Factors influencing successful project outcomes Beyond Optimism: making enhancement actually happen

1
Factors influencing successful project outcomes
Beyond Optimism making enhancement actually
happen

• Sally Brown
• Leeds Metropolitan University
• October 2007

Rev. 2
2
The Leeds Met context

• We are a large student-centred university that
  values festivals and partnerships
• Leeds Met is committed to ensuring our students
  have opportunities to rub shoulders with
  champions and use all their talents to the full
• Our context is one in which diverse and sometimes
  disadvantaged students face daily challenges to
  succeed
• Nothing we do at Leeds Met is more important than
  ensuring effective student learning
• We reflect daily through five series of 200-word
  reflections on our website, fostering a learning
  community.

3
Developing an ALT Strategy

• We started with Teacher Fellows working on my
  rough draft
• Values were highlighted from the start
• Multiple iterations were used to gain ownership
• Full use of the committee structure was made to
  ensure authority
• Other strategies were nested within it
• Challenging targets and goals were integral.
• http//www.leedsmet.ac.uk/about/keydocuments/Versi
  on32AssesmentTeachingLearningStrategy1.pdf

4
We use a variety of means to enhance
assessment, learning and teaching quality

• Clear, well-produced, widely available and
  attractive strategy documents
• Our annual Staff Development Festival Fortnight
  that involves all categories of staff
• A vibrant community of promoted as supported
  Teaching fellows to act as energisers and
  advocates on ALT issues
• Internal peer-led quality enhancement audits
  which aim to expose good practice and locate
  opportunities for improvements.

5
Promoting inclusive learning.
We strive to

• Use intensive transition programmes to provide
  support for students from disadvantaged
  backgrounds entering HE
• Ensure that all students deemed capable of
  embarking on a programme of learning have the
  best possible chance of successful completion
• Support action research on retention in each
  faculty, including exploring further the links
  between student attendance, achievement and
  retention.
• Encourage disabled students to study at Leeds
  Met, going beyond compliance with SENDA
  legislation, so that disabled students actively
  choose to study here for our welcoming and
  supportive environment.

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Factors influencing successful project outcomes
some key assumptions

• A whole-university approach is necessary to have
  high impact (what does this look like in
  practice?)
• The role of administration is crucial in
  successful universities (how is this best
  achieved?)
• There will always be some staff who will not
  engage despite our best strenuous and
  well-organised efforts (how can we minimise
  these?)
• Student-centred approaches are essential,
  especially where HEIs are charging substantial
  fees (but what works best?)
• Pedagogic and strategic research is necessary to
  inform our practices (but which kinds of
  research?) .

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Factors to actualise enhancement

• High level senior management support
• Providing targeted funding
• Choosing sensible, research-based targets
• Using energetic advocates
• Having good systems for planning, implementing
  and evaluating enhancement

8
High level senior management support

• The Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Assessment, Learning
  and Teaching leads on ALT issues with full
  support of the Vice-Chancellor
• Our ALT strategy was endorsed by the Board of
  Governors and Deans meet with PVC ALT to report
  on progress against objectives
• Associate Deans with ALT responsibility provide
  support in and across Faculties
• Our own Centre for Excellence in Teaching and
  Learning 9CETL) and 2 partner CETLs offer
  focussed curriculum leadership.

9
Providing targeted funding

• Teaching Quality Enhancement Fund cash from HEFCE
  pays for a range of initiatives including the
  PGCertHE
• ALT Associate Deans and OPVC ALT staff select
  university-wide bids for funding for Research
  Informed Teaching bids
• We have identified 7 key priorities this year
  Technology Enhanced Learning, the First Year
  Experience, Assessment4Learning, Masters level
  learning, Coaching in context, Fostering
  inclusivity and Encouraging creativity/reflection.

10
Choosing sensible, research-based targets for
example

• In assessment we aim to return work within 3
  weeks, we aim to have some elements of CAA in
  each programme of study and
• We concentrate formative feedback for first years
  in the first six weeks of the first semester and
  focus on feedback for finalists in February
  (2nd-years are supported in transition months
  post-Easter)
• All teaching /LS staff are expected to engage in
  at least 35 hours ALT-related staff development
  annually
• We have a network of Student Liaison officers
• We aim to have at least 2 new ALT chairs to be
  appointed annually.

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Using energetic advocates Leeds Met Teacher
Fellows

• Annual selection of 8 promoted Teacher Fellows
  for 3-year terms (hence a cohort of 24)
• Another 20Expired Teacher Fellows still
  active and supported within the network
• Special categories of Teacher Fellows for our 3
  CETLs and for International advocacy
• Teacher Fellows engage in activities including
  writing for publication (including in our
  Incubator journal and for ALT-resource and ALT
  reflections), organising events including our ALT
  conference, Course leaders and Faculty events,

12
Having good systems for planning, implementing
and evaluating enhancement we

• Monitor assessment and other regulations to
  ensure that they do not reflect cultural biases
  or impose unnecessary barriers to success
• Scrutinise recruitment literature, induction
  processes, course handbooks and other programme
  documentation to ensure that students are
  enabled to make realistic decisions about
  programme suitability
• Aim to ensure clear lines of responsibility from
  Faculties through our committee structures
  through to the Education Strategy group of our
  Board of Governors

13
Quality enhancement audits

• Two topics annually are aligned to ALT strategy
  targets (international students and formative
  assessment in 06/07)
• Methodology is based on one developed at
  Northumbria and Otago Polytechnic
• Small internal teams led by Associate Dean or
  equivalent explore what published documentation
  says we do about an issue and then check via
  interviews and questionnaires in sample areas how
  well we actually achieve this
• Outstanding practice is celebrated and gaps for
  enhancement are identified.
• Brown S and Holmes A (2000) Internal Audit in
  Higher Education, Routledge, London

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Beyond optimism Making enhancement actually
happen

• What are the bare essentials without which
  nothing happens?
• How much difference can (passionate, committed)
  individuals make?
• Do small grants to individuals and small groups
  work better than larger disbursements to
  Faculties/HEIs?
• What blocks actual enhancement?

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How can this approach work best in Sweden?

• Networking, ideas exchanges and sharing good
  practice are crucial
• Many good projects can be intitiated and
  supported with minimal funding
• Where centralised funding is unavailable,
  institutional sources need to be tapped
• Ingenuity needs to be harnessed to make things
  happen.
• (Come and see us in Leeds Met!)