Education Communications

We will …

Communicate with staff and students using a wide array of media to ensure transparency and inclusivity, celebrate excellence and achievement, provide clarity of direction, and demonstrate reciprocal engagement

We will achieve this by …

• Introducing an integrated and pro-active Education Communications, linked to key points in the student lifecycle and calendar and reinforcing the overall Education Strategy.
• Agreeing core messaging with academic departments and professional services, and working to embed these across all our communications
• Incorporating a student voice in our communications to focus on the student learning experience
• Supporting staff to develop inclusive, clear and well-organised communication practices for educational purposes
• Utilising MyWarwick, Insite and social media to deliver education communications, as well as academic and governance networks
• Regularly evaluating and adjusting the effectiveness of our communications by seeking feedback from various stakeholders

 

Prioritising student engagement We will continue to work with students to ensure that their voice is heard and that we co-produce the educational experience together. Work will include: enhancing student representation; working with students to develop an inclusive curriculum; enhancement of student communications around the Education Strategy; and a focus on developing the Director of Student Experience and Progression (DSEP) role.

Student Engagement and Progression

Student Surveys

We will …

Rationalise and steer the use of student surveys to focus on the enhancement of the student experience

We will achieve this by …

• Establishing a Survey Steering Group to oversee and approve cross-institutional survey activity, limit consumerist use of surveys, and ensure appropriate learning from surveys and results are communicated to all relevant stakeholders
• Establishing a managed survey data repository for relevant stakeholders to retrieve data for educational enhancement purposes
• Establishing good practice guidance on the use of surveys, with an emphasis on inclusivity and equality and follow-through on results

 

Case study: Student Surveys Student surveys are generally accepted as a valuable means of ensuring student interests are understood and where appropriate, supported. However, the use of surveys needs to be undertaken wisely and in a manner which ensures students see tangible outcomes resulting from their feedback. Cognisant of the number of cross institutional student surveys at Warwick, the (limited) visible impact on changing practice in the case of some surveys, and the limited sharing of survey data with interested parties, a group was established to streamline and enhance the use of cross-institutional student surveys. Read more ...

Assessment

We will …

Review assessment practices to create a flexible, innovative, robust, effective, valid and efficient Assessment in order to support student experience, staff development and transferable skills

We will achieve this by …

• Considering progression requirements and approaches to resit opportunities
• Reviewing exam board procedures and data supporting exam board decision-making
• Reviewing approaches to handling mitigating and special circumstances
• Simplifying assessment strategies and diversifying types of assessment to ensure relevant learning outcomes

 

Developing and diversifying our assessment practices We will further progress the Review of Assessment Practices to provide robustness, consistency and flexibility to enhance student and staff experience. Work will include a focus on progression and borderline criteria, and mitigating circumstances; plagiarism; reviewing examination processes; and diversification of types of assessment.

Joint and Interdisciplinary Degrees

We will …

Provide consistent and harmonised support for students on joint and interdisciplinary degrees

We will achieve this by …

• Codifying the responsibilities of lead departments and staff for joint and interdisciplinary degrees
• Ensuring designated academic and administrative staff are responsible for management and communication in joint and interdisciplinary degrees
• Ensuring assessments are timetabled consistently between disciplines on joint and interdisciplinary degrees
• Developing and disseminating exemplars of good practice in joint and interdisciplinary degrees
• Ensuring resourcing models support and encourage the development of joint and interdisciplinary degrees

 

Case study: Module Selection The Module Selection Process project will revise the University's systems and processes to support module selection both in Term 1 of the year of study and in Term 3 of the preceding academic year. The aim of this project is to make the module selection process clearer and more consistent, easier for students to make their choices, and to support students choosing options outside of their department. Read more ...

Staff roles in support of the Student Experience

We will …

Build a network of Directors of Student Experience and Progression and Faculty Student Engagement Co-ordinators to promote student experience, including recruitment, teaching quality, assessment and feedback, progression, employability, and alumni relations

We will achieve this by …

• Ensuring that all academic departments have access to a Director of Student Experience and Faculty Student Engagement Co-ordinator or equivalent role
• Developing a coherent and standardised Director of Student Experience role description

 

Case study: Student Experience Network The Student Experience Network is an informal network of departmental staff with student experience roles including Directors of Student Experience and Progression (DSEP), and a wider group of Faculty Student Engagement Coordinators and wider professional service staff with a committment to enhancing the student experience. Read more ...

Personal Tutoring

We will …

Provide personal tutoring to support students’ academic development and progression; facilitate the accessibility of learning to students; and enhance the quality of the learning environment and learning experience of all our students

We will achieve this by …

• Implementing agreed recommendations of the Personal Tutoring Review
• Re-positioning and resourcing personal tutoring as a valued and mainstream strand of academic work directly connected to the student experience and learning environment
• Encouraging the development of a staff-student partnership approach in our model of personal tutoring, connecting students to their programmes of study, and engendering institutional belonging
• Developing closer working with the full range of student support and development services across the University to facilitate more effective student referral and signposting

 

Case study: Developing Personal Tutoring An institutional review of personal tutoring was undertaken in 2017/18. Consulting widely across the University and more widely across the HE sector, the review explored the purpose and requirements of personal tutoring - including the important interface with Wellbeing Support Services. Read more ...

Student Wellbeing and Inclusive Curriculum

We will …

Support student wellbeing by enhancing collaboration between academic departments and central support services

We will achieve this by …

• Supporting the personal tutoring system to enhance the working relationship between Wellbeing Support Services, the Dean of Students, Faculty Senior Tutors, and Academic Departments
• Develop an initial ‘hub and spoke’ model of wellbeing referral support for students, with the appointment of faculty outreach workers to deliver a preventative, psycho-educational programme as well as a ‘drop in’ facility with easy access to facilitate signposting and improved referral routes to the more specialised central service
• Delivering a wellbeing component as part of Welcome Week
• Foster student resilience by developing online self-help materials and workshops related to personal development and the enhancement of the student experience at all levels
• Supporting the development of an inclusive curriculum through implementation of a cross institution strategy that will mitigate related risks, address the needs of students with disabilities but also embed inclusive practice as a route to excellence for the student population as a whole

 

 Education Space

We will …

Develop a campus that is configured to support the student learning experience

We will achieve this by …

• Providing a high quality student and teacher classroom experience
• Ensuring that all teaching rooms are accessible and suitable for all staff and students
• Ensuring provision for future advances in pedagogic practice and developments in technology enhanced learning
• Providing a range of high quality specialist teaching spaces such as laboratories and performance spaces
• Providing sufficient teaching rooms of suitable capacities to support growth in teaching programmes
• Providing a variety of high quality study space
• Ensuring that there are sufficient study spaces in accessible locations that flex to support demands at different times of the year
• Facilitating an integrated student enquiry and support service by identifying and allocating appropriate spaces to engage with students
• Providing suitable rooms for holding centrally managed and special arrangement exams and assessments
• Ensuring value for money investment in existing and new teaching spaces

 

Case study: Study Space This project was led by the Students’ Union Education Officer, who was elected on a manifesto to improve the provision of study space for students. With the initial support from Space Management and Timetabling, we began to work with different stakeholders to identify the breadth and depth of issues (from, and then where to go from there. We have since then come from a position of understanding current provision and what is needed in terms of student preference. The next steps are to work to meet these needs proactively with refurbishment works and software development, and to ultimately implement holistic University-level policy and strategy. Read more ...