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University of Wales Institute Cardiff (UWIC) - Nicola Poole.

Under the theme of Student Engagement, initiatives include:

• School of Management Personal Tutors

• In September 2007 the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC) Cardiff School of Management (CSM) established a dedicated Personal Tutoring Unit (PTU) to provide ongoing support to students with a view to facilitating personal, professional and academic development of all students. Since its establishment, this small unit, which consists of the equivalent of less than 3 full-time staff, has held over 1,500 one-to-one meetings with students. Personal Tutors work in close contact with Student Services and can guide students to achieve effective study patterns and steer students through the challenges of their student experience. They work on a one to one basis and have a suite of rooms based within the School. Research shows that the vast majority of students questioned felt that the establishment of the PTU within CSM has been a positive move and suggest that the presence of a dedicated personal tutoring unit has had a beneficial impact on their studies, careers and overall student experience. Staff agree that the PTU has been a largely positive experience. 
• Library induction available as a vodcast
• UWIC's Library induction video uses a member of library staff to talk through the facilities available to support learners who are not able to attend a face-to-face induction. In addition, students have reported that the availability of the vodcast is particularly useful for reminding themselves about library and information services, as well as accessing instructions on how to access/use its resources.
• Distribution of an Assessment / Feedback Timetable
• Students are now told not only when they have to hand in their assignments but also when they can expect feedback and arrange meetings with personal tutors accordingly. This has had a number of positive implications, including:
• Substantial improvements in student agreement for the National Student Survey's Assessment and Feedback questions. · Students expectations about feedback are now more realistic/ · Students are happy to wait to receive feedback, providing they are given an estimated date.
• Electronic feedback methods are currently being developed and expanded. Feedback from pilot studies has been very positive, with students commenting that legibility of feedback is greatly improved through use of electronic methods.
• UWIC Diary Room 

• Students were encouraged to enter the diary room to answer questions about their expectations prior to entering UWIC and how their first year had lived up to these expectations. Questions included: what had helped them settle in, had they expected to work more or less independently etc. A number of video clips were collated and used to create discussion within a staff development environment. 
• Student/Staff Expectations Survey 
• First year students are being surveyed to try and get a better understanding of their expectations on entry into Higher Education a parallel survey is being run with staff and the results of both will be analysed to help find ways to manage these expectations. Information will be fed back to staff to help support their planning process and to students at programme level and through the use of the Student newspaper - Retro.
• Peer mentoring
• The peer mentoring scheme involves and support students from all 3 years of a programme. The scheme initially operates face to face but later transfers to an electronic interface through the use of discussion boards on Blackboard.
• 'Life through a Lens' 
• Groups of students within two UWIC courses (BSc Psychology and BA Community Education) were each provided with disposable cameras and notebooks. They were set the task of taking a range of photographs over the duration of the first three weeks at UWIC. There were no guidelines and they were not restricted to campus: students could photograph anything that stood out to them, whether positive or negative, or that represented their experiences. Each time a photo was taken, they were asked to comment in the notebook why they had taken it. The photos and comments are being use to create a photojournal of the first three weeks experience for both staff and students to show what really are the issues that they are concerned about during that time.
• Introduction of Turnitiin Software 
• First year students within the School of Health Sciences were introduced to Turnitin to help them learn about citation, paraphrasing, research skills and ultimately plagiarism. They are allowed to hand in assignments using the software 5 time in the first year - 3 in the second and once in the third.
• Personal Response System
• UWIC's Personal Response System (PRS) is an electronic voting system for educational use. Just like the famous game show, it enables you to ask your audience - or students - questions and receive instant feedback on their responses. Its special text messaging feature and capacity to gather and collate information speedily also makes the PRS perfect for conducting module evaluations. Some of the benefits of the PRS are:
• students remain actively engaged during lectures, which can be reflected in
  their attainment
• it allows you to measure knowledge retention and concept understanding
• attendance rates often improve as a result of increased student motivation
• discussion and peer learning/instruction are facilitated by the PRS
• Many of the system's users report increases in the alertness and engagement of their students, whilst others have reported improvements in the standard of understanding demonstrated in assessments. Feedback from students themselves has been very positive, with many stating that the PRS adds interest to lectures, thereby increasing their readiness to attend and motivation to learn.
• Increased cohesion between the PDP and Personal Tutoring systems 
• Collaboration has allowed for earlier and more frequent opportunities for students to discuss their progress throughout their first year.
• Exit - advice leaflet 
• In 2004, research at UWIC showed that Nearly 60% of students did not receive exit advice when considering withdrawal. This leaflet has been designed to help students who are considering withdrawal to make a well informed choice. Its aim is not to persuade students to stay at UWIC, but to inform them about the support and advice that is available at the University, the official withdrawal process and the possible implications of leaving early/interrupting your studies. Information on financial, accommodation, academic or pastoral issues is outlined. The leaflet is available in Halls of Residence - Student Portal etc. and has been available to all Personal Tutors.
• Web 2 Tool
• First year students in the School of Sport have been engaged with PDP using a web 2 tool to create blogs including reflection about their experiences at university that are easily accessible to their Personal Tutor. It allows for a dialogue between tutor and student to be quickly initiated and helps with the building of reflective skills within the PDP module.
• You said, we did
• UWIC's Students Union introduced a campaign which was designed to close the feedback loop and to inform UWIC's students of changes that have been made in response to their comments within the Union, Schools and the University. This project has been very successful, with students reporting that they feel valued by the institution and perceiving UWIC to be a proactive place where the student experience is a priority.
• Top Tips Guide
• This year, the Learning and Teaching Development Unit created a "Ten Step Guide to Surviving Your First Few Weeks at UWIC". The pocket-sized, fold-out leaflet comprises ten top tips to help students have an enjoyable, rewarding and successful first year at UWIC. Topics include: the importance of attending lectures, e-learning, personal tutor schemes, methods of learning and teaching as well as feedback. The leaflet was designed in conjunction with Student Representatives and distributed to new undergraduates during induction week. The guides were well-received by students, who commented that they had been an invaluable resource.

Under the theme of Communities of Practice, initiatives include:

• Week One Welcome Event 

• Approximately 2,500 new students come together in the National Indoor Athletics Centre (NIAC) to an event to introduce them to student life. It includes an official welcome from the Vice Chancellor and Student Union President and his team. It also includes more than 70 stands from clubs and organisations at the Fresher's Fayre. Information is available on academic life and support systems as well as activities and the usual stands. It is an opportunity for students from all of UWIC's programmes to get together.
• Team Building Activities
• The School of Sport organises and facilitates activity weeks during the first term, where students are given tasks to complete and by the end of the week all staff have commented on the increased cohesion within the group.
• Induction project call
• Induction projects were introduced after results of the annual Student Withdrawal Survey highlighted that many students who dropped out of their programmes felt that they had not settled in to university and that their induction had not been enjoyable or effective in helping their transition into HE. The general consensus was that induction week was rather fragmented and also lacked opportunities for student interaction. LTDU assisted by offering funding for individual programmes with their induction process. All successful bids involved activities to increase the sense of community and cohesion amongst the students - including - Theatre visits, Employability Day visits. Since 2008, 7 projects have received funding (around £500 each). An example of such a project is BA and HND Tourism Management's Cardiff Tour. Students experienced an open-top guided bus tour of Cardiff; a visit to Cardiff Bay; interaction with a local tourism operator and a powerboat trip; a guided tour of the Millennium Stadium. The was enjoyable for students and offered an opportunity to develop friendships and get to know teaching staff. However, the day also ensured that members of the teaching team were able to refer back to the field visit during Level 1 modules. For example, students experienced aspects of: urban regeneration and urban tourism, heritage, arts and culture, waterfront development and impacts of tourism - all aspects of their programmes. In addition, staff made contact with local tourism industry providers, some of whom agreed to visit UWIC and present a guest lecture.
  
  
• Two Week Induction
• School of Management's cross-school 2 week organised induction for all students of the School involving all staff. The first week is a generic induction followed by a week of intensive academic induction. Including team building, skill assessment, social events, PDP introduction.
• School based Learning Support Officers 
• Learning Support Officers work specifically to help with the needs of individual Schools from programme level up.
• Student Union Events 
• The Students Union have included more events that try to involve students together from all 4 of the campuses - e.g. cross campus football league

Under the theme of Innovation in First Year Assessment, initiatives include:

• The use of audio feedback for enhanced student engagement and reflection;
• Formative assessment using a personal response system;
• Improving psychology undergraduates' learning and performance through the provision of a supportive feedback programme;
• The Muddiest Point: feedback from students to enhance teaching (David Lloyd);
• Group constructed tests to familiarise students with assessed test format and facilitate group discussion in Blackboard;
• Peer learning: using podcasts of group presentations to complete assessments;
• Formative assessment and reinforced learning using E-assessment;
• Feedback schedules to improve the speed of return and student expectations (UWIC wide).  

Under the theme of Enabling Employability Through the First Year Curriculum, initiatives include: 

• Student Induction and Employability: The Outdoor Activity Residential;
• Interative Personal Progress Journals; 
• PDP: a blended approach for students and tutors;
• The use of electronic resources to enhance the teaching of clinical skills in Podiatry;
• Employer input to Curriculum Design and Delivery to meet Professional Standards in Dental Technology;
• Food Technology - a programme redesign project to meet the needs of part-time learners and the demands of industry;
• Developing students' practical ceramics skills using audio visual materials;
• The Pathology Field Trip: threshold concepts and transfer of learning.  

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