Summary of the Recommendations for Student Satisfaction in the Faculty of the Professions

Fiona Kerr (report) April, 2012

Immediate
Recommendation Program information for prospective students Ensure prospective students can search and find adequate information to consider potential study pathways in the Faculty. This includes increased course content and detail. Show past timetables if there is no current information available so students can gauge commitment levels around study and can make informed decisions Increase the amount of information in the initial course outline so that there is clear differentiation between subjects, and include any required texts. Look at the practical implementation of making past versions of the course profiles available to the public to enable them to see course outlines and time commitment information for decision making and planning purposes At open days, have individual lecturers give short presentations on their subjects, which engages the potential students directly and is an attractor for prospective students. Make it voluntary, but encourage individual lecturers to put cameo lectures on the website for general viewing Course information for current students Add two columns to the tutorial list on access Adelaide one with the time of the tutorial and the other for the tutors name Responsibility & Action R: Faculty Marketing: Charles Jackson A: Degree Finder R: Student Hub: Caroline Stonell & School Managers in Law and Architecture A: Upload sample timetables onto degree finder or Hub page but maximise search tags R: Schools: School Managers New course profile template currently being A: developed Status

R: Faculty Marketing: Charles Jackson A: Heads of Schools to appreciate the value and encourage/require academic staff to participate R: Marketing Team A: Schools R: Student Systems Support Team: Steph Brocklehurst A: Caroline to pass on feedback to student services groups

Improve the coordination across schools of information on course and subject timetabling so that each can be visible to the student, and also to the lecturers within schools when they are setting their assessment timetables Build up a data bank of example degree plans and career roles which can be viewed

R: School Managers A: School Managers and Student Hub staff to meet regularly during timetable planning

R: Career Development Manager: Jen Clark A: Liaison with Program Advisors, Employer contacts and Marketing Team Have course readers which are comprehensive as R: Schools students are happy to pay for articles, etc in order to have the information in one place and gauge what the lecturer thinks is important source material Services and Support Cost the capability to carry over printing quota, and R: Student Services Coordination Group to load this onto the student card A: Caroline to feed into Student Services Group Investigate an increase in the after-hours facilities for R: Faculty Facilities Team: Kerry Braini the students and teaching staff who work in the A: Liaise with Student Hub on possibilities and gain evenings and weekends, and the ability for specific student feedback to action postgraduate students to gain access to the (less A: Caroline to employ a student casual HEO1 to maintain used) undergraduate area on weekends facilities Advertise services such as the peer mentor and R: Student Hub Manager study coach systems as most students are unaware A: Sasha Communications in the Hub and incorporate of them and consider them valuable. into the enrolment sessions A: Consider options for Law and Architecture Look at the capability for Education students to avail R: Associate Dean (Learning and Teaching): Tania themselves of study coaches as they currently feel Aspland they do not have this support Coordinate and advertise careers advice services R: Career Development Manager: Jen Clark Annual planner developed and promoted to such as career hub and activities such as the Elder A: Ascertain how to assist Education, Architecture and Law PG Business & Economics Hall careers event days Review rules and timings for faculty services such as R: Student Hub Manager: Caroline Stonell enrolment, overseas study and course timetabling A: Clarify the issues here information to enable coordination of currently A: Map out an annual communication strategy conflicting requirements Look at setting up school libraries to emulate the R: Facilities Management Team: Kerry Braini very popular law library, complete with spare A: Kerry to consider it in the capital management plan 2

readers, electives readers and books Ensure the availability of lockers in the Faculty building as part of belonging to the faculty Administration Examine the contract process for lecturers and tutors to facilitate contracts being supplied and administered before the person begins their role Ensure that the current use of SELTS is consistent across schools in terms of adequate enquiry, and investigate the suggestions put forward by the focus group attendees in regard to frequency and electronic delivery of the process

R: Student Hub Manager: Caroline to resolve

R: Finance and HR Manager: Kerry Braini A: Kerry to liaise with School Managers and improve the process R: Associate Dean (Learning and Teaching): Tania Aspland A: Ascertain what is happening in Schools and encourage a system overhaul to have SELTS managed online and attached to future enrolment. This system must be automated to be effective. Change the cart on the timetabling website to R: Student System Support team another name such as potential subjects A: Caroline to advocate for this change in the Student Support Coordination Group Teaching Staff Set up an induction process for contract lecturers R: School Managers BEFORE they teach. This should include the use of A: Overlay the Cycles of Service Framework to the available technology available such as MyUni, induction of tutors and contract lecturers lecture recording, examples of course outlines, S: Cycles of Services being applied to tutorial staff in assessment content and methods, the level of September. A similar approach can be applied to contract flexibility in delivering content, minimum service lecturers. requirements. It should also be used as a way to create and align a shared view of teaching quality and the role of a university and its academic staff Similarly, ensure that the tutor induction covers the R: Associate Dean (Learning and Teaching): Tania role of tutorials, marking, use of technology, the use Aspland of MyUni and access Adelaide, how to engage A: Tania to implement a compulsory tutorial induction students of different backgrounds and skill levels, process for 2013 recruitment allocation of group work, etc Academic programs Reassess the Masters by Coursework in terms of better differentiating the content and outcome capability levels which this postgraduate offering

Meeting with Tutors on 13th August with Denise Meeting with School staff in September to map out the Cycles of Service

S: Draft program mapped to be approved.

Currently being undertaken Mark and Charles managing the mapping. Report back to EDAG in August 3

should supply Review the use of two hour lectures with a view to changing to one hour which discusses the application of the theory to practice Investigate the changes required in faster introduction of new material into the curriculum Establish base requirements for lecturing staff to create a level of consistency across the learning experience: eg. Lecture recording; guest lecturers; course information, textbook requirements Address the problem of tutorial size, which minimizes or blocks the capability for one-on-one discussion and questions in those schools which have large numbers such as Law and Finance. This is a critical factor in translating information into knowledge and adding value to the learning experience, and we currently lack sufficient quality of service in this area Review the suitability of lecturing and tutoring locations to assess whether they are fit for purpose, especially the Masonic building and some of the tutorial rooms across in other University buildings. This includes the ability to record lectures in the venues used. Look at the use of rubrics to assess their value and drawbacks, and what is possible in the way of minimizing the drawbacks or finding alternative standardization methods. MBA Recommendations Provide a 3 year timetable and indicate how often core courses will be offered and lock in electives well in advance Offer a variety of scheduling eg. Week by week, intensives etc to suit the course content Establish a networking system for MBA students to interact more readily with other students. Investigate

R: Head of School A: Informed by Faculty Learning Committee recommendation? R: Heads of School A: Associate Dean (L&T) to establish the base guidelines A: Undertake comparative analysis of basic requirements in USyd, UMelb, QUT, UQ and UWA R: Heads of School A: Review the student feedback and build it into the 2013 planning

R: Student Hub Manager refer to Student Services Group & Timetable Coordination Group

R: Learning Committee

R: MBA Program Director: Damian Scanlon A: Work with Luke Hutchinson to establish a 3 year plan R: MBA Program Director R: Catherine Cherry A: Identify technical possibilities 4

the design of an MBA data base which allows them to interrogate information by a number of categories which will assist their study, networking and career and improve access to MBA alumni Aim to include at least one senior industry guest lecturer in each MBA subject. IT and Website Enable on-line timetable scheduling and submission as the next step (as in UQ). This requires a coordinated scheduling capability across all schools in the faculty Expand the use of phone apps such as Lost on campus or Panda, which include the whereabouts of rooms, color photocopiers, cafes, toilets, etc Investigate a Faculty Gumtree site where students can put their books online to sell or swap, and other things as well. The current version is My Community, which is hard to find and to navigate (most students were not aware of its existence). Have a tag to this on the website, and a link through to (this also stops all school emails being used to sell books). Investigate the capability to multitask the student card to include copying quota, vending machines, even ATMs

R: MBA Lecturers A: Encourage and implement networking tools within each course R: MBA Program Director R: Student Services Working Party A: R: Kim Burdett A: Liaise with Mal Chia as a Student Ambassador program R: Catherine Cherry A: Work with Sasha and the Unified team Leah has provided information to IT for improvement

Kendra and the TSEC is working on this currently

Longer term
Look at ways of increasing the relationships and potential partnerships with leading companies and industry practitioners, especially in relation to the Business School and the MBA offerings. This includes attracting academic staff with strong professional backgrounds and experience. This is as important as gaining research partnerships to the Faculty of the Professions At Faculty level explore the practical requirement and cultural implications of using contract lecturers and tutors. They are required in order to meet teaching requirements, and so their use and ability to add value should be maximized, instead of minimized as it is at present. This involves not only altering contractual remuneration methods, but the informal decision making and occasional overt actions or attitudes that reinforce the image of contract lecturers not being of significant value to the faculty. 5

At both faculty and university level, there needs to be open and honest dialogue on whether a major driver of the institution is to ensure that the level of content and standard of quality is aimed at raising the bar for post-graduate and senior level undergraduate courses. The decision will play a major part in shaping the direction in which the Faculty of the Professions goes, what they offer and which market(s) they aim to serve. There are a number of ways to shape the offering of learning to student groups with different levels of language fluency and capacities to have input into activities and group tasks. The Faculty can proceed on its own to design the most appropriate delivery methods for all stakeholders including local and international students, tutors, lecturers and support staff. Work with IT and web staff to design an online capability to use click-on icons against textbooks and room locations in documents such as course planners. These will take the student to a map for the rooms, and to the sites for new and second hand books for the textbooks. This was seen to be of great advantage, especially in the first and second years of study when there is little practical knowledge.