minutes of the meeting of the faculty of natural …

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MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE FACULTY OF NATURAL SCIENCES LEARNING AND TEACHING COMMITTEE

Held on Friday 3rd November 2017

19. APOLOGIES AND ABSENCES, REQUESTS TO UN-STAR ITEMS AND NOTIFICATION

OF ANY OTHER BUSINESS TO BE DISCUSSED AT THE END OF THE AGENDA For a note of attendance please see the attached list. There were no requests to unstar items and no items of additional business were identified.

20. MINUTES

The Committee approved the minutes of the meeting of the Faculty of Natural Sciences Learning and Teaching Committee (FLTC) held on 22nd September 2017.

21. MATTERS ARISING

The Committee noted there were no matters arising from the minutes of the meeting held on 22nd September 2017 not covered elsewhere on the agenda.

22. ACTIONS LIST

The Committee received the actions list and reported on the progress of outstanding items as follows:

22/9/17 minute 5: The Chair confirmed that she would now be taking on the responsibilities of the Director of Postgraduate Taught Programmes role. She extended her thanks to the former Director of Postgraduate Taught Programmes (Dr Sharon George) and wished her well for the future. 22/9/17 minute 15: With regard to the inclusion of a Pass in the Science Practical element of A-Levels in programme entry requirements, the Chair advised colleagues that she had spoken with the Head of Admissions who had confirmed that it was at the discretion of schools as to whether this was required or not. If schools wished to change these requirements, they should contact the Admissions team directly. Action completed. 22/9/17 minute 15d: The Chair advised colleagues that the Head of Admissions had confirmed that prospective Foundation Year (FY) students apply for a named four-year degree programme when completing UCAS applications. Action completed. It was thought this may disadvantage undergraduate students who had undertaken the FY at Keele, specifically with respect to the possible repeating of years. It was suggested that the de-coupling of the FY from undergraduate programmes may remedy the issue. The Quality Assurance (QA) Manager commented that he would investigate and report back to FLTC in due course.

Action: QA Manager

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22/9/17 minute 16: With regard to FLTC deadlines for module proposals and programme specifications for 2018/19, the Chair commented that, although the deadline for new 2018/19 modules was March 2018, difficulty may arise should a programme major modification be submitted to FLTC for consideration without the associated modules. Action completed. The Chair thanked colleagues for their hard work during the recent period of extensive curriculum review.

POLICY AND STRATEGY

23. TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

a. Second Year Success The Committee received a paper for discussion entitled ‘Second Year Success’ from the Learning and Professional Development Centre (LPDC). The Committee was advised that the undergraduate second year (level 5) experience was identified by Professor Fiona Cownie (Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education and Student Experience) 2013 – 2017) as one of several foci needed for educational enhancement activity. The focus had not been identified and incorporated into the development of the 2015-2020 Learning and Teaching Strategy and thus a number of ‘Second Year Success’ (SYS) exploratory and awareness-raising activities were carried out with academic schools and professional services divisions in the 2016/17 session; these revealed the scope for a range of initiatives to enhance the second year student experience at Keele. Several actions in support of SYS were ongoing or planned for 2017/18. The paper provided to colleagues was an account of work completed, ongoing and planned, and set out options for additional work. The paper invited FLTC to provide feedback ahead of the University Learning and Teaching Committee (ULTC) meeting scheduled for 29th November 2017, at which it would be decided which aspects of, how, and when, any additional work to enhance the second year experience should proceed, and how this should be managed and governed. Colleagues were advised that focus groups had been held earlier in the year to discuss the matter and representatives from the Faculty had attended. It was noted that the report did not take into account the work already underway regarding attainment gaps. Whilst appreciative of the overview given by the LPDC regarding this topic, it was agreed that there was no capacity to undertake any additional work within schools, currently. Given the recent burden of the work of projects such as Portfolio and Curriculum Development, it was felt some time for consolidation was necessary within schools. Indeed, it was questioned as to whether a ‘sophomore slump’ was prevalent across the Faculty. As there was an abundance of other projects already underway across the Faculty, it was agreed that, as the new Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education) was to commence in post in January 2018, it would be recommended to ULTC to wait until then before taking decisions regarding the project.

ITEMS FOR REPORT

24. REPORT FROM THE CHAIR

The Chair advised colleagues that she had attended a recent meeting of the Timetabling Steering Group. It was highlighted that positive progress was now evident for the institution as a whole in relation to timetabling. Significantly less critical timetabling issues had been

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reported this year compared with the last. Notwithstanding that, some areas remained problematic; 15 areas failed to submit the relevant information to Central Timetabling by the deadline. It was emphasised that, in future, it was critically important that accurate information was submitted to Central Timetabling in a timely manner. Some concerns were raised regarding this topic which included room bookings being cancelled by Central Timetabling and a reduction in the availability of pool rooms across the University. The Chair commented that she was scheduled to meet the Timetabling Manager soon and would discuss the concerns at the meeting. The Chair reported that the application of the ‘Lecture Capture’ system across the Faculty was variable; schools were now under pressure to increase its use. The Keele Postgraduate Association (KPA) representative advised colleagues that, although absent from this meeting, the Keele Students’ Union (KeeleSU) representative had recently reported that the student body was overwhelmingly in support of the use of the system. Colleagues were advised that the LPDC, along with learning technology officers, was to organise visits to schools to discuss the pedagogy of using a system such as Lecture Capture. Some concern was raised regarding the communication surrounding this initiative and it was suggested that a session outline be provided by the LPDC. School Directors of Learning and Teaching (SDLTs) were encouraged to speak with colleagues in schools and encourage members of staff to engage with the LPDC visit. It was reported that the University was conducting a review of its elective module provision, especially in relation to those elective modules that were running with fewer than 10 students.

25. REPORTS FROM STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES

a. The Committee received a report from the KeeleSU representative (see Appendix 1).

b. The Committee received a report from the KPA representative (see Appendix 2). In

addition, colleagues were advised that, as part of ongoing efforts to improve consistency in postgraduate taught (PGT) student representation, the KPA would like to hear from schools about how they organise PGT student voice representatives. The KPA were aware that due to the nature of postgraduate study, few PGT programmes were offered student voice representatives automatically; this had led to a system where each school/faculty had taken a different approach. It was reported that the KPA would greatly appreciate if each school could feedback how they organised their student representation; an email requesting the information would be sent to school contacts. The information offered would be used to help shape student representation in the future; it was hoped this would both improve the quality and depth of student representation at Keele for PGT students. It was appreciated that distance learning-based students were difficult to include in the representation but every effort would be made to gather their views. It was suggested that a Faculty-wide PGT Student Staff Voice Committee be organised. The Committee agreed to support the suggestion and the Chair offered to discuss this further with representatives from the KPA.

Action: Chair Colleagues were advised that the Postgraduate Research Forum had been organised to meet once per week and offered a cross-disciplinary space for students to present their research/work in progress and receive feedback. A paper detailing the initiative would be submitted to FLTC in due course.

26. LEARNING AND TEACHING

a. The Committee received a report from the Faculty LPDC link officer (see Appendix 3).

Colleagues were advised that the MA in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education programme was under review and updated documentation and modules would be considered by the Humanities and Social Sciences FLTC in due course.

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b. The Committee received a report from the Faculty Student Learning link officer (see

Appendix 4). The Committee requested that the representative give an update at the next meeting on how programmes were being supported and how the Faculty and Student Learning would collaborate in future.

Action: Student Learning link officer

27. SCHOOL DIRECTORS OF LEARNING AND TEACHING

The School of Computing and Mathematics DLT reported that Dr Ewan Russell had been successfully recognised as a Senior Fellow by the Higher Education Academy (HEA) through the University’s CPD Route. A concern was raised that PGT modules were not included in the module catalogue and this was causing confusion. The DLT commented that he would consult with the QA Manager regarding some errors in the module catalogue after the meeting. The School of Psychology DLT reported that good progress was being made on the new Psychology with Education undergraduate programme and the associated documents would be submitted to FLTC at the appropriate time. Colleagues were advised that the School’s planned collaboration with the SEGi College in Malaysia would not proceed. Recently, the School had invited the Chair to attend an event entitled ‘NSS World Café’. The event had facilitated discussions between members of staff regarding practical solutions to issues raised in the National Student Survey (NSS). The format had worked well and the School intended to run a similar event for its students to participate in. The FYC DLT outlined the 2017/18 recruitment statistics for the Centre. It was highlighted that the Centre’s Internal Quality Audit was scheduled for later in the month. Staff changes were being anticipated with the Health Foundation Year Course Director due to retire at Christmas. With regard to HEA recognition, it was reported that members of staff teaching at foundation level were not eligible. The Foundation Year Network was due to discuss the matter with the HEA soon; the Chair commented that she would also raise this issue at ULTC. The School of Life Sciences DLT reported that innovative teaching was currently taking place on a BSc (Hons) Neuroscience final year module and the results would be shared with colleagues at a later date. The School had recently invited the Chair to meet with its programme directors to increase her accessibility and to provide a platform to hear staff members’ concerns and opinions. Both the School of Life Sciences DLT and School of Geography, Geology and Environment DLT reported complaints regarding the marketing of the schools’ webpages. The Chair acknowledged that this was a critical issue and assured the Committee that it was being discussed at the Faculty Marketing and Student Recruitment Committee.

28. COMMITTEE MINUTES The Committee received the following minutes: a. School of Computing and Mathematics Learning and Teaching Committee (LTC)

meeting held on 21st August 2017 b. School of Psychology LTC meeting held on 31st August 2017 c. ULTC meeting held on 27th September 2017 d. School of Chemical and Physical Sciences LTC meeting held on 7th July 2017 e. FYC LTC meeting held on 7th June 2017 f. FYC LTC meeting held on 6th September 2017

29. EXTERNAL EXAMINER REPORTS AND SCHOOL RESPONSES

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The Committee received the following 2016/17 undergraduate external examiner reports and school responses: a. BSc (Hons) Neuroscience – Susan Duty b. BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science – Allison Green c. BSc (Hons) Human Biology – Blair Grubb d. BSc (Hons) Applied Biomedical Science – Nicky Milner e. BSc (Hons) Biochemistry – Katherine Rogers f. BSc (Hons) Biology – Richard Wall g. BSc (Hons) Computer Science – Floriana Grasso h. BSc (Hons) Computer Science – Mike Holcombe i. BSc (Hons) Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, MChem – Finlay Morrison j. BSc (Hons) Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, MChem – Peter O’Brien k. BSc (Hons) Chemistry, MChem – Michael Seery l. BSc (Hons) Forensic Science – Matthew Almond m. BSc (Hons) Astrophysics – Graham Wynn n. Foundation Year Science programmes – Anna Barney o. Foundation Year Science programmes – Catherine Marshall p. Foundation Year programmes – Willy Kitchen q. Foundation Year programmes – Peter Corvi

The Committee received the QA overview summary and the 2016/17 Faculty Chief Examiner Report with a view to contributing to the institutional response and identifying topics to be recommended to ULTC for discussion. It was noted that the University task-and-finish group for moderation was being led by the Chair. The School of Psychology DLT commented that she was happy to share the moderation form used in the School with FLTC colleagues. With regard to the comment made by the Chief Examiner on the subject of borderline candidates and the clarity of decision-making, it was suggested that the topic as a whole was a critical issue for the University. It was agreed that borderline decisions should be an automated process based on an algorithm. This issue would be highlighted to ULTC in due course when the overview report was discussed. It was highlighted that the FYC external examiners had raised the use of qualifying marks as an issue. The FYC DLT was directed to the paper covering the topic from the Head of Academic Quality and Student Conduct discussed at the September meeting of FLTC. FLTC strongly encouraged the FYC to review the use of qualifying marks and the FYC DLT commented that he would seek further guidance from the QA Manager.

30. CHAIR’S ACTION

Colleagues were reminded that the Committee had received the Chair-approved guidance regarding the submission of items for scrutiny to the Natural Sciences FLTC at the September meeting of FLTC; the paper could be found on the KLE. The Committee noted that the following items had been approved by Chair’s action since the last meeting: a. MSc Geoscience Research amended programme specification for 2017/18 b. BSc (Hons) Psychology (CH) amended programme specification for 2018/19 c. BSc (Hons) Psychology with Counselling (SH) amended programme specification for

2018/19 d. BSc (Hons) Psychology (SH) amended programme specification for 2018/19 e. BSc (Hons) Biology (SH) amended programme specification for 2017/18

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f. BSc (Hons) Biology (DH) amended programme specification for 2017/18 g. BSc (Hons) Human Biology (DH) amended programme specification for 2017/18 h. BSc (Hons) Biochemistry (SH) amended programme specification for 2017/18 i. BSc (Hons) Biochemistry (DH) amended programme specification for 2017/18 j. BSc (Hons) Biomedical Sciences amended programme specification for 2017/18

ITEMS FOR SCRUTINY AND APPROVAL

31. PROGRAMME MODIFICATIONS

Colleagues were reminded again that the Committee had received the Chair-approved guidance regarding the submission of items for scrutiny to the Natural Sciences FLTC at the September meeting of FLTC; the paper could be found on the KLE. The Committee considered the following programme modifications and associated module proposals: a. BSc (Hons) Psychology and BSc Psychology (Hons) with Counselling for 2017/18 and

2018/19 The School proposed to make changes to three Level 5 compulsory modules in order to refresh the overall offering. In general, the changes reflected an updating and rebranding that would normally be dealt with by module revisions, except that modules needed to be renamed. It was confirmed that the students affected by the 2017/18 proposed changes had been consulted and had agreed to the modifications. The proposed modules were: PSY-20043 Qualitative and Survey Research Design (to replace PSY-20013) PSY-20044 Statistics for Psychology PSY-20045 Biological and Cognitive Psychology (to replace PSY-20005)

The Committee resolved:

That, subject to amendments being actioned by the School (full details of which would be communicated by QA and via the eVision system), the programme modifications and modules be approved.

b. All MSc Psychology programmes from 2018/19

The School proposed changes which had arisen in response to student feedback that qualitative methods training was not appropriate for some streams (MSc Cognitive Psychology, in particular) and student projects within the MSc programmes. The proposed changes would allow all students on the School’s programmes to select the training which was most appropriate for their own research and training goals and align the MSc offering in cognitive psychology with similar programmes elsewhere. PSY-40036 would be changed from compulsory to an optional module and a new optional module was to be introduced: PSY-40053 Advanced Cognitive Neuroscience Research Methods

The Committee resolved: That, the module be approved. The Committee identified the requirement for the School to submit a formal programme withdrawal for the Clinical Psychological Research route.

Action: School of Psychology In addition, the admissions information was required to be aligned with that on the website. Subject to these requirements and the amendments to the programme specifications being actioned by the School (full details of which would be communicated by QA), the programme modifications be approved.

c. MSc Social and Community Psychology from 2018/19

In addition to the changes stated in item b above, the School proposed to change the name of the MSc Social and Community Psychology programme to MSc Applied Social

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and Political Psychology. This would also require changing one compulsory 30-credit module within the programme. PSY-40043 Advanced Study in Social and Community Psychology would be withdrawn and replaced with the following new module: PSY-40051 Advanced Study in Applied Social and Political Psychology


That, subject to amendments being actioned by the School, full details of which would be communicated by QA for the programme specification and eVision for the module (which would require approval by Chair’s action once re-submitted), the modification be approved. In addition, the change in programme title was recommended for approval by ULTC.

d. MSc Counselling and Psychotherapy from 2018/19

The School proposed the separating out of Year 1 of the current 3-year, part-time MSc Counselling and Psychotherapy to form a standalone Graduate Certificate in Counselling at level 6; the dropping of Year 3 of the current 3-year, part-time MSc Counselling and Psychotherapy and retaining Years 1 and 2 as a standalone programme, namely the already BACP-accredited Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy (details of which would be provided at a future meeting of FLTC); the offering of a part-time (2 year) MSc Counselling and Psychotherapy. The associated proposed modules were: PSY-40054 (to replace PSY-40048) PSY-40055 (to replace PSY-40026 and PSY-40027)


That, subject to amendments being actioned by the School, full details of which would be communicated by QA for the programme specification and eVision for the modules), the modification be approved.

32. MODULE PROPOSALS, WITHDRAWALS AND REVISIONS

The Committee considered the following module proposals: a. ESC-10061 Studying the Environment (for 2018/19)


That, subject to amendments being actioned by the School (full details of which would be communicated via the eVision system), the module proposal be approved.

b. LSC-30065 Medical Glycobiology (for 2019/20)


That, subject to amendments being actioned by the School (full details of which would be communicated via the eVision system), the module proposal be approved.

The Committee considered the withdrawal of the following modules from 2018/19:

a. MAT-10044. This module was to be replaced with MAT-10049 b. PSY-40043. This module was to be replaced by PSY-40051 c. PSY-20005. This module was to be replaced by PSY-20045

The Committee resolved: That, the module withdrawals be approved.

The Committee oversaw the School LTC approval of the following module revisions for 2017/18: a. ESC-40024 MGeoscience: Structure and Geodynamics

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b. ESC-30047 Dissertation c. ESC-30019 Applied Environmental Science Independent Research Project – ISP d. GEG-10011 Geography & Geographers e. ESC-40018 MGeoscience: Global Environmental Change f. ESC-20002 Reconstructing Past Environments g. ESC-30018 Global Environmental Change h. ESC-30028 Economic Geology i. MAT-20008 Differential Equations j. ESC-30025 Micropalaeontology: Principles and Applications k. ESC-40026 MGeoscience: Economic Geology l. ESC-40032 Clean and Green Technologies II: Power from beneath the Earth m. ESC-40031 Clean and Green Technologies I: Power from above the Earth n. ESC-40030 Case Studies in Sustainability o. ESC-10056 Entrepreneurship Level 4 p. ESC-40023 MGeoscience: Micropalaeontology: Princp and Apps q. FYO-00160 Chemistry Matters r. CSC-10026 Computer Animation and Multimedia s. CSC-30012 Communications and Networks t. ESC-00007 Entrepreneurship Level 3 u. CHE-30049 Applied Chemistry 2 v. CHE-30051 Chemistry/Medicinal Chemistry Dissertation w. CHE-30050 Chemistry/Medicinal Chemistry Research Project

33. REASONABLE ADJUSTMENTS POLICY AND PROCEDURE

The Committee received a paper and presentation from the Disability and Dyslexia Support (DDS) Manager regarding the proposed Reasonable Adjustments Policy. The Committee was advised that the University sought to ensure that students received an inclusive learning experience that was consistent with Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance and which was underpinned by the values and practices of inclusion. The Committee noted that the policy and associated procedures were relevant to students with disabilities, special education needs or long term medical conditions. Their aim was to set out the process for requesting adjustments or arrangements, and their approval. The policy applied to all staff of the University and had been drawn up with reference to good practice available within the sector, including that available from the Equality Challenge Unit. Feedback was offered by the Committee and noted by the DDS Manager. Some of the points made included clarification within the title that the reasonable adjustments related to the Disability Act; clarification that the Disability Adviser was a member of Student and Academic Services staff; a suggestion that points 3.7 and 3.8 were merged; clarification regarding who recorded the requests for reasonable adjustments and who had access to this information. It was noted that field courses were not covered in the paper and it was requested that they be included. It was also suggested that some students required guidance before admission to the University as some adjustments fundamentally affected the suitability of students for some programmes. A request for a more student-friendly version of the paper was made. Once all of the feedback had been considered and clarified, the Committee agreed that it would recommend the documents for approval by ULTC.

PENDING AND FORTHCOMING ITEMS

34. ANY OTHER BUSINESS

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Having been an observer at recent meetings of the University Executive Committee, the Chair asked the Committee to give consideration to the feasibility of programme directors attending FLTC as observers in the future.

35. DATE AND TIME OF FUTURE MEETINGS

The Committee noted the dates for the remaining 2017/18 FLTC meetings were as follows, papers should be sent to [email protected]: Date Time Papers Deadlines Friday 8th December 2017 14:15 Papers required by Monday 27th November 2017 Friday 2nd February 2018 14:15 Papers required by Monday 22nd January 2018 Friday 9th March 2018 14:15 Papers required by Monday 26th February 2018 Friday 11th May 2018 14:15 Papers required by Monday 30th April 2018 Friday 6th July 2018 14:15 Papers required by Monday 25th June 2018

mailto:[email protected]

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Faculty of Natural Sciences Learning and Teaching Committee Attendance for the meeting held on 3rd November 2017

Faculty of Natural Sciences

Dr Katie Szkornik Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching and Chair Prof Jonathan Wastling Pro Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean A

School of Life Sciences Mr Glenn Hussey School Director of Learning & Teaching

School of Geography, Geology and the Environment

Dr Ian Stimpson School Director of Learning & Teaching

School of Chemical and Physical Sciences Dr Dave McGarvey School Director of Learning & Teaching

School of Psychology

Dr Julie Hulme School Director of Learning & Teaching

School of Computing and Mathematics Dr Martyn Parker School Director of Learning and Teaching

Foundation Year Centre

Mr Simon Rimmington Centre Director of Learning and Teaching

Student Representatives Mr Jeff Wiltshire KeeleSU Education Officer 2017/18 A Mr George Blake KPA Vice President 2017/18

In Attendance

Mr Paul Cartwright Faculty Business Manager A Ms Sarah Roberts Quality Assurance Support Officer A Mr Ed McCauley Quality Assurance Manager Ms Jane Machin Quality Assurance Co-ordinator and minutes Ms Georgina Spencer Learning and Professional Development Centre (for

items 19 to 30)

Ms Kizzy Beaumont Curriculum Development and Student Learning A Ms Ali Bottrill Disability and Dyslexia Support Manager (for item 33) Key: A = Apologies/Absent

Keele SU FLTC Report October/November 2017

1. Student Voice Representatives

The Student Voice Representatives have now been elected for the 2017-8 academic year. We had 10 more candidates standing, with more contested elections and a 40% increase in voter turnout. Students have now had the opportunity to attend the Student Voice Conference and we will be introducing online training and hosting top-up training sessions throughout the year. We have also introduced ‘Lead School Voice Representatives’ instead of ‘Faculty StARs’. As of 19th October we had applications from all Schools apart from SPIRE, SHAR and the School of Chemical and Physical Sciences. If you have any questions about Student Voice Reps feel free to email [email protected] and they should be able to help you.

2. Mental Health Awareness Week

Between 9th and 13th October KeeleSU ran a Mental Health Awareness Week campaign. We converted one of our rooms in to a de-stress area which could become a permanent fixture in the near future. We also ran campaigns around organisation, wellness, community and arts & crafts. Our flagship event was the BME World Health Day Forum which encouraged BME students to open up about mental health. Mental Health remains a key campaign for elected officers throughout the year.

3. Academic Integrity Campaign

In the first two weeks of November, the Students’ Union will release guidance related to academic integrity and support. Three key areas we will be focusing on are ECs guidance, Support to Study information and plagiarism awareness. We feel that this should be a rolling campaign for ASK and elected officers to champion each year as a new cohort of students come to Keele.

Jeff Saddington-Wiltshire

Education Officer

Appendix 1


KPA FLTC Report Oct/Nov 2017 1. Study Space

Over the summer the KPA worked with the University to provide overnight study spaces for PGT students. This has been a broadly successful project with some complications, including a change in location after some complaints about use of the space.

Early figures suggest that the space has had over 1000 hours of registered use in its first month. We know that not all of the students were signing in and, as a result, we estimate that over the course of the summer there may have been as many as 2000-3000 study hours. Having now collected all of the available data a brief report is attached summarising what we know.

At this stage we think there is a strong case for University/KPA provision of 24 hour study space all year round, and potentially PGT specific study space. We shall continue to work closely with the University and the Students Union to make sure appropriate space is provided over the coming year and engage with various ongoing processes relating to study space.

2. Induction

Over the course of the last 2 weeks KPA Officers have attended as many Postgraduate Inductions as possible. This has been a hugely positive process, introducing our services and support to hundreds of new students and getting lots of feedback on the induction processes. Most feedback has been positive but there are some concerns regarding induction that we will be looking to address with the University over the coming year.

2.1. PGT

Students have reported several issues with PGT induction, mostly relating to inconsistent or late information and timetabling (relative to the undergraduate experience). Much of this stems from the fact that there is a devolved system of PGT administration at Keele that leads to students receiving varying degrees of information at differing times. Students accept that each school does things differently, but are often left feeling as if they lack the requisite information to begin their studies until very close to the beginning of their course.

Students would like to have more information before arrival and the level of information to be more consistent across courses. For undergraduates, their process seems to be settled months in advance but PGT students often report feeling as if their course is being organised in the days before they arrive. These problems can be exacerbated by different starting times both within the same semester and with January intake.

2.2. PGR

PGR students reported some similar issues but had a specific set of concerns relating to their own induction. This included:

Appendix 2

1) Key webpages had severely out of date information for PGR students and there was confusion over responsibility for the content of those web pages. This was rectified in the short to avoid confusion.

2) PGR Welcome is separated from the overall Welcome Week project leading to confusion as to the appropriate sources of information particularly on the website.

The KPA would also like to provide more PGR focussed welcome events and will be working with university to develop a more comprehensive Welcome week for PGR students

3. Student Voice Reps

We continue to work with the University in developing PGT Student Voice Representatives. Part of this process will involve liaising with Schools and the SU on developing a more consistent and effective system of academic representation for PGT students. If anybody would like to provide their own feedback on the development of PGT Student Voice Representatives, please do not hesitate to get in contact with us.

4. PGR Leave of Absence

The KPA is currently working with the University to review the LOA process for PGR students. This has been looked at in the past but has been revisited after concerns raised by both students and staff at Student Support. The KPA is currently in discussions with David Amigoni about reviewing the process and what would be the most appropriate process for PGR students to undergo.

5. PG Mental Health

The KPA have identified PGR Mental Health as a key area to tackle this academic year. Research within the last few years have shown that PGR students disproportionally have poorer mental health when compared to the rest of the student body. There are many explanations for this, including imposter syndrome and the isolationist experience of a PhD. In the previous academic year the KPA did some work to tackle this issue but plans to build on this more in the coming academic year. The KPA are already in discussions with the University, including with David Amigoni and Ian Munton, on what the best approaches would be.

6. PGT Offers

We have been raising and responding to the issues of slow responses to PGT offers within the university. Several students have reported significant delays in receiving their offers from Keele despite knowing that their course would be running and that they had the required qualifications to be accepted. It has been suggested that the offer process is overly complicated post application and that for those students who clearly meet the requirements for a course the process should be significantly faster. We know that some students have been distressed by delayed responses to their applications and that other have chosen to attend different institutions in the intervening period.

The KPA has been and will continue to work with the University to highlight this issue and has been pleased with the response so far, with staff rightly keen to address the problem.

Learning and Professional Development Centre (LPDC) update for the Faculty Learning and Teaching Committees: November 2017

1. SAVE THE DATE: Tuesday 16th January - Annual Learning and TeachingConference

Opportunities to present at this event will be circulated shortly, but we have the date and the venue (Sustainability Hub) arranged. As always, there is no theme to this event, we just want to showcase excellent educational work coming of of Keele. Enquiries to Russ Crawford ( [email protected] )

2. OPEN CALL: JADE Articles / Highlights

This is an open call is for articles for the January 2018 edition of JADE. Deadline is December 8th to make print otherwise submissions will be held over to the next available edition. Please note, we have a special themed edition planned for the August 2018 edition of JADE with more information to follow in the next FLTC meeting.

3. SAVE THE DATE: Teaching International Students: Follow-up Event

As a follow up to this summers Teaching and Learning symposium there will be a half-day event on Monday 18th December with more details to follow soon.

4. Free Online Course Starting 20th November: Inclusive Learning andTeaching Environments

On this course you will learn about different aspects of inclusion and digital accessibility experienced by students, teachers and support staff in Higher Education. You’ll explore the barriers experienced by disabled students, the role of inclusive practices and hear firsthand from students about the impact inclusion has had on their studies. Sign up at: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/inclusive-learning-teaching/2

5. 1 Day Structured Writing Retreats for 2018

The very popular writing retreats run by the LPDC are now available for booking (one per month) for 2018 via Keele People.

Appendix 3


Student Learning update for the Faculty Learning and Teaching Committees: November 2017

1. Rebranding & launch of new programmes

The Student Learning department has undergone a rebrand over the last couple of months with new logos and banner, a cleaner, fresher looking website and a redesign of our free standing and Write Direction programmes.

Information regarding all our services can be found on the revamped website: https://www.keele.ac.uk/studentlearning/ .

1.1. ‘How 2’ freestanding workshops

The new ‘How 2’ workshops were launched in week 1 with the first block being a resounding success, with entire workshops booking up within 48 hours of their advertising. Each set of ‘How 2’ workshops will consist of 3 blocks and 2 retreats which will be repeated in the second semester with the addition of a KUSP retreat.

Figure 1. Outline of ‘How 2’ programme (semester 1 & 2, 2017/18)

We are still to look at fully analysing the data from the first block however, initial findings highlight that out of the 27 individual students who attended (20 places available each workshop) the following findings are noted:

Appendix 4

https://www.keele.ac.uk/studentlearning/

● 10 students attended all three workshops ● 80% were female ● 80% were under the age of 21 ● 12% from foundation, 56% level 4, 24% level 5 and 8% level 6

Students were from a variety of programmes across the 3 faculties however, the majority were from Pharmacy followed by Neuroscience and Biomedical studies. One of the more interesting figures, which has been noted from initial review, is that 68% of students were from BAME backgrounds. Further analysis will be undertaken by the team when all data has been collated from all three blocks this semester. However, on these values alone we have already exceeded our expectations of student engagement with the programme. 1.2. Write Direction The ‘Write Direction’ one to one service is currently going through a revamp with the launch of ‘Write Direction on the Road’, coming soon. We have, for the time being, removed the Wednesday afternoon drop ins, as these were not used effectively last academic year. However, the new format of ‘Write Direction on the Road’ will incorporate both scheduled appointments and drop ins and will be based in various communal buildings around campus (schedule to be launched soon). The usual Monday to Friday one to one appointments will still be taking place in the Tawney building. Further developments of the one to one service will be unfolding over the coming months. 2. Development of Faculty Academic Relationships The new Learning Developer (Kizzy Beaumont) for the Faculty of Natural Sciences has now been at the University for 2 months and has met with a member of the academic team from nearly every school. An outline of the sessions and support (as of 20th October 2017) that has been agreed for semester 1 is noted below. To ensure continuity where possible, the plan is to support programmes in a similar vein to previous arrangements in the faculty this academic year, along with creating a series on online workshops and resources (predominantly using google classroom) to support academic practice both, general (science based) and more programme specific. Going forwards from 2018 the principal aim is to work towards the sustainable delivery of academic practices and skills within programmes, i.e. arrangements will not be made in perpetuity.

School Programme Session Session Session Session

Compu�ng and Mathema�cs

BSc Compu�ng Level 4

Wk. 1 (5-10 min) Wk. 6 (1 hr) Intro to Student

Learning Academic writing

support

BSc Maths Level 4

Wk. 10 (2 hrs) Wk. 10 (2 x 1 hr) Intro to the KUSP

and collaborative

working KUSP workshops

Geography, Geology and the Environment

MSc Geoscience

Wk. 1 (5-10 min) Wk. 1 (2 hrs) Wk. 5 (2 hrs) Wk. 6 (2 hrs) Intro to Student

Learning Collaborative

working Time/stress

management Presentation skills

BSc Geography Level 4

Wk. 6 (12x 1 hr) Wk. 7 (2 x 3 hrs)

KUSP intro Skills workshop

(introductory

support)

BSc Geology Level 4

Wk. 7 (2 hrs) KUSP intro &

reflective practice

Chemical and Physical Sciences

MSc Chemistry

Wk. 1 (5-10 min) Wk. 5 (2 hrs) Wk. 9 (2 hrs) Intro to Student

Learning Time/stress

management Presentation skills

BSc Physics & Astrophysics Level 6

Wk. 6 (1 hr) Wk. 10 (1 hr) Dissertation

planning (P & AP) Project report

writing (P)

BSc Physics Level 4

Wk. 4 (1 hr) Wk. 6 (1 hr) Wk. 7 (1 hr) Wk. 10 (1 hr) Introduction to

scientific writing Review of scientific

writing Introduction to

writing lab reports Self-reflection of

scientific writing 1 hr. 1 hr. 1 hr. 1 hr.

Psychology Founda�on Year Science (Psychology)

Wk. 10 (1 hr) Academic writing &

article review

Figure 2. Student Learning focus for semester 1 in the Faculty of Natural Sciences 2017

minutes of the meeting of the faculty of natural …

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