The HEAR – more than just a transcript?

1. The HEAR – more than just a transcript? Dr Mark Atlay Director of Teaching and Learning University of Bedfordshire Mark.atlay@beds.ac.uk

2. HEAR voices • What is it? • What is its purpose? and who defines this? • What goes in? and who defines this? • How is it used and who defines this?

3. Guidance … The HEAR is designed as a record of student achievement which also meets the purposes of the Diploma Supplement. It will serve two functions through the consistent use of a single consistent process: • as a formal, exit document, made available at the point of graduation from undergraduate study, at whatever level that may be. • as a formative document which may be available and used from the point of a student’s entry to HE onwards throughout their HE experience

4. Eight sections Section 1:Information identifying the holder of the qualification Basic student details, e.g. name and student ID Section 2: Information identifying the qualification Qualification title and subject, awarding institution(s) Section 3: Information on the level of the qualification Level of study, duration, entry requirements Section 4: Information on the contents and results gained Programme description/requirements, academic transcript Section 5:Information on the function of the qualification Access to further study, professional status Section 6: Additional information Verifiable extra-curricular awards, activities and achievements, e.g. prizes Section 7: Certification of the HEAR Date of issue, signature of Registrar, University 'stamp' Section 8: Information on the national higher education system Description of higher education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, diagram of higher education levels

7. Key facts … • Arose from the recommendations of the Burgess Group into the degree classification • Undergraduate only (currently) • Accesible electronically (controlled by student) • No more than six pages • Verified • 90 institutions are working on HEARs • 20 planning to produce HEARs this year

8. What’s the purpose of the HEAR? (Hearing Aid)

9. Q. Who is the HEAR for? Students Institutions Employers

10. Institutional external perspective (Hear say) External drivers: • £9000 fees • Competitive market • Students as customers Leads to a focus on: • ‘Employability’ – to pay off loans • Differentiation in the market - to recruit and can we afford to be an institution with no HEARing? • Quality of the learning experience • Clearly evidencing all we provide

11. At Ulster we value: • raising aspirations and making our programmes accessible to those who have the capacity to benefit; • being accountable for what we say and do; • confidence and taking pridein our achievements; • creativityand adaptabilityin anticipating and responding to opportunities, challenges and change; • equality, diversity and inclusiveness; • students, staff and the people we work with as individualswith their own needs; • quality in learning and personal development for our students and staff; • respectfor ourselves and others; and • openness and honesty in our dealings with others.

12. Institutional internal perspective (Hear Here) Students: • Are strategic and task focussed – don’t see the bigger picture • Don’t make connections between • this year and last year • this module and that module • this task and that task • Don’t recognise how far they have travelled • Won’t do anything that’s not assessed (We have trained students to be like this – we want better learning.)

13. What do we want to our students to achieve (and why)? Ulster Graduate Qualities: • subject-specific knowledge and skills informed by current research and professional/vocational practice • flexibility, creativity and an entrepreneurial approach to problem solving • self-confidence, global citizenship, ethical leadership, and a commitment to life-wide learning, professionalism and employability • effective collaborative working, communication skills and the capacity for reflective practice, including the ability to give and receive feedback

14. Careers perspective (HEAR today - gone tomorrow) Students: • Don’t recognise, remember and can’t articulate the richness of their educational experience • Don’t recognise what employers are looking for

15. Employers (Hear after) • Want something to help rapidly sift 200 applicants • Won’t read and if they do will still look at: • University • Course • Classification • Still expect a CV and covering letter • Verification? • May increasingly select rather than recruit • Portfolios and on-line recruitment (no adverts)

16. Institutional Guidance … the HEAR: • is intended to capture more fully the totality of the student’s performance and to enable students to represent a wider range of their achievements to employers and postgraduate tutors, thereby enhancing their employability; • (operates) as an aide memoire for students in making applications which may be needed before the final award is made

17. Employment What are the key factors that affect graduates gaining employment?

18. Possibly… Enterprise skills Course Institution Degree classification Interview skills Inter-personal skills Work experience ‘Attitude’ Communication skills

19. So what should go on the HEAR? (HEAR be dragons)

20. Eight sections Section 1:Information identifying the holder of the qualification Basic student details, e.g. name and student ID Section 2: Information identifying the qualification Qualification title and subject, awarding institution(s) Section 3: Information on the level of the qualification Level of study, duration, entry requirements Section 4: Information on the contents and results gained Programme description/requirements, academic transcript Section 5:Information on the function of the qualification Access to further study, professional status Section 6: Additional information Verifiable extra-curricular awards, activities and achievements, e.g. prizes Section 7: Certification of the HEAR Date of issue, signature of Registrar, University 'stamp' Section 8: Information on the national higher education system Description of higher education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, diagram of higher education levels

21. UoB: Section 6 • How do we capture the life-wide nature of higher education? • Prizes • Student volunteering • Student representation • Contribution to sport and societies • Additional English and Communication skills courses • EDGE and EDGE+ awards • Focus on learning • Integrated into the curriculum and/or stand alone

22. Issues • Equality vs differentiation • Active promotion • University systems and procedures

23. Eight sections Section 1:Information identifying the holder of the qualification Basic student details, e.g. name and student ID Section 2: Information identifying the qualification Qualification title and subject, awarding institution(s) Section 3: Information on the level of the qualification Level of study, duration, entry requirements Section 4: Information on the contents and results gained Programme description/requirements, academic transcript Section 5:Information on the function of the qualification Access to further study, professional status Section 6: Additional information Verifiable extra-curricular awards, activities and achievements, e.g. prizes Section 7: Certification of the HEAR Date of issue, signature of Registrar, University 'stamp' Section 8: Information on the national higher education system Description of higher education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, diagram of higher education levels

24. Section 4 • How do we describe succinctly the outcomes of HE? • What do we want to ‘portray’ in section 4 • Who is this for? • Not an academic audience • Meaningful

25. Learning outcomes? By the end of the programme students should be able: K1 To discuss ways in which sociology can be distinguished from other forms of understanding. K2 To recognise and discuss some central concepts and issues in a related social science discipline. K3 To describe and examine a range of key concepts. theoretical approaches and debates within sociology. K4 To identify and examine a range of research strategies and methods and assess the appropriateness of their use. K5 To recognise the importance of comparative analysis. K6 To able to identify and discuss different forms of explanation used in sociology. K7 To recognise and evaluate the relationships between sociological arguments and evidence in a range of contexts. K8 To recognise and examine the processes that underpin social change and social stability. K9 To describe and examine the social feature of modern/post modern societies. K10 To recognise and analyse social diversity and inequality and their effects. K11 To apply sociology to a of specialised area. K12 To examine the relationships between local, national and global social structures and processes.

26. Or? Students successfully completing this programme should have: A1 An in-depth knowledge and understanding of the theoretical disciplines underpinning human structure and function in the sport and exercise sciences. A2 An in-depth knowledge and understanding of the theories, concepts and principles of practice in the performance of sport and its enhancement. A3 A sound knowledge and understanding of the theories, concepts and principles of practice in the management and delivery of sporting opportunities. A4 A basic knowledge and understanding of the historical and social aspects of sport, exercise and leisure.

27. UoB Answer … A Graduate Impact Statement is defined as: • A statement of the impact expected of a typical graduate from deploying the knowledge, skills and attributes deliberately developed as the result of completing the designated course of study.

28. Four areas • Subject knowledge and understanding – the deployment of the subject content within contemporary practice, how the typical graduate can use their knowledge and understanding in employment and further study. • Academic and technical skills – the ability to apply the skills such as analysis, synthesis, evaluation, critical thinking, problem solving, ability to convey complex ideas in oral and verbal formats, digital literacy etc. in the context of the subject. • Professional Practice – the ability in areas such as team working, leadership, flexibility, interpersonal skills, cultural awareness, ability to adapt to differing operational contexts, sustainability, global awareness, ethics and professional values. • Enterprise – the ability to demonstrate initiative and resourcefulness, to develop and implement ideas and practices which make a difference both to themselves and to any organisation in which they are involved. Aspects that might be covered include self-regulation, self-awareness, initiative, goal-setting, acting independently within guidelines, commitment and motivation.

29. Developed and endorsed by … • Course teams • Students • Employers Working together

30. Academic Record • Module names • Indicate focus • Assessment methods • Convey the richness of the assessments we provide • How do you record failure?

31. Using the HEAR • Currently – dealing with the technicalities • Implementation alongside KIS teaching and learning • Scheduled • Guided • Independent • Autonomous • And assessment methods

32. How do we stop this

33. Becoming …

34. Integrating into the curriculum • Prospective students can see: • How the teaching (and learning) develops • The projected outcomes for them - GIS • Students experience: • GIS integrated into their course and ‘flagged’ • Revised Personal (Academic) Tutor role which supports • Support for a life-wide approach • Optional enrichment – differentiates • PDP embedded • Supported to recognise what they have achieved • Where they want to go (and what in their HEAR they want to foreground) • ‘Ipsative’ assessment • Alumni: • Validate

35. How will you use it? HEAR endeth the lesson

36. THE AIMS OF HIGHER EDUCATION To begin with aims and objectives - what purposes, what general social ends should be served by higher education? The question is not a new one; and the answers have been many and various. But of one thing we may be reasonably certain: no simple formula, no answer in terms of any single end, will suffice. There is no single aim which, if pursued to the exclusion of all others, would not leave out essential elements. Eclecticism in this sphere is not something to be despised: it is imposed by the circumstances of the case. To do justice to the complexity of things, it is necessary to acknowledge a plurality of aims.

37. Robbins report (1963) • instruction in skills suitable to play a part in the general division of labour • to promote the general powers of the mind • the advancement of learning • the transmission of a common culture and common standards of citizenship