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Bath Course in Enhancing Academic Practice
Course Handbook 2017/18
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Welcome
Welcome to the Bath Course in Enhancing Academic Practice (Bath Course for short). The
Bath Course is a work-based professional development course, designed locally to support
and develop your practice here at Bath, recognising your distinct individual and disciplinary
requirements, whilst accredited at a national level.
The course aims to support your continued development, providing a foundation as a
critically reflective evidence-based professional in Higher Education, whilst helping you fulfil
the University’s strategic priorities in its commitment to high quality teaching, learning and
research. The course is accredited with the Higher Education Academy against the UK
Professional Standards Framework. Thus you will gain a nationally recognised and
transferrable fellowship status as a result of the course.
The course team, along with the large number of academics acting as advisers and
contributors on the course, look forward to working with you as new colleagues. You will
find mini-biographies of the main team inside as a brief introduction and we hope you will
enjoy the opportunity of meeting and networking with colleagues from a wide range of
disciplines and areas of educational practice.
Dr Lenka Banovcova
Course Director
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Using this Handbook Key Points and Introductions
In order to help you find key information about the course quickly, this handbook begins
with ‘executive summaries’, the key points and main information that you should know at
the beginning of the course.
Main Handbook
The main body of the handbook then provides full details, longer explanations, and
information on procedures and processes.
Contents Contents ..................................................................................................................................... 3
Key Points and Introductions ..................................................................................................... 6
1 Structure and Requirements of the Course ....................................................................... 6
1.1 What are the different parts of the course? ............................................................... 6
1.1.1 Accreditation and Fellowship .............................................................................. 6
1.2 Which units should I do? ............................................................................................. 6
1.3 What order should I take the units of the course? ..................................................... 6
1.4 What are the units about? .......................................................................................... 7
1.4.1 Part 1: Teaching and Supporting Learning ........................................................... 7
1.4.2 Part 2: Curriculum Design and Development ...................................................... 7
1.4.3 Research Management ........................................................................................ 8
1.5 When are the units run? ............................................................................................. 8
2 Components of the Course ................................................................................................ 9
2.1 Course workshops ....................................................................................................... 9
2.2 Online learning and activities .................................................................................... 10
2.2.1 Moodle ............................................................................................................... 10
2.2.2 Pre/Post-session activities and further resources ............................................. 10
2.3 Practice-based Tasks ................................................................................................. 10
2.3.1 Department Activities ........................................................................................ 11
2.4 Assessment on the Course ........................................................................................ 11
2.4.1 Assessment Components ................................................................................... 11
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2.4.2 Marking .............................................................................................................. 12
3 HEA Accreditation and the UKPSF ................................................................................... 13
4 Advice and Support .......................................................................................................... 15
4.1 Course Adviser ........................................................................................................... 15
4.2 Tutorials and direct support ...................................................................................... 15
4.2.1 Induction ............................................................................................................ 15
4.2.2 Bath Course Adviser Meetings ........................................................................... 16
4.2.3 Mid-Course Tutorial (Optional) .......................................................................... 16
4.2.4 Exit Meeting ....................................................................................................... 16
5 People .............................................................................................................................. 17
5.1 Who should I contact? .............................................................................................. 17
5.2 Main Course Team Contacts ..................................................................................... 17
5.3 Course Team Biographies .......................................................................................... 18
Main Handbook........................................................................................................................ 22
6 About the Bath Course ..................................................................................................... 22
6.1 Who is the Bath Course for? ..................................................................................... 22
6.2 Aims ........................................................................................................................... 22
6.3 Objectives .................................................................................................................. 22
6.4 Enrolment and Registration Information .................................................................. 23
6.4.1 Registration ........................................................................................................ 23
6.4.2 Personal circumstances ..................................................................................... 23
6.4.3 Personal details .................................................................................................. 23
6.4.4 Academic circumstances .................................................................................... 24
7 Accreditation of Prior (Experiential) Learning AP(E)L Guidelines .................................... 25
7.1 APL ............................................................................................................................. 25
7.2 Considerable prior teaching experience and development ...................................... 25
8 Philosophy and Approach ................................................................................................ 26
9 Other Sources of Support ................................................................................................ 27
9.1 Mentor ...................................................................................................................... 27
9.2 Library and online resources ..................................................................................... 27
9.2.1 Exchange Online ................................................................................................. 28
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9.2.2 Moodle ............................................................................................................... 28
9.3 Other development activities.................................................................................... 28
10 Assessment Process and Policies ..................................................................................... 30
10.1 Assessment approach ............................................................................................ 30
10.1.1 Scholarship and Literature ................................................................................. 30
10.1.2 Guidance and criteria ......................................................................................... 30
10.1.3 Word count and range ....................................................................................... 31
10.1.4 References ......................................................................................................... 31
10.1.5 Submission ......................................................................................................... 31
10.2 Marking & Feedback .............................................................................................. 32
10.2.1 Extensions and late submission of coursework ................................................. 32
10.2.2 Feedback on drafts (formative) ......................................................................... 32
10.2.3 Summative marking and feedback .................................................................... 33
10.2.4 Minor Amendments Policy ................................................................................ 34
10.2.5 Re-submissions .................................................................................................. 34
10.2.6 Individual Mitigating Circumstances .................................................................. 35
10.3 Referencing, Plagiarism and Cheating ................................................................... 36
10.4 Quality Assurance .................................................................................................. 38
10.4.1 Procedure for an Academic Review Against an Board of Examiners Decision .. 38
11 Evaluation and Participant Representation ..................................................................... 40
11.1 Participant feedback .............................................................................................. 40
11.2 Unit Evaluation ...................................................................................................... 40
11.3 Participant representation .................................................................................... 40
12 Concerns and Problems ................................................................................................... 41
12.1 Workload ............................................................................................................... 41
12.2 Formal complaints procedures .............................................................................. 41
Appendix A. Glossary of Terms and Acronyms ................................................................... 42
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Key Points and Introductions
1 Structure and Requirements of the Course
1.1 What are the different parts of the course?
The full course consist of three units:
· Part 1: Teaching and Supporting Learning
· Part 2: Curriculum Design and Development
· Research Management
All units run twice a year.
Parts 1 and 2 are semester long units and have assessment as well as workshop attendance
and practice-based tasks. Research Management consists of two one-day workshops.
1.1.1 Accreditation and Fellowship
Parts 1 and 2 are accredited against the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF)
with the Higher Education Academy (HEA) and on successful completion you will be
awarded Associate Fellowship (AFHEA; Part 1) / Fellowship (FHEA; Parts 1 and 2) of the HEA.
1.2 Which units should I do?
The minimum university probation requirements for completion depend on your
contract/role and are given in the table below, for > 0.4FTE staff1.
Contract Requirement Leads to <1 year contract Part 1 AFHEA Teaching Fellow ≥ 1 year contract Parts 1 and 2 FHEA Lecturer ≥ 1 year contract Parts 1 and 2, Research Management FHEA
1.3 What order should I take the units of the course?
Parts 1 and 2 are taken in order. Research Management is taken when appropriate for you.
Parts 1 and 2 are taken in order: by default, on registration you will be signed up to take
Part 1 in your first semester and Part 2 in your second semester.
NB: you have to be teaching a sufficient amount at the time in order to take Part 1,
complete the tasks, and have sufficient authenticated practice to meet the requirements for
the UKPSF and AFHEA status. Speak with the Course Director/Administrator if unsure. You
1 This is a summary of the requirements as set out in QA9. For full details, see that code of practice statement.
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may still start on some components including the Induction day and Research Management,
if they are appropriate.
For lecturers, if the default timing is not appropriate for your work (e.g. are not teaching
initially), you can ask to move to different cohorts – speak to the Course Director or
Administrator first. You have 3 years to complete the course, but it is highly recommended
that you aim to complete within the first 18-24 months of probation.
Research management is taken when appropriate for your practice. Note: the component
on doctoral supervision must be taken within 6 months of your start as a doctoral supervisor
at Bath to meet the University QA requirements. Ideally you will take the two component
days together, but it is possible to do so at different times.
1.4 What are the units about?
1.4.1 Part 1: Teaching and Supporting Learning
Part 1 focusses on your direct engagement with students, via teaching in the classroom, or
in other contexts, and direct support such as feedback and pastoral care.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Design, plan, and employ appropriate methods for teaching and supporting learning,
based on
a. evidence of effectiveness
b. pedagogical understanding, and
c. your context (subject, discipline, level and your students)
that enhance the student learning experience.
2. Employ appropriate strategies for supporting all your students, using a variety of
methods and approaches, including feedback and pastoral support.
3. Consider the use and value and appropriate range of technologies available/used at
Bath, within your teaching context.
4. Critically reflect on and evaluate the effectiveness of the above teaching practices
using a variety of methods.
5. Develop your professional practice as a result of reflections and evaluations,
engagement with development activities and scholarship.
1.4.2 Part 2: Curriculum Design and Development
Part 2 considers learning and teaching at the level of a Unit (the terminology for
modules/courses at Bath), considering the interplay and design of the different learning
contexts and assessment.
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Learning Outcomes:
1. Consider the wider context in which your academic practice operates and the
implications for your practice.
2. Critically analyse and evaluate the effectiveness of teaching and learning across an
existing unit.
3. Consider appropriate alternative learning designs based on your evaluation and
analyse their suitability for your context.
4. Design and plan new or amended learning designs for units based on the above
evaluations and critiques.
1.4.3 Research Management
This unit introduces best practice in doctoral supervision, grant development and research
dissemination.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Employ appropriate strategies for supporting your doctoral students and/or member
of research staff as a team leader.
2. Consider how national and University specific policies and regulations inform your
research student supervision/staff management.
3. Consider methods for improving dissemination of your research and citations of your
publications.
4. Awareness of appropriate ways to position your research for the Research Excellence
Framework/Pathways to Impact
Full details for each unit are available in the unit handbooks
1.5 When are the units run? All Parts have two cohorts per year.
Parts 1 and 2 run over a semester on Wednesday afternoons.
Research Management runs over two one day workshops.
Part 1 Session 1 and the Course Induction are combined into a full day in Freshers’ Week or
the Inter-Semester Break.
Please note that you should attend all core sessions for your cohort of the delivery as a
mandatory part of the university’s professional development requirements for completing
the course.
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2 Components of the Course · Course workshops
o Core workshops
o Choice workshops
o Optional events
· Online learning and activities
· Practice based tasks
o Discipline activities
· Advice and Support
· Assessment
2.1 Course workshops
Core and choice cross-disciplinary workshops, optional events
Core workshops: The course workshop sessions form the main face-to-face component of
the course, mainly on Wednesday afternoons (Parts 1 and 2). They include taught
presentations, guest speakers, case studies, discussions and group activities. Based on your
teaching experience, practice-based tasks for the course, and online learning, the
workshops are a chance to hear different ideas, reflect on your practice, develop parts of
your assessments, and importantly to discuss areas of your teaching with peers, guests, and
the course team. Such discussions, across disciplines (with their similarities and differences
in practice) are frequently cited by graduates of the course as one of the most useful
aspects to engage with.
Choice workshops: Most sessions are Core Workshops and a mandatory part of the
programme. In both Parts 1 and 2, there are also a set of shorter Choice Workshops. These
are on topics that are of interest across departments, but not to everyone. You will make a
choice of at least X of Y sessions based on which align with your practice and interests.
Optional events: A variety of other sessions, workshops, and events take place at the
University connected with Learning and Teaching, particularly in terms of sharing practice
and discussion, which are open to all staff and provide additional development and support
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on topics of interest to sub-groups of participants. Those of particular relevance in each Part
will be included within the programme as recommended but optional events.
2.2 Online learning and activities
2.2.1 Moodle
The Bath Course is supported online via Moodle, the University’s
Virtual Learning Environment. There are Moodle courses for the Course
itself, and individually for each unit cohort. The unit Moodle courses
are all organised in a similar fashion to aid access.
The course will use Moodle as the main mechanism for communication. Reminders, updates
and instructions will be posted using the forums. There are settings within moodle to
change how precisely you receive moodle messages according to your preference.
2.2.1.1 Support
Support for using moodle can be found during the induction day, online at all times via the
Support Hub (at the top of Moodle), via other one-off workshops or via the E-Learning staff
in the Centre for Learning and Teaching. The Bath Course will use a variety of Moodle tools
both for their use and in part for you to experience first-hand their use in practice as a
student.
2.2.2 Pre/Post-session activities and further resources
Most workshop sessions on the course are supported by pre and post session activities. This
enables the sessions to be used more effectively, as well as enabling some material to be
done at your own pace and a suitable time. These activities include reading/media to
introduce or explore topics and guidance is given on the approximate time needed (usually
approx. 30mins).
Given the reality of academic life and competing priorities, it is recommended that you try to
‘schedule’ these pre/post-session activities formally for yourself.
In addition, the online course areas contain a large number of other ‘Further Resources’
which are available as additional supporting materials. You are expected overall on the
course and for the assessments to read and investigate the wider scholarship and literature,
integrating this back into your reflections and practice. These resources can help as first
steps or provide further details, whilst not being an exhaustive set, and what is useful will
depend on your individual practice and interests.
2.3 Practice-based Tasks
Outside of sessions you will complete practice-based tasks to help with your development
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Parts 1 and 2 of the course draw on your practice, your reflections on it, and some specific
tasks completed within your practice, for both the workshops and the sessions e.g. peer
teaching observations/review. These form the feedback and evidence for your final
reflections, evaluation and analyses within your assessments. This evidence and associated
artefacts form the bulk of an appendix to your submission for the assessments.
2.3.1 Department Activities
You will choose from a set of department/discipline related and recommended activities
Each Department/School has drawn up a set of department and/or discipline focussed
activities which are useful for new academics. These lists are department owned and
provide some further induction, local and context specific activities within the course.
For each Part of the course, you will choose at least two of these activities to complete
(teaching related activities for Parts 1 and 2, research related for Research Management)
and a short reflective log is submitted, which you will also use within assessments.
You are welcome to complete more than the minimum for the Course: these activities are
those that colleagues in the department feel are beneficial and are part of your induction
into the department. Your Course Adviser or Probation Mentor may be able to advise which
activities are useful to complete at which stage. Both are based in your department.
2.4 Assessment on the Course
Written critically reflective evaluations of practice and associated evidence
Full details for each assessment in the relevant unit handbook, overview here
The assessments in Parts 1 and 2 and criteria are designed to help you first develop and
then demonstrate how your practice meets the criteria and relevant Descriptor on the UK
Professional Standards Framework (D1 for Part 1, D2 for Parts 1 and 2 combined) along with
the University’s requirements and expectations. Research Management is not assessed.
2.4.1 Assessment Components
Each Part (1 and 2) of the course has an assessment which evaluates and critiques your
practice based on reflection, feedback, tasks and evidence. The online submissions for each
Part consists of
· A written submission, comprised of a set of sub components:
Part 1: Teaching Evaluation and Critique · Context of your teaching · Rationale for teaching approach · Evaluation of teaching · Alternative case study · Actions for development/future
Part 2: Unit Evaluation and Critique · Challenges and disciplinary
context of unit · Evaluation and analysis of the unit · Alternative case study · Actions for development/future
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· An appendix of evidence and artefacts from your practice and tasks on the course
The separate components of each assessment are combined into one single larger
submission to provide you with flexibility in writing, length of components, and how and
where you meet the criteria. Most of the appendix items will be generated by the practice-
based tasks within the unit.
See the unit handbooks for full details and guidance on the assessment sub components and
the criteria. The assessments will be explained and discussed within the course units.
2.4.2 Marking
Work is marked by the course team and some senior department course advisers.
Feedback is given 3 weeks after the deadline for work submitted on time.
Grading: the assessments are graded as follows:
o Pass: All criteria have been demonstrated.
o Not yet sufficient: One or more criteria have not yet been demonstrated.
Assessments which are marked “not yet sufficient” will be given a ‘refer’ at the exam
board and can be updated following feedback and resubmitted.
Criteria: the criteria are split into categories base on different aspects of your practice.
Guidance on the criteria is provided in the unit handbook.
All criteria must be demonstrated in order to pass the assessment.
Word Range: each written submission has a word range, which is relativity large, and
absolute: the word count must be within the range and noted.
References: part of developing teaching is learning from other people, and scholarship and
referencing are required, at a postgraduate level academic standard. Given the range of
disciplines of participants no set referencing style is mandated, but referencing should be
consistent in style and a reference list included at the end of the assignment.
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3 HEA Accreditation and the UKPSF The Higher Education Academy's (HEA’s) mission
is to help institutions, discipline groups and all
staff to provide the best possible learning
experience for their students. It achieves this by working with Higher Education institutions
and other organisations on a range of activities. The Academy also has in place a
recognition scheme which contributes towards the professionalisation of teaching by
conferring the status of Associate Fellow, Fellow, Senior Fellow, or Principal Fellow of the
Higher Education Academy. The Bath Course is accredited with the HEA and completion of
Part 1/Part1 1 and 2 entitles you to the status of Associate/Fellow of the HEA, with the post-
nominal letters AFHEA/FHEA. The University also has the Bath Scheme (for experienced staff
at the University), accredited with the HEA and in addition awards Senior Fellow (SFHEA)
status.
The UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF) is a sector owned framework for the
professional development of those teaching and supporting learning in higher education. It
covers a range of engagement in “Areas of Activity” along with the “Core Knowledge” and
“Professional Values” which under pin these activities, with four Descriptors (D1-4; D1-2
relevant to this Course) against which the HEA Fellowships are accredited. It is the
underpinning framework against which the Bath Course in common with the vast majority
of UK University initial teaching and learning programmes (including PGCerts) and CPD
schemes.
The Bath Course thus provides you with a route to gaining a nationally transferrable and
recognised status.
The UKPSF is thus at the root of the curriculum, development and assessment for the Bath
Course and your future career, thus it is important for you to understand the framework
and to ultimately, via the assessments, demonstrate that your practice maps against the
framework according to the appropriate descriptor. We shall go into further detail within
the Course and help you to both develop and demonstrate your practice. As an initial
summary, the following page provides an overview of Descriptors 1 and 2 (of 4) of the
UKPSF along with the dimensions (areas of activity [A1-5], core knowledge [K1-6] and
professional values [V1-4]) of the framework.
Part 1 of the Bath Course is accredited against Descriptor 1 (D1), leading to AFHEA status.
Parts 1 and 2 combined of the Bath Course is accredited against Descriptor 2 (D2), leading
to FHEA status
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Descriptor 1 (AFHEA) Descriptor 2 (FHEA)
Areas of Activity
Successful engagement with at least two of the five Areas of Activity
Successful engagement across all five Areas of Activity
Appropriate practices
Successful engagement in appropriate teaching and practices related to these Areas of Activity
Successful engagement in appropriate teaching practices related to the Areas of Activity
Core Knowledge
Appropriate Core Knowledge and understanding of at least K1 and K2
Appropriate knowledge and understanding across all aspects of Core Knowledge
Professional Values
A commitment to appropriate Professional Values in facilitating others’ learning
A commitment to all the Professional Values
Scholarship and Research
Relevant professional practices, subject and pedagogic research and/or scholarship within the above activities
Successful incorporation of subject and pedagogic research and/ or scholarship within the above activities, as part of an integrated approach to academic practice
Professional Development
Successful engagement, where appropriate, in professional development activity related to teaching, learning and assessment responsibilities
Successful engagement in continuing professional development in relation to teaching, learning, assessment and, where appropriate, related professional practices
A1 Design and plan learning activities and/or programmes of study A2 Teach and/or support learning A3 Assess and give feedback to learners A4 Develop effective learning environments and approaches to student support and guidance A5 Engage in continuing professional development in subjects/disciplines and their pedagogy,
incorporating research, scholarship and the evaluation of professional practices
K1 The subject material K2 Appropriate methods for teaching, learning and assessing in the subject area and at the
level of the academic programme K3 How students learn, both generally and within their subject/disciplinary area(s) K4 The use and value of appropriate learning technologies K5 Methods for evaluating the effectiveness of teaching K6 The implications of quality assurance and quality enhancement for academic and
professional practice with a particular focus on teaching
V1 Respect individual learners and diverse learning communities V2 Promote participation in higher education and equality of opportunity for learners V3 Use evidence-informed approaches and the outcomes from research, scholarship and
continuing professional development V4 Acknowledge the wider context in which higher education operates recognising the
implications for professional practice
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4 Advice and Support
4.1 Course Adviser
Bath Course Advisers are volunteers from your department who
have offered to provide additional feedback and support linked to
the Bath Course. Their role exists in part to provide a discipline
link and department based feedback to help to contextualise the
course and make the link to practice on the ground. Course
advisers would normally help in the following way:
Completing one of your teaching observations during Part 1 and providing feedback.
Discussing your teaching and helping with the translation of educational principles
and course topics to your discipline context.
Formative feedback on aspects of your assessment work.
Whilst the advisers are not personal tutors, they are colleagues volunteering to provide
advice and support and thus can be a good alternative, informal and less official source of
support. Your department will also allocate you a department probation mentor. This is an
official, separate, role aimed at supporting you on probation overall.
There are over 50 volunteer course advisers and when you start the course the course team
will seek a volunteer in your department. You should:
Contact your adviser to introduce yourself
Arrange your observation with them
You may wish to meet to discuss your teaching/the course informally
You can discuss seeking other advice and feedback from them. Recall that they are also busy
academics and volunteers (so don’t expect feedback on assessment work just before a
deadline, but discuss with them how and when they can help).
In the absence of a course adviser (e.g. temporarily, or any problems with availability), the
course team will help to cover or find other volunteers. Contact the Course Director.
4.2 Tutorials and direct support
The course team are there to help you and answer questions related to your academic
practice, not just
4.2.1 Induction
In addition to the introductions and workshops, during the induction you will meet both the
course team and members of key professional services. There will be a chance for Q&A over
tea/coffee and also optional sessions for more specific support during the day.
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4.2.2 Bath Course Adviser Meetings
Contact your course adviser and arrange to meet for advice on teaching in your discipline
and for help with the course including formative feedback on assignments.
4.2.3 Mid-Course Tutorial (Optional)
At the end of Part 1 you will submit a reflection considering your teaching evaluations so far,
based on your semester’s unit student evaluations and observations. If appropriate for you,
you may meet with one of the course team to discuss any general issues or help with your
practice. In general, the first source of support here will be your department/School, but if
necessary/requested we can arrange bespoke support and advice to enable you to meet
your final probation teaching evaluation requirements in this area.
4.2.4 Exit Meeting
The course finishes with an exit meeting based on your completed UKPSF mapping
document and reflections. This is not the end of your development as an academic and thus
we will also use this meeting to discuss the future, your interests and potential support for
the next stage of your career. Please bring your mapping document to the exit meeting (this
would have been also submitted in advance), alongside your online unit evaluations print
outs and the completed senior observation form.
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5 People
5.1 Who should I contact?
Course Director Overall course issues and questions, AP(E)L enquiries,
personal issues or problems.
Unit Convenors Unit related issues such as the workshop sessions, topics,
and assessment guidance.
Course Administrator Cohort queries, extension requests, and first contact if
unsure!
Course Adviser
(Department)
Arranging formative Part 1 teaching observation, advice
on translating to your discipline, general advice on
teaching, formative assessment feedback.
5.2 Main Course Team Contacts
Dr Lenka Banovcova
Bath Course Director
Convenor for Part 1: Teaching and Supporting Learning
CLT, Wessex House, 5.27
Tel: (01225) 38 5047
Dr Clare Power
Convenor for Part 2: Curriculum Design and Development
CLT, Wessex House, 5.27
Tel: (01225) 38 3236
Dr Hazel Corradi
Convener for Research Management/Senior Teaching
Fellow
CLT (2 days/Wk)/ BB
Wessex House, 5.29
Tel: (01225) 38 5578
Dr Rachael Carkett
Convenor for Bath Scheme
Tutor for Bath Course
CLT, Wessex House, 5.29
Tel: (01225) 38 3746
Dr Jeanette Müller
Academic Staff Development Manager
CLT, Wessex House 5.29
Tel: (01225) 38 5649
Nadine Grimmett
Course Administrator
CLT, Wessex House, 5.25
Tel: (01225) 38 6117
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5.3 Course Team Biographies In addition to the course team, who teach across the units, we draw upon a large number of other
academic staff to contribute to this course from across the Departments and School. These staff may
contribute to sessions and support staff as course advisers and assessors.
Dr Lenka Banovcova FHEA
Course Director
Convenor: Part 1: Teaching and Supporting Learning
Lenka joined the Centre for Learning and Teaching in July 2017 as Academic
Staff Developer and the Course Director (Director of Studies) for the Bath
Course in Enhancing Academic Practice. She is Unit Convenor for Part 1 of the Bath Course
and also Course Tutor for the Teaching Introduction for Postgraduates. Lenka’s first degree
is in Sociology and Social Policy and she completed her PhD in Sociology at the Department
of Social and Policy Sciences at the University of Bath. Her PhD research looked at changing
attitudes to work in post-communist countries. She subsequently worked as a Teaching
Fellow in the same Department, where she convened a number of UG and PG courses,
specializing mainly in methods of social research and the sociology of work and
employment. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has taught at a number
of universities in the UK and abroad. Her current professional interests include
internationalization of higher education and problems of employability within the sector.
CLT, Wessex House, 5.27, Tel: (01225) 38 5047, Email: [email protected]
Dr Clare Power SFHEA, FSEDA, FRSPSoc, FRGS
Convenor: Part 2: Curriculum Design and Development
Clare joined the Centre of Learning and Teaching at the University of Bath
in September 2017 as Academic Staff Developer (Teaching and Research).
She is Unit Convenor for Research Management on the Bath Course and
Unit Convenor for the Teaching Introduction for Postgraduates. She has a BSc (Hons) in
Geography from the University of Reading, a PhD in Remote Sensing and Climatology from
the University of Bristol and a Professional Certificate in e-Learning, Teaching and Training
from the University of Greenwich. She has been a member of Staff Educational
Development Association since 2007, elected to their Executive Committee in May 2013.
She has been a Fellow of the HE Academy and Fellow of SEDA since 2011 and gained Senior
Fellow of HEA in 2014.
Clare has over 20 years’ experience teaching and supporting learning in Geography, in
different higher education institutions at all undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Since
2005 she has worked in academic staff development, initially at the University of Bristol,
developing Academic Career Pathways, collaborating with HE professionals to develop and
19
use the UK Professional Standards Framework, and teaching on the Certificate in Teaching
and Learning. From 2007 she was Academic Staff Development Co-ordinator leading the PG
Certificate in Professional Learning in HE (PCPLHE) at Bath Spa University. In 2010 developed
a MA in Professional Practice in HE, and was awarded a Bath Spa University Teaching
Fellowship. She first accredited the PCPLHE to award FHEA in 2009 and successfully re-
accredited it with the development and accreditation of the BSU Continuing Professional
Development Scheme awarding HEA Fellowship in 2014. From 2015-17 she was Director of
the BSU CPD Scheme and ran the Centre of Learning and Teaching Development. She has
research interests in evidencing teaching and learning in HE, assessment, e-portfolios, using
smart pens to assist dyslexic and ESL students in their study and mentoring in HE.
CLT, Wessex House, 5.27, Tel: (01225) 38 3236, Email: [email protected]
Dr Hazel Corradi SFHEA
Convenor: Research Management/Bath Course Tutor/Senior Teaching Fellow
www.bath.ac.uk/learningandteaching/about/staff/h-corradi.html
Hazel works both in the Centre for Learning and Teaching and as a Senior
Teaching Fellow in the Department of Biology and Biochemistry, so can be compared to an
electron in that her location at any one time is best described as a probability distribution.
Hazel provides guidance and support for Teaching Development Fund projects and the Bath
Scheme. She also enjoys provoking people to consider the context of, and values in, UK
higher education as part of the Bath Course. She is particularly interested finding ways to
build bridges between educational theory and disciplinary practice, building networks to
support innovative practice and promoting the TDF fund as means to support educational
change. Hazel has a PhD in protein crystallography and a Postgraduate Certificate in
academic and professional practice. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
When not hanging out in Wessex House, she teaches a range of unpopular subjects
including spectroscopy, crystallography and maths. She has also completed a number of
HEA and TDF funded projects in flipping and developing online resources to support
students in reading and writing research articles and practicing calculations. She also runs
conversation with cake (the CLT journal club), and makes fantastic cakes – do come along
and try them!
www.bath.ac.uk/learningandteaching/courses-development/events/conversation-with-
cake/index.html
CLT (2 days/Wk)/Biology & Biochemistry, Wessex House 5.25, Tel: (01225) 38 5578, Email:
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Dr Rachael Carkett PFHEA SFSEDA
Bath Scheme Director
Tutor: Bath Course Part 1 and Part 2
www.bath.ac.uk/learningandteaching/about/staff/r-carkett.html
Rachael is part of the Centre for Learning and Teaching. Her responsibilities
include Director for the Bath Scheme for Professional Recognition of Teaching and
Supporting Learning in HE. Rachael brings extensive experience of academic development
leading teams in the development and delivery of professional development programmes
for staff in the various roles she has held at other Universities. A Principal Fellow of the HEA
and an Accreditor for over 12 years, Rachael reviews direct applications for fellowship and
programmes for HEA accreditation nationally and internationally. Rachael holds external
examiner roles for Professional Development Programmes and CPD Schemes in a number of
institutions. She is Senior Fellow of the Staff and Educational Development Association
(SFSEDA) and Co-Chair of the SEDA PDF Committee and member of the Executive. A SEDA
PDF mentor and accreditor Rachael supports the development of programmes in HEIs in the
UK and internationally. She successfully completed the ILM Level 5 Certificate in Coaching
and Mentoring course and is part of the University’s Coaching Academy. Rachael’s first
degree was in Psychology followed by postgraduate qualifications in psychological research
methods and in learning and teaching in HE. She has a PhD in Computing and Psychology.
Her current professional interests include inclusivity; supporting learning and teaching in the
disciplines; approaches to supporting and recognising continuing professional development
activities.
CLT, Wessex House, 5.29, Tel: (01225) 38 3746, Email: [email protected]
Dr Jeanette Müller FHEA
Academic Staff Development Manager
www.bath.ac.uk/learningandteaching/about/staff/j-muller.html
Jeanette is a Staff Development Manager (Research and Enterprise) within the
Centre for Learning and Teaching. Her responsibilities include managing and
developing the professional development programme for staff involved in research, and
supporting institutional policy and practice in the management and career development of
research staff. Jeanette has been working as Staff Development Manager at the University
of Bath since March 2008. Prior to this she gained a PhD in Developmental Biology and
worked in the Universities Enterprise office in the Students’ Union organising transferable
skills and enterprise training for undergraduates. She is a Fellow of the HEA and also trained
as a certified life coach
(www.bath.ac.uk/research/researchers/careerdev/courses/coaching.html).
CLT, Wessex House, 5.29, Tel: (01225) 38 5649, Email: [email protected]
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Nadine Grimmett
Course Administrator
Nadine is Programmes Administrator for academic staff development
programmes within the Centre for Learning and Teaching. Whilst her main
administrative responsibility is for the Bath Course, she also covers the Bath Scheme and
Research Programme. Previously PA to the Director of LTEO and the External Examiner
Administrator, Nadine has been at the University since March 2010. Over 20+ years, she
held various roles at Bournemouth University, Liverpool Victoria and Woolwich Building
Society.
CLT, Wessex House, 5.25, Tel: (01225) 38 6117, Email: [email protected]
22
Main Handbook
This main handbook section expands on the key points and information section to provide
details of the policies, procedures and processes for reference.
6 About the Bath Course
6.1 Who is the Bath Course for?
The course is open to both new and existing staff in a variety of teaching, learning and
research roles who wish to develop their understanding of, and expertise in, aspects of their
academic practice in Higher Education. The course is primarily designed to support the
initial development of new lecturers and teaching fellows on probation, and to enable them
to gain fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.
Successful completion of the course is the normal probationary/contractual requirement
(see section 1.2)2. Probationary staff are given a workload allocation for the course by their
department (a reduction in their workload) in line with the University’s guidelines.
In order to be eligible to join and complete the course you must be teaching and supporting
learning, including elements of assessment, on University of Bath Higher Education courses
(normally amounting to more than 30 hours of teaching per year). You should be engaged
in teaching activities while you are enrolled on the course. In particular, you will need to be
teaching a sufficient amount during the semester in which you take Part 1 of the course in
order to partake in the activities and tasks and have sufficient experience and authenticated
practice to gain Associate Fellow of the HEA status (precise interpretation of this will depend
on context but a guideline or 20 hours of teaching and supporting learning over the
semester. Please contact the Course Director if you have fewer hours of teaching practice to
discuss how best to support your development needs and requirements.
6.2 Aims
To equip staff who teach with the skills, knowledge and understanding:
To effectively support the student learning experience;
To manage their academic career; and, where appropriate,
To enhance their research management skills;
in the University of Bath context.
6.3 Objectives
2 NB: probationary requirements are dependent on types and length of contracts.
23
To enable staff new to academic and professional practice to:
develop the skills, an initial understanding, knowledge, and confidence to prepare them to become effective teachers and research managers;
question, evaluate and develop their practice using regular critical reflection in order to improve the quality of the student learning experience and/or their research achievements, and their supervision;
critique current scholarship in academic practice, develop critical analyses of teaching methodologies and research management, and develop their own practice in light of these analyses;
develop appropriate strategies to become effective and efficient members of the academic community that is the University of Bath;
meet their personal and professional development needs in a systematic, effective and efficient way.
6.4 Enrolment and Registration Information
For those staff on probation, HR will ordinarily notify the course team when you have
started and you will be sent a letter about the course and the induction. If this has not yet
happened (in particular if you are starting close to the induction dates), or you wish to
enquire about joining the course voluntarily, please contact the Course Administrator:
6.4.1 Registration
In order to manage your participation on this course, we will require you to complete a form
to register you onto SAMIS* (the University’s student record system). The form also
provides some additional information for the course team.
6.4.2 Personal circumstances
As a part-time, professional development course for adult, working, participants, a range of
personal or work-related situations and circumstances may occur that can complicate and
affect your participation. The course team are used to dealing with a large range of such
circumstances. Whilst the course is a mandatory probation requirement, both the course
and probation itself are designed to support you. Thus if any such circumstances occur,
please contact the course director and discuss your situation and how best to proceed.
6.4.3 Personal details
It is your responsibility to ensure that the University has your correct and most up-to-date
personal and academic details. If you change your address – either your semester-time or
home address – please ensure that you update your details online at
www.bath.ac.uk/registration-on-line/.
24
If during your studies you change your name, you will need to complete form CC1
(Notification of Change of Student’s Personal Circumstances) and to provide proof of change
(for example, a marriage certificate). Please submit the form to the Course Administrator.
6.4.4 Academic circumstances
If you are considering suspending your studies or withdrawing from your course due to a
change in your contract, please discuss your situation with the Course Director. Issues such
as maternity/paternity/illness are dealt with every year, so please do contact the Director.
By default, you will be registered to begin Part 1 in your first semester and (if relevant) Part
2 in your second semester. If you do not have sufficient teaching responsibilities initially,
contact the course team and we will discuss an appropriate start date.
Similarly, if work priorities (such as research priorities) mean that your initial cohort for Part
2 is not appropriate, contact the course team to discuss transferring to a different cohort.
Note: Teaching Fellows have a shorter probation period than Lecturers and other than
exceptional circumstances agreed with Academic Staff Committee, it may not be possible to
change cohort and complete the course in time. Lecturers have a longer probation, and may
not begin teaching initially, however, based on past experience it is highly recommended
that the course is completed within 18-24 months for the course to be most useful and to
prevent other delays.
It is your responsibility as an academic to complete your probation requirements, and you
should take responsibility to familiarise yourself with the process and documentation.
However staff in your department, HR, and the course team will help and support you, so
ask questions early rather than later to clarify any uncertainties.
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7 Accreditation of Prior (Experiential) Learning AP(E)L Guidelines Exemption may be granted from the compulsory workshops attendance and assessments for
Parts 1 and 2 of the Bath Course based on prior qualifications. In such situations, as a result
of mapping prior development and experience against the course, some (non-assessed)
attendance at sessions or course tasks may be required or recommended to be completed.
NB: All participants will complete the Department/School practice-based activities and
university teaching evaluation tasks (formally in Part 2) if on the Bath Course, including
when APL is granted. AP(E)L is not possible for Research Management.
7.1 APL
For those with an existing teaching qualification or recognition, accreditation of this will be
considered in the following situations:
1. Prior HEA Fellowship (AFHEA/FHEA)
AFHEA would exempt from compulsory attendance and assessment for Part 1
FHEA from Parts 1 and 2
2. Prior HE Teaching Qualifications/Complete courses (e.g. non-UK, non-accredited
PGCerts) Mapping/gaps analysis will be used to determine if the courses/qualification
covered the ILOs sufficiently for exemption from Part 1 or Parts 1 and 2.
In both cases:
Non-assessed components of the course missing from prior experience may be
required or recommended.
Department / School-based and university teaching evaluation will still be completed
Consult first: Applicants for APL should consult with the course director and present
evidence of the above and complete a gaps analysis mapping prior experience and
development against the Bath Course and the UKPSF. Anyone seeking exemption from
probation also presents similar evidence to identify APL/exemption route (in this case both
processes run in parallel).
7.2 Considerable prior teaching experience and development
Only accreditation of prior learning (APL) is formally granted for the course. In the case of
considerable prior teaching experience and development (minimum 3-5 years in similar role
to current post), if considered appropriate, a participant may be allowed to make an
application via the Bath Scheme for HEA fellowship status and this consequently used for
APL for the Bath Course as above. Some non-assessed components of the course may be
required or recommended.
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This section does not concern exemption from probation (which is also the only case for
exemption from the Bath Course completely). If your department applies for exemption, the
same consultation with the course director as above is part of the process.
8 Philosophy and Approach The course will introduce you to a wide range of learning and teaching and professional
practice methods and increase your understanding of the processes behind them. It will
enable you to develop your own skills in developing, choosing and using different teaching,
learning and assessment methods. It will also encourage you to look at your practice in
other aspects of your role and consider how these can be enhanced. Many methods and
approaches will be modelled within the course, drawing upon staff from across the
academic community, so that you will have the experience of a variety of approaches.
The philosophy of the course and the team is student centred. This approach is based on
the premise that learners learn best when they are active*, take responsibility for their own
learning, and can relate and apply it to their own context. This approach is applicable to
both students in Higher Education and you as a participant of this course.
The workshops, readings, group work, tasks and assessments are designed to take you
through the experiential learning cycle*; learning by doing. The course takes you through
the cycle of having an experience, reflecting on it, making generalisations about it to place it
in a conceptual framework* and using this to plan and approach a new situation effectively.
The course encourages you to develop as a reflective practitioner* using this approach for
professional development during and beyond the duration of the course. This involves
learning from daily work based experiences by observing, reflecting critically, and
generalising about the situations and problems you meet and developing insight and
wisdom, which can then inform and improve your professional practice. It also means
linking theory to practice by referring to and evaluating the relevant educational literature.
Action
(Your normal learning and/or
research, and/or leadership and
teaching activities) Reflective observation
(Reflection after practice.
Reflection on formative
feedback from students
and colleagues)
Conceptualising and Theorising
(Critical reflection on links between
new ideas from the literature and
own practice)
Planning
(Reflection before practice.
Rationale for Unit selection
and session plans; plans
for change,
experimentation)
Figure 1 Work-Based Learning Cycle based on Kolb’s model (Kolb, D. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as a
Source of Learning & Development. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.)
27
9 Other Sources of Support In addition to the main course team, your adviser, and the support from your peers on the
course, there are other sources of support for different aspects of your practice. In the
Induction you will be introduced to several services (many of whom will return later in the
course) who provide support for all academic staff including:
Audio-Visual Team (AV)
E-Learning Team
Library
Research and Innovation Services (RIS)
Student Support Services
Public Engagement Unit
9.1 Mentor
As a new member of staff you will have been assigned a mentor by your Head of
Department (see QA 9 code of practice www.bath.ac.uk/quality/documents/QA9.pdf and
information on probation see www.bath.ac.uk/hr/working/probation/probationpolicy.html
). Through regular but informal contacts your mentor, an experienced colleague, should be
prepared to provide support, guidance, and assistance in such matters as your integration
into the department and institution, understanding the administrative methods and
organisation of the University, exploration and exploitation of all resources available to
support teaching and research, preparation and delivery of teaching, observing your
teaching and giving constructive feedback, guidance in the establishment of research
activity (where relevant), support in understanding and dealing effectively with (inter-)
departmental politics and relationships. If you have any personal problems associated with
the new appointment and concerns about your workload then you should raise these with
your mentor first.
9.2 Library and online resources
The Library contains an extensive collection of print and electronic resources about learning
and teaching in Higher Education and other topics covered in the Bath Course.
Online resources can be viewed by clicking on Library Resources for Your Subject Teaching
& Learning in Higher Education Resources for teaching & learning. Librarians are keen to
help locate the appropriate materials and have much experience to offer on how you can
access information on how students learn. Each discipline has a dedicated Subject Librarian.
and this person can provide help and advice on many aspects of teaching, learning and
research.
The HEA hosts a wide range of evidence-based discipline specific resources which you may
find useful to access to support your learning and teaching practice in particular. Originally
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accessed through the HEA Subject Centres, the materials and resources can now be found
through the HEA website (see www.heacademy.ac.uk).
9.2.1 Exchange Online
The Exchange online site is a location for easy access to a range of case studies, reflections
and briefings from colleagues at the university. This provides a gradually growing tagged
repository for funded project reports, case studies of methods, resources from the Bath
Course, reflections on topics from experienced academics. You will likely be directed to
resources hosted here at various points in the course directly, but you can also sign up for
updates or browse/search.
9.2.2 Moodle
We take advantage of the University’s virtual learning environment, Moodle, to support the
Bath Course and can communicate with you whilst you are on the course. Course related
documents will be placed on the Bath Course Moodle course.
Each unit of the Bath Course has a Moodle course where Unit Handbooks, teaching material
and other unit specific information is posted. Some units incorporate online activities which
may involve contributions to wikis* and blogs*. Assessment tasks for each unit will be
uploaded here. Once you have enrolled on the course you will be able to gain access to the
Bath Course Moodle sites at moodle.bath.ac.uk.
The course deliberately uses a range of moodle features so that you experience them first
hand as a student, to help consider what may, or may not, be appropriate for your context.
Guidance based on the course team’s usage is available if you wish to adapt what you see.
In generally, online guidance for moodle is available in the moodle support hub, accessed
via the support for staff menu in moodle itself. Individual and team guidance can be
provided by the E-Learning Team.
9.3 Other development activities
There are various staff development events and workshops that you may find useful to
support you in all aspects of your role at the University. Some of these may be specifically
mentioned within a unit on the course as optional events if they overlap with specific needs
and themes connected with the unit.
Generally, there are range of continued professional development (CPD) opportunities at
the university, and your CPD will of course continue after completing the course. For
example, this could be IT skills training, Leadership and Management, Health and Safety,
finding out more about learning technologies and so on. Take a look at the following links
for more information about what is on offer:
See: www.bath.ac.uk/staff-development/courses/index.php
See: www.bath.ac.uk/learningandteaching/
29
Conference
The university runs and annual internal conference for those involved in
learning, teaching and research. The day-conference includes workshops on
topical areas for the university and higher education, the presentation of
case studies and projects from colleagues at Bath, formal (collegiate)
debates, Keynote talks and more. It provides a platform for the
dissemination of work across the university and a forum for the discussion of some of the
latest developments. The conference is usually held in May, with over 100 colleagues
present.
See: www.bath.ac.uk/learningandteaching/courses-development/events/exchange.html
Learning & Teaching Journal Club: Conversation with Cake
The Journal Club is an informal opportunity for you to chat with
colleagues about topical learning and teaching issues over
coffee/cake/lunch. No expertise in education literature is required, just
an interest in learning and teaching at the University! The organisers
provide the drinks and cake and you attend - all are welcome. Please bring your own mug,
lunch and some conversational thoughts on the topic!
See: www.bath.ac.uk/learningandteaching/courses-development/events/conversation-
with-cake/index.html
LITEBox
LITEBox is an initiative to disseminate and explore the use of
technology and has run a series of events in which first adopters
report back on their experiences of particular technologies,
debates on technology use, and discussion workshops.
See: blogs.bath.ac.uk/litebox/
30
10 Assessment Process and Policies
10.1 Assessment approach
For Parts 1 and 2 of the course there are assessments. These are outlined, with full guidance
and details of the criteria, in the unit handbooks.
The assessment tasks are designed to enable you to demonstrate the appropriate descriptor
of the UKPSF, within the context of practice and the University of Bath, as well as University
requirements and expectations.
The assessments are designed to be based around your practice here at Bath and it is
important for participants to make links between the topics and discussions on the course
and their current practice. This is a professional development course and the assessments
are firstly part of the development and secondly individual and unique to the participant
and their practice.
The components of the assessments will be developed and be supported by evidence
produced via the practice-based tasks, feedback received, and the course workshops. The
combination of the components into one single submission is designed to enable the
participant to be flexible by enabling:
components to be combined in a coherent fashion as best suits the participant’s
practice;
criteria to apply across the submission and thus be demonstrated where most
appropriate for the participant;
flexible use of the overall word range for the unit.
10.1.1 Scholarship and Literature
Informed, evidence-based practice is an important professional value and key criteria in
each assessment. Participants should not only learn from their own experience, becoming
critical reflective practitioners, but also from the experience and work of others. As the
approach to the course is practice-based, literature and scholarship are to be used as
appropriate for context to inform, challenge and provide ideas specifically for your practice,
rather than as a detached intellectual exercise (although an awareness and consideration of
wider issues and debates in higher education and the UK is important).
A wide variety of potential resources may be of use as part of the ‘wider’ literature,
including institutional and national documentation, research papers, textbooks, websites,
case studies and reports from projects. Completing the assessments and tasks will provide
an opportunity to explore some of these and begin to see what is available to aid you in
your practice by learning from the experiences of others.
10.1.2 Guidance and criteria
31
The full assessment guidance in the unit handbooks includes commentary on the
components in detail and also on the criteria. You will need to complete the practice-based
tasks during the unit (such as a teaching observation) to obtain data that you will need to
complete the assessment, and guidance is also provided for the tasks. You should read the
guidance and criteria carefully as they will provide clear information on what you need to
do. The following general communication criteria should be met for all written tasks:
Assessment tasks must:
Communicate effectively in a logical sequence with fluent use of academic language.
Ensure that any appendices included are relevant, labelled and linked to the assessment task.
Contain very few grammatical or typographical errors.
Be within the word count range provided.
Be referenced accurately with a reference list at the end of the task.
Be fully word processed and uploaded to Moodle.
Failure to adhere to the above will prevent the task being passed.
10.1.3 Word count and range
A word range is provided as clear guidance for each assessment task. This range indicates
the minimum word count expected to be needed to demonstrate evidence for the criteria,
but also provides a range up to a maximum to cater for differences in style to enable space
for more detailed critical discussion.
The word range is thus wide but is absolute, so tasks below the minimum will not be
marked and for those above the maximum, the marker will stop reading at the maximum
limit. Thus you should stick within the word range and indicate your word count at the end
of each assessment task. Your word count should include the main body text and footnotes.
Appendices, figures and references are not included in the word count and the appendices
will include evidence, data, and descriptive information (e.g. unit descriptors) to enable the
task itself to concentrate on the areas assessed via the criteria.
10.1.4 References
A reference list should be included at the end of the assignment. The exact style of
referencing within the task that you use is left to the participant to cater for the disciplinary
differences and conventions, however the style should be consistent.
10.1.5 Submission
Written assessments must be word processed and submitted on-line via Moodle by the
deadline. Instructions on how to do this can be found in the assignment-submission area on
Moodle, which you will need to access before you can submit. Contact the Course
Administrator or Unit Convenor if you experience problems with this.
32
Plagiarism will not be tolerated and will also lead to a ‘refer’ grade, in line with QA 53 of the
University Regulations (see 10.3). When you submit an assignment make sure you check the
box that relates to the plagiarism statement. Coursework will be passed through Turnitin,
the university’s plagiarism detection software. You are strongly encouraged to take the
Academic Integrity Test3 which will appear on your Moodle home page in due course.
Students at the University must take this test, so it is also a useful exercise for you as a
teacher, to see what they have to do and the resources provided for them.
Before you submit, in addition to the submission guidance and the plagiarism statement,
you will be asked to indicate the level of sharing of your work you would agree to in
principle. This includes options for sharing your work with future participants as examples to
help guide them or to share your case studies more widely (suitably edited or anonymised
as appropriate with your agreement after contact from the course team).
Your coursework will be secured within the Moodle electronic archives according to the
regulations of the Data Protection Act. Aside from the course team and External Examiner it
may or may not be read by others, based on your preference.
10.2 Marking & Feedback
10.2.1 Extensions and late submission of coursework
You will be expected to hand in all assessment tasks by a specified date (see unit handbooks
for details). This is to ensure equity amongst participants and also to enable staff to
organise their time to mark efficiently.
Failure to submit on time without prior agreement (e.g. agreed extension or valid mitigating
circumstances) will lead to a refer grade. You may then submit at the next round of
assessment. If you miss this next round of assessment you may be required to participate
again in the taught elements of the appropriate unit before submitting your assessment.
Extensions will be granted for a maximum of 2 weeks. This form can be obtained from the
Bath Course Moodle page.
Where assessments have not been submitted or have been referred, the Course Director
will inform ASC and the relevant Head of Department/School of the situation in order to
support you to successfully complete your probationary requirements.
10.2.2 Feedback on drafts (formative)
It is strongly recommended that you submit a draft of some or all of your assessment to
your course adviser well in advance of the deadline to enable them to check that no obvious
3 For more details about the test see: www.bath.ac.uk/learningandteaching/themes/academic-
integrity/Info_for_staff/Index.php
33
evidence is missing and that it aligns to the assessment criteria for the unit. You will be
given either oral or written formative feedback* at this point.
It is strongly suggested that you negotiate with your course adviser when this feedback can
be sought especially if you require additional feedback at a later stage (please recall that all
of our course advisers are volunteers). Please note that written feedback within 3 weeks of
the final submission deadline may not be possible due to the advisers other
commitments.
10.2.3 Summative marking and feedback
The assessment tasks for each unit will be marked by a member of the course team, with
some marking by senior course advisers, but not by your course adviser. All markers hold a
minimum of FHEA status. Where the work is considered a borderline or ‘not yet sufficient’,
it will be marked independently by another member of the team as will a sample of other
work. Where there is disagreement with the outcome, they will meet to discuss whether
agreement can be reached. In the event where they cannot agree the overall outcome it will
be sent to a third assessor to review. The provisional outcome and feedback for work
submitted on time will normally be released electronically via Moodle within 3 weeks of
the set hand-in deadline.
The markers will provide feedback comments on a pro-forma, providing comments on
category of criteria, what has been done well and what could have been done to improve
further. In the case of tasks which are “not yet sufficient” markers will indicate under an
“areas to improve” heading what should be updated and covered to meet the remaining
criteria when resubmitting. Markers may also provide general comments and suggestions
(e.g. resources or other work that they think may be of interest) at the end of the feedback.
A sample of assessments including all refers will be internally moderated and then sent to
the External Examiners for external moderation to ensure maintenance of academic
standards and that the assessment process has been fair, robust and rigorous.
The Board of Examiners (BoE) for The Bath Course will confirm the results of the unit’s
assessments, the attainment of Associate Fellow or Fellow for each participant, and
determine the overall successful completion of the course. The BoE will inform Academic
Staff Committee (ASC) when participants’ probationary requirements in relation to the Bath
Course are completed.
10.2.3.1 Anonymous marking
In general, where suitable and possible, it can be good practice for assessment to be
anonymous. The Bath Course however does not use anonymous assessment submissions.
This is due to the fact that the course is a professional development course with both
evidence and reflections on participants’ practice that are highly individual. Anonymous
submissions would in fact not be anonymous at all, as the participants could be very easily
34
identified due to the teaching and context of their practice involved. In addition a significant
extra workload would be created for participants due to modifying the evidence used. The
Bath Course team has agreed that to require and claim anonymous submission and marking
in such a situation would be both impractical for and misleading to participants. Other
assessments at the University that have similar highly individual and/or practice based
elements are often also not anonymous.
For information on anonymous marking at the University in general, see:
http://www.bath.ac.uk/quality/assessment/anonymous-marking.html
10.2.4 Minor Amendments Policy
The aim of this policy is to help cut delays in passing units for submissions needing only
minor updates to pass, rather than more detailed re-writes or more in detailed changes.
If work submitted is not yet sufficient, but in the unit convenor's judgement there are only
minor corrections needed that could be completed quickly (e.g. something is missing, or
needs a short correction), then the unit convenor may offer the participant the opportunity
to complete the appropriate corrections and return the updated submission within one
week. This decision is at the unit convenor's discretion both in terms of whether the
corrections are minor enough and whether the timing is possible (this may not be the case
for work already granted an extension due to time left before the exam board). The
participant can choose whether to take up the opportunity or not. If the participant does so,
then the updated submission will be marked and sent to the exam board with no penalty as
if it were the original submission. If the participant does not update the submission, then
the original (NYS) will be given a refer grade and the participant can resubmit for the
following formal resubmission deadline.
Given the timing and need for quick re-marking, participants should use either colour or
track changes to quickly identify to the markers the updated parts of the assignments.
10.2.5 Re-submissions
Failure to submit on time without prior agreement (e.g. agreed extension or valid mitigating
circumstances, see below) will lead to a refer grade. The participant may submit at the next
round of assessment. If they miss this next round of assessment they will be required to
participate again in the taught elements of the appropriate unit before submitting their
assessment. Extensions, using the relevant form posted on Moodle, will be granted for a
maximum of 2 weeks.
Participants must pass all individual criteria in a unit in order to pass the unit. If any criteria
are marked as ‘not yet demonstrated’ then the unit is graded ‘not yet sufficient’ the
participant will be given a ‘refer’ for that unit at the Examination Board.
35
In the case of a ‘refer’ for an assessment task submitted on time, the participant will be
invited to re-submit their assessment task(s) at the next round of assessment at a date
agreed at the Examination Board. Re-submitted tasks will be marked from ‘fresh’ i.e. from
scratch, without reference to the original submission and thus should include all
components. If all criteria are met, the re-submission can gain a full pass grade, with no
penalty for resubmitting.
Participants have a maximum of three official attempts. Within this a maximum of two
written submissions are allowed. If participants do not pass a second written submission
then for any further attempt, they will be required to attend a viva meeting with two
assessors. This will provide the opportunity for participants to meet the criteria via a
different format, with the assessors able to ask questions and draw out further evidence on
the areas of the criteria yet to be passed. Guidance will be provided for participants along
with their feedback so that they can prepare any information to discuss at the meeting.
Should the participant still not meet all the criteria, their case will be referred for discussion
with the Head of Department/School and ASC.
Where assessments for units have not been submitted or have been referred, the Course
Director may inform ASC and the relevant Head of Department/School of the situation in
order to support the participant to successfully complete their probationary requirements.
10.2.6 Individual Mitigating Circumstances
Individual Mitigating Circumstances (IMCs) refer to conditions or circumstances that either
temporarily prevent a student/participant from undertaking assessment or significantly
impair a student’s/participant’s performance in assessment. Note that the criterion for
IMCs is the impact on the assessment, rather than the impact on the student/participant.
IMCs are distinct from longer-term conditions or circumstances that affect your ability to
study, of the type that might be better supported through, for instance, disability support or
special assessment arrangements.
Definitions of IMCs can be found in “What are Individual Mitigating Circumstances” -
www.bath.ac.uk/registry/imc/documents/what-are-imcs.pdf. You should make yourself
familiar with these definitions, in addition to any IMC guidance offered by the Department
and support and guidance offered through the Student Disability Advice Team or the
Students’ Union Advice and Representation Centre, so that you are prepared should such
circumstances arise.
The Course Administrator will be able to advise you on how to submit an IMC claim. Should
you wish any IMCs to be taken into account by the Board of Examiners, notify the Course
Director within three working days of completion of the relevant assessment. The form you
should use to do this is available from the Department or from
www.bath.ac.uk/registry/imc/documents/imc-report-form.doc . You will need to submit
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evidence of your claim – for example, in the case of illness or injury, a medical certificate. If
you know of an IMC before you begin an assessment period, please notify the Course
Director in advance.
The information given here is a summary for your general guidance. Full information and
guidance on the University’s principles governing Individual Mitigating Circumstances and
Assessment is available at www.bath.ac.uk/registry/imc/.
Further information
(For students) Students’ Union Advice and Representation Centre http://www.bathstudent.com/welfare/contact/ Student Disability Advice team www.bath.ac.uk/disabilityadvice/
10.3 Referencing, Plagiarism and Cheating Presenting work that is not your own for assessment constitutes plagiarism. Plagiarism
occurs when a student/participant 'borrows' or copies information, data, or results from an
unacknowledged source, without quotation marks or any indication that the presenter is
not the original author or researcher.
Another form of plagiarism (and hence cheating) is auto-plagiarism or self-plagiarism. This
occurs when a student/participant submits work (whether a whole piece or part of a piece)
without acknowledging that they have used this material for a previous assessment.
If you use someone else’s pre-existing work – say, by summarising it or quoting from it – you
must reference the original author. This applies to all types of material – not only text, but
also diagrams, maps, tables, charts, and so on. Be sure to use quotation marks when
quoting from any source (whether original or secondary). Fully reference not only
quotations, but also paraphrases and summaries. Such references should then be included
in a bibliography or reference list at the end of the piece of work. Note that the need for
referencing also applies to web-based material; appropriate references according to the
type of work or image should always be given.
There are several acceptable methods of referencing material. Examples include the
Harvard system and the Numeric system. For the Bath Course written assessment tasks,
reference lists should be included at the end of the assignment in which they are cited.
The exact style of referencing within the task that is used is up to the participant, to cater
for the disciplinary differences and conventions, however the style should be consistent.
Students at the University are required to complete an online (Moodle) Academic Integrity
test, for which Moodle training is also available. Whilst not required for participants, access
can be arranged and it is highly recommended to view/complete this to see what their own
students will have to do and what is expected of them. Guidance concerning referencing
and plagiarism is available from several sources. They include:
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online student support and resources at http://www.bath.ac.uk/students/support/academic/plagiarism/index.html
the Library at http://www.bath.ac.uk/library/infoskills/referencing-plagiarism/ and courses run by library staff
the Students’ Union’s course - http://www.bathstudent.com/training
courses delivered by the Academic Skills Centre (http://www.bath.ac.uk/asc/). Any student/participant who is found to have used unfair means in an examination or
assessment procedure will be penalised. 'Unfair means' here include:
cheating (for example, unauthorised use of notes or course material in an examination);
fabrication (for example, reporting on experiments that were never performed);
falsification (for example, misrepresentation of the results of experimentation);
plagiarism (as discussed above);
self-plagiarism (duplication of one’s own work, as discussed above);
unfair collaboration or collusion (representation of work produced in collaboration with another person or persons as the work of a single candidate).
Penalties for unfair practice will be determined by the Academic Staff Development
(accredited provision) Sub-Committee. They may include failure of the assessment unit or
part of a course, with no provision for reassessment or retrieval of that failure. Proven cases
of plagiarism or cheating can also lead to an Inquiry Hearing or disciplinary proceedings.
If you are accused of an offence, you may wish to contact your Union representative for
support of union services. (Students can access support via the Students’ Union).
Plagiarism detection and personal data
When you hand in a piece of assessed coursework, you will be expected to make a
declaration that the work is your own and, where you have re-used your own work and/or
used other sources of information, that you have referenced the material appropriately.
The University uses the JISC Plagiarism Detection Service, Turnitin. This service checks
electronic, text-based submissions against a large database of material from other sources
and for each submission, produces an 'originality report’. It makes no judgement on the
intention behind the inclusion of unoriginal work; it simply highlights its presence and links
to the original source.
The service complies with European Data Protection legislation. When you registered with
the University, you gave it permission to process your personal data for a variety of
legitimate purposes. This includes allowing the University to disclose such data to third
parties for purposes relating to your studies. The University, at its sole discretion, may
submit the work of any student to the Plagiarism Detection Service (in accordance with
Regulation 15.3e) and may make, or authorise third parties to make, copies of any such
work for the purposes of:
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i. assessment of the work;
ii. comparison with databases of earlier work or previously available works to confirm
the work is original;
iii. addition to databases of works used to ensure that future works submitted at this
institution and others do not contain content from the work submitted.
The University will not make any more copies of your work than are necessary, and will only
retain these for so long as remains necessary, for these purposes.
Please note that, if at any time the University submits any of your work to the JISC
Plagiarism Detection Service, the service will be provided with, and will retain, certain
personal data relating to you – for example, your name, email address, programme details
and the work submitted. Such data may be transferred by the Plagiarism Detection Service
to countries worldwide (some of which may not be governed by EU Data legislation) in order
for the work to be checked and an originality report generated in accordance with the
proper workings of the Plagiarism Detection Service. Personal data is retained indefinitely by
the JISC Plagiarism Service upon submission of work. You may ask for your personal data to
be removed by contacting the University’s Data Protection Officer.
Further information
The University's procedures on Examination and Assessment Offences (QA53) are described
at www.bath.ac.uk/learningandteaching/cop/qastatements
10.4 Quality Assurance Assessment in The Bath Course adheres to the precepts in the Quality Assurance Agency
(QAA)’s code of practice for the assurance of academic quality and standards in higher
education: assessment of students.
The course is administered through the Centre for Learning and Teaching. The overall
standards of the course are overseen by the Academic Staff Development (accredited
provision) Sub-Committee informed by reports from the CLT and the External Examiners.
10.4.1 Procedure for an Academic Review Against an Board of Examiners Decision
A participant may appeal against a decision relating to failure of a unit/units of The Bath
Course. The grounds under which such an appeal may be permitted are:
(i) that circumstances exist affecting the performance of the participant of which the Board of Examiners have not been made aware and which the participant could not reasonably have been expected to have disclosed to the Course Director in accordance with the policy on individual mitigating circumstances;
(ii) that there were procedural irregularities in the conduct of the formal course assessments (including administrative error) of such a nature as to cause
39
reasonable doubt whether the Board of Examiners would have reached their decision had the irregularities not occurred;
(iii) that there is positive evidence of prejudice, bias or inadequate assessment on the part of one or more of the examiners.
Any participant seeking to appeal on any of the grounds indicated above must notify the
Head of the Centre for Learning and Teaching in writing within fourteen days of being
notified of the decision of the Board of Examiners. The request for an appeal must include:
a) a statement specifying which of the above grounds apply to the case for appeal; b) a statement of the circumstances leading to the case for appeal; c) any additional documentary evidence; d) a statement of the participant's desired outcome; e) an explanation as to why the participant was previously unable to provide any new
information disclosed at this stage. The Head of the Centre for Learning and Teaching will appoint an Independent Reviewer*4
who in consultation with the Head, has the discretion to decide that there are insufficient
grounds to warrant upholding the appeal.
Where the Reviewer, in consultation with the Head of the Centre for Learning and Teaching,
agrees that there is a prima facie case for an appeal, the Reviewer may consult with the
Course Director and internal assessors to determine whether or not the participant’s
desired outcome is the most appropriate in view of the circumstances. Where this is the
case, the Reviewer may approve the outcome without the need for further action.
Where the Reviewer, in consultation with the Head of Department, agrees that there is a
prima facie case for an appeal but the action is deemed inappropriate they will recommend
a preferred action after discussion with relevant stakeholders including the participant, their
Head of Department and HR.
Participants considering lodging an appeal should discuss the matter with the Course
Director as soon as possible.
4 The Independent Reviewer will be a member of senior management within an academic department
/ school other than that of the participant who has not been involved in the assessment of the piece(s) of work under review.
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11 Evaluation and Participant Representation We are committed to reviewing and improving our practice taking into account
developments in the sector, institutional priorities and stakeholders such as departments,
and importantly, the views of participants on the course. As a professional development
course supporting staff in an ever changing sector, the course is constantly in development
to meet the changing needs and priorities, and the content and foci updated as practices
change.
11.1 Participant feedback
As the course aims to support you and develop your practice as a participant, we very much
encourage you to engage with the feedback and evaluation mechanisms to help the course
team to respond and adapt to individuals. There are several ways we seek feedback from
participants:
Many sessions on the course will include different forms of informal feedback
mechanisms using a variety of methods (in part to demonstrate some of these). The
course team use these to respond quickly to questions and provide more targeting
resources for the cohort.
The End of Unit Evaluation will be sent out seeking your views and feedback on the
unit overall.
The participants’ course representative(s) will also represent views of participants on
committees and during more formal reviews (see below).
You are welcome to contact any of the course team directly to informally or formally
discuss any concerns, questions, or feedback you have on the course.
11.2 Unit Evaluation
All sources of feedback are considered as part of the end of unit evaluation by the unit
convenor and a short summary report and action plan is written for the Academic Staff
Development Committee. These reports are posted for participants on the cohort and kept
available on the main Bath Course Moodle area.
11.3 Participant representation
Each cohort normally elects a Participant Representative. Their role is to represent
concerns, requests, comments and suggestions from their fellow participants to the course
team and others. The representative(s) should attend Academic Staff Development
Committee meetings held through the year and will be notified about these in advance.
This committee oversees the Bath Scheme and the Bath Course, acting as the equivalent to
the Department/Faculty Learning and Teaching Quality Committee (D/FLTQC), but including
wider representation from across the university, and reports to the University Learning and
Teaching Quality Committee (ULTQC). See the Course Moodle site for further/updated
information on current representatives and meetings.
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12 Concerns and Problems It is important to note that all participants on the course are effectively part-time mature
students, with the majority undertaking the course as part of their full or part time
academic role. This means that participants come with a range of other responsibilities both
personal and professional, along with unique working patterns and contexts. Whilst the
course is designed to support academics on probation, there are nearly always exceptions to
the ‘usual’ academic role and unique circumstances. The course team are used to and
expect such situations to arise with each cohort. Thus if you have any concerns of problems,
please contact the Course Director.
12.1 Workload
If you have concerns about your workload, you should raise these with your mentor and
Head of Department/School. If there are major issues that remain unresolved, you should
contact Deborah Griffin, Human Resources Manager and Secretary to Academic Staff
Committee and Teaching Fellow sub-committee or the Director of Human Resources. The
University’s Academic Staff Committee has agreed a remission of hours to complete the
Bath Course, which you should discuss with your Head of Department. The course is part of
the role and workload for probationers, not an addition. Those required to do the course by
the university should have the course included in their Workload Allocation Model. (See
Career Progression in the Education & Research job family: principles & framework)*
www.bath.ac.uk/hr/atozhrdocs/CareerProgressionDocument.pdf
12.2 Formal complaints procedures
You are encouraged to raise any matters of concern in an informal manner as soon as they
arise. This often circumvents the need for formal complaints or grievances.
If you are dissatisfied with the response you have received using the normal feedback
channels, there are procedures to ensure that your complaints and grievances are
addressed fairly and promptly and that you can lodge your complaints and grievances, in
good faith, with the assurance that you will not be penalised for so doing. If you wish to
raise formal complaints or grievances you should seek further advice from the Centre for
Learning and Teaching.
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Appendix A. Glossary of Terms and Acronyms
“53 …” books a series of books which have useful tips and ideas about a wide range of
teaching and learning issues
Action learning “. . . a continuous process of learning and reflection, supported by
colleagues, with an intention of getting things done. Through action
learning individuals learn with and from each other by working on real
problems and reflecting on their experiences.” McGill & Beaty (1992)
Active learning is learning which requires students to participate in relevant exercises
to investigate situations, apply their knowledge, reflect on their
experience or seek solutions to problems.
APL Accreditation of Prior Learning
AP(E)L Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning
ASD Academic Staff Development
Assessment
criteria
are descriptions of the nature and level of judgement being applied by
the assessor or to which the candidate should aspire.
Blog ‘Web log’; it is a space on the Web that enables you to publish texts and
link to other files, often with comments from readers allowed. The
university hosts a wordpress installation that staff can use for their own
blog - blogs.bath.ac.uk/
CLT Centre for Learning and Teaching
Conceptual
framework/
conceptualisation
is an attempt to order and make sense of experience through reference
to theoretical explanations or models.
CPD Continuing Professional Development
Deep learning is an approach to learning to develop a fundamental grasp and
understanding of topic and an ability to apply it in different situations.
Experiential
learning
is learning which occurs from participation in a genuine activity, often
real world activity as opposed to theoretical learning derived from texts
or formal lessons. Such learning requires reflection by the learner on
their experience of a particular exercise.
Flexible learning refers to a choice of time, place, pace, mode and medium of learning.
Formative
assessment
is an exercise which helps students form an understanding, through
feedback, of what will be required of them in subsequent summative
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assessment which helps them develop skills. Marks from formative
assessment ‘don’t count’.
GAS Graduate Attributes and Skills
HEA Higher Education Academy - www.heacademy.ac.uk
HEFCE Higher Education Funding Council for England - www.hefce.ac.uk
There is also HEFCW (Higher Education Funding Council for Wales) and
the SFC (Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council)
Learning outcomes are what learners should be able to know/do/understand as a result of
a course/unit or sequence of sessions.
Learning style is a theory of learning in which it is argued that different individuals
prefer to learn in different ways. Various models of learning style have
been put forward, some of the better known being that of Honey and
Mumford (1982) which is based on activist, reflector, theorist and
pragmatist styles.
LTEO Learning & Teaching Enhancement Office – former predecessor
department for parts of the Centre for Learning and Teaching (CLT) at
Bath
Moodle The University’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)
Pedagogy refers to the principles, practice or profession of teaching.
QAA is the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education which was formed
in 1997. It aims to promote continuous improvement in the quality and
standards of Higher Education provision and to provide accessible and
useful public information about HE to meet the needs of employers and
students and the funders of HE - www.qaa.ac.uk
Reflective practice is an approach to professional behaviour advocated by Donald Schön
and others which argues that practitioners such as teachers need to
reflect critically on their practice and decision-making not only before
and after events, but also in action. Much of the expertise of
professional behaviour, it is argued, lies in the capacity to make these
kinds of professional judgements in complex and unpredictable
situations.
SAMIS Student and Applicant Management Information System – the
University of Bath’s electronic student record system.
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Strategic learners are those who make strategic decisions about the amount of deep or
surface learning which is appropriate to a given topic at a particular
stage of learning.
Student Centred
Learning (SCL)
is an active and dynamic process through which students develop deep
approaches as learners, taking responsibility for their own learning.
Summative
assessment
are marks used to check, at the end of a learning unit whether, and how
well, the expected learning outcomes (knowledge, understanding, skills,
etc.) have been achieved; it may contain some elements of formative
assessment, for example with opportunities for giving learners feedback
as to how they could perform better next time.
Surface learning is an approach to learning which takes a superficial approach to a topic,
often simply memorising facts without understanding the
concepts/theory behind them.
TEF Teaching Excellence Framework – the government framework for
evaluating the quality of teaching being introduced into higher
education and linked with the ability of institutions to raise fees.
Counterpart to the longer running REF for research funding.
VLE Virtual learning environment – the University uses Moodle as its VLE.
The online learning area for courses.
Widening
Participation
Widening access and improving participation in Higher Education for
those who have not traditionally had a chance to develop their
educational potential at this level. This may include widening access for
students from wider socio-economic backgrounds, or with disabilities.
Wiki is a space on the Web that enables you to produce texts and link to
other files. Others can make changes into your texts. See
www.bath.ac.uk/bucs/services/ittraining/tutorials/wiki/ to find out
more.
