Online Resource for Staff new to teaching in HE

An Introduction to Glasgow Caledonian University

The University

The University website offers a range of information

on Glasgow Caledonian University’s (GCU) vision

and mission, values, strategy and goals. There is

also a short video introduction to the University.

Information about GCU’s commitment to the

Common Weal (‘weal’ meaning ‘state of wellbeing,

prosperity, happiness), which is the University’s

motto and forms part of its Coat of Arms (see

image) can also be found on the ‘Welcome to the

University webpages’.

The University

The Strategy 2020 is centred on five goals that aim to reinforce GCU as a

University for the Common Good:

Goal 1: Transforming lives through education;

Goal 2: Enriching Cities and communities through research;

Goal 3: Innovating for social and economic impact;

Goal 4: Engaging Globally;

Goal 5: Aligning for the Common Good.

The University

GCU’s activities reach well beyond its Glasgow campus.

GCU London offers a range of programmes and activities and the

University has expanded its activities to the USA by establishing GCU

New York as a new campus.

Additionally, GCU also works in partnership

with the Caledonian College of Engineering

in Oman, the Grameen Caledonian College

of Nursing in Bangladesh and the African

Leadership University.

University for the Common Good

GCU is the first university in Scotland to be

designated a Changemaker Campus by Ashoka U,

reflecting its global reputation in promoting social

innovation through teaching and research.

Find out more about GCU's Changemaker Status.

In 2015 the University launched a website and

blog entitled Social Innovation for the Common

Good @ GCU, which celebrate and raise

awareness of GCU’s staff members, students and

community partners who are involved in the field of

social innovation.

University Structure

The webpages under

‘University Governance’

offer information about,

and links to, more

information about the

University’s formal

structure and committees.

GCYou – The University’s Staff Portal

GCYou is the

University’s intranet

and offers additional

information for staff on

a variety of areas,

including People

Services.

GCYou – The University’s Staff Portal

The University’s staff portal is particularly useful for new members of staff

since it offers valuable information on the People Services pages, incl.

resources, performance and development, health and safety, equality and

diversity.

Guidance on the Performance Annual Development Review (PDAR) and

the Work Allocation Model (WAM) can be found under ‘Help and

Resources, Section 4. Recruitment, Staffing and Appointments’ on the

People Services GCYou pages.

Governance and Quality Enhancement

Governance and Quality brings together services and areas of activity

relating to:

• governance and legislative compliance;

• committee secretariat;

• academic regulations;

• academic quality assurance.

More information and relevant documents are available from the

Governance and Quality Enhancement website.

Quality Assurance and Enhancement

The University’s Quality Assurance and Enhancement is managed by the

Directorate of Governance and Quality enhancement. Its responsibility is

to ensure and enhance the quality of the University's provision, including

research, knowledge transfer and commercial development. This

includes:

• the development and review of policy and procedures for quality management

in compliance with the Quality Assurance Agency’s (QAA) Code of Practice;

• the preparation and organisation of the QAA Enhancement Led Institutional

Review (ELIR).

Enhancement Led Institutional Review (ELIR)

One of the responsibilities of the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) is to

review universities and other higher education institutions. This review is

called: Enhancement Led Institutional Review (ELIR) and takes place

every five years.

The QAA website provides information and guidance about the ELIR

process and links to other important documents like to Quality Code with

which all universities and higher education institutions have to comply.

Enhancement Led Institutional Review (ELIR)

Enhancement-Led Institutional Review (ELIR) is one strand of the Quality

Enhancement Framework for Scotland, designed to ensure academic

standards and encourage enhancement.

The principles underpinning the Framework are:

• high quality learning;

• student engagement;

• the development of cultures of quality.

Enhancement Led Institutional Review (ELIR)

GCU underwent a successful ELIR in 2015 which included ELIR Panel

visits and meetings with students and staff.

One major component of the ELIR is the University’s Reflective Analysis

which offers valuable information about the University.

The staff portal offers more detailed information on the ELIR and a copy

of the University’s Reflective Analysis can also be found on the

Governance and Quality Enhancement pages in GCYou:

Home > Schools and Departments > Governance and Quality Enhancement > Quality

Enhancement and Assurance > Enhancement-Led Institutional Review

Academic Schools

The University has three Academic Schools with three departments each:

School of Engineering and Built Environment

(SEBE)

Department of Construction and

Surveying

Department of Engineering

Department of Computer,

Communications and Interactive Systems

Glasgow School for Business and Society

(GSBS)

Department of Law, Economics,

Accountancy and Risk

Department of Business

Management

Department of Social Sciences, Media and

Journalism

School of Health and Life Sciences (SHLS)

Department of Nursing and

Community Health

Department of Psychology, Social Work and Allied Health Services

Department of Life Sciences

Academic School Structure

• School Management Group (SMG)

• School Dean

• Vice Dean

• Associate Deans: International (ADI), Learning and Teaching Quality (ADLTQ),

Business Development (ADBD), Research (ADR)

• Heads of Department (HoDs)

• Head of Administration (HoA)

• Assistant Heads of Department (AHoDs)

• Learning and Teaching Quality Leads (LTQLs)

• Business Partners (Finance, Human Resources (HR), Marketing)

• Learning Development Centre (LDC)

• Blended Learning Technologists

Departmental Structure

• Head of Department (HoD);

• Assistant Heads of Department (AHoDs);

• Programme Teams (PTs);

• Learning and Teaching Quality Leads (LTQLs);

International/Exchange; Business Development*;

• Administration (admin) team.

*the departmental structure may occasionally vary.

The Learning Development Centre

Each Academic School has a Learning Development Centre that provides

academic face-to-face and online support for students:

• SEBE LDC;

• GSBS LDC;

• SHLS LDC.

The Learning Development Centre teams are normally comprised of a

Director, Academic Development Tutors, ICT Skills tutors and an

administrator.

ELISR (Enhancement Led Internal Subject Review)

• Every five years an ELISR (enhancement Led Internal Subject

Review) will take place at department level.

• The review process is organised and facilitated by the Department of

Governance and Academic Quality.

• It will include programme approval and/or programme re-approval as

far as possible.

• For more information and to download a copy of the Quality Assurance

and Enhancement Handbook, please visit the Governance and Quality

Assurance Website.

ELISR (Enhancement Led Internal Subject Review)

The purpose of the ELISR is to support quality assurance and enhancement across

departmental programmes.

Reviews will:

• Promote dialogue in order to enhance quality and identify good practice;

• Reflect critically on practice;

• Take full account of student feedback;

• Review programmes against benchmarks and the QAA Quality Code and where

appropriate, professional and statutory bodies;

• Take account of the Scottish credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF);

• Consider the effectiveness of annual monitoring arrangements;

• Consider the impact of central and school-based student support activities in enhancing

the student experience.

University Funding

The University receives its main funding from the Scottish Funding

Council (SFC). The funding is based on an Outcome Agreement (OA)

that is negotiated on an three-yearly basis and which covers all areas of

university funding. These areas are referred to as:

• Excellence in Learning and Teaching;

• Excellence in Research;

• Delivering for business, the public and voluntary sectors;

• Sustainability.

The SFC monitors the performance of the University annually based on

National Performance Measures.

University Funding

Other sources of funding include:

• External Research Grants (i.e. Economic and Social Research Council

(ESRC), Nuffield, Carnegie);

• External Development Grants (i.e. European Union (EU), Nuffield);

• Collaborations with industries, business, third sector organisations (i.e.

business academies);

• Consultancy and knowledge exchange;

• Conference and Events Management.

Supporting Learning and Teaching @ GCU

GCU LEAD (Learning Enhancement and Academic Development) is a

central academic department that drives and supports an enhanced

student learning experience through collaborative working across the

University and to support the Common Good mission through its

commitment to learning and teaching excellence and widening

participation.

It offers a wide variety of activities, one of which is academic and

professional development and recognition.

GCU LEAD

Strategic Activity

Research @ GCU

Research at GCU is aligned with the University’s commitment to the

common good. It aimed at enabling communities to build inclusive

societies and live healthy lives in sustainable environments.

The 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) has confirmed GCU’s

status as a world-class research institution and more detailed information

on the results can be found on the REF 2014 webpage.

GCU Research Institutes, Centres and Support

Departments

There are a variety of research institutes, research centres and support

departments at the University covering a wide range of areas, from

research and development to social innovation.

GCU Research Institutes

There are three research institutes, which are aligned to the three

academic schools:

• Institute for Applied Health Research;

• Institute for Society and Social Justice Research;

• Institute for Sustainable Engineering and Technology Research.

They were established to build on the University’s strengths and to meet

future societal challenges. They aim to:

• Consolidate GCU’s success in attracting major grants;

• Further develop collaborations with partners outside Scotland;

• Work with end-users in the public and private sectors.

Research Centres

• The University has a number of research centres that focus on specialised research

areas, such as:

• The Yunus Centre for Social Business and Health which examines the relationship

between social business and health improvement;

• The Moffat Centre which is one of the leading university-based research and

consultancy centres in Europe;

• Social History of Health and Health Care which focuses on issues arising from the social

history of health and healthcare in modern societies;

• Scottish Poverty Information Unit which is an established applied research unit which

has attained a reputation as an authority on matters pertaining to poverty and social

justice in Scotland;

• The Women in Scotland’s Economy (WiSE) Research Centre which aims to promote and

make visible women’s contribution and to boost Scotland’s economy.

International Activity

The International Partnerships Office (IPO) was formed last year and

consists of the International Partnerships team and the Study Abroad and

Erasmus & Exchange team.

It combines existing partnership activity related to GCU student and staff

mobility within Study Abroad and Erasmus+ agreements, with a new

service created to facilitate, support and administer ongoing and new

relationships with overseas institutions, with the aim of developing GCU’s

international activity.

Support Departments

A list of all central support departments can be found on the University

website under ‘Services and Directorates’.

These include:

• Admissions and Registry;

• Student Experience,

Governance and Quality;

• Disability Service and

Positive Living Team;

• International Student Support;

• Library and IT Support;

• Finance and Facilities.

Widening Participation

GCU is viewed as a key player with regards to Widening Participation (WP). This

means that a large proportion of its students come from non-traditional

backgrounds.

GCU’s Widening Participation Activities are part of the University’s commitment to

the common good. There are a number of initiatives and programmes that

support Widening Participation, these include:

• Caledonian Club – raising aspirations by working with children and teenagers from

disadvantaged backgrounds;

• Articulation Hub – offering pupils from schools with low participation in higher education

the opportunity to study for their Advanced Highers at GCU;

• College Connect – offering articulations paths from college into the University.

GCU Students’ Association (GCUSA)

The GCUSA is the student representative body for the University. All GCU

students are automatically members of the Students’ Association and

have the right to stand as and/or elect student representatives for their

classes, Schools and members of the GCUSA Executive Committee at

the University level.

Their roles include:

• Student President

• Vice President Education

• Vice President Well Being

• Vice President Activities

GCU Students’ Association (GCUSA)

As the student representative body for the University, the GCUSA supports all

class representatives (‘class reps’) and school officers. Class reps represent

students at programme level and they are members of their programme’s Student

Staff Consultative Group (SSCG). School Officers represent students at School

level.

GCUSA also offers specialised training for class reps and school officers as well

as campaign training for all those who decide to stand for any of the full-time

officer posts.

It organises events that allow class reps and school officers to share experiences

and learn from each other, like the class rep gathering and also runs the Student

Leaders Programme which enables students to develop their leadership and

employability skills.

GCU Students’ Association (GCUSA)

The GCUSA also run an advice centre for students that covers a wide

range of areas from academic advice to personal issues, bullying and

harassment, health, finance, accommodation and employment.

It also organises activities and there are sports clubs and about 60

different societies that students can join.

GCUSA also a volunteering service and last but not least, the University’s

own student radio station ‘Radio Caley’.

GCU Students

As a key player in Widening Participation GCU attracts a large proportion

of its circa 16,000 students who come from non-traditional backgrounds

and are often the first in their family to study at a University.

Other aspects include*:

• 97% of GCU students come from state schools;

• 35.1% come from a disadvantaged background;

• 17.1% of Scottish entrants come from the lowest quintile of Multiple Deprivation

The Strategy and Planning Service offers more detailed information on

the GCU Student Profile on the staff portal (GCYou).

GCU Student Profile (2013-14)

Gender of Students

• 59% Female

• 41% Male

Mode of Study

• 78% full time

• 22% part time

Level of Study

• 3% Research PG*

• 14% Taught PG

• 83% UG*

*PG = Postgraduate;

*UG = Undergraduate

GCU Student Profile (2013-14)

Domicile of Students

• 87% UK

• 4% EU* (Outside UK)

• 9% Outside EU

Disability

• 6% known to be disabled

• 94% no known disability

• 0% not known/sought

Ethnicity of UK domiciled Students

• 90% white

• 9% Black and Minority Ethnic (BME)

• 1% not known

*EU = European Union

GCU Student Profile (2013-14): Age

• 14% are 18 years or younger

• 12% are 19 years old

• 13% are 20 years old

• 24% are between 21 and 24 years old

• 14% are between 25 and 29 years old

• 23% are 30 years or older

GCU Student Profile (2012-13)

Thank you!