Delivering Excellence in Academic Skills Development at the University of Bath EXCHANGE! Friday 9 May 2014 Maggie Ward Goodbody Director, Academic Skills Centre Academic Skills Centre Learning & Teaching Enhancement

A Vision for Academic Skills at Bath …that the University of Bath is recognised as a world- leader in delivering excellence in academic skills support for students and staff

The new Academic Skills Centre’s Aim The main aim of the new Academic Skills Centre is to provide University of Bath students with high quality, comprehensive and innovative academic skills and English language proficiency, supporting higher levels of academic literacy, student attainment and a culture of continual learning.

Academic Skills Centre – benefits for students Increased access to a high quality, coherent academic skills offer – generic and subject-specific Expanded routes to academic skills offer through clear signposting by academic community and Professional Services Flexible, ‘personalised’ academic skills development and enhancement through creative use of online/digital media and innovative provision Improved personal development opportunities with seamless transition to wider skills for the future

Academic Skills Centre – new structure Three strands: Pre-sessional – Mary Forbes In-sessional – Miranda Armstrong Academic Skills Resources – Sarah Turpin (wef 9 June)

Pre-sessional Programme Aim Raise students’ English language level to meet entry requirements Prepare students for study at Bath through developing their academic communication skills to meet the specific requirements of their discipline/degree programme Structure October – June: 11 week courses:  Pre-sessional Preparation (lower level) – PSP 1, 2 & 3  Pre-sessional General/Management (higher level) – PS 1, 2 & 3 July - September  Pre-sessional Management (ten/five week) – PSM 4 & 5  Pre-sessional General (ten/five week) – PSG 4 & 5  Pre-sessional Preparation (eight week) - PSP4

In-sessional Programme Aim  To provide expert and extensive support to enhance and develop students’ academic communication skills  To address the diverse academic communication needs of students and staff across the university. Structure  General programme – 13 different units e.g. academic writing; critical reading; presentation skills; seminar skills  Bespoke programme-specific courses in writing and other academic skills  Academic & Professional Communication Skills (APCS)  1:1 tutorials/classes  British Studies units – History, Literature, Linguistics  Writing Centre

Academic Skills Resources Aim To support the development and enhancement of the University’s academic skills offer. This will be achieved through:  Academic Skills Hub - delivering a virtual academic skills offer  Marketing & Communications  SALC – language learning resources and support  Social and Welfare support

Academic Skills Centre Academic Departments Pre-sessional In-sessional Academic Skills Resources

Academic Skills Centre: initial plans Academic Skills Hub Writing Centre Digital Academic Skills Resources Academic and Professional Communication Skills Bespoke courses, workshops, more flexible provision More discipline-specific provision for Pre-sessional and In-sessional

Questions to consider What are the priority areas for students, i.e. where is the greatest need? What types of academic skills support should we focus on in the short to medium term? What modes of delivery should we consider? What types of resources might we have available? Would there be a physical building/space and what might be in it? What might the split between embedded provision (an integral component of the curriculum), independent learning (self-access to online study) and open access courses (supported/taught study delivered by the Academic Skills Centre) be? What might academic skills provision look like 5-10 years from now?

Come and talk to the new ASC team Maggie Ward Goodbody, Director ext Mary Forbes, Head of Pre-sessional ext Miranda Armstrong, Head of In-sessional ext Sarah Turpin, Head of Academic Skills Resources (wef 9 June 2014) ext (current extension only) Karen Spillard, Operations Manager ext. 5948