Citizenship and Service in the University

1. Citizenship and Service in the University Apparently uninspiring subject? Yet commitment to ‘good citizenship’, however difficult to assess, is a crucial criterion when confirming academic appointments & promotions…

2. Good Citizenship LLAS Service and the role of administration in the academic career • 1. Within the university, in support of teaching and research (main focus of today’s talk) • 2. In the interests of the discipline externally, and specifically in subject associations • 3. Finally, and increasingly importantly, more generally in community engagement.

3. Good Citizenship LLAS ‘Community Engagement’? In place of the traditional concept of the ‘ivory tower’, academics today are challenged by an ever broader remit for good citizenship. We are all expected to take knowledge and skills beyond academe and ‘make a difference’ ‘… I believe that it is possible to combine the fundamental truths of education and research with the knowledge and skills required to help the professions, businesses and public services innovate and prosper, and to ensure that the research undertaken in universities continues to have relevance and impact’. Sir Alan Langlands, Chief Executive of HEFCE, 1 April 2009 & See Mandelson/ BIS, ‘Higher Ambitions, The future of universities in a knowledge economy’, Nov 2009

4. Good Citizenship LLAS Why me on this topic? Pam Moores • Executive Dean, School of Languages and Social Sciences, Aston University - major management, leadership and HR role in own School and University • Chair of University Council of Modern Languages Leading subject association, acting as umbrella for LLAS subjects, liaising with government departments and taking forward interests of disciplines in relation to SIVs, ELQ, RAE/REF etc • Director of Routes into LanguagesandLinks into Languages West Midlands

5. Good Citizenship LLAS • Multiple pathways in academia; any career is a result of personal aptitudes and accumulated choices; not a goal or model. Interpersonal and organizational skills strong, and citizenship therefore a central theme. • However, all academics, to work successfully and effectively, depend on support of a strong academic community - whether in research teams, departmental groups, or subject associations. • We juggle and balance multiple tasks, and can only do so if everyone recognizes the responsibility of good citizenship, and what it means at their particular level.

6. Good Citizenship LLAS ‘Good Citizenship’ within the University and conflicting motivations What brought us to academia? • High performance academically • Opportunity to achieve and excel • Original thinker and writer • Full of bright ideas and committed to research • Inspiring teacher driven by desire to share the intellectual enjoyment derived from study and scholarship To achieve a PhD in the arts and humanities, and to pursue research successfully thereafter, we have to be single-minded, and this does not necessarily develop a sense of the importance of good citizenship.

7. Good Citizenship LLAS The Stereotypical Academic? Ivory Tower - elitist; ‘special’ vision and inspiration Eccentric and creative individual, privileged, apart Engaged in ‘cutting edge’ research Endowed with exceptional insight Academic freedom – dissidence is our prerogative Expected to challenge the status quo Test new theories Push the frontiers of knowledge In short, a driven individual.

8. Good Citizenship LLAS Mythical Stereotype? Contrast the requirements of the daily reality: Collaboration and positive team-working Pastoral responsibility and commitment to others (students and colleagues) Rigorous discipline, prioritization and time-management Accountability - good organization, documentation and record-keeping Versatility - yes, original thinker, but also sympathetic counsellor, with IT, communication and media skills, an actor and performer…

9. Good Citizenship LLAS Academics often complain about the ‘burden of administration’, and certainly our role is distinct from that of professional administrators HEIs as complex business organizations require professional finance, HR, marketing, IT etc; so too for academic matters: Registry, Examinations, Faculty and Programme management, Research Office, Business Partnerships… Administrators also complain: Last year in THE (9 April 09) John Gill presented research revealing the unhappiness of university administrators who feel undervalued and report negative perceptions of their role…

10. Good Citizenship LLAS • ‘mechanics employed to tune up cars that academics drive round in circles’ • being negatively defined as what you are not, non-academics, ‘interlopers’, a ‘waste of resources’ • We regularly encounter pejorative references to managers, accountants and bureaucrats, and ‘the tail wagging the dog’ John Gill: ‘Amid talk of an iron curtain or apartheid separating them, administrators and academics struggle to find common cause.’ Clearly we are interdependent and produce the best outcome through good understanding of our respective roles, mutual respect and positive collaboration.

11. Good Citizenship LLAS Academic input crucial to the academic enterprise and every function, but reliant on strong professional support Recruitment: Open Days, Admissions and Careers Fairs, Schools and Colleges Liaison, interviews, admissions, induction, preparing material for Web, prospectus etc Placements: Exchange agreements, visits, supervision, assessment Quality Assurance and Enhancement: programme development on basis of annual monitoring, feedback, questionnaires, SSCC, formal subject review, updating regulations, audit etc Assessment: Setting examinations, assessed work, tests, orals; marking and moderation; leadership of Examination Boards; Degree Days etc.

12. Good Citizenship LLAS Democratic representation and participation Who is better placed to lead academic strategy, policy and decision-making than the academic? All must engage in planning and implementation for own subject group/department. Do we do our fair share of committee work? School, Faculty Board, Senate? Learning and Teaching Committee; Research Committee Academic Resources: Library, ICT… Recent recruits ideally placed to inject energy, new ideas and fresh critical perspectives in a rapidly changing educational environment. HEIs depend on you for renewal…

13. Good Citizenship LLAS (Hidden?) Benefits for your career • Personal fulfillment and career development opportunities • Wider recognition which opens doors e.g. interdisciplinary collaboration (RCUK mantra) • Utilizing transferable skills e.g. compare running a seminar/workshop and chairing a committee or producing a literature review, research report or policy document RESULT: greater self-confidence, wider career prospects, promotion opportunities…

14. Good Citizenship LLAS 2.Participation in Subject Associations Associations vary in scope and nature from small informal groups in specialist fields to broad, national organizations like UCML. AIMS: Dissemination of research and good practice through • Conferences, events, workshop organization • Journals and newsletters OPPORTUNITIES: Limited resources from subscriptions, so members should consider a contribution in kind (voluntary/unpaid, except probably for travel expenses) in various roles: editorial capacity, membership secretary, treasurer, event organizer, publicity officer, subject representative on executive… Possibly easier when you have not yet accumulated multiple roles in your own HEI… CAMPAIGN in your HEI for institutional membership where applicable…

15. Good Citizenship LLAS Promotion of discipline Modern Languages are classed, like STEM subjects, as SIVs - ‘strategically important and vulnerable subjects’, worthy of monitoring and protection. Ministers and government departments, DIUS, DCSF, HEFCE, Vice-Chancellors - UUK, RCUK et al .. make important policy decisions which affect us all, our students, our disciplines… Who can they dialogue with for expert opinion (as opposed to the view of competing and self-promoting HEIs) ? Who is best placed to address technical policy issues and their implications (e.g. National Language Strategy, fee banding, JACS codes, ELQ)? Subject Centres like LLAS, yes… but, as part of the HEA, they are directly funded by the ‘establishment’ and cannot lobby. (Also under review…) ANSWER: Subject Associations Your forum and lobbying power

16. Good Citizenship LLAS 3. Community Engagement Application of knowledge and expertise beyond academe - demonstrating our value In the case of ML and linguistics, this engagement is vital to ensure the future of our disciplines, the recruitment of well qualified undergraduates (despite declining uptake of language learning in schools), also to boost recruitment of British-educated postgraduates, and secure the longevity and renewal of the profession. Routes into Languages - HEFCE / DCSF funded national programme across England - working with schools, colleges, parents and employers, promoting and supporting language study in order to enhance uptake and widen participation.

17. Good Citizenship LLAS Links into Languages A consortium of LLAS, SSAT, ALL, establishing a Regional Language Centre in a university in each of the nine regions, to serve the primary, secondary and FE sectors, by providing access to training, resources and professional development opportunities for language teachers, advisors etc. Knowledge Transfer Partnerships Collaboration between HEIs and external partners to apply graduates’ knowledge, research and skills in the interests of business and the community (interpreting, translation, forensic linguistics etc).

18. Good Citizenship LLAS The message from Government and Research Councils UK, regrettable or not, and challenging as this is, reads: Impact, impact, impact Let’s demonstrate good citizenship and justify the ‘privilege’.