What is your role, and what are you responsible for?

I’m the Quality Review and Enhancement Manager in EPQ. I’ve been project managing the Institutional Teaching and Learning Review (ITLR) since August 2022, which has involved recruiting a team to support the project, working with the Project Board and Advisory Group to shape the 2023 version, organising the reviews themselves, and then reporting on the findings.

The other half of my role is managing the administration and reporting of the external institutional surveys, so the National Student Survey (NSS) for undergraduates, and the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES).

How long have you worked at Warwick, and what did you do before that?

I joined Warwick in December 2019, just before we went into lockdown, as an Assistant Registrar in the Strategic Planning and Analytics team. My primary responsibility was to deliver the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student statutory return. I also got involved in other statutory returns, as well as analytics projects like supporting the Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team. Before that, I was leading the Statutory Returns team at the Open University in Milton Keynes.

What projects are you currently working on, and what’s coming up?

NSS is currently open, and PTES will be launched for 2024 after Easter. I am working alongside the Student Engagement Officers in EPQ to support departments in meeting the externally-set response rate thresholds that allow the results to be published, to enable as many subjects and courses as possible to be represented in the next iteration of league tables.

The outcomes for ITLR 2023 have now been published, so I am working to ensure they reach as many of our staff and student community as possible. The findings will also go on to inform the new Education and Student Experience Strategy, so I am supporting that project, too.

What does a typical day look like?

Lots of meetings, and very varied! I am working across several projects, and managing four members of staff to support the delivery of those projects. I the last couple of months, I have spent lots of time reading ITLR panel reports and synthesising the findings, to try and make them accessible to the broad range of staff and students who were involved in the project.

What’s your favourite thing about your role?

Surveys, and the wonderful EPQ team. My expertise is as a survey statistician, so anything that involves sampling, response rate analysis and strategies and reporting on student feedback is my bag. I am passionate about using feedback to effectively inform decision-making, in particular data visualisation.

Members of staff in the EPQ team are a delight to work with. The ITLR has presented some of the most challenging deliverables of my career so far, but EPQ have always been on hand to provide emotional support as well as practically offering help at every opportunity. It is truly a collaborative and supportive team.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

We have two young girls (5 ¾ and 8), so life is fairly hectic as they are very active! I am a keen hiker and runner, and I love my garden and generally enjoy anything outdoors. I have also grown up in a very musical family, so I sing, and play the piano and the flute.

What is your favourite book, and your favourite film?

This is a tricky one! I read a lot, but don’t tend to go back and re-read books. If pushed, I would probably say Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner or Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernières.

Film is easy – Braveheart is my all-time favourite, so much so that I walked down the aisle to ‘A Gift of the Thistle’ from the soundtrack.

If you could teleport anywhere right now, where would you go?

The Abel Tasman National Park on the South Island in New Zealand. We visited on our honeymoon in 2013, and are hoping to take the girls next year.

Cats or dogs? Tea or coffee? City or countryside?

Cats, definitely. If you’ve ever had a Teams call with me, then generally Poppy, my 17-year-old moggie, will have made an appearance. Contrary to my Yorkshire roots, surviving motherhood has made me an avid coffee drinker. Countryside without question. I do enjoy the city, but crave the hills and open countryside after too long.

What advice would you give your 18-year-old self?

Live in the moment – life is too short to worry about what is to come.