Manchester software developer Culture Shift has teamed up with online learning specialist GoodCourse with the goal of enabling Higher Education institutions to build safe and inclusive environments for students and staff alike.
Bullying, harassment, sexual assault, and racism are a serious issue within the Higher Education system, with one in 20 students reportedly leaving education due to racial harassment, and students being three times more likely to experience sexual assault than the rest of the adult population, according to ONS figures.
Culture Shift’s online reporting platform gives organisations the insight they need to identify and respond to bullying, harassment and assault, and has been proven to increase reporting by almost 300 per cent, while GoodCourse helps to to deliver content that looks and feels like the social media platforms that students use every day, covering courses on equity, inclusion, and safety topics such as consent.
A 2021 survey by student activist website The Tab revealed that only one in 20 survivors of sexual assault would feel comfortable reporting their experience to their institution, and Culture shift hopes that by bringing together these next generation technologies, universities will not only be able to identify and diagnose problem hotspots, but also be able to drive behaviour change at scale throughout the year, ultimately reducing incidents.
Gemma McCall, Culture Shift CEO, said: “Our online reporting platform gives students a voice and arms leaders with the tools they need to take action, while GoodCourse’s approach to content and course delivery is a game-changer for highlighting and tackling the problems in a way that actually engages students and drives change.”
