A Quick Guide to Resources - Enhancement Themes

Page 1

A Quick Guide to ResourcesEnhancing Programme LeadershipMartha Caddell, Sam Ellis, Christine Haddow & Kimberly Wilder-Davis

OverviewThe Enhancing Programme Leadership Collaborative Cluster brought together colleagues from across the Scottish sector and beyond to discuss evidence for enhancement from the vantage point of programme leadership. This Cluster was not only for programme leaders, but also encompassed senior leaders, educational developers, planners, those who work with learning analytics, and those in other relevant roles.

Working together and sharing expertise across the sector enabled us to better understand the diversity of approaches taken to programme leadership across our institutions, to share experience and practical resources, and to identify areas for further learning and development. Two central questions framed our work:

• What data and evidence do programme leaders routinely navigate, analyse and act on?

• How can programme leaders be better supported to use evidence and create meaningful cultures of enhancement to directly benefit the student experience?

The purpose of this guide is to showcase and share the think pieces written by Cluster participants, and to highlight resources that may be of use to programme leaders and those who support them.

The Cluster covered four key areas:

• Understanding Programme Leadership• Exploring the evidence landscape; • Creating cultures of enhancement; • Enhancing support for programme leaders.

The related think pieces and resources explored here were shared through the Cluster and written by programme leaders, academic developers, and others who are invested in supporting the programme leader role.

The Emerging Scholarship of Programme Leadership The first area of discussion for the Cluster was provoked by a think piece, Programme Leadership: A Review of Evidence and an Agenda for Action, written by Sam Ellis (Glasgow Caledonian University). He describes the emerging body of research around programme leadership:

The UK-wide Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA) assembled with some urgency a volume as part of its Specials series (Lawrence and Ellis, 2018). This in-depth exploration of the programme leader role confirmed earlier

Page 2

A Quick Guide to Resources

observations regarding its ‘fuzzy’ nature (Mitchell, 2015), the significant variations in the role both between and even within institutions, and that day-to-day leadership activities remain ‘largely in the shadows’ (Murphy and Curtis, 2013). This is perhaps surprising, given the linchpin status that programme leaders occupy: they largely determine the coherence of the student experience, and are often tasked with translating university policies into practice (Milburn, 2010). (p.3)

Issues in the literature around the role of the programme leader include leading without authority, role confusion, working with programme-level data, and a lack of role-specific opportunities for professional development. The identification of these issues helped to frame Cluster conversations throughout the roundtables and provided insight into what types of resources might be valuable for Cluster participants.

Defining Programme LeadershipIn framing Cluster conversations, the vexed question of definition inevitably arose. There are a plethora of terms being used in institutions for staff who hold this multi-module, oversight role. Across the higher education sector in Scotland a reinvigoration of programme-oriented approaches to pedagogy has led to a refocusing of attention on programme teams and programme leadership. Several different terms are used by Scottish HEIs to distinguish the programme leader role. These include programme convenor, programme director, course leader and course director. As a Cluster we settled on the shared term of Programme Leader as the common language, whilst recognising the need for some translation to institutional contexts.

Planning and Support for the Role of Programme LeaderIn our early Collaborative Cluster discussions it became evident that the role of the programme leader can often be ill-defined, a catch-all position encompassing a broad and wide-ranging set of activities. This is made particularly challenging due to the lack of support and training offered to those taking on such roles. Narratives of taking on the PL mantel tended to centre on ‘falling in to the role’, having to take it on at short notice if a colleague left the institution, or of ‘not running away swiftly enough’. The role was considered to come with considerable responsibility and workload, yet was often rendered invisible in relation to offers of practical support and training and in institutional recognition and reward structures.

Action in this area increased considerably across the Scottish HE sector over the period of the Cluster activity. Efforts are being made by a number of institutions to clarify the role, through defining or refining job descriptions and offering specific clarification of responsibilities and tasks that make up their particular programme leadership remit. For example, Robert Gordon University refreshed the role outline of their staff holding this position and explicitly integrated it into institutional reward and recognition architecture.

Edinburgh Napier University have undertook an extensive review of their programme leader role, working collaboratively with PLs across the institution to develop an extensive checklist of tasks performed by them and mapping this to the temporal phases of the academic year. This checklist then became the basis for a toolkit of links and resources to help support PLs in navigating their role (See Appendix 1). While the resource itself was developed for particular institutional use, it has far wider application. Colleague across the sector noted its value both as a tangible manifestation of the diversity and scale of the programme leader roles and responsibilities and as a starting point for their own mapping of activities and PL-specific support and development activity.

Page 3


In a similar vein, Glasgow Caledonian University created a template Programme Leader Calendar to map out and plan the academic year from the perspective of a programme leader. This simple tool was intended to facilitate conversations and support situated learning in relation to the specific programme context. Three main uses for the calendar were highlighted:

• For personal planning;• As the basis for a discussion with a wider programme team;• To support an incoming or relatively inexperienced programme leader.

The calendar also included a list of activities that are routinely undertaken by Programme Leaders to help initiate thinking about the pace and intensity of work through the academic year, as well as the skills that PLs will need to develop to ensure they can effectively fulfil their roles.

Tops Tips: • Review institutional reward and recognition criteria and ensure programme

leadership is appropriately positioned within these structures. • Ensure incoming staff have an opportunity to discuss and explore their role with an

experienced colleague prior to taking on the PL position. Ensure they have a clear timeline of anticipated activity, linked to specific institutional resources and support to ensure they have the tools to support students and build an effective community around their programme.

• Establish an institutional Programme Leadership Forum to encourage sharing of practice, enhance institutional visibility of PLs, and open space for individual mentoring or coaching relationships to develop.

• Build support for programme leaders into your institutional staff development offer.

A Question of TimeUnderpinning, but often hidden in, discussion of programme leadership are questions of workload and how different activities are understood, recognised and valued in institutional contexts. Phil Wood (Bishops Grosseteste University) used his keynote workshop to challenge the Cluster to consider the temporal flow of programme leadership. Specifically, he noted the importance of moving from a focus on ‘clock time’ to a more complex and nuanced understanding of how programme leadership work is experienced in practice. Such a focus on temporality is essential to understanding the capacity individuals have to engage with different evidence for enhancement, to find space for (critical) informal communication with students and colleagues, and to plan and implement programme enhancements.

Page 4


Figure 1: Reflecting on the Complexity of Time (Wood 2019)

As part of these discussions, Phil introduced a simple practical tool (see Appendix 2) to help programme teams explore their work schedules and to better understand how workload and time is experienced over the course of a year. Such practical mapping sits well alongside the Edinburgh Napier and Glasgow Caledonian tools, facilitating discussion to move from programme leadership as ‘tasks to be done’ to a more nuanced understanding of work flow, intensity and density.

Top Tip• Ensure that workload is not simply measured in terms of hours or percentage of

overall time on a particular tasked, but mapped in terms of intensity and density across the course of the academic year. This will enable Programme Leaders and wider teams to more effectively manage resource and develop effective collaboration and sharing of tasks.

Creating an effective programme teamIn addition to exploring the support required by individual PLs, the Cluster considered the wider dynamics of a programme team and the pivotal role the Programme Leader plays in creating and maintaining effective collaboration across the group. The Creating Cultures of Enhancement roundtable included a workshop facilitated by Rowena Senior (Aston University) entitled Quality enhancement, programme leaders and their teams: What can we learn from allied disciplines to develop our own academic practice? This session opened up discussion of the practical challenges and everyday pitfalls that can emerge within programme teams through an exploration of what made a group an effective ‘real team’ rather than a ‘pseudo team’. To bring this to life, participants were encouraged to map their programmes and evaluate their teams against the following criteria:

Page 5


Figure 2: Characteristics of Real and Pseudo Teams (Richardson (2010) as shared by Rowena Senior at Collaborative Cluster Roundtable, February 2019)

This discussion was facilitated by groups working through a mapping template [see Appendix 3]. This allowed participants to rate their programme against the four team characteristics and to consider what attributes would be most desirable for a given programme. The ensuing discussion then enabled individual programme leaders to consider the actions they would take within their own group to enhance interaction and shared commitment to the programme enhancement agenda.

Reflecting on Cluster discussions in the thinkpiece Creating Cultures of Enhancement: Programme Leader or Programme Manager?, Kimberly Wilder (University of Glasgow) argued that the idea that the real team/pseudo team model may be too confining and limit the possibilities and practical pathways of action for programme teams. However, she maintains that there are key steps that programme leaders can take to create a working environment that is largely free from role ambiguity and which encourages authentic collegiality. These include coming together to decide what type of team the particular programme requires, and remembering to acknowledge and celebrate team successes alongside enhancement and learning opportunities.

Top Tip• Create time for programme teams to meet together, collaborate and build a sense

of collegiality and common purpose. Enhancement thrives in contexts where diverse voices can be heard and diverse skills and competencies appreciated and utilised.

Navigating the data landscape One of the most challenging themes explored by the Cluster centred on navigating the data landscape. As Christine Haddow (Edinburgh Napier University) highlights, this landscape is particularly complex and challenging when viewed from the perspective of a programme

Page 6


leader:

Programme Leaders must navigate the wide range of available data about their programmes, often termed ‘academic analytics’ (Tulasi, 2013). This information provides insight into the current state of a given programme and its students, with the potential to highlight any problems or challenges. It may include but is not limited to: National Student Survey (NSS) results, module evaluation questionnaire responses, module performance data, module leaders’ end of year reports, external examiner feedback, recruitment and retention statistics, Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) data. With existing evidence about Programme Leaders themselves highlighting that they often feel ill prepared for their roles (Briggs, 2005) it is unsurprising that this data landscape proves daunting.

While a plethora of data is available to PLs, this can be difficult to locate, navigate and turn into actionable agendas for enhancement. Indeed, as Heather Fotheringham (University of the Highlands and Islands) notes in her thinkpiece, the sheer volume of available of data that needs to be negotiated and engaged with by those in Programme Leader roles can be overwhelming. In Engaging Staff and Students with Data she writes:

Programme Leaders are inundated with data (retention rates, pass rates, NSS results, module survey results, learning analytics) and frequently these data tell apparently conflicting stories: positive survey results for modules with low pass rates; high attrition rates for programmes who perform well in the NSS. From the vast range of available data, it is difficult for staff to ascertain whether or not a module or programme of study is going well, or requires attention; and difficult to identify which aspects ought to be focused on for enhancement.

She goes on to highlight how UHI is attempting to do to help both staff and students to ‘potentially bridge the gap between the people and the data’.

This challenge was one which many institutions in the sector are grappling with from a range of perspectives and through different mechanisms. For example:

• The Scottish Planners have produced a series of resources to support colleagues across the sector to better understand the data landscape and negotiate their way through the raft of surveys, league tables and other insights into practice available. https://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/current-enhancement-theme/defining-and-capturing-evidence/data-landscape-resource

• Colleagues at University of Strathclyde conducted an audit of programme leaders’ use of data sources to contribute to the review and refresh of the scheduling of the programme planning cycle. This ensured a more considered enhancement-oriented approach rather than rapid response to any one data source in isolation.

• Programme Leaders at the University of Abertay organised an annual reporting ‘writing retreat’, to support each other through the analysis of available evidence and the generation of their programme-specific enhancement plans

In her think piece Student Surveys – Process to Enhancement, Maggie King (Heriot Watt University) notes that, while many universities have redesigned their student survey and data collection and analysis process, the university ‘as an organisation paid little attention to how evidence is disseminated and used at the programme level.’ She calls for a greater focus on evaluating the impact of institution-wide actions to help shift the focus from planning and

Page 7


process to evidencing the effectiveness and impact of change initiatives.

Insights from individual programme leaders helped ground our discussions of enhancement in the everyday realities of programme leadership and the challenges of negotiating diverse workloads, competing demands, and the navigating of the expectations of colleagues and students. Such conversations are well reflected in the thinkpiece produced by Eva Malone (Edinburgh Napier University) who considers her top five tips for successful programme leadership. These include taking time to plan for the unexpected and to have confidence (and to generate an environment of collegiality and support) to take calculated risks.

Top Tips• Provide training and support to programme leaders as they work to understand

the breadth of evidence available to them and produce their own reports and programme-specific evidence.

• Consider how institutional planning and reporting cycles are experienced by those as programme level. Explore how institutional demands align with the workflow of the wider academic year and, wherever possible, streamline and support colleagues as they work through this cycle.

Critically Exploring Student VoiceWhile our initial discussions in this area focused on the need for better use of evidence to enhance practice, more critical and cautionary voices also entered the conversation. For example, Stella Jones-Devitt and Liz Austen (Sheffield Hallam University) drew on the report Use and Abuse of the Student Voice (Jones-Devitt & LeBihan 2018) to encourage participants to think about the potential dangers of being tied to data that is uncritically led by the notion of an undifferentiated ‘student voice’. They urged critical consideration of how ‘student voice’ is constructed and whose voices actually get amplified and acted upon. Five key areas for critical consideration and action were identified:

• The student capacity to evaluate teaching meaningfully.• The potential for evaluations to be experienced as (or used as) a form of bullying or

harassment.• The dynamic created by the construction of a student as a consumer rather than as a

learner.• The impact of the evaluation cycle on an academic’s professional identity and freedom.• The meaning of the phrase ‘student voice’.

The project generated a suite of practical examples and associated workshop activities to encourage institutions, teams and individuals to reflect of how they engage with and respond to different sources of ‘student voice’ and what that means for everyday interactions and decision-making. These activities had direct resonance for those in programme leadership roles and can be directly transferable for use with programme teams and wider institutional thinking on leadership, change and student engagement in enhancement efforts.

Page 8


The full report can be found here https://www.lfhe.ac.uk/en/components/publication.cfm/SDP2017-05

Top Tips• Staff Student Liaison Committees offer a vital mechanism for listening to the

diversity of student voices on a programme. Consider the approach taken to such a forum, ensuring that they offer space for authentic listening, engagement and action planning.

• Reflect critically on whose voices are being heard - and where particular groups of students or individuals may experience barriers to sharing their perspectives.

• Build active engagement with student voice in to the everyday practices of the programme rather than leave it solely for set-piece events and surveys.

Programme Leadership: A Call For Multi-layered Action And Engagement Emerging from this series of discussions is a clear challenge: To ensure programme leadership is recognised across the sector for the key academic enhancement role it fulfils. This requires action across multiple layers, from individual support to institutional and sectoral recognition and visibility. Such conversations and actions needs to align and interact, ensuring efforts to define and support individuals in a challenging role are aligned with appreciation and reward for excellence in this arena. Similarly, the alignment of programme enhancement activity requires more visible exchange and dialogue with institutional process and strategic agendas. Programme action is fundamental to student experience, therefore its leaders deserve institutional and sectorial light to be shone on them.

Any change agenda in this area must extend beyond support for programme leaders in isolation. The conversations required need to encompass multiple layers of practice and ensure a diversity of student voices and staff engagement are acknowledged, supported and resourced.

Page 9


Figure 3: Programme Leadership: Spheres of Influence and Action

To support this multi-layered action, a set of key conversations were identified [See Appendix 4.]. Engaging with these themes at programme, institutional and sector level opens the opportunity to enhance the visibility of programme leaders within the enhancement landscape and highlights the urgent need for support, guidance and appreciation of those in this pivotal role.

Top Tips• Create space for institution-wide discussion of programme leadership. Enhancing

programme-based support and learning requires a whole institution process of support and development and incorporated into strategic development agendas.

• Amplify the voices of programme leaders. Ensure that programme leaders have the opportunity to meet and share practice, within their institution and across the sector.

Next Steps: From Invisible Superheroes to Key Actors in Enhancement ActivityTo conclude our review of the Programme Leadership Cluster activity, we turn to a wider appreciation of the work of programme leaders across the sector. Catriona Cunningham (University of Stirling) and Kimberly Wilder (University of Glasgow) used their think piece, Programme Leaders as Invisible Superheroes of Learning and Teaching, to use appreciative inquiry to highlight the role of programme leaders as agents of change. They highlight particularly how programme leaders are successfully co-ordinating, supporting, supervising, managing and/or mentoring others (whether individuals and/or teams) in relation to learning and teaching, This is often, they argue, done in ways that are largely invisible – done collaboratively and seen as ‘just doing their role’. Yet it is through such informal support, making connections, and facilitating the work of others that transformative change can take place within institutions. They end with a plea “to make this impact visible within institutions

Programme Leadership in Context Spheres of influence and action

Opening space to connect, recognise & amplify the pivotal role of programme leadership and share insight into how to harness this for institutional and sector learning & development.

Securing institutional appreciation of the role of the programme leader and team within the enhancement process, including the multiple voices and evidence that converges at this nexus.

Creating effective and dynamic programme teams that harness the strengths of diverse voices to support enhancement.

Exploring the programme leader role and their position as navigator and creator of evidence for enhancement.

Connected Sector

Support

Appreciative Institutional

Context

Collaborative Programme

Team

Empowered Programme

Leader

Page 10


but also in the sector. We would end with this question – how can we (as academic developers / as institutions / as a sector) bring out these case studies that so powerfully illustrate evidence of the impact of Programme Leaders on learning and teaching into the light?”

Such a plea effectively captures the key refrain that has echoed through our Cluster discussions: How can we best recognise, support and empower programme leaders to use evidence to enhance the learning experience for their students? Making a difference in this arena requires consideration and action to:

• Understand the complexity of the programme leader role, its content, context and temporal rhythm.

• Ensure the landscape of evidence that programme leaders work within has sufficient sector and institutional framing, mapping and guidance around it – be that through mentoring, tailored support, or collaborative engagement to support PLs navigate the plethora of data available.

• Open space for critical reflection on evidence and the development of cultures of enhancement within programme teams rather than a metrics-only driven approach to planning and action.

We hope the resources, think pieces and examples of practice highlighted through this quick guide to the Cluster outputs provides a ‘starter kit’ for those taking practical steps to enhance support for programme teams and programme leaders.

ReferencesBriggs, A. (2005). Middle Managers in Further Education. Exploring the Role. Management in Education, 15(4),12-16.

Jones-Devitt, S., & LeBihan, J. (2017). Use and Abuse of the Student Voice. Report prepared for Advance HE. Available online at: https://www.lfhe.ac.uk/en/components/publication.cfm/SDP2017-05

Lawrence, J. and Ellis, S. (2018, eds). Supporting programme leaders and programme leadership (London: Staffand Educational Development Association), SEDA Special 39.

Milburn, P. C. (2010). The role of programme directors as academic leaders. Active Learning in Higher Education,11(2), 87-95.

Mitchell, R. (2015). ‘If there is a job description I don’t think I’ve read one’: a case study of programme leadershipin a UK pre-1992 university. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 39(5), 713-732.

Murphy, M., & Curtis, W. (2013). The micro-politics of micro-leadership: exploring the role of programme leaderin English universities. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 35(1), 34-44

Wood, P. (2019). Programme Leaers and Workload: Working in the Shadows? Keynote workshop. QAA Scotland Collabortaive Cluster. University of Abertay. May 2019. https://www.slideshare.net/Philwood/programme-leaders-and-workload

Page 11


List of Resources Produced by the Collaborative Cluster• Programme Leadership: A Review of Evidence and an Agenda for Action by Sam Ellis

(Glasgow Caledonian University) https://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/docs/ethemes/evidence-for-enhancement/programme-leadership---a-review-of-evidence.pdf?sfvrsn=97f4c381_6

• Top Tips for Programme Leaders by Eva Malone (Edinburgh Napier University) https://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/docs/ethemes/evidence-for-enhancement/top-tips-for-programme-leaders.pdf?sfvrsn=fb92c781_8

• Engaging Staff and Students With Data by Heather Fotheringham (University of the Highlands and Islands) https://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/docs/ethemes/evidence-for-enhancement/engaging-staff-and-students-with-data.pdf?sfvrsn=e392c781_8

• Exploring the Data Landscape from the Programme Leaders Perspective by Christine Haddow (Edinburgh Napier University) https://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/docs/ethemes/evidence-for-enhancement/exploring-the-data-landscape-from-the-programme-leaders-perspective.pdf?sfvrsn=f162c381_6

• Programme Leaders as Invisible Superheroes of Learning and Teaching by Catriona Cunningham (University of Stirling) and Kimberly Wilder (University of Glasgow) https://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/docs/ethemes/evidence-for-enhancement/programme-leaders-as-invisible-superheroes-of-learning-and-teaching.pdf?sfvrsn=e862c381_8

• Student Surveys – Process to Enhancement by Maggie King (Heriot Watt University) https://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/docs/ethemes/evidence-for-enhancement/student-surveys---process-to-enhancement.pdf?sfvrsn=f062c381_8

• Creating Cultures of Enhancement: Programme Leader or Programme Manager? By Kimberly Wilder-Davis (University of Glasgow) https://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/evidence-for-enhancement/optimising-existing-evidence/enhancing-programme-leadership

• Programme Leadership: Agenda for the Year Ahead by Martha Caddell & Sam Ellis https://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/docs/ethemes/evidence-for-enhancement/agenda-for-the-year-ahead.pdf?sfvrsn=aff4c381_10

• Creating Cultures of Enhancement, Supporting Programme Leadership. Webinar presented to QAA Scotland as part of Enhancement Themes Series. November 2019. Presented by Martha Caddell & Christine Haddow.

• Presentation https://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/docs/ethemes/evidence-for-enhancement/creating-cultures-of-enhancement.pptx?sfvrsn=b30dc881_4

• Quick Start Resource https://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/docs/ethemes/evidence-for-enhancement/programme-leadership-in-focus-quick-start-card.docx?sfvrsn=f705c881_4

A Q

uick

Gui

de to

Res

ourc

es

App

endi

x 1:

A c

heck

list f

or P

rogr

amm

e Le

ader

sTh

is is

an

exam

ple

of p

ract

ice

from

Edi

nbur

gh N

apie

r Uni

vers

ity, h

ighl

ight

ing

effo

rts to

pro

vide

a c

lear

sen

se o

f the

dim

ensi

ons

of th

e P

rogr

amm

e Le

ader

ro

le a

nd p

ract

ical

gui

danc

e on

whe

re to

get

sup

port

for e

ach

elem

ent.

[Cre

dit:

Julia

Fot

herin

gham

, Edi

nbur

gh N

apie

r Uni

vers

ity]

DRAF

TDepa

rtm

ent o

fLe

arni

ng a

nd

Teac

hing

Enha

ncem

ent

DLTE

programme lead

ersh

ip

Wel

com

e to

Pro

gram

me

Lead

ersh

ip a

t Edi

nbur

gh N

apie

r. Th

is im

port

ant a

cade

mic

lead

ersh

ip ro

le g

ives

you

the

oppo

rtun

ity to

mak

e a

posi

tive

diffe

renc

e to

you

r stu

dent

s’ ex

perie

nce.

Ther

e ar

e so

me

task

s th

at e

very

Pro

gram

me

Lead

er h

as to

un

dert

ake

to e

nsur

e th

e sm

ooth

runn

ing

and

man

agem

ent

of th

e pr

ogra

mm

e, a

nd th

is ch

eckl

ist w

ill he

lp y

ou to

iden

tify

mos

t of t

hose

. But

ther

e ar

e ot

her o

ppor

tuni

ties

to e

nhan

ce th

e pr

ogra

mm

e w

hich

are

less

spe

cific

and

whi

ch m

ay b

e un

ique

to

your

ski

lls a

nd d

iscip

linar

y co

ntex

t. Th

ese

coul

d in

clude

:

• de

velo

ping

new

indu

ctio

n ac

tiviti

es

• in

volv

ing

stud

ents

as

part

ners

in cu

rricu

lum

des

ign

• bu

ildin

g co

nnec

tions

acr

oss

and

beyo

nd th

e un

iver

sity

w

hich

giv

e yo

ur s

tude

nts

a he

ad s

tart

in b

uild

ing

thei

r fu

ture

care

ers.

Conf

iden

ce a

nd e

xper

tise

in P

rogr

amm

e Le

ader

ship

take

s tim

e an

d ex

perie

nce

to d

evel

op, b

ut w

hate

ver y

our s

tart

ing

poin

t w

e ho

pe th

e ta

sks

liste

d in

this

Ope

ratio

nal C

heck

list w

ill pr

ovid

e yo

u w

ith s

ome

sugg

estio

ns a

bout

are

as to

focu

s on

. If

you

are

new

to th

e ro

le it

mig

ht b

e he

lpfu

l to

loca

te a

mor

e ex

perie

nced

men

tor w

ho ca

n fu

rthe

r sup

port

you

.

This

chec

klis

t is

part

of a

sui

te o

f res

ourc

es w

hich

sup

port

s al

l Pro

gram

me

Lead

ers;

not

just

thos

e ne

w to

the

role

. Loo

k ov

erle

af fo

r sug

gest

ions

abo

ut h

ow to

use

the

chec

klis

t in

conj

unct

ion

with

the

Prog

ram

me L

eade

r Res

ourc

es M

oodl

e Co

mm

unity

.

Prog

ram

me

Lead

er

Ope

ratio

nal C

heck

list

2019

/20

How

to u

se th

e Pr

ogra

mm

e Le

ader

O

pera

tiona

l Che

cklis

tTh

is ch

eckl

ist s

houl

d be

use

d in

conj

unct

ion

with

the

Prog

ram

me L

eade

r Res

ourc

es M

oodl

e Co

mm

unity

spa

ce

(ava

ilabl

e at

htt

ps://

moo

dlec

omm

unity

.nap

ier.a

c.uk)

whe

re

you

will

find

reso

urce

s w

hich

will

supp

ort y

ou w

hen

unde

rtak

ing

the

task

s ou

tline

d he

re.

The

chec

klis

t ref

lect

s co

mm

on ta

sks

that

the

Prog

ram

me

Lead

er w

ould

usu

ally

und

erta

ke a

t key

poi

nts

acro

ss th

e ac

adem

ic ye

ar. T

he s

pecif

ics o

f the

task

s m

ay v

ary

depe

ndin

g on

whe

ther

you

r pro

gram

me

is u

nder

grad

uate

, M

aste

rs, g

radu

ate

appr

entic

eshi

p, T

NE o

r glo

bal o

nlin

e. U

se

the

blan

k bo

xes

to a

dd ta

sks

to th

e ch

eckl

ist t

o su

it yo

ur

prog

ram

me’

s cir

cum

stan

ces.

As y

ou w

ork

your

way

thro

ugh

the

task

s in

the

Get t

o kn

ow

your

pro

gram

me s

ectio

n, y

ou a

re e

ncou

rage

d to

iden

tify

oppo

rtun

ities

to u

pdat

e an

d en

hanc

e yo

ur p

rogr

amm

e. S

ome

chan

ges

may

requ

ire a

long

er le

ad in

tim

e th

an is

ava

ilabl

e fo

r th

is a

cade

mic

year

, but

oth

er id

eas

may

be

take

n fo

rwar

d in

the

shor

ter t

erm

. Ple

ase

spea

k to

you

r Sch

ool A

cade

mic

Lead

s or

a

colle

ague

in D

LTE

for f

urth

er a

dvice

.

Com

mon

acr

onym

sBo

S Bo

ard

of S

tudi

es

DLTE

Dep

artm

ent o

f Lea

rnin

g an

d Te

achi

ng E

nhan

cem

ent

ENSA

Edi

nbur

gh N

apie

r Stu

dent

Ass

ocia

tion

GA

Grad

uate

App

rent

icesh

ip

GO

Glob

al O

nlin

e

HEA

High

er E

duca

tion

Acad

emy

(now

kno

wn

as A

dvan

ceHE

)

LTAC

Le

arni

ng, T

each

ing

and

Asse

ssm

ent C

omm

ittee

ML

Mod

ule

Lead

er

NSS

Na

tiona

l Stu

dent

Sur

vey

PDT

Pers

onal

Dev

elop

men

t Tut

or

PL

Prog

ram

me

Lead

er

PSRB

Pro

fess

iona

l Sta

tuto

ry a

nd R

egul

ator

y Bo

dy

RPL

Reco

gnis

ed P

rior L

earn

ing

SACI

Sc

hool

of A

rts

& C

reat

ive

Indu

strie

s

SAS

Scho

ol o

f App

lied

Scie

nces

SEBE

Sch

ool o

f Eng

inee

ring

and

the

Built

Env

ironm

ent

SHSC

Sch

ool o

f Hea

lth a

nd S

ocia

l Car

e

SITS

Ed

inbu

rgh

Napi

er’s

Stud

ent M

anag

emen

t Dat

abas

e

SoC

Scho

ol o

f Com

putin

g

SSS

Scho

ol S

uppo

rt S

ervi

ces

SSLC

Stu

dent

Sta

ff Li

aiso

n Co

mm

ittee

TBS

The

Busi

ness

Sch

ool

TNE

Tran

snat

iona

l Edu

catio

n

QAA

Qual

ity A

ssur

ance

Age

ncy

Pag

e 12

A Q

uick

Gui

de to

Res

ourc

es

Pag

e 13

DRAF

TGe

t to

know

your

pro

gram

me

Mee

t you

r tea

m b

efor

eth

e pr

ogra

mm

e st

arts

Mid

-poi

nt o

f pro

gram

me’

sac

adem

ic y

ear

End

of p

rogr

amm

e’s

acad

emic

yea

ran

d en

d of

trim

este

r

Acce

ss a

nd n

avig

ate

Prog

ram

me L

eade

r Res

ourc

es o

n M

oodl

e Co

mm

unity

1

Read

PL

rem

it an

d es

tabl

ish

loca

l PL

foru

m a

rran

gem

ents

2

Unde

rsta

nd th

e pr

ogra

mm

e ad

min

istr

ator

’s ro

le3

Acce

ss a

nd re

ad p

rogr

amm

e sp

ec

and

upda

te p

rogr

amm

e ha

ndbo

ok4

Revi

ew a

nd u

pdat

e pr

ospe

ctus

, m

arke

ting

and

web

pre

senc

e, a

nd

conf

irm o

pen

day

arra

ngem

ents

5

Revi

ew e

ntry

requ

irem

ents

and

RPL

arra

ngem

ents

for e

ach

year

of th

e pr

ogra

mm

e (fo

r dire

ct

entr

ants

, pay

par

ticul

ar a

tten

tion

to a

rticu

latio

n ar

rang

emen

ts w

ith

colle

ge a

nd in

tern

atio

nal p

artn

ers)

6

Unde

rsta

nd th

e pr

ogre

ssio

n ro

utes

th

roug

h th

e pr

ogra

mm

e, m

odul

e ch

oice

s an

d op

tions

7

Read

PL

refle

ctiv

e co

mm

enta

ries,

no

ting

in p

artic

ular

the

actio

n pl

an8

Enga

ge w

ith a

sses

smen

t mat

rix in

th

e pr

ogra

mm

e sp

ec to

und

erst

and

the

stud

ents

’ ass

essm

ent a

nd

feed

back

jour

ney

9

Revi

ew th

e m

ost r

ecen

t ext

erna

l ex

amin

er re

port

and

est

ablis

h EE

’s le

ngth

of s

ervi

ce a

nd w

hen

a ne

w

appo

intm

ent i

s ne

eded

10

Inve

stig

ate

wha

t sta

ge th

e pr

ogra

mm

e is

at i

n its

five

-yea

r re

view

cycle

11

Unde

rsta

nd fe

es, s

chol

arsh

ip a

nd

burs

ary

entit

lem

ents

for s

tude

nts

on th

e pr

ogra

mm

e12

For T

NE p

rogr

amm

es re

ad th

e co

llabo

rativ

e ag

reem

ent,

spec

ifica

lly

Part

313

For c

olla

bora

tive

prog

ram

mes

, es

tabl

ish

if a

first

-yea

r rev

iew

has

ta

ken

plac

e an

d if

ther

e ar

e an

y re

sulti

ng a

ctio

ns14

Mee

t PDT

s to

ens

ure

PDT

arra

ngem

ents

are

in p

lace

15

Mee

t pro

gram

me

adm

inis

trat

or a

nd

disc

uss

arra

ngem

ents

and

exp

ecte

d PL

inpu

t int

o:•

Prog

ram

me

Asse

ssm

ent B

oard

s•

Boar

d of

Stu

dies

• St

uden

t Sta

ff Li

aiso

n Co

mm

ittee

16

Requ

est t

he fo

llow

ing

from

pr

ogra

mm

e ad

min

istr

ator

:•

list o

f stu

dent

s, th

eir P

DTs

and

thos

e on

sus

pens

ion

• Sc

hool

cont

acts

for A

dmis

sion

s,

Mar

ketin

g, D

isab

ility

and

Inte

rnat

iona

l Rec

ruitm

ent

• pa

rtne

r con

tact

s fo

r TNE

pr

ogra

mm

es (i

f rel

evan

t)17

Mee

t with

Inte

rnat

iona

l Re

crui

tmen

t Sch

ool c

onta

ct to

di

scus

s br

iefin

gs fo

r age

nts

and

inte

rnat

iona

l par

tner

s18

Sche

dule

mee

tings

with

mod

ule

lead

ers

and

othe

r pro

gram

me

teac

hing

sta

ff to

ens

ure

prog

ram

me-

focu

sed

deliv

ery

19

Intr

oduc

e yo

urse

lf to

stu

dent

son

the

prog

ram

me

com

mun

ity

Moo

dle

spac

e20

Beco

me

fam

iliar w

ith th

e pr

oces

ses

and

regu

latio

ns fo

r Ext

enua

ting

Circ

umst

ance

s, S

uspe

nsio

n of

St

udie

s an

d Ac

adem

ic Ap

peal

s21

Upda

te e

xistin

g in

duct

ion

plan

s an

d w

elco

me

mat

eria

ls a

nd e

nsur

e de

liver

y fo

r nex

t int

ake

22

For T

NE p

rogr

amm

es, c

onta

ct th

e eq

uiva

lent

Pro

gram

me

Lead

er a

t th

e pa

rtne

r ins

titut

ion

and

sche

dule

re

gula

r upd

ates

, cal

ls o

r Sky

pe

mee

tings

23

Cont

act s

ubje

ct lib

raria

n to

ensu

re le

arni

ng re

sour

ces

budg

et,

read

ing

list m

ater

ials

and

sup

port

ar

e in

pla

ce24

Cons

ider

eng

agin

g w

ith th

e Ac

adem

ic Sk

ills te

am to

em

bed

acad

emic

skills

dev

elop

men

t in

the

prog

ram

me

25

Chec

k w

hat p

rizes

and

med

als

are

avai

labl

e fo

r aw

ardi

ng26

Othe

r ong

oing

asp

ects

of

Prog

ram

me

Lead

ersh

ip

Lear

n ho

w to

use

COG

NOS

to e

xplo

re

how

mod

ules

are

per

form

ing,

and

to

revi

ew p

revi

ous

stud

ent a

ttai

nmen

t an

d ac

hiev

emen

t dat

a27

Unde

rsta

nd th

e Qu

ality

Fra

mew

ork

from

the

pers

pect

ive

of a

PL

(eg,

Sec

tion

2a A

nnua

l Mon

itorin

g&

Rev

iew

)28

Unde

rsta

nd th

e Pr

ofes

sion

al,

Stat

utor

y an

d Re

gula

tory

Bod

y re

quire

men

ts fo

r acc

redi

tatio

n of

the

prog

ram

me

29

Mee

t Sch

ool A

cade

mic

Lead

sto

dis

cuss

Sch

ool a

ndsu

bjec

t prio

ritie

s30

Inve

stig

ate

empl

oyer

eng

agem

ent

with

the

prog

ram

me

and

beco

me

fam

iliar w

ith p

ract

ice o

n th

e w

ork-

base

d le

arni

ng m

odul

es31

Unde

rtak

e th

e M

oodl

e co

urse

Un

ders

tand

ing

and

Appl

ying

the

Unive

rsity

Aca

dem

ic Re

gula

tions

32

Cons

ider

the

core

read

ings

in

Prog

ram

me L

eade

r Res

ourc

es o

n M

oodl

e Co

mm

unity

33

Iden

tify

rele

vant

pr

ogra

mm

e-re

late

d ne

twor

ksac

ross

and

bey

ond

the

Univ

ersi

ty34

Cons

ider

dev

elop

ing

empl

oyer

en

gage

men

t cha

nnel

s to

gai

nin

sigh

t fro

m in

dust

ry35

Enga

ge in

the

stud

ent a

dmis

sion

s pr

oces

s as

requ

ired

36

Liai

se w

ith th

e pr

ogra

mm

e te

am o

n th

e ap

poin

tmen

t of v

isiti

ng le

ctur

ers

and

gues

t spe

aker

s37

For g

loba

l onl

ine

prog

ram

mes

, mee

t w

ith m

odul

e le

ader

s an

d tu

tors

to

refle

ct o

n th

e st

uden

t exp

erie

nce

and

iden

tify

enha

ncem

ents

38 39

Use

vario

us s

ourc

es to

gat

her a

nd

revi

ew fe

edba

ck fr

om s

tude

nts

on

the

prog

ram

me

53

Sche

dule

an

oppo

rtun

ity fo

r pr

ogra

mm

e te

am re

flect

ion

at th

e en

d of

the

prog

ram

me

cycle

and

a

sim

ilar r

efle

ctio

n w

ith p

artn

ers

for

TNE

prog

ram

mes

54

Atte

nd a

nd co

ntrib

ute

to P

L Fo

rum

55

Revi

ew s

tude

nt e

ngag

emen

t on

the

prog

ram

me

56

Liai

se w

ith p

rogr

amm

e ad

min

istr

ator

rega

rdin

g st

uden

t re

cord

s an

d re

ques

t an

upda

te o

n st

uden

ts’ s

tatu

s57

Ensu

re p

rogr

essi

on a

nd a

war

d de

cisio

ns a

re a

ppro

pria

te fo

r st

uden

ts o

n yo

ur p

rogr

amm

e65

Plan

indu

ctio

n ac

tiviti

es fo

r the

next

pro

gram

me

inta

ke58 59 60 61 62 63 64

Liai

se w

ith re

leva

nt a

dmin

istr

ator

to p

repa

re fo

r Pro

gram

me

Asse

ssm

ent B

oard

and

sub

sequ

ent

Boar

d of

Stu

dies

66

Enga

ge w

ith m

odul

e le

ader

s’ ev

alua

tive

repo

rts

67

Circ

ulat

e dr

aft P

rogr

amm

e Le

ader

ev

alua

tive

com

men

tary

for f

eedb

ack

and

disc

ussi

on fr

om th

e pr

ogra

mm

e te

am p

rior t

o fin

alis

ing

68

Revi

ew p

rogr

amm

e pe

rform

ance

ag

ains

t orig

inal

bus

ines

s ca

se69

Cons

ider

recr

uitm

ent t

arge

tsan

d fu

ture

yea

r res

ourc

ing

requ

irem

ents

70

Info

rm s

tude

nts

abou

t the

resu

lts p

roce

ss71

Hold

you

r pro

gram

me

team

re

flect

ion

mee

ting

(see

task

no

s. 3

8 an

d 54

) to

agre

e ho

w to

ta

ke fo

rwar

d en

hanc

emen

ts in

lig

ht o

f the

eva

luat

ive

com

men

tary

72

Enga

ge w

ith q

ualit

y re

late

d pr

opos

als

for e

nhan

cem

ent

by co

ntac

ting

your

Sch

ool

qual

ity te

am73

Revi

ew m

arke

ting

info

rmat

ion

and

prog

ram

me

spec

ifica

tion

to

refle

ct a

ppro

ved

chan

ges

toth

e pr

ogra

mm

e74 75 76 77

Firs

t wee

ksof

pro

gram

me

Enga

ge w

ith s

tart

of t

rimes

ter w

eek,

de

liver

indu

ctio

n, w

elco

me

stud

ents

an

d en

sure

they

hav

e re

leva

nt

mat

eria

ls40

Resp

ond

to la

te a

rriv

als

and

late

m

atric

ulat

ions

41

Mak

e co

ntac

t with

stu

dent

re

pres

enta

tives

for i

nfor

mal

di

scus

sion

and

/or l

iais

e w

ith E

NSA

abou

t mak

ing

effe

ctiv

e us

e of

the

stud

ent r

epre

sent

ativ

e sy

stem

on

the

prog

ram

me

42

Ensu

re a

ll stu

dent

s ar

e as

sign

ed

to a

PDT

43

Esta

blis

h w

ith m

odul

e le

ader

s th

eir

perc

eptio

n of

stu

dent

eng

agem

ent

and

disc

uss

Touc

hPoi

nt s

urve

ys44

Mee

t with

Dis

abilit

y Sc

hool

Con

tact

to

dis

cuss

stu

dent

lear

ning

pla

ns45

Mee

t with

Stu

dent

Wel

lbei

ngan

d In

clusi

on re

pres

enta

tive

tom

ake

cont

act f

or fu

ture

stu

dent

re

ferr

als

46

Chec

k w

ith m

odul

e le

ader

s th

at

ongo

ing

acad

emic

and

info

rmat

ion

skills

sup

port

and

hyp

erlin

ks a

re in

pl

ace

for s

tude

nts

47

Mee

t with

you

r Stu

dent

Fut

ure

Empl

oyer

Eng

agem

ent P

artn

er to

di

scus

s em

ploy

er e

vent

s48

Mee

t with

you

r Stu

dent

Fut

ures

Ca

reer

Dev

elop

men

t Con

sulta

nt to

di

scus

s in

tegr

ated

care

ers

or s

kills

de

velo

pmen

t wor

ksho

ps49 50 51 52

App

endi

x 1:

A c

heck

list f

or P

rogr

amm

e Le

ader

s co

ntin

ued

App

endi

x 2:

A to

ol fo

r refl

ectin

g on

wor

kloa

d an

d tim

e in

pro

gram

me

lead

ersh

ip

Cre

dit:

Phi

l Woo

d (2

019)

A Q

uick

Gui

de to

Res

ourc

es

Pag

e 14

Page 15


Appendix 3: Exploring programme team mission and mapping your programme team

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10!!Shared objectives !!Interdependency !!Reflexivity!!Boundedness

Mission statement

Professional Map (my team)

[Credit: Rowena Senior, Aston University]

App

endi

x 4:

Key

The

mes

and

Que

stio

ns to

Gui

de E

nhan

cem

ent C

onve

rsat

ions

Th

is re

sour

ce c

an b

e se

nd a

s a

‘qui

ck s

tart’

for c

onve

rsat

ions

abo

ut p

rogr

amm

e le

ader

ship

with

in a

nd a

cros

s in

stitu

tions

. It d

eriv

es fr

om

Cad

dell

& H

addo

w’s

(202

0) w

ebin

ar fo

r QA

A S

cotla

nd a

s pa

rt of

the

diss

emin

atio

n ac

tivity

from

this

Col

labo

rativ

e C

lust

er.

A Q

uick

Gui

de to

Res

ourc

es

Pag

e 16

Empo

wer

ing

Prog

ram

me

Lead

ers

* H

ow is

the

prog

ram

me

lead

ersh

ip ro

le

cons

titut

ed?

Wha

t doe

s th

e jo

b de

scrip

tion

cove

r?

* H

ow is

the

tem

pora

lity

of

the

role

reco

gnis

ed in

w

orkl

oad

mod

els?

*

Wha

t dat

a so

urce

s an

d ev

iden

ce a

re P

Ls

expe

cted

and

abl

e to

ac

cess

as

part

of th

eir

role

?

* To

wha

t ext

ent a

re P

Ls

empo

wer

ed to

lead

en

hanc

emen

ts in

to th

e pr

ogra

mm

e?

Stre

ngth

enin

g Pr

ogra

mm

e Te

ams

* W

hat i

s th

e ex

pect

ed

mem

bers

hip

and

rem

it of

a

prog

ram

me

team

? H

ow

are

staf

f, st

uden

ts a

nd

othe

r sta

keho

lder

s in

volv

ed in

enh

ance

men

t ac

tivity

?

* To

wha

t ext

ent i

s th

e P

L ex

pect

ed to

lead

or t

o m

anag

e th

e te

am?

*

Wha

t opp

ortu

nitie

s ex

ist

for s

hare

d ex

plor

atio

n an

d / o

r co-

prod

uctio

n of

ev

iden

ce fo

r enh

ance

men

t ac

ross

the

prog

ram

me

team

?

Cre

atin

g an

App

reci

ativ

e In

stitu

tiona

l Con

text

* H

ow is

pro

gram

me

lead

ersh

ip re

cogn

ised

, su

ppor

ted

and

rew

arde

d w

ithin

the

inst

itutio

n?

* H

ow a

re p

rogr

amm

e le

vel r

epor

ts, e

vide

nce

and

voic

es e

ngag

ed w

ith a

nd

resp

onde

d to

?

* H

ow is

pro

gram

me

succ

ess

cele

brat

ed a

nd

lear

ning

acr

oss

prog

ram

me

team

s sh

ared

an

d am

plifi

ed?

Con

nect

ed S

ecto

r Le

arni

ng a

nd S

uppo

rt

* H

ow is

stra

tegy

and

pr

actic

e in

rela

tion

to

prog

ram

me

lead

ersh

ip

shar

ed a

nd d

evel

oped

at

sect

or le

vel?

*

How

cou

ld p

rogr

amm

e le

ader

s be

sup

porte

d to

sh

are

prac

tice

and

exch

ange

lear

ning

bey

ond

thei

r ow

n in

stitu

tiona

l co

ntex

t?

* H

ow w

ould

we

know

that

ef

forts

to e

nhan

ce

prog

ram

me

lead

ersh

ip h

ad

been

suc

cess

ful?

How

to

shar

e pr

actic

e &

lear

ning

?

Them

es a

nd Q

uest

ions

to G

uide

Enh

ance

men

t Con

vers

atio

ns

Documents

A Quick Guide to Resources - Enhancement Themes