Recognizing students as active collaborators in creating institutional change

Reflecting on my journey through post-secondary school, I recognize the transformations I’ve undergone: from being a wide-eyed and uninformed student to becoming a passionate advocate and student leader, and finally evolving into a design researcher reimagining the landscape of student engagement. Each phase has offered a notable perspective of campus life; together, they create an evolving lens on what meaningful student engagement looks like.

I want to share these moments of transformation with you – post-secondary academic leaders, student wellness practitioners, administrators, student engagement experts, and fellow students and student leaders – to give you an insider view of student life. By understanding these experiences, you are stepping towards creating intentional change in campus life.

I am also sharing this so that other students who are trying to create meaningful change on their campuses might see themselves or resonate with similar experiences that they want to communicate to their administration. Two key insights that stayed with me:

1. Students have an incredible desire to take care of each other. This peer support culture is powerful for positive change on campus.
2. Students are in a constant state of growth and open to change. They are not fixed stakeholders to be managed and hushed, but ever-evolving individuals trying to maneuver in an organic academic environment.

Finding my Footing as a Student.

When I took my first steps into my academic journey, I was just a voice among the crowd, trying to navigate through the hardships of being a student with fellow students alike. We had the same questions, concerns and hopes for success in academic life and our futures, but often we felt unnoticed in the decision-making process – decisions that made and shaped our academics and personal journeys. I remember thinking,

“ Do our voices even matter in the grand scheme of things?”

This feeling of being unnoticed and misunderstood wasn’t unique to my experience. As I spoke to my peers, I realized we collectively wanted to make a difference by supporting each other. The sense of disconnection and powerlessness, when it came to my own academic experience, fueled my need to step into leadership roles.

Representing the Student Collective.

As I took on positions such as the Director of Campaigns and Advocacy and Director of Operations for the OCAD U Student Union. I gained a new perspective. I saw directly the genuine intentions of many in the post-secondary environment who wanted to truly support, care for, and see students succeed in their academic journeys. However, I also realized how often the intention to engage with students can fall through the cracks.

It’s time to flip the script because the traditional models of engagement aren’t cutting it! Surveys, joint committees, feedback sessions – these often feel like empty gestures. They don’t capture the dynamic nature of student life or the complexities of our experiences. I saw firsthand the frustrating culture in institutions where administrative bodies, departments, and faculty would collect student feedback in a way that feels more like exploitation than genuine engagement. Students feel infantilized, their perspectives brushed off and not taken seriously. The process often involves going through the motions of starting a conversation and building hope, but then there’s radio silence on what happens next.

Even as a student leader representing a diverse student body, I sometimes felt small in spaces where change was supposed to happen. Collectively, students feel that they pour their experiences and ideas only to feel that their words mean nothing. It’s no wonder why students feel a lack of trust in institutions and those who make changes on their behalf. During this time, I constantly thought,

“ What is the point of calling students and student leaders in spaces of change to then dismiss our voices?”

The desire to support student needs and create meaningful change only fueled my peers and me to find ways to think beyond our constraints and use creative solutions to bring about student-led change. As student leaders, along with my peers, we created a two-way dialogue with students, fostering mutual support. We created transparency and avenues for students to reach out to us by hosting campus tabling and other events where students could gain community connection and impart their experiences. We also updated students on changes through multiple communication channels – both in-person and online. Through this dialogue, we launched initiatives that spoke directly to student needs: job opportunities, student micro-grants, establishing a campus vertical garden, running emergency food support programs, and establishing a community freezer. These initiatives weren’t just ticking a box or doing something for face value; they were about seeing students where they were at, collaborating with them, and creating real change by listening to student needs. I would later come to learn that this is the foundation of co-creation.

Revamping Student Engagement

My journey came full circle when I became a Design Researcher with The Moment, engaging students through an alternative model to the status quo. This project was appealing to me because the university had intentionally set it up with the goal of authentic and meaningful student engagement. There was an openness to explore different approaches that might address some of the gaps I had previously experienced. The institution was excited about the project team including students and recent graduates to help shape the approach.

Returning to campus to engage with students about their experiences with student wellness services reinforced my understanding of two key points. First, it highlighted the importance of student voices in shaping support systems designed for them. Second, it stressed the need for a meaningful engagement model that recognizes that students want to help each other and acknowledges the dynamic nature of their experiences.

Drawing from my own experiences as a student and student leader, I often worked with the team to develop an approach that would prioritize student voices throughout the process. We as a team centered our engagement around one key question:

“How do we meaningfully engage with students without exploiting their experiences?”

In answering this question, we grounded our approach in co-creation, addressing the two key insights about student support and growth. Our engagement process used multiple communication channels – digital signage, social media, posters, postcards, and in-person events – to reach students. We invited students as collaborators in co-creation sessions and participatory installations, using uplifting language and visual design tools to gather feedback, unlike more traditional approaches to student engagement.

Co-creation allowed our team to engage with students in a meaningful and productive way. Throughout this process, we consistently asked students how they wanted to be engaged and tailored our approach accordingly. We prioritized transparency, actively communicating the value of student input and sharing our progress. Each moment of engagement was an opportunity to transform our engagement model to better connect with students, prioritizing community connections, in-person engagement and most importantly, reinforcing that student perspective matters. Co-creation is about creating a two-way dialogue. It’s responsive, transparent, explorative, and ever-changing – just like students and their needs.

During the on-campus engagement, I was able to interact with various groups of students from different programs, and backgrounds and with varying levels of engagement with health and wellness services. Some students I interacted with were regular users of the student services, praising the dedicated staff and the services. Others had never even heard of the support systems. Many shared their hopes for improved student support, while others recounted their frustrations on what they felt was lacking.

What stuck out to me was how eager students were to share their perspectives. They weren’t just looking to air their frustrations; they wanted to be active participants in creating solutions for future students.  Student perspective has the power to create effective change. It’s counterproductive to think their perspective is not as important as other voices in academic settings. To create meaningful change, we need to tap into the experiences that students bring to the table. Unlike conventional engagement methods, co-creation strengthens community trust and taps into our understanding that students want to help each other and are not stagnant stakeholders.

What I’ve learned…

When I started school I thought my words and my actions were not important in the grand scheme of things, and now that I’m done with school, I see things differently. It wasn’t that my words lacked value as a student and student leader; it was that the traditional engagement model being used didn’t see me as a valued collaborator. I now understand that students are always growing and want change makers to meet them where they are at. Why treat students as stagnant stakeholders, when you can be working with students to create an uplifting, inclusive environment with services that truly meet their needs?

Change needs to be an ongoing, two-way dialogue. This means that as engagement practitioners and student leaders, you need to constantly explore various forms of engagement that fit the needs of your campus culture and community. This might involve reaching out to student groups, working with students on campus to support that dialogue, or inviting students to in-person events that can be both fun and meaningful. The key is to adapt and evolve with the student experience – not to hamper it.

That’s why I advocate a shift towards co-creation in student engagement. It’s never about just collecting feedback; it’s about creating ongoing channels of communication, building trust, and recognizing students as active collaborators in institutional change.

Co-creation ensures that diverse student voices are heard, including those who typically don’t engage with post-secondary services due to barriers to access. It gives students a sense of ownership over the changes made on their behalf. Above all, it values students as being experts in their own experiences. Through this approach, students feel more connected to the changes happening.

As we transform the fabric of academic institutions, it’s time for institutions to embrace this collaborative approach. We need to think beyond token gestures of engagement and empower students to be active participants in shaping their future in campus life.

To any institutional leaders: the students you serve are your most valuable partners in creating effective change. They aren’t just data entries, recipients of services, or stagnant stakeholders. Embrace co-creation, foster an ongoing dialogue that changes with students, and meet students where they are at.

To any students reading this: your voices matter! Your experiences are valuable. Don’t be afraid to speak up and advocate for meaningful change that impacts your education and life on campus.