Driver 2 - Supportive Instructor & Course Interactions

Resources in this Change Idea

Evidence Base

Student-centered course policies promote equity in courses by communicating respect and taking into account the diversity and complexity of students’ lived experiences. They are crafted such that complying with them does not place an undue burden on students from a particular identity group. Ensuring that course policies are equitable is a critical part of creating an inclusive classroom environment. Course policies that acknowledge students’ lived experiences and are written to work for all students also helps promote student engagement in courses by lowering identity threat and increasing social belonging, particularly among underrepresented or underserved student groups (McNair et al., 2016; Murphy & Destin, 2016; McNair, Bensimon & Malcom-Piqueux, 2020).

RESOURCE

CONTRIBUTORS

Student Experience Project

Overview

Instructors across the SEP network utilized evidence-based resources in the SEP Practices Library to develop their approach to conducting a student-centered policy review. The resource guides in the Practices Library guided instructors in reviewing their course policies through a student lens, removing or revising policies that do not promote equitable learning for all student groups, and adding new policies that address the unmet learning needs of particular student groups

Visit the SEP Practices Library to learn more about conducting a student-centered policy review and review the evidence-based implementation guide.