Welcome to NUS Course Rep Conference 2016

Agenda 10.30 Welcome and introductions 10.45 Workshop 1 11.45 Break 12.00 Plenary: What does a quality education look like in my discipline? 1.00 Lunch 2.00 Workshop 2 3.00 Workshop 3 4.00 Keynote: Sorana Vieru 4.45 Conference closes

Workshop rooms Future Leaders – CL311 Change in the Classroom – CL310 Working in your Institution – CL303 Inclusive Education – Main Plenary Supporting student representation (staff stream) – CL309

Plenary: What does a quality education look like in my discipline?

What is “quality”? Box-ticking? Value for money? Employability? Challenge? Support? Pass rate? Learning gain? Transforming opportunities? All of these definitions are used when talking about the quality of education, which means that often when we think we are talking about the same thing, we’re not. In the world of quality assurance, if you meet standards set by the QAA your course is deemed to be “quality”. But this is a baseline – what does quality look like for each of the thousands of different courses across UK universities and colleges? Since the increase in fees for home students there has been increased talk of value for money. But what does that mean in practice? Is it about whether you can secure a well-paid job at the end of your degree, thereby offsetting the cost? Is it about the level of challenge offered to you by high-quality teachers, or about high levels of support throughout your studies? Does the number of firsts on each degree say anything about the quality or rigour of that course? We prefer to think of quality more in terms of learning gain and transforming your opportunities. How much more do you know or can you do at the end of your course compared to the start? What opportunities have been unlocked for you as a result of your quality higher education?

Quality learning Education is primarily about learning, and there’s a lot of research into what makes a quality learning experience. Great learning is not necessarily “delivered” exclusively by teachers, but involves a lot of peer interaction, discourse, critical analysis and self-reflection on the part of the student. So the sorts of interventions that you, or your course reps, might want to campaign for might be: (outline each, emphasising that each of them has a solid basis in the academic literature about having a positive impact on learning outcomes).

The disciplinary lens Each discipline requires the development of different skills, competencies, knowledge and experience Lots of overlap, yes…but “quality” will look different discipline to discipline A quality medical education will look different to a legal education, to a good grounding in business, and performing arts education will look different again. It’s not just about preparing graduates for work: it’s about the specific skills and knowledge you gain through a quality education in your discipline.

A timely debate Government Green Paper proposes the introduction of a Teaching Excellence Framework Considering a wide range of metrics: student satisfaction, student engagement, employability and salary data, teaching qualifications, learning gain… “We tend to overvalue the things we can measure and undervalue the things we cannot.” – John Hayes What exactly makes a quality education is a topic currently being debated at the highest levels of universities and government, as in November the government published a Green Paper proposing, amongst other things, the introduction of a Teaching Excellence Framework. What exactly will be in this framework as measures of teaching excellence is not clear: a variety of metrics are under consideration (list). What is chosen as a measure of teaching excellence matters because what is measured drives behaviour. As the author John Hayes said, we tend to overvalue the things we can measure and undervalue the things we cannot. (hand over to BIS)

Group session In small groups of people studying a similar subject to you, discuss what a quality education looks like in your discipline and make a poster Subject groupings: Creative arts Humanities and social sciences Engineering and physical sciences Medical and human sciences Vocational/placement

LUNCH

Keynote: Sorana Vieru NUS Vice President (Higher Education)

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