Developing academic practice in Foundation Degrees

Future Directions: Opportunities for

Enhancing the Learning Experience Dr Helena Lim/Dr Jo Smedley Future Directions: Learning from the Review of Foundation Degrees in Wales

27 November 2013

Sector-wide response to enhance

specific areas of the student learning

experience

Topics of interest to the Welsh

higher education sector that are

explored and developed with the

aim of enhancing the student

learning experience

2

Future Directions for

Higher Education in Wales

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np9g-4HkvsE

Graduates for Our Future

• Students as Partners

• Learning for Employment

• Learning in Employment

Global Graduates: Enabling Flexible Learning

• Distinctive Graduates

• Inspiring Teaching

• Learner Journeys

3

Future Directions Themes

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Partnership approach

All Welsh institutions delivering HE

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Approach

Future Directions Steering Group

• Ensure synergies with other groups

Work strand groups

• Local champions

Institutional teams

• Aligning local activities with FD theme

Individual engagement

• Events, resources

• New theme are work strands are identified through sectoral consultation and scoping

• Planned and directed by the

Future Directions Steering

Group

• Ensures synergies with other

groups

6

Who Decides the Theme?

• Developed and delivered by

work strands

• Local champions

• HEA in a coordinating role:

• ensuring synergies between

Future Directions with other

groups and sectoral

developments.

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How is the Theme

Developed

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How Does the Theme Run?

Each work strand:

• sets out the scope, aims and objectives

• focuses on the student learning experience

• aims to identify emerging good practice

• Plans a programme of projects, commissioned work, events, expert contributions

• Published outcomes

• Future Directions web-site

• Events workshops, seminars,

conference, institutional

discussions, toolkits, models and

exemplars of good practice, case

studies

• Biennial Future Directions

conference

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Outcomes and Activities

• Future Directions work-strand themes are

key features of institutional L&T strategies

• Focus for collaboration between staff and

students of all HE institutions in Wales, FE

colleges, employer organisations, HEA,

NUS Wales, HEFCW and the QAA

• Events and publications have showcased

innovative approaches to partnerships with

students and working with employers

• Curriculum change and development at

programme and individual level (e.g.

national internships, use of case studies)

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Impact

• Shift in approach: process as well as product?

• Driven by institutions: theme allows for individual

institutional priorities to be addressed

• Areas of shared interest: work facilitated by work strands

• Sectoral: theme’s wider implications

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Global Graduates:

Enabling Flexible Learning

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Graduates for our Future 2010-2013

http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/wales/students-as-partners

http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/wales/learning-for-employment

http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/wales/learning-in-employment





















Learning for Employment

• Authentic learning

• Careers awareness and

application skills in

curricula

• Developing graduate

attributes

Learning in Employment

• Learner experiences

• Employer experiences

• Assessment

• Alumni engagement

• Quality assurance

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Themes

• Developing leadership and enterprise

• Expanding professional networks

• Resources to support employability

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FD Review findings

Employer Involvement in

validation, delivery and assessment

Joined up strategies and

policies to enhance student

experience

Staff development

Improve information and accessibility to students and employers

Sustainability in FD provision

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Global Graduates:


• Undergraduate

• Postgraduate

• Work-based learning

• Full-time

• Part-time

• Online

Learner Journeys

Global Graduates:


Aberystwyth University

2-3 April 2014

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Future Directions Conference 2014

• Aberystwyth

Opportunities Network

(Aberystwyth University)

• Integrating employability

into the curriculum

(Aberystwyth University)

• Learning in work: Leisure,

Events, Tourism and

Sport (Swansea

Metropolitan University)

• Introducing WBL to Health

and Social Care (Swansea

University)

• Learning in employment: a

critical evaluation by the

Faculty of Business and

Society (University of

Glamorgan – now USW)

• Flexible Learning in

Employment and

Community Scenarios

(University of Wales,

Newport – now USW)

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Employer involvement in validation,

delivery and assessment

• Learning in employment:

an institutional approach

(Bangor University)

• Undergraduate

Opportunities Programme

(Cardiff University)

• Learning through

employment: framework

and resources (University

of Glamorgan – now

USW)

• Skillset Media Academy

Wales port-graduate



• Strategic Insight

Programme (SIP)



• Enhancing learning in

employment through

exchange (University of

Wales, Newport – now

USW) 18

Join up strategies and policies to

enhance student experience

• Developing formal higher-

level qualifications for

learning support assistants

employed in primary and

secondary schools in the

Vale of Glamorgan and

Cardiff (Cardiff and Vale

College)

• Partnership projects in

Sport (University of

Wales, Newport – now

USW)

• Elevate Cymru: a high

performance working

network pan Wales

project (Cardiff

Metropolitan University)

• Pan-Wales Work-Based

Learning programmes

(University of Glamorgan

– now USW)

• Supporting the

development of e-CPD

(Cardiff University)

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Staff development

• Liberating Aptitudes by

Technology-Enhanced

Recognition and

Accreditation of Learning

(University of Wales

Trinity St David)

• Supporting the needs of

dyslexia workers in Wales

(University of Wales

Trinity St David)

• TELSTAR Open

Educational Resources

(JISC RSC)

• Postgraduate Certificate

in Leadership in Public

Service: a collaborative

approach to curriculum

design and APEL

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Improve information and resources

to students and employers

• The development of Learning in

Action modules within Coleg

Llandrillo-based Foundation

Degrees (Coleg Llandrillo)

• Foundation Degree developments

(Glyndwr University)

• ESF-funded pan-Wales Foundation

Degree programme (formerly

Glamorgan University- now USW)

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Foundation Degree provision