Mike Hill, Academic Development Centre

Welcome to the January edition of the Academic Development Centre newsletter.  In this edition, amongst other articles, you will read three articles by Hendrik van der Sluis on e-books,Turnitin and an evaluation of online submission and feedback; an account of the Outduction final conference by Marion Webb as well as a further article by our Head of Learning and Teaching Development on the progress being made in building a new secondary school in Kingston; and finally an account by Jane Gay of an innovative scheme in the Faculty of Business to introduce mentoring for students seeking placements. I do hope you enjoy reading these pieces and feel able to contribute articles for inclusion in future editions.

 

Will the real Kingston University student please stand up?

At a time when the university is quite rightly holding a mirror up to itself, staff are being asked a number of searching questions such as: What kind of students do we want to attract and how should we attract them? Some staff tell me they think there is a danger that this question implies that the students we already attract do not fit with our ambitions as a university. It is interesting to hear the reported perceptions of academic, senior managers, professional and administrative staff when they are asked about our current cohort. The comments make me ask the question: how well do we know our own students? Of course, even for a teaching member of staff the opportunities to really get to know students are limited often to formal teaching occasions of lectures and seminars and for senior managers, researchers, professional and administrative staff the opportunities are often few and far between.

It is my belief that as a university we do not shout loud enough about our own students and their achievements. For too long we have taken them for granted and the failure is at least two fold. Firstly, we fail to understand the reasons behind the deliberate decisions that many of them make in choosing to come to Kingston, such as being taught by staff who are research active, and secondly, that we fail miserably to publicise the fantastic achievements of our most engaged and successful students. We fail to realise that if we did so we would both educate our own staff and open their eyes to the qualities of the students we already attract and we would engender a self-confidence amongst staff and students. Later in this edition an article by David Taylor, Head of Widening Participation, whose team of staff and students participated in a focus group about the perception of the university, comments in a similar vein and comes to a similar conclusion that we do need to publicise the achievements of our own students.

In the Academic Development Centre we are very fortunate to work closely with students who are ambassadors, interns, placement students, academic skills leaders, course representatives and student society leaders. Over the past six months we have invited Black and Minority Ethnic students to join an Academic Development Student Advisory Panel (ADSAP) to advise us on our strategies to improve the student experience as it relates to learning, teaching and assessment. Members of the panel have joined at a luncheon meeting with the Chair and two other governors of the university and were able to speak positively about their own achievements whilst at the same time being constructively critical about the institution.

It was in the same vein that staff in the Academic Development Centre invited five students to join us on our annual study tour in September. This study visit, funded out of the income generated by the Academic Development Centre’s consultancy work, aimed to investigate a number of areas including: Student leadership schemes especially for Black and Minority Ethnic students; Pre-Entry and Transition Summer Schools; the use of new technologies to enhance learning; the cultivation of academic staff networks and exchange programmes; approaches to student engagement including the role of student societies; approaches to academic mentoring and the development of study abroad programmes. In the articles that are included by each member of the study tour it will be clear just how successful the visit was in raising the awareness of Kingston staff and students but also how insightful the Kingston students were during the visit. We chose five potential future student leaders who were either experienced student ambassadors or members of our Advisory Panel to visit the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) – the university’s longstanding partner institution in the United States. Each of them contributed to a reception the university gave to senior staff at UNCC and it was generally acknowledged by our hosts that these students were a fantastic testimony to the Kingston University experience – the very message I am urging us to acknowledge but I will let you be the judge of that as you read the articles by Indie, Craig, David and Rita – students who make me proud to work at this university.

Indie Okoye, Student Ambassador, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences

Going to UNC Charlotte University was a really great experience and part of me wishes I could stay because the experiences and the opportunities they gave to their students were just amazing. Not just from an educational standpoint but also from a social standpoint. It felt like they were working to create well rounded human beings that could integrate into society well but also leave university with the prospect of a work placement or even a great well paid job to match their degree.

On a social standpoint they offer so many different ways of integrating into society, confidence building and other things like that. From the over 350 societies, clubs and other events like The International Festival and social gatherings, they invest so much money and time to ensure that each student reaches their full potential.

What I found really amazing was through all this support that was offered you still found students that would give their free time to give back to their community. HCAP (Hispanic College awareness programme) are an amazing society that works without pay to support and increase the number of Hispanic students in Higher Education. This is something that I feel Kingston could really learn from. We have a huge volunteer department but educating their students about it more could enhance the number of students who participate.

From an educational standpoint they offer a lot of support to students including both the SoS (Students obtaining Success) and BEST (Building Educational Strengths and Talents) Programmes.

The SoS programme supports students that are on academic probation, giving them the chance to lift their grades and recover their academic situation.

BEST Learning Community works with first generation students and minority students supporting them through University life. These two programmes were my favourite because I fell that really captured what students really need to know to be successful in their university experience but they offered so much more to really support the student.

What should Kingston University do to improve student experience?

I believe that Kingston needs a better and stronger mentor programme. They need to cater to a lot more students from many different backgrounds and life experiences. I think they need to look at enhancing the social aspect of the university for the students investing in their future, and I think that will relay on to the academic side. I think things like a greater student union and activities for the students. More money needs to be spent to help students gain a rounded experience ready to work in society. It feels like Kingston runs on the mentality that you go to school then go home with nothing in-between to really create a well-rounded human being.

With the increase in tuition fees more needs to be given back to the students because not a lot is given at the moment. I also believe that teachers need to be supportive. In UNC Charlotte I found that teachers went the extra mile to support the students. Teaching was a 24-hour job. They completely focused on supporting students. Kingston may not be able to completely deliver this line of support but I feel something along the lines of this teacher support should be offered.

My plans for the future haven’t changed, I still believe Kingston University is a great university and I would like to stay and finish my education and go on to do my Masters maybe at Kingston. I

wouldn’t go to America because I feel our education is a lot stronger and better. In all my experience was amazing, I met so many amazing and new people and I am so happy I got the chance to experience what American university is like.

Dr Neil Williams, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing

On paper the University of North Carolina Charlotte (UNC Charlotte) is very similar to Kingston University. It has 23,000+ students with about half living at home; funding is dominated by teaching-related income and it is very committed to widening participation. On

arriving at the 1000-acre campus the similarities end. The student union building is huge, there are many restaurants and meeting places for students, the sports hall seats 9,000 spectators and they are building an American Football stadium at a cost of $100 million.

Such spectacular student facilities contribute enormously to a greater student engagement with the university. Kingston will never be able to match these resources, but I am sure improved sport and recreational facilities would increase student engagement. In contrast, the scientific teaching laboratories and classrooms that I saw looked “tired” compared to the facilities we have in the Eadweard Muybridge and John Galsworthy buildings. It is this mixture of similarities and differences that made the trip so informative. I was missing Induction week during my visit and it was interesting to note that it is managed very differently at UNC Charlotte. Dr Dennis Weiss, Dean of Students, told us about SOAR

(Student Orientation, Advising and Registration) and how they include parents in the process as well. Multiple, small-scale residential 1 ½ day university inductions are held throughout the summer, well in advance of the start of term. This has the advantage of spreading the burden of enrolling freshers and avoiding long queues. Another successful induction program was UTOP, a well-attended, five-week summer residential programme for minority students.

I was particularly impressed by the wide range of central, student support offices and associated programmes, even if some had rather contrived acronyms (PRODUCE Producing Readiness of a Diverse University Cohort in Education!). I attended a number of

sessions on the work of The University Centre for Academic Excellence (UCAE), headed by Catherine Blat, this covered:

• Tutorial Services, providing tutoring in introductory maths, science, business and foreign languages;

• Skills workshops, and a 10 week Freshmen seminar programme for students on probation.

• Supplemental Instruction (SI), which uses small Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) sessions to help keen students improve their grades “in challenging courses such as science or engineering”;

• BEST (Building Educational Strengths and Talents) which focuses on students who are the first in their family to attend college by providing study seminar classes and a Learning Community.

• SOS (Student Obtaining Success) programme. A Peer Mentor scheme for students who are on academic probation. Mentors are trained to identify academic barriers to success and develop an action plan for the student.

• Another successful mentoring scheme, SAFE (Student Advising for Freshmen Excellence) is run by the Dean of Student Office.

This is open to all students but again is focussed on reaching out to students from underrepresented groups. There are examples of mentoring and supplemental teaching at

Kingston, however my impression is that the scale of the offering and the uptake by Charlotte students is much greater. We had the chance to talk and listen to students involved in each of the programmes. They spoke very passionately about being mentors

and it was illuminating to find out what spurred them on to take on these roles; some did up to 6 hours of mentoring work a week. One reason for their success is that these programmes are well established and have slowly developed over 10+ years. When asked about how they managed to recruit so many mentors, they replied that recommendations from academic staff and well established recruitment and training before the academic year

starts, were key factors. Many of the schemes were successful as they were up and running from week 1 of the term and there was close integration with the Colleges (Faculties). Another critical component to the success was significant staffing resources; the centre has 8 permanent professional members of staff, plus grad assistants, tutors, SI leaders, mentors and student office assistants.

Ted Elling, Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, demonstrated the extensive evaluation of these schemes. The results of these evaluations have been instrumental in sustaining many of these programmes. We were also lucky enough to listen to a Learning Community programme research presentation hosted by Cynthia Wolf Johnson (Associate Provost for Academic Services), where the reasons for their success were probed by Kim Buch and Daniel Bonilla from the Psychology department. Learning communities of students have proved successful in improving grade point averages and progression rates.

One fundamental difference is that where at Kingston we might modify the curriculum, teaching or assessment in a module to tackle low grades and poor progression, at UNC Charlotte it seemed that the module is less likely to be changed; instead support mechanisms tend be invoked. Also a lot of the academic skills covered by UCAE are taught in academic skills modules and dealt with in PDP sessions with personal tutors. However, I think Kingston could gain a lot by recruiting more mentors and PAL leaders and using Learning communities to support students who find various transitions at University challenging. Perhaps a university centre to provide training and funding for this type of activity would be a good idea.

I think Kingston could also make use of the principle of academic probation, where students who are failing in semester one are identified and required to engage with one of the activities of the ACAE. This may be a 10-week seminar scheme aimed at getting them engaged with the university and classes on a variety of academic skills, or a scheme such as SOS, where student mentors and staff help develop a personal action plan for the upcoming

semester.

*Lyrics by Ryan Adams

Tim Linsey

Academic Development

The institutional review of Learning Technologies at Kingston University was completed during 2010-11 with the final recommendations approved by the Board of Governors. In summary the key decisions were as follows:

• Upgrade Studyspace (Blackboard) to the latest version (9.1) and host the service from Amsterdam.

• Implement Desktop video conferencing site wide, along with video instant messaging and variety of audio tools and support including podcasting

• Mobile access to Studyspace via most Smartphone types (iphone, Blackberry, Android)

• Ongoing support and development of the Blogs.kingston blogging environment and the One Community social networking environment

New Studyspace is already available to all staff with students gaining access from the 23rd January. In addition to an improved user interface the updated infrastructure enhances the ability to use and

integrate social media, provides improved ability for students to integrate institutional learning technologies into their own personal and mobile learning environments, and additionally enhances support for the student contributor. A particular highlight is the availability of a mobile interface to Studyspace providing support for iPhone, Android and Blackberry smartphone’s and additionally iPads. The mobile interface provides access to announcements, marks, learning resources including video and tools such as the discussion board  and blogs with the ability for students to contribute via the mobile interface. Staff can trial the mobile interface now by following the instructions on New Studyspace.

Support for video and audio has been substantially enhanced by the licensing of Blackboard Collaborate which has been developed from the merger two former competing products, Wimba and Elluminate.  This new environment provides desktop video conferencing with desktop sharing and shared web browsing, a video instant messaging tool, podcasting support and other audio tools. These tools have been integrated with New Studyspace and will be available via every module. During the last academic year we implemented the online marking tool, GradeMark from Turnitin, and from the beginning of this academic year we have also enabled the peer assessment tool PeerMark. For more information on trialling PeerMark please see the article “Call for Participation

in the online submission, feedback and administration evaluation” in this edition of the newsletter. One of the key issues to emerge from the consultation was that of openness, and this is central to the new infrastructure including support for standards based national and international open  resources, support for metadata and cross-system sharing and searching within Studyspace and, in the future, learning resources being accessible and searchable from other university systems. We will also be continuing to develop the tools that sit outside Studyspace but are very much complementary, in particular Blogs.kingston, a public facing blog environment for all students and staff, and the One Community social networking environment that allows all users to form their own groups and networks.  One of the advantages of building on our existing infrastructure is the ability, without the distraction of new core technologies, to continue to focus on enhancing learning and teaching.  However, there are some changes to get use to as a result of the updated user interface to Studyspace and therefore our staff development focus during Semester 1/ early semester 2 will be to familiarise staff with the updated interface and introducing the new tools, with multiple events running across the University each week (see studyspace for further details). In addition to the scheduled sessions drop in events and one to one sessions in staff offices are being run, working closely with library staff to achieve this.  Additionally the new infrastructure will be used to allow staff to participate in events via desktop video conferencing including appropriately timed sessions to suit our international partners. During Semester 2 our staff development focus will revert to focussing on the effective and appropriate integration of learning technologies into learning and teaching and we will also be keen to work with faculties to examine the potential of the new technologies for meeting strategic needs, e.g. using the new video related tools for supporting students working remotely from the institution

Later in this edition an article by David Taylor, Head of Widening Participation, whose team of staff and students participated in a focus group about the perception of the university, comments in a

similar vein and comes to a similar conclusion that we do need to publicise the achievements of our own students.

In the Academic Development Centre we are very fortunate to work closely with students who are ambassadors, interns, placement students, academic skills leaders, course representatives and student society leaders. Over the past six months we have invited Black and Minority Ethnic students to join an Academic Development Student Advisory Panel (ADSAP) to advise us on our strategies to improve the student experience as it relates to learning, teaching and assessment. Members of the panel have joined at a luncheon meeting with the Chair and two other governors of the university and

were able to speak  positively about their own achievements whilst at the same time being constructively critical about the institution.

It was in the same vein that staff in the Academic Development Centre invited five students to join us on our annual study tour in September. This study visit, funded out of the income generated by the Academic Development Centre’s consultancy work, aimed to investigate a number of areas including: Student leadership schemes especially for Black and Minority Ethnic students; Pre-Entry and Transition Summer Schools; the use of new technologies to enhance learning; the cultivation of academic staff networks and exchange programmes; approaches to student engagement including the role of student societies; approaches to academic mentoring and the development of study abroad programmes. In the articles that are included by each member of the study tour it will be clear just how successful the visit was in raising the awareness of Kingston staff and students but also how insightful the

Kingston students were during the visit. We chose five potential future student leaders who were either experienced student ambassadors or members of our Advisory Panel to visit the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) – the university’s longstanding partner institution in the United States. Each of them contributed to a reception the university gave to senior staff at UNCC and it was generally acknowledged by our hosts that these students were a fantastic testimony to the Kingston University experience – the very message I am urging us to acknowledge but I will let you be the judge of that as you read the articles by Indie, Craig, David and Rita – students who make me proud to work at this university.

Marion Webb, Academic Development Centre

On 6th September 82 delegates attended a conference at Kew Gardens to mark the end of the three year NTFS project: “Outduction: Enhancing the Final Year Experience” which has been run by Kingston in conjunction with the University of Bradford. It was an unseasonably wet and ferociously windy day which meant that delegates couldn’t enjoy the surroundings as much as the project team had hoped but Cambridge Cottage provided a very pleasant venue where Kingston staff were joined by colleagues from a range of UK universities.

The conference was opened by Vice Chancellor, Professor Julius Weinberg, who celebrated the word “Outduction”. Professor Geoff Layer, Vice Chancellor of the University of Wolverhampton, revisited the keynote speech he had delivered at Kingston’s Learning and

Teaching Conference on the Final Year Experience in January 2007 where the word “Outduction” was first used. Both agreed that the final year now assumed a greater significance than ever as universities seek to support their finalists in facing the post university phase of their lives.

Nicki Lee from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, described the Swinburne Professional Learning model which requires all final year students to undertake a capstone course in conjunction with an employer. Workshops facilitators shared the lessons learned from the project including work on Personal Development Planning and Resilience for final year students, project work and supporting students in the transition into life beyond university. Kingston colleagues organised a “world café” on employability and looked at the role of student interns, several of whom were there to cheer us on.

The day ended with delegates writing a postcard from Kew to their Vice Chancellors with suggestions about how the final year can be improved. Colleagues from other UK institutions agreed, however, that the highlight of the conference was the trip around Kew in the

“Kew Explorer” train!

Jane Gay (j.gay@kingston.ac.uk)

Marion Webb, Academic Development Centre

The Business and Law School works tirelessly with their Level 5 students to promote the benefits of undertaking a placement opportunity. As part of this endeavour, Maggie Boyden and Sally Pitfield (Placement officers) have recruited 19 level 6 – post placement students to take up the challenge of mentoring level 5 students as they go about planning to secure a placement. The scheme is not meant to replace the support and work of the placement office but to complement it; mentors are reminded of the complexity of the application process and the motivation needed to keep going.  This model of mentoring students as they complete their applications and prepare for placement interviews was initiated last year, (2010-11).

While the mentors were willing and keen and had had some training, the mentees, by and large, did not engage with the process particularly well. This year, while the mentors were offered training we have also addressed the needs of the mentees at the outset by raising their awareness of the benefits (and the costs) of the process. We also recognised that mentors and mentees could establish more of a ‘bond’ if they actually met one another in a relaxed environment before getting down to placement related work.  In early October, having already spent a stimulating few hours putting the very able mentors through their paces, I was asked to meet with the mentees to explore their expectations. We had devised a skills audit which, once completed revealed both strengths and skills’ gaps associated with employability.  Mentees were ready to discuss skills they wanted to develop with their mentors. After a discussion of the risks and challenges of being mentored – the group were given the names of their mentors and invited to ‘find’ their mentor in an adjoining room where refreshments were available.  The mentors had been allocated at least 2 mentees and this facilitated introductions and chat – essential networking skills. I overheard snippets of conversations as Mentors confidently began sharing their recent, successful placement stories in answer to questions from their mentees.  46 mentees are now established with their 19 mentors. The ice has been broken, and rapport, hopefully established. This, we think, will make a significant difference to the level of commitment to the scheme.

If you are interested in looking at the resources we are using to support this initiative, or you would like to talk about initiating a peer support scheme do get in touch.

Marion Webb, Academic Development

 

On 14^th September 2011 the Vice Chancellor formally signed the agreement which launched Kingston Educational Trust. This trust has been set up between the University, Kingston College and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames to establish the new secondary school in the north of the borough which is expected to open in 2015. In July the ADC hosted a conference for colleagues within the university, from RBK and from the college. The event began with a series of presentations explaining the need for a new school, the philosophy underpinning RBK’s approach and contributions from the university and college explaining why it made sense for this partnership to be formed.  Delegates then participated in a “world café” type activity. The questions posed and some of the responses are summarised below:

 

What must we be sure to plan/design in from the outset if we are to make the most of this opportunity?

“Sustainable resources the school can maintain in the future”

“Social Space”

“Informal learning spaces”

“Open flexible spaces”

“Personal space”

“Safe but open”

process and the motivation needed to keep going.  This model of mentoring students

as they complete their applications and prepare for placement interviews was initiated last year, (2010-11).  While the mentors were willing and keen and had had some training, the mentees, by and large, did not engage with the process particularly well. This year, while the mentors were offered training we have also addressed the needs of the mentees at the outset by raising their awareness of the benefits (and the costs) of the process.

We also recognised that mentors and mentees could establish more of a ‘bond’ if they actually met one another in a relaxed environment before getting down to placement related work.

In early October, having already spent a stimulating few hours putting the very able mentors

through their paces, I was asked to meet with the mentees to explore their expectations. We

had devised a skills audit which, once completed revealed both strengths and skills’ gaps

associated with employability. Mentees were ready to discuss skills they wanted to develop

with their mentors. After a discussion of the risks and challenges of being mentored – the group were given the names of their mentors and invited to ‘find’ their mentor in an adjoining room where refreshments were available.  The mentors had been allocated at least 2 mentees and this facilitated introductions and chat – essential networking skills. I overheard snippets of conversations as Mentors confidently began sharing their recent, successful placement stories in answer to questions from their mentees. 46 mentees are now established with their 19 mentors. The ice has been broken, and rapport, hopefully

established. This, we think, will make a significant difference to the level of commitment to the scheme.

If you are interested in looking at the resources we are using to support this initiative, or you

would like to talk about initiating a peer support scheme do get in touch

 

By the time students leave our school what qualities will they have developed?

“Adaptability”

“Altruism”

“Ambition”

“Appreciation that learning is for life”

“Awareness of self and impact on others”

“Confidence”

“Creative thinking”

“Critical thinking”

“Cultural empathy”

“Emotional intelligence”

“Employability”

“Enthusiasm”

“Feisty and questioning”

“Financial awareness”

“Fit and healthy lifestyle”

“Hardworking”

“Independence”

“Preparation for higher education and lifelong learning”

“Problem solving”

“Resilience”

How can I be involved and contribute to this project?

Curriculum shaping/design Design of space and facilities: short and long term Art work

Exploiting the opportunities of 14-19 to drive subject focussed task groups across the three

Institutions Staff development for school teachers: progression & qualifications Alumni  network

Use of FE/HE staff talks about careers

 

By the time students leave our school what will they have experienced?

Risk taking

Other languages

International contacts

Links with industry

Community service

Passion for learning

Gain knowledge of London & what London has to offer

Overnight trips requiring self reliance

Freedom of thought

Creative thinking

Positive experience

What must we avoid doing?

Fail to meet individual learning needs

Traditional school days miss the opportunity for good design

 

Apart from the new school project which other areas would you like to see Kingston Educational Trust

work on?

0-90 education

CPD opportunities

Community projects: opening resources for wider use

- real space

- virtual space

Learning and Teaching within the University, FE, secondary, and primary

- communalities

- shared practice

“Learning spaces”, sharing practise, potential joint projects: specifically with University Design and Architecture schools

 

There was a very strong sense of enthusiasm for this project and a range of exciting

contributions. We want to build on this strong beginning with another event early in the new

year by which time we should have more information about the resources that the

government will be making available for our school.

What can we do to make Kingston distinctive?

• Celebrate the diversity within our student population, which is something of which we should be proud.

• Recognise and celebrate the achievements of all our students, particularly those who have faced particular challenges in progressing and succeeding in Higher Education.

• Become known as an institution that looks after the diverse needs of all our students through flexible academic programmes and excellent support services.

• Ensure we not only provide access for students from all backgrounds but enable them to reach their potential and become successful – we are an institution that creates opportunities and transforms lives.

 

Why would students want to come to Kingston in five years time?

If we can provide clear evidence of our ability to help students reach their academic potential and equip them with the necessary skills to pursue their chosen career after graduation. This would require improved retention, progression and degree outcomes as well as increased opportunities for students to develop a range of skills sought by employers (e.g. through increased placement opportunities and more student roles within University academic

and support services). We must ensure our success stories are promoted and celebrated and use Kingston alumni and current students to share their positive experiences of the University.

 

Why would staff want to come to Kingston in five years time?

Primarily staff would want to come to Kingston in five years time because we are a community of people working together to deliver an excellent education and service to our students.

 

Education

 

Kingston should aim to become an institution that delivers excellent education and support to all of its students to help them achieve the best they can academically and become employable graduates.

 

In your sphere what makes for excellent teaching?

A positive experience of learning for all students.

 

What constitutes good teaching?

Understanding the diverse needs of our students; building flexibility into our academic programmes whilst maintaining standards; better monitoring of attendance and attainment; early alerts if things go wrong (e.g. contacting students at risk to check that everything is

okay and putting them in touch with staff/programmes that can support them).

 

What kind of curriculum should we be offering students?

Build employability skills into the curriculum wherever possible; more active learning opportunities (e.g. short work experience opportunities as well as placement years, raising profile of extracurricular activities available etc.)

 

Research

 

It is essential that research by staff should ultimately enhance the content of our courses and provide opportunities for students, e.g. research projects for undergraduates with a particular focus on getting students from WP backgrounds involved.

 

Employability

 

What attributes should Kingston students have to make them employable?

• Practical work experience related to their field (either short internships or a full work placement) – this could be made a compulsory part of most academic programmes.

• Our graduates need to demonstrate more than just academic excellence and the University must provide opportunities for students to gain the other skills they will need.

• We should better assist our students with the practical aspects of finding a job: a careers centre in a prominent position on campus with well-stocked resources and less restricted hours for consultations. Second or third year students from relevant degree programmes (e.g. HRM) could be trained and employed to staf drop-in sessions and

provide practical advice, e.g. on CVs, job applications etc.

 

What does the University need to do to reach a point where

 

most of our graduates are sought after by employers?

More graduate career fairs promoted to all years; bring employers into the University to view student work, e.g. at end of year shows etc; make the most of ad-hoc opportunities to build links with employers; better systems for providing references etc. For students; staff incentive scheme for making contacts and creating opportunities with potential employers; better careers services; building employability skills into the curriculum for academic credit.

 

Characteristics of Kingston Students

 

What kind of students do we want to attract and how should

we attract them?

Committed and ambitious students who want to come to Kingston University and have the ability and drive to succeed.

 

Should we raise our entry points and if so to what extent?

We should be cautious about this in the current climate – current changes to the finance structure of HE may have an impact on recruitment and the profile of our students of which we are yet unaware.  Raising entry profiles is something we may wish to do in due course but it is first essential to have a robust, clear and transparent admissions process where offers are appropriate and the range of student entry qualifications are understood by admissions staff. We must also provide the best possible advice and guidance to potential applicants to ensure they are applying for the most appropriate courses.

 

What should be the key characteristics of a University that provides opportunities for its students to succeed?

Good quality academic courses and support services to meet the needs of all our students.

 

What support, in addition to high-quality teaching, do we need to maximize opportunity for our students?

Better links with potential employers; high quality support services that recognise and cater for diverse needs; extra-curricular opportunities to gain and develop skills outside the classroom, e.g. student ambassador scheme, mentoring work, community engagement etc; greater flexibility within our academic programmes; embed employability skills into the curriculum.

 

Characteristics of Kingston Graduates

 

What key characteristics should a Kingston graduate have?

Practical transferable skills; tenacity; passion; confidence in their skills; pride in their institution; a sense of direction; engagement with their community; strong academic profile; a thirst to continue studying at Kingston (e.g. post-graduate programmes).

 

Improving Graduate Employability: Ensuring students have the skills, contacts & opportunities to find works

Paul Westren and Kelly Barnett, Education Liaison

 

Employability is clearly a buzz word within HE at the moment and with the introduction of higher fees will only become a more important factor for students as they demand a return for their investment. From September 2012 every UG course will have a KIS (Key information Set) widget attached to its webpage. The KIS will aim to outline average salary, professional and industrial accreditation and job quality from graduate’s data 6 months on from completing the said course. More information and guidance on this will be announced from HEFCE soon.

Speakers from other institutions highlighted the need for increased employer engagement, more opportunities for extracurricular activities that offer employability skills and how embedding placements/internships/real projects into the curriculum would be hugely beneficial. It was considered the university’s responsibility to provide a framework for

its students but that the emphasis should then be passed onto the student to participate in relevant options. Employers should be involved where possible in outlining the attributes they require and they should also recognise the disparity of experiences that students undertake.

There was also discussion in regards to how the evidence, skills, attributes and competences gained from extra-curricular is presented.

A number of universities have implemented the Higher Education Achievement Report(HEAR). If we are to encourage students to partake in opportunities to improve employability providing a framework to make sense of the learned outcomes of such work

experience and extracurricular activity is critical.

David Taylor, Academic Development Centre

It’s been a hectic start to the 2011-12 academic years. At the end of September we bid farewell to Paul Westren the Student Ambassador Coordinator.  Working with Andrea Harris, Paul has done a fantastic job at making the scheme the great success it now is as well as being the envy of HEIs across the country. Paul has taken the opportunityto work within the SEC faculty as Student Support Officer, so we wish him well and every success but fortunately for us we still expect to be working with Paul in his new role with SEC.

I would also like to congratulate Kelly Barnet on her new role as Scholarship Manager. Kelly will be working across the departments and faculties to ensure the new scholarships at Kingston are effective. Working alongside the Compact Scheme, Kelly will be busy developing a range of opportunities for our new Kingston Scholars and National Scholarship students from WP backgrounds.

The schemes will provide Scholarship students with financial, academic and pastoral support.

In preparation for the new developments the University has committed to in our Access Agreement a recent visit to UNC Charlotte in September provided a fantastic opportunity to learn from our North American cousins. Indeed we anticipate developing a number of schemes to support students at both pre-application, transition and through to Undergraduate study. One scheme we are particularly excited about is the development of Learning Communities which Jenni Woods discusses in her article.  I think alongside the aspiration raising expertise we have within our teams we are now also benefitting from the established Compact Scheme.

Recent statistics indicated that Compact Students are graduating with a higher percentage of First class honours or Upper Second Class Honours than the general undergraduate population.

KU 08/09 09/10

All 60.5% 61.8%

Compact 67.1% 64.9%

The new extended Compact Scheme and the Scholarship Schemes as highlighted in our new 2012-2013 Access Agreement will be the cornerstone of the new developments we are working on to support students entering Kingston under the new fees structure.

The enhanced Compact Scheme aims to attract a greater number of students (1000 2012/13 intake leading to a total of 3000 students by 2014/15). It will achieve this by extending the scheme from a regional to a national focus. The new scheme will focus on first generation entrants and now being a national scheme we are planning to do far more information, advice and guidance work. This will start with year 12 students providing a range of activities

and online resources facilitated by staff and student ambassadors and aimed at prospective students primarily from our regional partner schools and colleges but also supporting first generation entrants nationally who have an interest in Kingston University. The focus of this work will be to ensure the students are making more informed choices and appropriate applications.

In line with the University’s emerging Admission and Recruitment Strategy we will also provide more of a focus on the Admissions process. The compact team will work with admissions staff to ensure that the applications from compact students are dealt with

fairly and appropriately in the provision of offers. This may entail advising the student to apply for a course more suited to his/her aspirations and predicted grades and likewise advising admissions staff on an appropriate offer which takes account of the student’s

predicted grade profile.

Building on the success of our Fast Forward pre induction event we are planning to have, between May and September, a number of events both remotely (online, blogs, social networks) and at the university through Summer Schools. Those compact students and

Scholarship students who have expressed a firm acceptance of an offer will be invited to attend these events.  As you can see we have a busy year ahead and I look forward to

providing an update on these exciting new projects in the next newsletter.  In line with the University’s emerging Admission and Recruitment Strategy we will also provide more of a focus on the Admissions process. The compact team will work with admissions staff to

ensure that the applications from compact students are dealt with fairly and appropriately in the provision of offers. This may entail advising the student to apply for a course more suited to his/her aspirations and predicted grades and likewise advising admissions staff on an appropriate offer which takes account of the student’s predicted grade profile.  Building on the success of our Fast Forward pre induction event we are planning to have, between May and September, a number of events both remotely (online, blogs, social networks) and at the

university through Summer Schools. Those compact students and Scholarship students who have expressed a firm acceptance of an offer will be invited to attend these events.

As you can see we have a busy year ahead and I look forward to providing an update on these exciting new projects in the next newsletter

Paul Westren and Kelly Barnett, Education Liaison

 

Employability is clearly a buzz word within HE at the moment and with the introduction of higher fees will only become a more important factor for students as they demand a return for their investment. From September 2012 every UG course will have a KIS (Key information Set) widget attached to its webpage. The KIS will aim to outline average salary, professional and industrial accreditation and job quality from graduate’s data 6 months on from completing the said course. More information and guidance on this will be announced from HEFCE soon.

Speakers from other institutions highlighted the need for increased employer engagement, more opportunities for extracurricular activities that offer employability skills and how embedding placements/internships/real projects into the curriculum would be hugely beneficial. It was considered the university’s responsibility to provide a framework for

its students but that the emphasis should then be passed onto the student to participate in relevant options. Employers should be involved where possible in outlining the attributes they require and they should also recognise the disparity of experiences that students undertake.

There was also discussion in regards to how the evidence, skills, attributes and competences gained from extra-curricular is presented.

A number of universities have implemented the Higher Education Achievement Report(HEAR). If we are to encourage students to partake in opportunities to improve employability providing a framework to make sense of the learned outcomes of such work

experience and extracurricular activity is critical.