Thursday 27-09-2018 - 15:18

This Week Vice-President Education, Ian Meeks attended a meeting with members of university associate Deans and other staff to discuss several issues including timetabling, the timing of minor subject choices, and the Alternative Education Review.

Ian has said there was a good and constructive discussion throughout the room when it came to addressing the issues raised and following talks and some positive outcomes came from it.

 

The university has said there will be a review into how and when students will choose modules for Part II and a review into the flexibility of minor choice for Part I. There are many complexities when constructing timetables, one unhelpful factor being how late in the year part II enrolment occurs and another is the wide variation in combinations of Part I choice of major and minor modules. This review should reveal issues leading to this complexity and help rectify issues earlier in the year rather than late trial solutions.

 

Focused discussion on timetables lead to some concerns. It was said the university may have to continue with the extended hours past the current two-year pilot if the growth in student numbers and lack of facilities continue.  Problems that have arisen causing the extension are being addressed by the university and change will very likely be starting soon.

 

Finally, the Alternative Education Review (AER) was brought into conversation. Faculty Associate Deans have taken on board the recommendations which are based on feedback and comments from students in the report and are looking at reviewing practices and using the feedback to improve.

 

Ian said, “The AER is written using student comments, data, and experience, so it is brilliant that the university are taking it seriously with some change already being made.”

Prof. Jane Taylor, Dean for Academic Quality, is collating this change and providing a response to the AER within the coming months.

 

You can read the Alternative Education Review here.