Quality and Effectiveness of Teaching and Learning

3.1 Departments/Schools should be active in monitoring the quality and effectiveness of the teaching and learning strategies employed by the programme(s) for providing students with good learning opportunities to support achievement of the intended learning outcomes and academic standards [e.g. range and appropriateness of teaching and learning methods employed including use of innovative/new technologies; quality of learning materials provided; student workloads].

The quality of teaching and learning should be maintained and enhanced through a variety of means, which should include the following:

• induction and mentoring of sessional lecturers who are responsible for teaching and assessment of courses

• induction and mentoring of other new academic staff

• supervision of probationary teachers

• attendance at conferences and on courses

• team and joint teaching

• teaching team meetings/staff discussions

• teaching and learning groups including Higher Education Academy Subject Centres

• systematic peer review and training for this

• double marking of course work and examination scripts and an overview of course work marks by a module leader/programme director

• moderation by External Examiners

• monitoring of examination results

• reports of External Examiners

• research activity

• relevant committee activity

• formal student feedback through questionnaires and student-staff exchange committees

• informal student contact

• views of employers and professional/statutory/regulatory bodies

• programme reviews (internal review and annual monitoring)

3.2 Schools should consider the needs of disabled students in their teaching and learning strategies and should ensure that these are sufficiently flexible to enable all reasonable adjustments to be made in accordance with the Disability Discrimination Act.

3.3 Feedback to individual members of staff through ‘Progress and Development Review’ (PDR) processes associated with their own appraisal should also help develop staff members' individual ability to contribute to the maintenance and enhancement of academic standards.

3.4 Monitoring should be undertaken by the Department/School using methods appropriate to the discipline and as agreed by the Department/School.  An assessment of the quality and effectiveness of teaching and learning strategies employed on the programmes under review should be a component of the Department’s/School's commentary on annual programme reports to the Teaching and Quality Enhancement Committee and internal reviews (see section 9 below).

3.5 Any necessary remedial action in respect of programme design and/or the quality and effectiveness of teaching and learning should be determined by the Department/School meeting or by the interdisciplinary programme director and the staff concerned with report to the relevant Departments/Schools.

3.6 Students should be encouraged to complete online course-unit, end of year and Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) questionnaires (available from Registry Services) at appropriate times and with appropriate frequency.  The procedure for taking any required action identified by the Department/School/Registry analyses should follow the guidance agreed by the Teaching and Quality Enhancement Committee as outlined on the Quality Enhancement and Validation Office web site.

3.7 The School Teaching and Quality Enhancement Committee should act as a forum in which examples of innovative and effective teaching and learning practices can be discussed and shared.  Note should be taken of the examples of good practice occurring within the College detailed on the Quality Enhancement and Validation Office web site and resulting from internal reviews and annual monitoring.

3.8 Learning resources should be kept under constant review and Departments/Schools should be aware of College-wide policies with regard to the Library, Information Technology Services, and Estates. This process should involve an evaluation of the effectiveness of the deployment of the resources, human and material, that support the learning of students, and of the effectiveness of their linkage to the intended learning outcomes of the programme. 

3.9 Departments/Schools should ensure that they have discussed with their Subject Librarian access to information resources for students on all programmes.  Departments/Schools may wish to provide hard copy resource packs of relevant readings from books and journals – either included in programme fees or recharged to the student. The provision of electronic resources such as journals, databases, e-books, articles and exam papers should be considered in conjunction with the Library, and students should be made aware of relevant reciprocal library access schemes and the Library’s charged distance learner service. Students may also require advice and support regarding the purchase of appropriate equipment and software.  Student satisfaction with learning resources should be surveyed on a regular basis and appropriate action taken to improve provision if necessary.

3.10 Departments/Schools should continue to work with the Centre for Learning and Professional Development which works with staff across the College to support innovation in learning, teaching and assessment.