University of Nottingham implementation of the PARs initiative: policy contexts and collaborations

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University of Nottingham implementation of the
PARs initiative policy contexts and
collaborations

• 
  Dr Angela Smallwood

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Dearing Recommendation 20

• Progress File two elements
• A transcript recording student achievement
• a means by which students can monitor, build
  and reflect upon their personal development

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Personal Development Planning

• A structured and supported process undertaken by
  an individual to reflect upon their own learning,
  performance and/or achievement and to plan for
  their personal, educational and career
  development
  May 2000 CVCP, LTSN, QAA, SCoP policy
  recommendations

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Progress File 3 areas

• Transcript - public record
• Structured and supported process of PDP joint
  process, leading to
• PDRs (personal development records) -
  some jointly owned - semi public record - some
  student owned - private records

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Institution-wide implementations

• PARs for gt10K students in 7 PADSHE universities
  1996-2000
• Nottingham policy adopted 1997-98 central
  support for a baseline system with local
  customisation
• Nottingham PARs for Yr 1 students Oct 2001
  http//www.nottingham.ac.uk/padshe
• PARs on the Web current pilots
  Newcastle Medical School
  Nottingham 5 Schools, 1000
  students, 100 staff

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1993 contexts -- 1

• Need to support students individually in
  programme-building and overviews of academic
  progress in modular courses
• Move to quality-assure personal tutoring
  reactive proactive
  problem-centred developmental on
  demand equal entitlement

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1993 contexts -- 2

• Early days of QA
  -- need to improve
  individual student records in academic
  departments -- need to evidence the quality
  of student support and guidance

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Further objectives

• Institutional underpinning of student support
  given expanding student numbers
• Maximising the usefulness of limited personal
  tutoring time in an RAE culture
• Promoting student skills of independent learning
  and reflective practice

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More initiatives

• E-Learning opportunity and threat?
• Review of academic curricula in the light of the
  skills and employability agenda
• Widening participation

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Inter-departmental liaison

• Students personal development Academic Schools,
  Teaching Enhancement, Careers Advisory Service
  and Students Union
• CIT strategies student management data systems
  in Schools and in the Registry with Academic
  Computing Services
• Partnership between the centre and localities

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Barriers to collaboration

• Concerns about staff workloads
• Resistance to recording standardisation,
  paperwork
• Questions about the academic role
• Misperceptions

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Implementation process

• PARs Implementation Group, set up by University
  Teaching Committee, 2 years ahead of target date
  proactive and responsive
• Defines core concepts and minimum requirements
  provides central support, training and some
  funding
• Principle that individual Schools customise
  concept, build on own good practice, adapt by
  discipline, include PSBs requirements
• Piloting, evaluation and full implementation
  conducted by each School, with choice of three
  start times within an 18-month time window

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Resources

• Implementation funded internally under Learning
  and Teaching Strategy, involving
• 1 full-time academic-related implementation
  manager
• 2 part-time academic secondments
  -- leader of further PARs
  concept development academic
  manager of ePARs development
• 3 full-time CIT posts
  -- senior web
  developer
  -- two programmers

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Policies and collaborations

• PARs contribute to both the education and the
  management of students
• Relate to a significant number of policy
  objectives
• Depend upon -- and promote -- joined-up thinking
  and working by colleagues in different parts of
  the University