1Working together to deliver an exceptional student experience

Student Education Service

After a flurry of activity in recent months we have the basis for a plan to help our students prepare better for their future lives and careers.

Our priorities will be to ensure that:

• More students gain significant higher-level work-related experience as part of their degree (eg placements, work/study abroad, volunteering, research with an external organisation) including the opportunity to reflect and receive feedback on their experience.

• Employability skills and qualities are embedded effectively and distinctively for all students in the enhanced Leeds Curriculum.

• All students have easy access to high quality information, advice and guidance.

• Employers and alumni can easily work with us to support our priorities.

I am working with my management team (the Student Opportunity section heads and the Faculty Education Service Managers) to determine how we can deliver these priorities.

We will be offering students a more integrated menu of work-related experience and our front-facing service will be more accessible and tailored to the needs of students from different disciplines. We are also engaging employers and alumni even more actively in our employability activity.

We have already improved the way we collect, analyse and present data from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey, which should help us monitor our progress.

Over the coming months, I will be preparing a comprehensive action plan, with the help of colleagues across the University, our students and employers. I am looking forward to us working together to lay the foundations of our new approach to Student Opportunity.

S T U D E N TO P P O R T U N I T Y :

Update from Robert Partridge,

Director of Student Opportunity

S T U D E N T E D U C AT I O N S E R V I C E N E W S

Working together to deliver an exceptional student experience

Student Education Service The Student Education Service is starting to develop its own look and feel. We welcome your comments to... sescommunications@leeds.ac.uk

October 2014

PROCESS AND TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMMEWork is now underway with the University’s Customer Relationship Management system (CRM) technology partner, Pythagoras.

We are currently refining our requirements for the Microsoft Dynamics CRM and how we can maximise the opportunities the system offers.

High level technical plans have been agreed with Pythagoras and design work will start soon.

The programme team, advised by colleagues responsible for pre-applicant and admissions related processes, is continuing to refine plans for our future processes. Target dates for CRM system implementation are:

October 2014: start system design and build

March-May 2015: system tests

May-July 2015: user acceptance testing

September 2015: taught postgraduate admissions to go live

February 2016: improvements to pre-application activities, including marketing, events and campaign management

September 2016: research postgraduate and undergraduate admissions.

Throughout the 2014-15 academic year, various stages of the new systems will be released for testing as it is developed. Implementation activities have already started with schools and faculties.

If you need more information on the plans for processes and the new

CRM system, please contact Paula Dunn, p.dunn@leeds.ac.uk, or Anthony Allen, a.allen@leeds.ac.uk

P R O G R A M M E N E W S

STUDENT EDUCATION SERVICE WEBSITEWork is continuing to build two new Student Education Service web sites. Separate sites for students and staff will give users easier access to information currently held in different places across the Service.

Following discussions and focus groups with students and staff, designs for the new sites have been agreed. Content from existing sites is now being transferred and re-written where necessary.

The sites will feature improved access to policy documents, better presentation of room information and will offer an improved experience for people accessing the internet on mobiles and tablets.

The new sites will undergo extensive testing from mid-October to Christmas. The project team welcome offers from staff to help in the testing process. If you’re interested, contact David Pickering d.pickering@leeds.ac.uk

The new sites are planned to launch in early 2015, and staff will have the opportunity to view them before they go live.

Working together to deliver an exceptional student experience

Student Education Service 2

The training and development project has defined the knowledge and skills needed to deliver a sector-leading Student Education Service.These have been split into four areas:

• Personal and professional effectiveness

• Collaboration, support and communication

• Service knowledge and delivery

• Leadership and management

The Service has made a commitment to continued professional development for its staff. Teams across the service are encouraged to learn from each other both about the specifics of delivering our services, but also about how we engage with and get the most out of training.

TRAINING PROGRAMMESLeadership and management training A programme to support Service leaders and managers is being piloted, starting with a series of four ‘People Management Toolkit’ sessions.

Started in September

Realising our potential This event is aimed at all SES staff. It has been developed in response to staff feedback and provides a chance to reflect on the Service, how it fits together, and how staff fit within it.

Started in October

Train the trainer This programme builds the skills of non-professional trainers from across the SES so they feel confident to manage, develop, deliver and evaluate training.

Started in October

Induction Two SES-specific induction events are available to complement the University-wide induction. The full day induction is for all new starters and includes the vision, teams, functions, structures and governance, with a further half day course for those with line management responsibility.

Starting in November

Supporting students programme Nine workshops continue to run, following evaluation of the successful student support training pilot:www.leeds.ac.uk/student_education_service/training/pilots.html

Starting in November

Continuous improvement workshop

This three day workshop focuses on a case study with a group of staff responsible for a particular process or area of work, equipping them with an approach to improving working practices using ‘Lean’ methods.

Workshops held on request

A range of “SES Essentials” resources are being developed, delivering information on aspects of the SES for those not working in that area.

“Delivering our services” training is being reviewed and developed. The project team is working with the SES subject experts to develop this training where appropriate.

Scoping and development is also under way for other areas identified as priorities, including Student Opportunity.

For further information visit

www.leeds.ac.uk/student_education_service/training or email the project team on sestd@leeds.ac.uk

C A S E S T U D Y :

W H Y S T A F F T R A I N I N G A N D D E V E L O P M E N T I S S O V A L U A B L E T O

T H E I N T E R N A T I O N A L S T U D E N T O F F I C E

Identifying development requirements Training and development is often a key point of discussion in the regular one-to-one meetings which are carried out as part of the Staff Review and Development Scheme (SRDS). Colleagues’ training needs, as well as areas of interest, are identified and relevant training opportunities discussed.

Regular sharing of learning between team members In weekly team meetings, colleagues who have attended training courses are asked to share key points with the rest of the team. This helps to embed learning for the person who attended training, and to keep the team members informed about useful tips or updates which have been picked up.

Maintaining regular development activitiesMembers of the team are encouraged to complete at least one training or development activity each month, dependent on workload. These activities could be attending a course, completing an online training course, or spending some time researching and reading up about a topic of interest.

Putting training into practiceThe team tries to adopt good practice picked up through training courses. After one colleague attended the “Confidentiality and Information Security Workshop”, the team used what had been learned to develop their own policy.

The benefits for the teamThe International Student Office is confident that appropriate training has impacted positively on the team’s performance. Staff regularly use techniques and skills gained in training, and the learning has been empowering for the team, as they are more confident and knowledgeable about what they’re doing. This in turn improves quality of the service offered to students.

Attending training also offers valuable opportunities for networking. Staff are encouraged to talk to and exchange contact details with other attendees at courses, which can provide a route into other teams, and make getting hold of information easier and quicker.

T R A IN ING & DE V EL OPMENT

Working together to deliver an exceptional student experience

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REGISTRATION IMPROVEMENTSA number of changes to arrangements for registration have led to improvements for students this year.

The introduction of a new online form for students to request their new ID cards helped to cut queues during the first few weeks and lightened the workload on staff at busy registration desks.

Students can now upload their own photo for their student ID card using an Xform. This photo is then printed onto the card prior to their arrival at the student counter so all they need to do is bring ID for checking to collect their card.

As well as the new Xform, updated student ID card production software was introduced this year. The new system is better supported and much easier for colleagues to operate.

Feedback on the new process from students has been good with many of them happy that they can take their own photo and choose one that they like before they have their card printed.

The student counter team added more improvements for students by opening at the weekend for the first time. The counter saw around 2,000 students during the weekend, which reduced queues during the rest of the week.

The use of Xforms is being increased across the whole of the Student Education Service with a number of areas already using some straightforward forms, and more complex forms are in development.

If you need more information about the use of Xforms, contact Karen Cooper: k.m.cooper@leeds.ac.uk. If you need information

about counter processes or the card production software, contact Renato Pallassini: r.pallassini@adm.leeds.ac.uk

DEVELOPING THE WORLD UNITE FESTIVAL

International Student Office is working with Leeds University Union, University colleagues and students to help grow this year’s World Unite Festival.

Taking place from 6-15 February 2015, this annual student-led festival brings together people from all over the world to experience different cultures and celebrate diversity on our campus. This year, as well as providing opportunities for hundreds of students to deliver activity and linking in to some of the Discovery Themes, the festival will also be reaching out to local schools and partnering with community groups.

Last year the festival attracted over 4,000 participants and included performances, culture and language taster sessions, talks and discussion, films, exhibitions, craft activities, sport and more.

The Festival is supported by alumni and friends of the University through their donations to the Footsteps Fund and is a great week to focus attention on the many international and intercultural opportunities at the University.

If your school or service would like to include something in the programme, please contact Katy Manns in the International Student

Office on 0113 343 3933 or email c.j.manns@adm.leeds.ac.uk

STUDENTS INTO SCHOOLSThe Students into Schools programme operates across Leeds and West Yorkshire to help raise the attainment and aspirations of young people, and to offer our students the opportunity to develop skills in an educational setting.

The scheme is well established and sees around 400 undergraduates and postgraduates take part each year, helping in over 70 schools and colleges to deliver and support a range of educational interventions tailored to the needs of each school.

Students can choose to take part in the programme as part of their degree and receive academic credit, or as a voluntary activity alongside their degree.

Students receive training delivered by education professionals and get the opportunity to find out if teaching is the career for them. They also develop transferable skills relevant to an array of graduate jobs.

Our students are able to give back to the local community by helping with young people’s education in areas that need it most.

For more information on getting your school or faculty involved in the programme, contact the Students into Schools team on 0113 343 3762 or sis@leeds.ac.uk

LEEDS CURRICULUM: DISCOVERY THEMES

The start of the 2014-15 academic year sees the launch of an important element of the Leeds Curriculum which enables our students to make the most of the breadth of disciplines and subject areas across the University. The previously titled “elective modules” are now called “discovery modules” and will belong to one or more of the academically-led Themes.

There are ten Discovery Themes and these are presented on a new website, integrated into Leeds for Life www.leedsforlife.leeds.ac.uk/Broadening. This website enables students to explore the full range and depth of opportunities available, and create a shortlist of modules they’d like to investigate further and discuss with personal tutors and module leaders. The aim is to enable students to explore the opportunities available to them in advance of online enrolment, so that they can make informed choices and explore which modules they’d like to take.

The Discovery Themes Fair took place on the 24 September, in the Great Hall. This provided the opportunity for students to talk to Discovery Theme leaders and module leaders about discovery modules and their shortlists.

For more information visit the Leeds Curriculum website www.curriculum.leeds.ac.uk/broadening/current-activity

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S T U D E N T E D U C A T I O N S E R V I C E N E W S

NEWS IN BRIEFDISABILITY COORDINATOR TEAM UPDATEThe start of this academic year sees disability coordinators taking responsibility for students in specific faculties. This allows coordinators to work in partnership with academic and Student Education Service colleagues to ensure support for our disabled students. If you have a query about a particular student, you can find details of your faculty coordinator on the disability team website. www.equality.leeds.ac.uk/about-us/whos-who/disability-team-profiles/

SCHOOL ACTION PLANSSchools have now received their annual action plan which need to be completed and submitted for approval at the December Faculty Taught Student Education Committee FTSEC meeting. Posters will then be produced for Schools to display that highlight the action points identified and summarise data from the NSS and Programme Experience PES surveys: www.leeds.ac.uk/qat/policyprocedures/action-plans

INTERIM PROGRAMME APPROVAL PROCESSA new programme approval process is being trialled this session to provide a more responsive system. This will involve consideration of the programme proposals at separate Programme Approval Group meetings

instead of Faculty Taught Student Education Committee meetings. The Programme Approval Group meetings will be held on a Faculty-by-Faculty basis and will run in parallel with the FTSEC meetings.

SUPPORTING STSEC WORKSHOPA training session on supporting School Taught Student Education Committees (STSECs) will take place on 22 October. This session is intended for Student Education Service colleagues who support their School’s TSEC/service STSEC meetings. For more information contact r.j.cumming@leeds.ac.uk

HELP FIND THIS YEAR’S INTERCULTURAL AMBASSADORSThe Intercultural Ambassadors Programme is a volunteering opportunity for all students to work with a multicultural team on projects on campus or in schools. Students can develop cultural awareness and intercultural communication skills, gain management and leadership experience, and make friends from all over the world. The deadline for applying for this year’s Intercultural Ambassadors Programme is Wednesday 15 October.

Please encourage UK and international student to apply. The application pack is on www.globalcommunity.leeds.ac.uk/ambassadors and more information is available from Jackson Kihiko, Global Community Project Assistant on 0113 343 7839 or j.kihiko@leeds.ac.uk

TOWN MEETS GOWN DENTISTRY OPEN DAY

This year’s open day saw the School of Dentistry try something new by inviting the local community to take part, as well as prospective students and their parents.

Local families were able to come and see what happens right on their door step, and to take part in some interactive games and activities. Current students demonstrated basic life support and invited visitors to learn life

saving techniques by performing CPR and the Heimlich manoeuvre on practice dummies.

Children were able to make and fill teeth with the Play Doh dentists, giving very small children an opportunity to play at being a dentist. The family dressing up booth proved to be very popular, with whole families dressing up as the complete dental team and having their photos taken.

Prospective applicants were given insights by senior students into the application process, and had the opportunity to practice and receive feedback from students who had themselves been through the process recently themselves.

Feedback from visitors to the open day was extremely positive with students, parents and the local community able to learn more about what is involved in dentistry.

STAFF CHARITY EVENTSWe have a number of staff running a large number of miles to raise money for charity.

Jo Nassor (Postgraduate Research and Operations) and Joanne Thorpe (Progress and Monitoring, exams) both ran the Great North Run earlier this year. Jo raised £630 for Prostate Cancer UK. Joanne finished in 2hr 27mins and raised £212 for AMMF,

a charity who are supporting Joanne’s friend through her chemotherapy treatment for bile duct cancer.

Ben Craggs, SES web team, ran the Yorkshire Marathon on Sunday 12 October in an amazing 2hr 26min. He raised over £450 for Anthony Nolan; a charity that saves the lives of people with blood cancer. Donations are still welcome: www.justgiving.com/godsownmarathon

Becky Kidner from the Business School took part in an all female charity boxing match on 4 October. Although Becky did not win her bout, she raised £425 for the Stroke Association. Donations are still welcome: www.justgiving.com/Becky-Kidner

STAFF CHANGESNEW STAFF:Megan Shelton has joined the International Student Office and Study Abroad teams as a Student Support Assistant; Jackson Kihiko has started his year in industry working in the International Student Office Team as Global Community Project Assistant; Christina Brennan is now working in Postgraduate Research and Operations (Admissions and Registration); Kate Wilson has joined the Programmes and Assessment (events) team and will deal with all University certificate administration; Adam Smith and Lily Ackroyd-Willoughby are student interns who have joined the timetabling team to support the lecture capture project; Richard Cruise is seconded from IT to the SES web team as a Web Development Consultant.

MOVING ACROSS THE SERVICE:Chris Warrington has been appointed from 1 November as the University’s first Head of Student Support. Chris will be working on the integration and development of existing support services within Student Opportunity. He will lead the teams in Disabled Students’ Assessment and Support and the Student Counselling Centre and manage relationships with key partners.Ben Craggs has moved from the International Student Office to work on the SES web development project as Web Content Officer; Natalie Parker has moved from the central timetabling team to the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science as Education Service Officer; Claire Flegg, previously Project Officer on the SES Programme team, has been seconded to the Disabled Students Assessment and Support team; Ben Woodhouse has moved from the PGT Hub in Engineering to the SES Programme team as a Project Officer.

LEAVERS:Nicola Scothern, Activities and Operations Manager in the International Student Office leaves at the end of October to take up a new post with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.