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Support for course and module design and delivery

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This section has been curated by a range of stakeholders from across both academic and professional services teams to provide you with guidance, information and resources to support your teaching, learning and assessment activities, including sources of support for our course and module leaders with design and delivery of their courses/modules.

This resource is maintained by the Academic Development & Diversity Team on behalf of our stakeholders. If you’d like to become a stakeholder and contribute to this resource, have a suggestion for content or just want to offer feedback, click the feedback button and let us know!

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Hallam Model

All of our course are designed and delivered in accordance with our Hallam Model principles. Explore the Hallam Model principles to see ideas and links to existing programmes that may assist you to be more creative and innovative in designing your curriculum through the Hallam Model lens. 

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Planning and delivery our course and module principles 2021/22

Each College has their own course and module start of year checklist which provides key actions and resources moving forward:

Business, Technology and Engineering (BTE)

Start of year checklist – 2021-22.

Health, Wellbeing and Life Sciences (HWLS)

Start of year checklist – 2021-22.

Social Sciences and Arts (SSA)

Start of year checklist – 2021-22.

 

The planning and delivering our course principles 2021/22 guidance as outlined below, is for staff in implementing the University Course Delivery Principles during the 2021/22 academic year. This guidance is kept under review and will be updated if and when new information becomes available or circumstances change. Contact the Digital Learning Team for content feedback. 

Preparing your teaching Delivering your teaching Assessing Campus Teaching

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Quality Assurance

The Academic Quality and Standards Team oversee the University’s Quality Assurance Regulations and Procedures in respect of the following areas:

Annual Review  |  Apprenticeship and Work-Based Learning  |  Collaborative  |  Course Improvement Plan (CIPs)  |  Curriculum Catalogue / View – SITS   
 
External Examiners (EEs) |  Modifications  |  Periodic Review  |  Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies (PSRB)  |  Validations 

 

For further discussions on Quality Assurance please speak with your departmental Quality Leads. 

The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for Higher Education

The QAA safeguard standards and improve the quality of UK higher education wherever it is delivered around the world. The QAA check that students working towards a UK qualification get the higher education they are entitled to expect. Take a look about their remit and work with HE partners. 

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Transforming Lives: performance and progress review

As part of Transforming Lives, here are the 2020/21 – 2022/23 strategic plans from the University’s 5 Planning Units which cover Department, Research Centre, Directorate, Service, or Team level and that capture the detailed actions that contribute to delivery of the strategic plans.

As part of the University’s ‘plan, do, check, review’ annual business planning cycle, we review our performance using a range of KPIs and in-year performance indicators; the progress of implementing the College, Research Institute and Professional Services plans; and any risks to the delivery of those plans on a quarterly basis, and then provide assurance to the Board of Governors.

  • Quarter 1 : August, September, October.
  • Quarter 2: November, December, January.
  • Quarter 3: February, March, April.
  • Quarter 4: May, June, July.

Please visit the Strategy, Planning and Insight intranet site to check out the Q reports for an overview of how we are performing and the progress that has been made since the last quarter.    

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Timeline of teaching and learning activities

Following the academic calendar, we are developing a timeline of teaching and learning activities. Originally created by Lucian Tipi, Head of Teaching and Learning, BTE, we are working with key stakeholders to include UG and PG modes of delivery for both September and January starts. You can filter the columns to see activities that take place, week by week, month by month and provides links to the source of the guidance.  If you have any suggestions or feedback on this, please contact the Academic Development & Diversity Team. 

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A-Z of resources to support teaching, learning and assessment  

Academic Administration | Academic Advising  |  Annual Review  |  Apprenticeship and Work-Based Learning  |  Assessment and Feedback  |  Attendance and Engagement  
 
Blackboard  |  Campus Teaching  |  Collaborative  |  Course page: online prospectus  |  Course Principles  |  Coursework submission  |  Curriculum Catalogue/View
 
Departmental Assessment Boards (DABs)  |  Digital Capability, Skills and Support  |  Disabled Students  |  Enrolment  |  Evaluation  |  Examinations  |  Exemplars  |  External Examiners (EEs)  
 
Group Work  |  Hallam Welcome  |  Inclusive Pedagogy and Practice/Accessibility  |  Learning Analytics  |  Modifications  |  Modules 
 
Periodic Review  |  Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies (PSRB)  |  Reading Lists Online  |  The Source  |  Student Recruitment  |  Supporting our Students  |  Timetabling  |  Validations

Academic Administration

The Academic Administration service promotes consistency and a holistic, end-to-end approach to supporting the student experience. This includes supporting our course and module leaders with course administration and academic administration officers who are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the team and provide support for the Department Managers, working with key stakeholders. Visit the Academic Administration SharePoint site for an overview of these services and who you can content. 

Academic Advising

Annual Review

AQS Annual Review – the monitoring and evaluation and the continuous enhancement of all the University’s award-bearing provision is an essential activity to assure the quality of the student experience and to maintain standards. The annual review is also known as Course Improvement Plans (CIPs) and covers Course and Module Review (CMR) meetings.

Course Improvement Plans (CIPs)

Update May 2021: A new template for the Course Improvement Plans (CIPs) was circulated in the Colleges Thursday 6th May. Course Leaders – please do read the email from Roger Eccleston.

The CIP and course planning processes are central parts of the Department Quality Review process supporting a continuous improvement approach for our taught provision and informing wider Department, College and University plans.  While the Course leader has overall responsibility for its completion, the CIP is a team document – colleagues responsible for employability, learning and teaching, internationalisation, placements etc in each Department have a role in contributing to the review and action planning process for courses.

CIPs will continue to be sampled for review at College and University level, to identify key development themes and areas for support / intervention. The plans are an important aspect of supporting the ongoing development of learning and teaching and our provision.    

Course Evaluation Bursary Scheme: supporting Course Improvement Plans

The SETL/STEER led Evaluation Bursary Scheme began in September 2021, and nine applicants were granted up to £1,000 to focus on an action from their Course Improvement Plan. Each Project Lead and the student researchers working with them will receive a comprehensive package from SETL/STEER that includes training and development workshops, online resources, and tailored support with developing and evaluating these initiatives. For further details about the Course Evaluation Bursary Scheme, please contact either Dr Jill Dickinson (jill.dickinson@shu.ac.uk) or Tom Savage (t.savage@shu.ac.uk).

Course Improvement Plans – SMART development

If Departments wish to organise a development session for completing CIP’s  that explores SMART action planning, using data and the Hallam Model, please contact the Academic Development & Diversity Team. Take a look at a previous Course Improvement Plans workshop – Zoom recording (passcode &$R$H2SC).  Hosted by Emma Morris – Transformation Directorate and Dr Helen Kay and Dr Claire Walsh, Academic Development & Diversity Directorate – a recent workshop for our course leader community, covering:

The new CIP cycle  **  data sources  **  investigation  **  qualitative data  **  SMART objectives  **  

Course and Module Review (CMR) meetings

Preparation: early to mid January and should be held for every course. 

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Apprenticeship and Work-Based Learning

Planning and delivery our course and module principles 2021/22 – the assessing section covers:

  • designing flexible and authentic assessments
  • formative assessment
  • inclusive assessment
  • exams – see exams section below for more guidance and resources.

AQS Apprenticeship and Work-Based Learning – higher and degree apprenticeships offer apprentices the opportunity to access higher level qualifications while in employment. These qualifications can be between Level 4 and 7.

Academic Essentials: Apprenticeship, Employability and Work-Based Learning overview page for a range of guidance and resources from across a number of teams and services. 

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Assessment and Feedback

Teaching Delivery: assessing 2021-22 – guidance on:

  • designing flexible and authentic assessments
  • formative assessment
  • inclusive assessment
  • exams (see section below).

Currently, all assessment and feedback guidance is held on Assessment Essentials. We are currently undertaking a review of this resource with a view to providing guidance in an accessible format, bringing together all sources of inclusive assessment and feedback. If you’d like to be part of this development, please contact the Academic Development & Diversity team for more details. 

Attendance and Engagement

The University’s Attendance and Engagement Policy clearly sets out expectations in terms of attendance and engagement and identifies processes whereby students who are not engaging can be offered support in an efficient way across a range of roles and services. 

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Blackboard

For all Blackboard related guidance and ‘how to’ visit the Digital Capability, Skills and Support overview page – section ‘Blackboard’. 

Campus teaching

The Teaching Delivery website provides an overview on Campus Teaching covering guidance on:

To support you in preparing for on-campus delivery also see:

Collaborative

AQS Collaborative – the University collaborates with education providers and other organisations to provide a diversity of pathways and progression to higher education.

Take a look at Academic Essentials: Case Studies – for an overview of collaborative perspectives. 

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Course page – online prospectus

Course Principles

The Teaching Delivery resources set out the principles  |  pedagogic models  |  blended and flipped learning considerations.   

Coursework submission

Assessment Essentials website – for details of coursework submissions and associated resources.

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Curriculum Catalogue / View 

Curriculum Catalogue – is a workflow used to manage the creation and maintenance of all course and module records. These records are then stored in our student management system SITS. New courses are set up using a new course request in Curriculum Catalogue and if you need to make a course or module modification, this is done by submitting a change course or change module request through Curriculum Catalogue. Here you can access: 

  • Curriculum Catalogue to start a new request.
  • The required guidance documents.
  • Screencasts that can guide you through using the system.
  • How to access course and module descriptors that are now generated from the SITS. 

Curriculum View – is a view of course and module data that is set up and held in our student management system SITS. It allows you to view courses and the validated module diet for a course, modules and the courses a module is delivered on, you can search for all modules allocated to a module leader, or all courses allocated to a particular course leader, and many other curriculum searches.

The Academic Services SITS Help team provide support for student systems and processes – visit the SITS Status page and IT Help @ITHelpSHU twitter feed to keep staff users informed of progress during upgrades.  You can also find guidance on changes to the system on SITS annual upgrade changes log.   If you have any queries about the use of the Curriculum Catalogue please contact SITS Help in the first instance – SITS-Help@shu.ac.uk or telephone 0114 225 4475.

Actions: Course and Module Leaders

Have you checked to see if you have had your course(s) and module(s) allocated to you? All staff undertaking the Course and Module Leader role must be allocated to their course(s)/module(s) by the end of August each year.  To assist you with this self-service update, take a look at the following resources:

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Departmental Assessment Boards (DABs)

  • The full DABs schedules, dates and key resources including process guidance and reporting  can be found on the Academic Services DABs SharePoint site. 
  • The Assessment Essentials website provides guidance on DABs that link in with the whole assessment and feedback journey. 

Digital Capability, Skills and Support

Visit the Digital Capability, Skills and Support overview page for a wide range of resources to support digital technologies including an A-Z library of digital tools which includes resources such as:

Disabled Students

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Enrolment

Enrolment is the process during which new students become members of the university and returning students re-confirm their membership. 

Evaluation: adapting your delivery 

National Student Survey (NSS)

National Student Survey (NSS) is the national survey of undergraduate students. Conducted annually it is commissioned by the Office for Students (OfS) and independently run by Ipsos MORI. Universities, Colleges and alternative providers take part in the survey.  In July 2021, the National Student Survey (NSS) results were published. In response, the University has developed an NSS Action Plan. 

  • The NSS 2021 Marketing Tool is a useful ‘one stop shop’ resource containing all you need to brief your students on completing the NSS. 
  • Also check out the official NSS video, aimed at students.
  • For departmental / course data on NSS results, visit The Source section below. 

Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES)

Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) is a national online survey designed specifically for postgraduate research students. 

Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES)

Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) is a UK-wide survey open to all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) with postgraduate taught students and is made available by Advance HE.

UK Engagement Survey (UKES)

The UK Engagement Survey (UKES) is a national survey, designed and supported by Advance HE and based on the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). 

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Examinations

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Exemplars

Exemplars are examples of previous students’ work or examples developed by practitioners that when used in learning activities help students to grasp key concepts, skills, content and assessment standards and criteria. Unlike model answers which are examples of a ‘perfect’ answer, exemplars are examples of varying standards of academic work. 

We also have a collection of formative feedback examples on our Case Studies page.

External Examiners (EE)

AQS External Examiners (EE) – the University appoint EEs who have an essential role to play in the assurance of quality and standards within UK Higher Education.  Here you can find:

  • forms and templates
  • annual reports
  • EE reports and how to respond to them
  • EE course and module allocations
  • SHU staff EE roles 
  • guidance documents and public information

TEL Help – Blackboard: how to enrol your EE on your Blackboard sites.  For more guidance on using Blackboard visit Academic Essentials: digital capability, skills and support overview page.

Academic Services: How to find my module external examiner – screencast

Academic Essentials: Academic Induction, careers and work planning overview page – are you looking to become an EE yourself? For details of career enhancement and development. 

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Group Work

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Hallam Welcome

Course Leaders

New – Updates for Hallam Welcome – Jan 2022 –  this update contains all the information and resources for you as Course Leaders and academic leads to help you create your Course Welcome Experience and Course Induction Schedule. We recommend that you read each section in order to ensure you are up-to-date with any changes and improvements made to the welcome journey. Also includes a printable Course Leader ‘to do’ list which supports you in these tasks. 

In order to prepare and deliver student inductions and foster student engagement, visit the Hallam Welcome SharePoint site which provides resources, guidance and information such as:

Students

Inclusive Pedagogy and Practice / Accessibility 

You need to ensure your course and modules are inclusive and accessible to all. Visit:

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Learning Analytics

A student’s engagement with their teaching to support their learning is essential to ensure they are able to achieve and succeed. With this in mind the University has invested in Learning Analytics software Data Explorer, provided by Jisc.  This will allow colleagues to observe student engagement and allow them to target and improve student support with the aim of improving student success and increasing student retention. Visit the Learning Analytics SharePoint site for more guidance on: 

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Modifications

AQS Modifications – all modifications for module, course and large scale are managed through the relevant “modify a module/course” function in the Curriculum Catalogue. Also provides guidance on: 

Academic Essentials: timelines guidance  – for deadline dates for all course modifications for 2021/22. 

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Modules

Periodic Review

AQS Periodic Review – the periodic review or Departmental Periodic Review is one of the processes through which the University assures itself that the academic quality and standards of its award-bearing provision are maintained. 

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Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies (PSRB)

AQS Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies (PSRB) – the University has a professional/academic relationship with a large number of PSRBs who accredit or recognise a wide range of University award-bearing and non-award-bearing courses. 

Reading Lists Online

Supporting our Students overview page – for a wide range of Library Services guidance on how to:

  • create, update and manage your RLOs in collaboration with your subject librarian.
  • use the dedicated RLO’s such as ‘decolonising the curriculum’ and ‘disability’
  • use our new subscription to the new Journal of Contemporary AntiSemitism (JCA).
  • ensure your materials, in particular PDFs hosted on your Blackboard sites adhere to copyright. 

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The Source

Is the university’s reporting mechanism which provides data for both academic and professional services staff.

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Student Recruitment

Clearing is the process by which applicants who have changed their mind, not yet applied to University, or have not got the results they were hoping for, can apply to University courses that still have vacancies. Clearing opens on 1st July 2021.  Visit the Recruitment, Marketing and Communications staff SharePoint site for more details. 

Supporting our students

Take a look at how we support our students both pastorally and academically.

Teaching Delivery: Embedding Study Skills/Library Support

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Timetabling

The online timetable has been updated and there are some step by step guidance on navigating the new timetable view (word document). It defaults to the user’s personal timetable so staff and students won’t need to change anything. There’s also a help guide, linked at the top right of the web page which gives simple instructions on how to set up an integrated calendar feed and change notification if preferred. 

  • The Timetabling Team is responsible for the development and delivery of the University teaching timetable. During the academic year, student and staff timetables are available online and contain details of the module, teaching staff, location, and the weeks in which the activities take place.
  • Space Management support and advise on space management, utilisation and modelling to inform and support the delivery of academic portfolios to enhance the student and staff experience and estate development. 

Validations

AQS Validation – the process of validation covers all of the University’s award-bearing courses and are subject to initial validation by a University validation panel. 

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Professional Development Activities (CPD)

We have a number of professional development activities to support our new and existing academic colleagues:

  • Course Leadership
  • Module Leadership
  • External Examiners

Visit the Academic Development and Diversity Team website > academic practice, management and leadership.

Visit Academic Essentials: Academic Induction, careers and work planning webpage – for an overview of how we induct staff into our academic community, the roles within Colleges/Departments and how we support and enhance the development of our academics. 

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Personal and Professional Development Planning (PPDP)

Here are a set of resources to support the development of Personal and Professional Development Planning (PPDP).

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Last updated: 6th January 2022 NB