education-strategy-2018-22

1. Education Strategy 2018–22 anglia.ac.uk/alt

2. 2 Education Strategy 2018–22

3. Introduction ‘Our students are at the heart of our University: their educational experience engages, challenges and empowers them to reach their full potential.’ Designing our Future 2017–2026 sets out our vision, priorities and ambitions for the next ten years, noting that: We define our success by the positive impact we have on the lives of our students and the communities we serve. By weaving together our values, our approach to addressing the challenges and prioritising those areas where we can make the greatest impact, we will create a distinctive university that is entrepreneurial in nature, strongly focused on our students and fully inclusive of all who want to study, work or partner with us. Our Education Strategy seeks to exemplify and embed this vision of a transformative education. This strategy has been shaped by our distinctive traditions, as well as by the external national and global context. Universities are operating in a context of ongoing change: increased competition for students; a different regulatory framework in the form of the Office for Students; the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) and the introduction of the TEF at subject level; the introduction of the Apprenticeship levy; the availability of educational technology to enhance student learning; and the challenges of meeting both student and employer expectations in preparing students for living and working in the 21st century. These challenges create exciting new opportunities for our University in ensuring that the education we provide for our students enhances their intellectual development, ensures educational success and prepares them for rapidly changing work environments that demand the ability to adapt and a culture of life-long learning. Our Education Strategy encompasses the whole of the student educational experience, inside and outside of the classroom, in digital and face-to-face contexts, in work placements and when volunteering, before students arrive and after they have graduated. Our Education Strategy is supported by and complements other Strategies, including our Research & Innovation, Digital, Employability, Sports, and People Strategies. Professor Aletta J. Norval PFHEA Deputy Vice Chancellor (Education) 3 Education Strategy 2018–22

4. We pride ourselves on being imaginative in the advancement of the knowledge and education of our students. We are passionate about collaboration with our students and committed to enhancing the social, cultural and economic wellbeing of our students, staff and the communities in which we work and live. 1. Our values We are committed to ensure that our students are life-long members of our University community and that our education: Transforming lives through an active inclusive education in partnership with our students. Preparing our students for life and work in the 21st century. • Stimulates intellectual curiosity and embeds research and critical inquiry skills that will enable our students boldly to tackle challenges in our contemporary world. • Builds confident, critical users of information resources and digital technologies. • Develops the ability of our students to gain, sustain and progress in graduate employment and to be successful in their next, and, future roles. • Fosters enterprising, entrepreneurial and creative mindsets able to respond flexibly to complex problems and develop innovative solutions to influence the world. • Cultivates responsible, global citizens who are committed to work inclusively with people from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures. • Encourages ambitious citizens who are eager to maximise their full potential through contributing positively to society and the communities around them. • Develops graduates who are aware of their social and professional responsibility to contribute to the creation of sustainable futures for all. Our Education Strategy and every action associated with it, will be aligned with the principles of Equality and Diversity that underpin our work, and will work to ensure that every member of our University community – students and staff – is valued for their contributions and can achieve their full potential. 4 Education Strategy 2018–22

5. Building and nurturing Learning Communities Fostering active, engaged and entrepreneurial mindsets Making positive and ethical use of student data INCLUSIVE, ACTIVE LEARNING TRANSFORMING LIVES Creating a 21st century education portfolio in structure and content Establishing supportive reward and recognition schemes Establishing a collaborative, innovative educational ecosystem 5 Education Strategy 2018–22

6. Student engagement with their learning and the wider educational experience, and a strong sense of belonging, are key ingredients of student continuation and success. Designing our Future commits us to ‘work with students and the Students’ Union to create a learning community which encourages active student learning, engagement, and ultimately success.’ 2. Supporting student success through building and nurturing learning communities • We shall establish inclusive learning communities that value diversity and foster a sense of belonging, helping students to get and stay connected, and support them during their transition into University, and throughout and beyond their education at ARU. • We shall develop a compelling transition offer – a Strong Start programme – for prospective students to support transition into study at ARU. • Our Personal Development Tutor system will act as a focus for our learning communities. Students will have the opportunity to develop peer-to- peer and student-to-academic connections and relationships that will aim to build social capital. These communities will be appropriate to the mode and stage of study, regardless of background characteristics. Our learning communities will enable personal development tutors to work with students collaboratively for pastoral, academic and professional support and development. • The Student Engagement Dashboard will provide a framework for students for individual discussions with their Personal Development Tutors where they will have the opportunity to self-assess their own progress, success, and areas for further development. • Working in partnership with the Students’ Union, we’ll facilitate the creation of communities outside of the curriculum, in full recognition of the importance of the wider student experience in supporting retention and success, ensuring the availability of a rich variety of co- and extra- curricular opportunities that recognizes the diversity of our students. 6 Education Strategy 2018–22

7. • We’ll work to ensure that our students have and make full use of opportunities to engage in the wider communities, both locally and globally, of which the University forms a part. • We shall work collaboratively to create and sustain formal and informal opportunities and mechanisms of engagement both in and outside the curriculum to ensure that we understand the student voice, and work in partnership to enhance educational practice. We’ll enhance the mechanisms to support the development of student leadership in these communities, and to record the participation of students and the development of skills through such participation. • We’ll ensure that the development of our physical and digital campuses will contribute to and enhance the creation and maintenance of inclusive, innovative living and learning communities. 7 Education Strategy 2018–22

8. Our education provision will be shaped by our distinctive active learning approach, and the use of Ruskin modules to equip our students for the 21st century. Together they represent a radical restatement of the shape of a university education. 3. Supporting student success through fostering active, engaged and entrepreneurial mindsets • Through the Active Curriculum, we’ll develop a University-wide approach to a research-led education in which students are empowered and supported to contribute to the shaping of their educational experience, in and outwith the curriculum. We’ll systematically embed across our provision the graduate capitals and key academic, digital and information literacies identified in the Active Curriculum, as well as research mindsets and independent learning skills. • We’ll design Ruskin modules (breadth units) that creatively develop the capacity for critical reflection and reasoned argument, integrating the acquisition of graduate capitals with wider societal concerns and challenges, bringing together students from different disciplines around key challenges. Ruskin modules will form a core, credit-bearing part of the curriculum. • We shall develop opportunities for our students to learn in a variety of contexts and settings, inside and outside the classroom, including work placements and internships; opportunities to study or work abroad; volunteering; and challenging and inspiring opportunities for co- and extra-curricular entrepreneurial activities, all of which will enable our students and graduates to contribute to the communities in which they live, study and work. 8 Education Strategy 2018–22

9. section xx 9 9 Education Strategy 2018–22 Education Strategy 2018–22

10. section xx Designing our Future 2017-2026 commits us to ‘systematically integrate the best of face- to-face and digital learning and teaching into all of our courses, providing an inclusive, stimulating and innovative curriculum which supports our diverse student population.’ 4. Supporting student success through establishing a collaborative, innovative educational ecosystem that is fit for the 21st century in content and structure • We’ll ensure that we are at the forefront of developing an education offer that provides a variety of pathways into ARU degrees. To this end, we’ll engage in a strategic portfolio review, and enhance the processes through which we develop and approve our curriculum to ensure that we offer a cutting-edge, relevant academic portfolio. • We are committed to ensuring that our academic infrastructure supports and enhances the education objectives and strategic priorities embedded in this strategy. We’ll review and agree the principles of curriculum design and assessment to support its delivery, with a particular focus on the transition of our students into Higher Education. We’ll introduce a revised Academic Calendar and timetable that supports our educational objectives. • Using state-of-the-art education technology, we’ll develop flexible ways of delivering our education, incorporating a range of methods of access and delivery, including blended and distance learning, core and franchised delivery, while ensuring that all our students can make full use of the education on offer at ARU. 10 Education Strategy 2018–22

11. section xx • We’ll continue to expand our Degree Apprenticeship offer, delivering an excellent educational experience commensurate with the degree structure. • We’ll enhance the delivery and uptake of our CPD and Masters degrees by incorporating a range of methods of access and delivery, including blended and distance learning. • We’ll review and expand our Masters portfolio to support pathways for progress from the undergraduate to the postgraduate taught curriculum, with placement opportunities and work- based learning built into the curriculum, offering a range of methods of delivery from face to face to blended and distance learning. • To deliver this vision, we’ll establish a sector- leading digital environment that is integrated with face-to-face teaching, systematically fosters the development of digital skills, ensures equal access to learning resources for all our students, and produces graduates who have confidence in their ability to use such skills for life-long learning and the development of their careers. • This vision will be supported by the development of an academic infrastructure, including the possibility of accumulation of micro-credentials, that allows students to build up credit systematically towards a formal for-credit qualification where appropriate. 11 Education Strategy 2018–22

12. Designing our Future 2017–2026 commits us to ‘combine data and our knowledge of individual students to personalise the student learning experience and support them to reach their full potential.’ 5. Supporting student success through the positive and ethical uses of data • Recognising the role that learner analytics play in creating personalised educational experiences and pathways to success, we’ll work in partnership with our students to harness the insights from student data for student engagement, continuation and success. We’ll work with students throughout their lifecycle, starting before they arrive and continuing engagement after they have left. • In our use of data, we’ll adopt a growth mindset approach, recognising the importance of both student self-perceptions and the view of staff in providing a positive, inclusive and enabling educational environment. We shall adopt a one university approach: while we understand that specific groups of students may need specialist support, we’ll be inclusive in our approach, seeking to benefit all our students in our interactions and uses of data. • While using data to inform our approach, we’ll ensure that the interrogation of data should not divert us from giving attention to the individual student experience, and the institutional structures and educational practices at play. A willingness to test new ideas for action should be central, and the ability to understand and assess the impact of educational practice for student success will be central to our work. 12 Education Strategy 2018–22

13. Designing our Future 2017–2026 starts from the premise that our staff underpin the success of ARU. It commits us to ‘focus on attracting, keeping and growing the very best people we can’, recognising and valuing ‘the differing but equally important contributions that all groups of staff make to our university.’ 6. Supporting staff to deliver our Education Strategy • We are committed to parity of esteem for education and research, and to ensuring that the appropriate recognition and reward systems are in place to support our staff in the delivery of our Education Strategy. • To this end, we’ll continue to support staff CPD, including obtaining further educational qualifications; recognise the importance of the development of pedagogic research in the enhancement of our education practice and where appropriate, the contribution of this research to the Research Excellence Framework (REF). • We’ll review promotion and career paths to ensure they are aligned to the delivery of our Education Strategy, as well as to our commitments as set out in our Athena Swan action plan. We’ll uphold the principles of the Race Equality Charter. 13 Education Strategy 2018–22

14. Cambridge Campus East Road Cambridge CB1 1PT Chelmsford Campus Bishop Hall Lane Chelmsford CM1 1SQ Peterborough Campus Guild House Oundle Road Peterborough PE2 9PW For more information visit: anglia.ac.uk/alt @angliaruskin facebook.com/angliaruskin 18-19--92MB Design & Delivery