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School Learning and Teaching Development Plan - Outline of Process

Responsibility and timing

Each teaching school in the University is expected to formulate a School Learning and Teaching Development Plan (SLTDP), to be reviewed on an annual basis.

The SLTDP is intended to cover a period of several years from the date of production. It therefore does not need to be completely revised each year. Schools have three options following the annual review:

1. to publish a revised version of the previous plan that incorporates (relatively minor) changes and additions
2. to publish an annual appendix that covers changes and additions
3. to carry out a more extensive revision resulting in a new plan.

A more extensive revision of the plan should occur either:

• when external factors are judged to have changed, such as changes to college and university strategies and structures that affect the school, or decisions to introduce or withdraw degree programme(s)
• once five years have elapsed since the previous plan was agreed.

Responsibility for producing the SLTDP and annual appendices where relevant, lies with the Dean of School, reporting to school and college boards and the Vice Principal (Educational Development). The task may be delegated to a staff member or group with specific responsibility for school learning and teaching. Appropriate student representatives should be involved in the development process. Schools are encouraged to take account of external reference points (see Guidance Note for Learning and Teaching Development) and include external participants when creating and reviewing their learning and teaching development plans.

The College Vice-Principal, reporting to the College Board, will define an appropriate annual process of development and review of SLTDPs that fosters their integration with the College Learning and Teaching Strategy (CLTS) and University Learning and Teaching Strategy. Their review might, for example, form an agenda item for a meeting of the College Board or Learning and Teaching Committee.

The revised SLTDPs and/or annual appendicies for each of the college's teaching schools should be submitted for discussion at College Board before the production of the annual college-level commentary. This paper would include matters of strategic relevance that have arisen from the SLTDPs and comments on the integration of activities at college and institutional level, and considered alongside the SLTDPs, would form a basis of the annual discussion between college representatives and the Vice-Principal's Review Group.

Structure

The structure of the SLTDP should take into account the corresponding structure of the CLTS and any relevant aims and action points within it. Normally, the SLTDP would encompass the points covered in the outline below:

Section A. Review of the portfolio of taught provision

• A.1 Linkage to strategic aims at College and University levels
• A.2 Review of any or all of the following aspects as appropriate, with action points:
  • Existing portfolio of degree programmes and modules
  • Accreditation and PSB and/or HEA benchmarking
  • Quality assurance, including periodic programme reviews; annual reviews of programmes and modules; and external examiners' reports
  • Student population
  • Staffing and workloads
  • Efficiency of delivery and sustainability
  • Recruitment targets
  • Opportunities for new programmes and modules (including taught postgraduate courses and CPD courses)
  • Areas for reduction
• A.3 Conclusions

Section B. Enhancement of Learning and Teaching

• B.1 Linkage to strategic aims at College and University levels
• B.2 Review of any or all of the following aspects, with action points:
  • Student induction, achievement, progression and retention
  • Student and staff feedback
  • Employment and employability including transferable skills, enterprise and embedding of PDP
  • Teaching/learning delivery modes including eLearning and information technology
  • Other discipline-specific issues in L&T
  • Research-teaching linkages
  • Assessment
  • Engagement with Student and Academic Support Services
  • Inclusiveness
  • Internationalisation
  • Externality
  • Staff development
  • Engagement with QAA Quality Enhancement Themes
• B.3 Conclusions

Section C. Summary and action points

• C.1 Summary of progress on action points from previous SLTDP
• C.2 Summary of changes within this version of the SLDTP
• C.3 Action points

Guidance Note for Learning and Teaching Development contains information regarding sources and content. For jointly taught provison, note that the University Policy on the Quality Assurance for Joint Degrees and Jointly Taught Programmes and Modules applies in relation to SLTDPs.