Engaging with Enhancement and the Enhancement Themes at the University of Glasgow
Prof. Frank Coton
Vice-Principal (Learning and Teaching)
The Framework within which we operate
Guiding Principles of the QE Framework
The University of Glasgow Quality Framework
Glasgow University Senate Committee Structure
Senate
Research Policy and Strategy Committee
Deans of Graduate Studies
Committee
Researcher Development Committee
Education Policy and Strategy Committee
Learning and Teaching
Committee
Working Groups e.g. Graduate
Attributes
Academic Standards Committee
Quality Officers Forum
ASC Sub-committees
Student Support and Development
Committee
Chief Advisors Sub-Committee
Research Degrees
TaughtDegrees
General Student Support
Education Policy and Strategy Committee
Learning and Teaching
Committee
Working Groups e.g. Graduate
Attributes
Academic Standards Committee
Quality Officers Forum
ASC Sub-committees
The Enhancement Focus
Focus on Enhancement
Focus on Assurance
The Quality Processes as Mechanisms for Enhancement
Quality Assuran
ce
Staff Student Liaison
Committees
Annual Course
Monitoring
External Examiner System
Periodic Subject Review
Quality Enhancement
Delivering the Student Experience: Embedding Enhancement in Strategy
The Student Experience Strategy• University Strategic Plan• Learning and Teaching Strategy• Internationalisation Strategy• IT Strategy• Capital Investment Plan• College Plans
The Dimensions of the Student Experience
The External Environment
Subject Area
PriorExperience
Expectation
The Dimensions of the Student Experience
Subject Area
Teaching in the class
Academic quality and pedagogy
Local teaching facilities
Local support staff
Degree Programme
Course ChoiceVariability between subjects
Timetabling and
coordination
Academic advising
University Services
Library, Careers,
Catering etc
Lecture Theatres
Virtual Learning
Environment
Student data systems
Extracurricular Activity
Unions, Clubs and Societies
Student representatio
n
Sports
Student volunteering, internships & part-time work
External Environmen
t
The City
Government Policy
The Economy (Financial and job prospects)
Culture
The Dimensions of the Student Experience – span of control
Subject Area
Degree Programme
University Services
Extracurricular Activity
External Environmen
t
Span of Control
Student-led
We are all in it together – including our students!
Subject Area
Degree Programme
University Services
Extracurricular Activity
External Environmen
tVice-Principal (Learning and Teaching)
Deans of Learning and Teaching
Heads of School
Clerk of Senate
Heads of University Services
Student Representative Council
Student Unions
Student Sport Association
Senior Management
Group
Subject Leads
Heads of College
Heads of Academic Administration
Secretary of Court
Understanding Enhancement
The External Environment
Subject Area
Service Reviews
Periodic Subject Review
Annual Course Monitoring
Course Feedback
Student Staff Liaison Committees
QUALITYPROCESSES
Horizon Scanning
Student Barometer
Institutionally owned surveys
Postgraduate Taught Survey
National Student Survey
The Student Voice
OTHER FEEDBACK
Strategic Enablers
Teaching Awards (Student and Staff-led schemes)
• Enhancement is embedded within our core strategy and is supported by established processes
• The Enhancement Themes do not shape our enhancement activities but rather contribute to and extend existing activity
• They provide an opportunity for our staff to work with and learn from other institutions
• They also provide opportunities to identify and take forward sector-wide approaches to issues
So where do the Enhancement Themes fit in?
• Planned and directed by SHEEC on which ALL Higher Education institutions are represented• SHEEC decides the broad topic for each Theme including the
order in which Themes take place
• Topics of interest to the Scottish higher education sector as a whole
• They are explored and developed with the aim of enhancing the student learning experience across the sector
• Funded by the Scottish Funding Council• Managed by QAA Scotland
The Enhancement Themes
• Quality Assurance is relatively straightforward to do in near isolation (external examiners and quality audits aside). This is because the focus tends to be on the refinement of what we are doing now.
• Quality Enhancement is difficult to do in isolation. It requires an outward-looking approach where considerable value is gained by working with and learning from the experiences of others.
• The Enhancement Themes provide a focus for cooperation and collaboration
A key lesson from the Enhancement Culture
A Diverse HE Sector
• The significant diversity in our HE sector is actually a real advantage
• Different institutions often face similar issues in different contexts – cooperation leads to deeper understanding of the limitations of specific approaches and can inspire the evolution of new strategies
A Diverse HE Sector
Steering Committee (including two students)
Sectoral Events
Commissioned Work
Student Network
Institutional Project Teams
How the Enhancement Themes Run
• Assessment and Integrative assessment (2003-04)• Responding to student needs (03-04)• Employability (04-06)• Flexible delivery (04-06)• First year: engagement & empowerment (05-08)• Research-teaching linkages: enhancing graduate
attributes (06-08)• Graduates for the 21st century: integrating the
Enhancement Themes (08-11)• Developing and supporting the curriculum (2011-14)
Case Study: Graduate Attributes at the University of Glasgow
Linking to the Enhancement Themes
• Employability (04-06) Linked well with institutional involvement in SFC funded Learning to Work 1 which kicked off an internal working group looking at employability and PDP within UoG. Carried on until 2008 with the publication of the Employability Strategy Review.
• Research-teaching linkages: enhancing graduate attributes (06-08) Started a genuine internal debate amongst staff on how Graduate Attributes are developed through research-teaching linkages
• Graduates for the 21st century: integrating the Enhancement Themes (08-11) Brought the work of the two previous themes together in the development of the University Graduate Attributes Framework.
Case Study: Graduate Attributes
Case Study: Graduate Attributes
GA Working/ Action Group
Institutional Senior
Management
Careers
Employability Advisers
Academic Staff
Educational
Developers
International
Students’ Adviser
Students
• Develop a University-wide approach to Graduate Attributes that
» enhances student personal development» recognises attribute development is continuous and
pervasive» allows personal/subject specific variations in attribute
competence» can be embedded in and beneficial to curriculum
design and review» enhances student engagement with the curriculum» encourages reflection by students…..and staff!
• Use data generated to inform the University Learning and Teaching Strategy and assist in decisions concerning the implementation of this strategy (2011-2015)
The original working group’s aims
2009-2011• Starting from existing implicit attributes, design and populate a
graduate attributes matrix -one-to-one consultations. • Student-led, enquiry-based project - qualitative data gathering
concerning staff and student perceptions of graduate attributes.• Electronic questionnaire focused on senior academic staff & new
lecturers• Focus group sessions with the Students’ Representative Council• An employer consultation process
2011-2012• Graduate Attributes and international students (student-led project
funded by the Higher Education Academy)
Institutional research and building consensus
1. Capable of Engaging in Enquiry-led learning2. Capable of Independent and Critical Thinking3. Breadth and Depth of Knowledge Base within Discipline
4. Motivated, Confident, Adaptable, Resilient5. Capable of Self-Evaluation and Reflection6. Capable of Effective Professional Interaction
7. Entrepreneurial and Career Aware8. Equipped for Global Citizenship9. Ethically-Minded
Academic abilities
Personalqualities
Social aware-ness
Identified order of importance
Attributes from original Learning & Teaching Strategy (2006-10)
Student-led institutional research
• A team of paid students acting as student enquirers over the course of a 9 week project.
• Undertaking interviews with staff and students as a form of action research:
o Each student enquirer to interview at least 3 staff and 3 student subjects each
o Each interview subject interviewed twice to assess attitudinal change over time
o Student enquirers asked to participate as research subjects themselves
• Key outputs: staff and student guides to the benefits of developing graduate attributes
Strong agreement on which attributes were most important to develop:
Top 10 Staff Attributes Top 10 Student attributes
Independent & critical thinkingCommunication & presentationMotivationConfidenceSubject knowledgeProblem solvingResearch skillsSelf-sufficiency / independenceSelf-reflectionTeam workers
CommunicationConfidenceMotivationTeamworkProfessionalism/interpersonal skillsResearch skillsSelf-reflectionIndependent and critical thinkingSelf-sufficiency / independenceSubject knowledge
What did the consultations find?
Graduateattributesstaff guide
Our Graduate Attributes
http://www.gla.ac.uk/students/attributes/
Personal dimensio
n
Transferable dimension
Academic dimensio
n
10 Graduate Attributes:
1. Subject specialists2. Investigative3. Independent and critical
thinkers4. Resourceful and
responsible5. Effective communicators6. Confident7. Adaptable8. Experienced collaborators9. Ethically and socially
aware10. Reflective learners
Three inter-dependent dimensions
University of Glasgow’s Graduate Attribute Framework
…and we did not make this journey alone!
Thank you!