University, attain the highest grades, and progress to graduate employment or further study compared to their more advantaged peers. We want to increase this proportion of students and support them to succeed.
• Our degree apprenticeship programmes attract a significant proportion of new entrants from lower socioeconomic groups. We want to continue to provide an accessible route for these students and maintain this success as our programmes expand.
• Older students and those with disabilities are less likely to complete their degree programmes compared to younger students and those without a disability. We want to improve completion rates for these groups while creating a more inclusive environment for all.
• Black and Asian students are less likely to be awarded the highest grades than a white student. We want to remove this attainment gap.

The objectives and interventions in our APP will help us make meaningful and impactful steps toward addressing these risks to equality of opportunity. The learning and impact from these activities will give us robust evidence about 'what works' and allow us to scale these approaches to wider groups of students where appropriate.