{"id":34,"date":"2026-09-15T11:15:24","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T10:15:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/continuous-improvement-hub\/?p=34"},"modified":"2026-09-15T11:19:05","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T10:19:05","slug":"one-university-one-voice-embedding-students-in-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/continuous-improvement-hub\/one-university-one-voice-embedding-students-in-change\/","title":{"rendered":"One University, One Voice: Embedding Students in Change"},"content":{"rendered":"

At Cardiff University, we talk about a One University<\/em> approach\u2014bringing services, processes and people together to create a simpler, more joined-up experience. But if we are serious about that vision, there\u2019s a critical voice that must be part of it: our students.<\/p>\n

In the Continuous Improvement (CI) Hub, we\u2019re challenging that model\u2014shifting from consultation to true collaboration, and embedding students directly into how we design and improve services from the start.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve started to move beyond talking about student involvement to actively embedding it into how we design and improve services. Through workshops, show-and-tell sessions, and co-design activity, students are not just contributing feedback\u2014they are shaping the work as it happens.<\/p>\n

When students join process redesign workshops, the impact is immediate. Mapping journeys together\u2014whether for student handbooks, welcome and induction, or accessing module results\u2014brings the lived experience of students into the room in a way that no dataset or assumption can replicate. What may appear clear and efficient from a staff perspective can feel fragmented or confusing in reality. As one student reflected during a workshop:<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think of this as one process\u2014I just go to wherever I can find the information.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

That perspective shifts the focus. Instead of refining individual steps, conversations turn to simplifying the overall experience\u2014reducing duplication, clarifying pathways, and making services easier to navigate.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The student handbook workshops have been a particularly powerful example. When we shared existing content and structures, students were quick to highlight how difficult it can be to find what they need in the moment:<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t look for this in a handbook\u2014I\u2019d just Google it or ask someone.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s too much text. I just want to know what I need to do and where to go.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

These insights challenged long\u2011standing assumptions about how information should be presented. What staff see as comprehensive and helpful can feel overwhelming or inaccessible to students. In response, discussions shifted toward clearer structure, concise guidance, and signposting rather than volume\u2014designing content that supports how students actually behave, not how we expect them to.<\/p>\n

Show-and-tell sessions have reinforced this further. Sharing early re-design ideas creates a live feedback loop. Students bring a refreshing clarity, often cutting through complexity with simple but powerful observations:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this is important, why is it so hard to find?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Moments like this don\u2019t just refine outputs\u2014they reframe the purpose of what we\u2019re designing and why.<\/p>\n

Importantly, student involvement also changes the dynamic in the room. Workshops become less about internal processes and more about real-world impact. Staff move away from debating constraints and toward understanding experience. Students, in turn, gain insight into the complexity behind services and contribute thoughtfully to solutions.<\/p>\n

As one student commented:<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t realise how much sits behind this\u2014but that\u2019s why it needs to feel simple for us.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

These experiences reinforce a key principle: student involvement isn\u2019t something to add at the end. It needs to be embedded throughout. When students help shape the design, the outcome is not only more user-friendly\u2014it is more coherent, more focused, and ultimately more effective.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Embedding students in change isn\u2019t an add-on\u2014it\u2019s fundamental to designing services that actually work. As we continue to build a more integrated, One University<\/em> model, the opportunity is clear: move beyond listening to students, and start designing with them. When students become genuine partners in continuous improvement, we don\u2019t just enhance the student experience\u2014we create better, simpler, and more effective services for everyone. The question isn\u2019t whether we should involve students\u2014it\u2019s how far we\u2019re prepared to go to truly make them part of the change.<\/p>\n

Gill Kent, Senior Business Analyst<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At Cardiff University, we talk about a One University approach\u2014bringing services, processes and people together to create a simpler, more joined-up experience. But if we are serious about that vision, […]","protected":false},"author":7193,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[28,26,30,32],"class_list":["post-34","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-continuous-improvement","tag-business-analysis","tag-process-improvement","tag-students","tag-workshops"],"meta_box":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/continuous-improvement-hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/continuous-improvement-hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/continuous-improvement-hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/continuous-improvement-hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7193"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/continuous-improvement-hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/continuous-improvement-hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/continuous-improvement-hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34\/revisions\/45"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/continuous-improvement-hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/continuous-improvement-hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/continuous-improvement-hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}