5 TH ANNUAL LEARNING AND TEACHING CONFERENCE

1. 5TH ANNUAL LEARNING AND TEACHING CONFERENCE Towards a New LSBU Learning and Teaching Strategy, 2009-2012 Wednesday, 21st January, 2009 Dr. Peter McCaffery Pro Vice Chancellor

2. EXTERNAL DRIVERS CONTINUING EXPANSION OF STUDENT NUMBERS (UK AND WORLDWIDE) • FUNDING • variable fee • fund-raising • diversifying income sources • full economic costing • WIDENING PARTICIPATION • ‘fair access’/bursaries • MARKETING • positioning of HEIs • identity/’brand’ issues • HR • retirement peak • succession planning • pay framework • performance assessment • COMPETITION IN UK • alliances, collaborations and mergers • ENHANCING THE • STUDENT EXPERIENCE • teaching, learning and quality ‘customer service’ • IT E-MANAGEMENT/E-LEARNING • DIUS E-strategy 15 key strategic challenges for UK HE institutions, 2009 - 2012 • RESOURCES AND ESTATES • DEVELOPMENT • sustainable facilities and services • project and programme management • MANAGEMENT OF RESEARCH • evolution of RAE process, REF • research contracts & careers • academic pipeline • INTERNATIONALISATION • competition/collaboration • European research area • private universities • Bologna process • GOVERNANCE • new Code and CUC Guidance • SUSTAINABILITY AND CORPORATE • SOCIAL • RESPONSIBILITY • serving broader political, social, ethical and cultural agendas • BUSINESS, REGIONAL & • COMMUNITY INTERACTIONS • ‘third stream’ • knowledge transfer, economic & social regeneration EMBEDDING EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY IN ALL INSTITUTIONAL ACTIVITIES 2

3. “The student experience is such a wide-ranging term, influenced by such a complex variety of factors that it is fruitless to attempt to define it as a single “thing”.” The 1994 Group of Universities 3

4. “The student experience is anything and everything the student says it is.” The HE Academy 4

5. “The student experience is one of those things which can sound better than it is – like “low-cost mortgages”, “English middle-order batting”, “gastro-pub” and “sun-dried tomatoes” or in HE terms, “the lighter touch” and “the single conversation”.” David Watson Institute of Education 5

6. THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE Registration and enrolment Sports Learning Residency Assessment The LSBU Student Experience Estate ICT Graduation Placements Student Support Safety Volunteering Staff Development Learning Support and Resources Student Union Societies and clubs Careers 6

7. CHANGE DRIVERS IN HE • Student Diversity • The impact of variable fees on Student Expectations • Employer - Engagement and the Skills Agenda - The Leitch Review (29 40% higher level skills target) • New Learning Technologies • Contested Market Place • Cost-efficiency, Performance Indicators and League Tables • HE Academy and National Professional Standards Framework for Teaching • QAA: shift from “assurance” to “enhancement” • Denham Review, 2008 7

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10. LSBU Vision for Learning and Teaching • To further develop and maintain London South Bank University as a vibrant inner-city University with world-wide horizons and a reputation for: • • Pedagogic innovation and expertise in work-related learning, practice- based experience, technology-enhanced learning and continuous professional development; • • Professional expertise and staff excellence in teaching; • • An exemplary record for widening participation, student retention, progression and achievement and graduate employment; • • A successful track record of working in partnership with local and regional employers, and other educational providers to meet the Capital’s skill shortages and societal and individual development needs; • Developing and sustaining confident and capable independent learners equipped for global citizenship who “become what they want to be”; • Adding real value in meeting the needs of all the individuals and communities it serves, both local and global 10

11. Guiding Principles of Learning andTeaching at LSBU • • Setting up our students for success • Active engagement • Equipped for employment • Building an inclusive learning environment • Equipped for global citizenship 11

12. Learning and Teaching: Where we are now • QAA Audit, Spring 2010 • “the process of taking deliberate steps at institutional level to improve the quality of the learning opportunities”. • Added value of LTEU - incl. evidence-based research • New University Teaching Peer Observation Scheme • Learning and Teaching Innovation Project Scheme • University Staff Award Scheme - Learning and Teaching Team Excellence • Codes of Good Practice developed via. Change Academy: - Assessment, Induction, E-Learning and Employability • Awareness, development and integration of PDP • National and International E-Learning Benchmark Initiative - Compass Pathfinder project; Blackboard upgrade - increasing use and support of e-learning 12

13. Learning and Teaching: Where we are now (2) • Staff Code of Professional Conduct and Student Charter - centred on reciprocal commitments and University Values • Network for CDs; L&T Fellows; HoDs • New social learning spaces for students • Launch of New University Learning and Teaching Journal • Staff Promotion Scheme - Professors and Readers of Educational Development • University Fellowship Scheme • CLTHE & “Follow Up” Review • 2nd Staff Experience Survey, March 2009 (Investors in People, Re-accreditation, Dec. 2009) 13

14. NATIONAL STUDENT SURVEY, 2008 • 56.9% LSBU Response rate National average – 64.1% • 75% overall satisfaction National average – 83% • [London Met – 72; UEL – 73; Middlesex – 75; TVU – 76: Kingston – 81: Greenwich – 81] • DLHE SURVEY 2006-7 • 80.6% Response rate - 80% Benchmark • 83.4% Employment Indicator - 89.6% Benchmark • 9.4% unemployed compared to 6% in 2005-6 • 2% increase in employment in workplace : 76% 78% • 3% decrease in those going onto further study: 9.9% 6.9% • 6th highest graduate starting salary - £23,315 14

15. UNIVERSITY LEAGUE TABLES • 2 broad types: • the subjective beauty contest approach e.g. THE 50% weighting on perception • the objective scorecard approach e.g. Shanghai Jiao Tong list of world’s “top 500” - lacks “common-sense” criteria 15

16. 10 L&T STRATEGIC PRIORITIES? • Curriculum, learning spaces and resources – inclusive, flexible, accessible • Student transition, retention, progression and achievement • Integrated assessment – fit-for-purpose • Employability and entrepreneurship • Internationalisation and global citizenship • Minimising bureaucracy while upholding academic standards • E-learning • ICT and physical space driven by learning and teaching priorities • Staff expertise and scholarship– recognition and reward • University reputation in learning and teaching 16

17. KEY QUESTION What can I/we do to enhance student retention, progression and achievement? 17

18. WHY DO STUDENTS DROP OUT? • Flawed decision-making about entering the programme • Student’s experience of the program and the University generally • Failure to cope with the demands of the programme • Events that impact on students’ lives outside the University 18

19. MEETING THE RETENTION CHALLENGE “Joined-Up” Practice • Sorting Strategies - How we deal with students pre-entry? • Connecting Strategies - How we help students integrate with one another at LSBU? • Supporting Strategies - How we support students inside and outside LSBU? • Transforming (student) - How we help students become Strategies confident and capable independent learners? • Transforming (staff) Strategies - How we best support staff in this process? 19

20. SUPPORT SERVICES PRO-ACTIVE MODEL (ISSUES-FOCUSED SERVICE) LearningSupport Adequate library / computer facilities Graduate / Lifelong Learner Pre-entry Interface with Teaching staff Adapting to a different study environment Financial Advice Childcare Confident independent learner presentation skill training Coping with relationships Access to Careers information Learning Support Quality Cycle: Survey – Evaluate – Review – Change / Improve 20

21. LEARNING FROM OTHERS: ESTABLISHED GOOD PRACTICE • The key to student retention is: • Sound decision-making on selecting the right course • High Quality Induction Experience (pre-entry – 1st semester) • Regular contact with one or more trusted individuals • A genuinely introductory Year 1 Programme (“an intellectual map”) • Fit-for-purpose assessment integrated into Learning & Teaching • A positive learning environment based on “professional informality” • Early warning triggers – attendance; handing-in of assessments; etc. • Responsiveness to feedback 21

22. And let us not forget . . . . . . . . The key determinant of the student experience is the quality of teaching: “That’s what they remember, the inspirational lecturers, the knowledge they gained, the sense of empowerment it gave them. It is inspiration not consumerisation which is the key to their experience” Paul Ramsden HE Academy 22