Education Strategy

HomeAbout usStrategiesEducation StrategyOur prioritiesEnhance our Undergraduate Offer

Priority A: To Enhance our Undergraduate Offer in: the Quality of Learning, Teaching, Student Support and Student Outcomes; and in International Attractiveness

Our undergraduate offer has been a key strength of the University and our programmes remain highly attractive to talented students. We will make enhancements focusing on the following objectives:

  1. Inducting and integrating students into Learning Communities within the Education-Research Ecosystem from day 1
    • Explicitly focusing on development of learning community within departments and programmes, including roles & responsibilities (e.g. giving and receiving feedback);
    • Encouraging and enabling student engagement from day 1, informed by the need to maximise inclusion and minimise the risk of isolation;
    • Creating intellectual challenge and excitement through early engagement with departmental research, central disciplinary debates and grand challenges (as appropriate).
  2. Attracting & Supporting Diverse Learners, and ensuring that the content and delivery of education supports inclusion, diversity and wellbeing
    • Increasing recruitment of disadvantaged, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic and other under-represented students through the delivery of an ambitious Access & Participation Plan;
    • Attraction to diverse international students;
    • Supporting transition and inclusive pedagogy, aligned to Provost Commission work and informed by research projects including Transforming Transitions;
    • Using evidence, best practice and expert guidance to embed Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the curriculum;
    • Supporting a whole institution approach to mental health and wellbeing, aligned to the Step Change Framework.
  3. Offering meaningful global opportunities to all (embedding global study and work experience)
    • Increasing international opportunities through delivery of the Global Strategy – in particular a diverse range of opportunities that are part of the formal and informal curriculum;
    • Increasing work experience opportunities for International & Home students;
    • Working with Global Partnerships to develop lasting educational partnerships with international peers including from the global south;
    • Collaborating with international partners in the co-production, design and delivery of a global curriculum (including joint field trips and virtually- or digitally-enabled collaboration).
  4. Increasing Active/Inquiry-led Learning
    • Optimisation of formal learning opportunities to emphasise interactive, dialogic, inquiry-led learning;
    • Increased use of digital platforms for content delivery to enabled flipped classrooms and studio learning approaches.
  5. Rebalancing Assessment
    • Reducing replication and redundancy in summative assessment;
    • Increasing personalisation of assessment (e.g. longitudinal portfolios);
    • Increasing rapid feedback and self-evaluation in formative learning;
    • Increasing competency-based assessment to complement summative assessment.
  6. Liaising with key stakeholders
    • Collaborating with business, industrial and NGO partners, in programme design and delivery (e.g. degree apprenticeships, student projects, employability skills working with employers);
    • Collaborating with schools, colleges, charities and other HE Institutions in raising awareness, aspirations and attainment.