NSS Turnaround Suggestions and Ideas Sharing by Hannah Bargawi

Staff Student Forums

2024-07-02 12:40:52 UTC

Use staff student forums (that the SU owns), and ensuring that departments are able to maintain and feedback to reps.

This is more so for Student Voice and Feedback. It's also one of the key ways we can improve methods of communications between students and staff, and it would be great if we can actively review how this system works.

Reviewing 'good practice' guidance on marking and feedback

Satoshi_Miyamura — 2024-07-02 12:43:45 UTC

'Good practice' guidance on marking and feedback should be reviewed to reflect the use of marking rubrics, and the context in which these need to be provided feasibly and effectively within the turnaround time required by SOAS. This is particularly important for GTA training/ induction where last year GTAs were presented with 'good practice' examples of feedback that do not seem feasible in this context.

GTA preparing to teach

hb191 — 2024-07-02 12:44:03 UTC

Ensure GTAs are given accurate information around what marking entails and what is a manageable workload.

Drip-feed info each week in lectures

hb191 — 2024-07-02 12:45:07 UTC

From week 1 include key information in each lecture that relates to NSS areas such as feedback opportunities, academic support etc

Subject-specific learning resources

hb191 — 2024-07-02 12:46:05 UTC

Posted on Moodle page

Assessment literacy for students

hb191 — 2024-07-02 12:47:33 UTC

Start each module with specific information about the module's assessment expectations e.g. marks out of 100% but what is a realistic top mark?; present the distribution of grades from last 3 years back to students in the first lecture

Provide students with a clear assessment brief

hb191 — 2024-07-16 17:39:33 UTC

Provide an 'assessment brief' for each assignment that states the objective (word count, choice of topics, format requirements), gives guidance on use of AI, provides clear marking criteria.

Staff Student Forums Politics

2024-07-18 12:15:40 UTC

In Politics, the SSFs were poorly attended, especially by the UG reps. Last year, UG department reps never participated in the DMs despite being invited. This was truly problematic.

Often, the staff/student ratio at the SSFs was in favour of staff.

These communication channels were open, but the UG student reps did not use them.

in assessing why this happened, our hunch was that the new SU reps system was too unwieldy, with too many reps for each degree, cohort, and department, and poorly 'remunerated' that ultimately reduced accountability and incentives to attend.