HEAR Academy13 Rob Ward The Centre for Recording Achievement Janet Strivens CRA/the University of Liverpool

Aims for the Meeting… 1.Present your ideas, and get feedback on these. 2.Develop our thinking about HEAR and how it might impact on the student learning experience and development opportunities within your institution. 3.Identify others with shared interests, so we can support one another. 4.Produce more detailed plans for your Project - and for the effective use of the onsite consultation meetings - so we can help one another keep on track 5.Identify strategies for maximising the impact of the Project within your institution.

Our starting points with regard to HEAR… Already issued HEARs Confirmed implemented but not issuing by AY 2013/4 Working toward implementation with an agreed timeframe. Engaged with HEAR but no agreed timetable for implementation

Your starting points with regard to HEAR/HEAR Academy… Your ten minute introduction of the ‘state of play’ in respect of HEAR implementation in your institution; the key aims and purposes in participating in HEAR Academy (so where do you want to be by next summer in terms of HEAR development/implementation).  Please note similar interests/challenges/ opportunities for collaboration

Trialling and implementing the HEAR: what have we learned so far….

Burgess Steering Group Report (2007)… Honours Degree Classification No Longer Fit for Purpose The Case for Change (Why Develop a HEAR?) Summative System at Odds with Lifelong Learning. Stronger focus upon ‘Employability Skills’ > Employers have clearly defined qualities they are looking for in graduates. Greater financial investment than ever before.  Students require more than just a certificate.  All stakeholders should have detailed information on what is behind a particular class of degree. Wider Recognition of Achievement.

The HEAR Proposals (2007)… a Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) will be the central vehicle for recording all university- level undergraduate higher education student achievement in all UK higher education institutions. The HEAR will be a single document, based on, and developed from, the current academic transcript, and incorporating the European Diploma Supplement (so first and foremost an academic record...) The HEAR will contain information which the institution is prepared to verify. Further work should be done on how to measure and record skills and achievements gained through non-formal learning…

Key HEAR Components… Academic Transcript (module marks and grades, possible drilling down’, plain English programme information). Additional information esp. section a ‘richer picture’ of verified additional achievements recorded under one of three headings: –measured or assessed performance in non-academic contexts accredited by, or with external accreditation recognised by the University, e.g. awards concerned with employability; –additional recognised activities undertaken by students which demonstrate achievement but for which no recognition is provided in terms of academic credit, e.g. Course Representatives or Students’ Union Officers; –University, Professional and Departmental Prizes.

UK wide snapshot… Recommendation to adopt across the HE Sector. Full range of Mission Groups. Institutional Starter Pack, Students Guide and ‘early adopter’ /’developmental’ Case Studies available. Employers Guide completed by AGR; Discussions with Employers ongoing; Interest from a range of extra-curricular schemes operating across institutions, e.g.: –The Children’s University; –SPARQS; –BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport). Technical specification and XML schema developed by JISC. Shared Services approach to issue – Digital Academic Records Exchange (DARE) aspx aspx

Key lessons from early implementation Support of Senior Managers. Congruence with institutional agenda (employability; more holistic approaches to graduate achievement (graduate attributes)). Strong working relationships between staff from Registry, IT services, Teaching and Learning and Careers and Employability contexts. Strong support from officers within the Students Union. > an alliance of Registry, Learning and Teaching, Careers/Employability, Students, Senior Managers. The holding of data related to student achievement within centralised record systems. Emphasis on early moves toward an electronic HEAR. Value in meeting requirements for the Diploma Supplement (one document not two). Continuing decision taking about the inclusion of additional achievements within section 6.

The HEAR: 1.provides a detailed (national and international) single record of student achievement; (incorporating both the DS and HE Transcript); 2.enables provision of a full academic record, including the opportunity for detailed information of achievement in respect of different forms of assessment; 3.provides a common structured format within which to include details of the wider achievements of the learner within section 6.1.

4.is designed to be much more than an exit document, being developed from entry to HE onwards. This will enable it to be used: as a basis for reviewing progress and planning future activities; to support student engagement with a range of opportunities beyond the curriculum; as an aide memoire for students in considering applications for sandwich placements, study abroad or internships, or for permanent employment or further study before the final award is made; subject to appropriate permissions, as a source of information that can be accessed by prospective employers (and admissions tutors).

… the role of the HEAR as the undergraduate experience develops, i.e. as a formative document which may be available and used from the point of a student’s entry throughout their HE experience … this might involve use of the HEAR: 1. as a basis for reviewing progress and planning future activities, whether individually or with support from a tutor; 2. in supporting student engagement in opportunities beyond the curriculum, and the recording of appropriate achievements in relation to these; 3. as an aide memoire for students in making applications which may be needed before the final award is made, e.g. for sandwich placements and internships; permanent employment; further study or training opportunities; 4. as a basis for the development of partnerships with students unions to support the second of these in particular. Formative use of the HEAR

Possibilities… four perspectives: an institutional record to be implemented; a context for institutional development; a resource for students to support progression… a potential resource for employers and recruiters…

A virtual perspective… on the perspectives

More than a Record, a context for institutional thinking… Links to learning and teaching…including more holistic appreciations of learning and achievement (revisiting graduate attributes). Links to demonstrating achievement away from the curriculum (and the relevance of extra-curricular awards and active role of students unions in this, including discussions about the nature of life-wide learning and achievement). Renewed consideration of the relationship between institutionally-managed and learner managed information, the latter as held in e-portfolio systems for example.

Over to you…

Working with students… ‘There is no point in investing in this if we don’t see benefits for students, it’s about raising aspiration, emphasising to students that they do have the wherewithal to apply for, and obtain jobs and places for further study’ > Induction; Reminders; Electronic access; Richer information-to facilitate discussion; Regular review; Phased use appropriate to the student lifecycle.

Employers and the HEAR… Employers are: key stakeholders; a highly diverse group: from micro- businesses to large volume recruiters… May use HEAR in different ways.  generic messages plus perspectives from three different employer contexts …

Key employer messages so far… Simplicity of format and concise content, though not at the extent of removing the individual and personal focus > ‘sales pitch’ for the University to be avoided!. Institutional verification of wider achievements seen as a new and welcome development. Substantial preference for an electronic HEAR, and for this to be available for scrutiny in respect of applications for internships or - in the final year of undergraduate study - for employment opportunities (the evolving HEAR). Primary value in enabling students to be ‘more choiceful’; importance of making the most of the University experience, thinking and acting to develop a range of experiences and achievements beyond academic programmes, and in providing a richer record they could use to articulate and evidence achievements.

Employers not the primary audience, but… AGR HEAR toolkit at outlines potential benefits for employers; AGR survey suggested 42% respondents will be looking to make use of HEAR within their application processes. Many employers unlikely to read HEARs… but work with volume employers identifies a range of potential scenarios…

The Potential for ‘HEAR Mash Up’?

THE HEAR- the business benefits Deeper, more rounded record of achievements University ratified, so can be trusted Levelling of the playing field and supplementing the degree class Enhances recruitment processes by helping quantify experiences, competencies and identify cultural fit Signpost training and development THE HEAR- the business benefits Deeper, more rounded record of achievements University ratified, so can be trusted Levelling of the playing field and supplementing the degree class Enhances recruitment processes by helping quantify experiences, competencies and identify cultural fit Signpost training and development

Resources for tomorrow... Yourselves! Ourselves! Hear.ac.uk Wider events: –How the HEAR is supporting student employability 17 December 2013, Swansea UniversityHow the HEAR is supporting student employability –Sharing Best Practice in Relation to Learning: HEARing the Student Voice 16 April 2014, University of ManchesterSharing Best Practice in Relation to Learning: HEARing the Student Voice First remote conversation, please sign up before you leave… On site consultations…

Your (real) starting point(s) with regard to HEAR/HEAR Academy… What are you planning to do, and by when? Who do you expect the key stakeholders and beneficiaries to be? Value: what is the value of your work to them- and how can we ensure we maximise this – and they share this understanding?