Response to the School Based Review in the School of Hospitality Management and Tourism

Transcription

1 Response to the School Based Review in the School of Hospitality Management and Tourism Background: The School of Hospitality Management and Tourism was reviewed in April This was the second School Based Review which the School has undertaken and staff demonstrated that a great deal was learned in the intervening period. The main purpose of the School Review in the School of Hospitality Management and Tourism was to undertake an overview of the School itself, its current position and its ability to respond to changing needs. The process of completing the Self Study required the School to carry out an extensive research and consultation process, which involved key industry groups, education stakeholders along with national and international providers of education in hospitality, event, leisure and tourism management. All programmes offered in the School were subjected to extensive formal re-evaluation by the respective programme committees. This process, which extended over two academic years (from ), resulted in the completion of the Self Study document, which was considered by the Panel. The School Review process afforded the School the opportunity to develop a system for its programmes in the future based on an integrated portfolio, rather than on the existing programme-specific review process. All programmes presented for review were in a modularised and semesterised format. Response to the Report of the Review Panel: The School was pleased that the Panel recommended that Academic Council continue to approve the following programmes:

2 BSc Hospitality Management Full-time Level 8 BSc Tourism Marketing Full-time Level 8 BSc Tourism Management Full-time Level 8, BSc Event Management Full-time Level 8 BSc Leisure Management Full-time Level 8 BA Leisure Management Full-time Level 7, subject to a programme review in the academic year 2010/2011**. Higher Certificate (Hospitality Services Management) Part-time - Level 6 In addition, the School welcomed the Panel s recommendation that Academic Council approve the following new programmes: BSc International Hospitality Management - Full-time Level 8 previously BSc Hospitality Management BA Tourism Management Full-time Level 7, previously BA Tourism BA Hospitality Management Full-time and Part-time Level 7 previously BA in Hotel and Restaurant Management, with the introduction of an exit award of Higher Certificate in Hospitality Management, Level 6 for candidates who successfully complete 120 Credits. The Review Panel made a series of recommendations in their report, many of these were reflected in the Self Study documentation prepared by the School in advance of the Review event. A School wide all day meeting was held in September to consider a response to the Draft School Review Document and the Actions that can be taken within the short to medium term. Each of these recommendations is stated below along with details regarding the proposed action of the School in relation to these recommendations.

3 1. To support the realisation of the vision and to support the School across a number of different areas the panel recommend that an industry advisory panel should be established spanning across each of the school s discipline areas. This advisory panel would have a rotational membership and should meet three times a year to help the school monitor its development plans. The School considered and endorsed this recommendation. The School Advisory Panel will be established in Semester One 2008 and the terms of reference for the panel will be based on assisting us in the areas of marketing, management, finance and research. The panel will assist the School in identifying current global and national industry trends, current and future programmatic developments, research opportunities, placement opportunities and developments and will assist the School in embracing the latest trends in marketing and PR. The Panel will be discipline based and will draw from the existing Magic Touch and Tourism Research Centre Advisory Boards (both management and operational experts) and will include two academic externs drawn from across the discipline areas. An immediate priority for the School working together with the advisory panel will be the development of a strong vision for the School and to identify the steps necessary to achieve this vision. Inherent in this will be the creation of a business plan which will benchmark us in light of national and international competition. In addition, the School has begun the process of linking with the commercial wing of the Faculty through the Tourism Research Centre in undertaking market research with respect to our competitive position and the issue of student choice. 2. In this fast changing and competitive environment, the school must keep their programme offerings under constant review. In line with the changing needs of industry, the school should make full use of the QA

4 procedures to introduce the required programme modifications through faculty board. The School keeps all activities relating to programme design and delivery under constant review, but acknowledge the recommendation of the Panel to make full use of Faculty Board in relation to responding to the need for programmatic review. This is of particular importance in relation to responding in a timely fashion to industry needs. The School is of the view that the advisory board will have an important role to play in relation to ensuring the competitive position of our programmatic offerings. In particular potential markets for part-time offerings drawn from our existing full time programmes in leisure, tourism and event management will be explored. Parttime and flexible options in the discipline of hospitality are already provided for. All modules on the Higher Certificate in Hospitality Services management will be brought forward to the April 2009 faculty Board for consideration as short courses so they can be offered to a wider audience. Some programme titles will be reconsidered in the tourism and hospitality area to ensure there is minimum confusion within these discipline areas with regard to the BA and BSc awards. 3. The panel would remind the school of the importance of ensuring that, where appropriate there are modules delivered which provide education in the core management competencies: HR, Finance, Accountancy, Facilities Management, Marketing and IT Skills and that these modules should form the core of any management programme. While revising all programme curricula and module descriptors for this review and, in accordance with point 1 above regarding industry consultation, care was taken to ensure that the management skills described are gained within each programme within the School. These core skills will be kept under constant review.

5 4. The school should aim to increase the consistency of delivery across all their programmes, particularly in their approach to programme and module Learning Outcomes, procedures whereby the final award is calculated, the availability of exit awards and in their response to plagiarism. It has been agreed by the School that a working group will be established whereby each of Programme Tutors, the Heads of Department and Head of School will meet collectively on a regular basis to discuss issues of programmatic concern. Such a forum will report back to the School on the decisions taken and this grouping will be important in terms of ensuring the recommendations in relation to increased consistency across the programmes can be implemented smoothly. This grouping will examine the clear specification of learning outcomes on each programme, at each level, to facilitate the introduction of exit awards. This group will also take responsibility for the establishment of a documented procedure so that the learning outcomes of what is achieved on the semester abroad match the level that would have been achieved if the student had remained with the college for that semester. In addition this forum will examine the issue of minimum levels of English Proficiency to be specified for all part-time programmes in line with current requirements on the fulltime programmes. 5. A module descriptor review group should be established to review all module descriptors to ensure a greater sense of consistency and balance of style across all module descriptors, paying particular attention to ensure that learning outcomes are written as a description of the

6 knowledge and skills that will be acquired upon completion of the module. This review group will be established in semester one 2008 with a view to bringing any module amendments required to the appropriate Faculty Board which considers module change in April The module descriptor for the dissertations on all programmes must be re-written in accordance with the Institute s Guide to Writing Learning Outcomes. This descriptor should include the characteristics expected of each dissertation associated with each grade classification. A School Research Committee has been established to consider this condition and bring forward proposals in relation to the module descriptor at the appropriate Faculty Board in the Spring. This research group will be chaired by the Head of Tourism, Dr. Kevin Griffin and the issue of the re-writing of the dissertation descriptor will be headed by Dr. Ziene Mottiar. In addition this group will address opportunities to ensure a more resource efficient method of dissertation supervision, particularly at undergraduate level. 7. The panel endorses the proposal to introduce a core dissertation across all level 8 programmes and recommend that this be done on a phased basis with a clear implementation strategy. The School Research Committee chaired by Dr. Griffin (noted above in point 6) will examine this issue in relation to an implementation strategy. It has been agreed by the School that the core dissertation re-introduction will not take place in the current academic year so as to allow for careful planning of any re-introduction. In effect, Year 3 and 4 of all level 8 programmes operate under the old model for the academic year.

7 8. While the panel agree with the shift in focus from electives to options it recommends that optional choice be effectively managed, so that it is clear to students which options will be available in each year and in each semester and that there are sufficient numbers of students available to undertake each module. The School implemented a manual system this Autumn for the management of optional choice. This was undertaken by the Heads of Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure in conjunction with support from the Programme and Year tutors. Students were called back to college in advance of the teaching semester so that this could be operationalised. It is agreed generally by staff and students within the School that this has been very effective. However, the School would also point to the failure of the IS system to support this aspect of modularization and the time intensive nature of manual operation of a robust system by staff who represent a high value resource. The team established above to develop a system of option selection will together with year tutors, group options into career based themes to facilitate students from a career planning perspective. 9. The School should ensure that the Get Smart! Programme remains visible to both potential and existing students and staff. The Get Smart! initiative received high profile during the Induction process for first years in September 2008 with dedicated slots of time being given over to the initiative. Each first year programme tutor has received additional time table allowance to ensure the concept is carried through the academic year. The Get Smart! /Introduction to third-level learning induction initiative was deemed to be a success on all programmes with excellent feedback from students and staff. The initiative continued into the first semester with the commencement of the Information Literacy sessions, facilitated by Brian Gillespie and Richard Barrett from the Faculty library. All first year programmes have signed up. The team co-ordinator for the Get Smart project arranged for B.Sc. Event

8 Management 1 to commence Mindmanager training with Rachel O'Connor. This cohort is a pilot group for this training, giving the School a chance to consider a more extensive roll-out of the training next year. The Get Smart! workshop for this academic year is scheduled to take place due on Friday March 27th 2009 and the venue is the Grangegorman Campus. 10. The school should provide further discipline specific support to the work placement officer to ensure that the work placements obtained in the newer disciplines of Event Management and Leisure Management will provide opportunity to meet the identified learning outcomes. Work placements should be engaged with and monitored to ensure that they are meeting their stated objectives and the requirements of the school. The School has designated two academic staff members to act as support to the Placement Officer and students who are on their internship/ industry placement. A number of pilot initiatives relating to the monitoring of overseas placement students in clusters will be introduced in Spring In addition a new programme for placement induction with the development of a pilot initiative will commence in January The net result of this process will be increased involvement by both students and industry in the induction process. A number of further innovative measures are being examined including the development of a best practice model for placement utilising SIF Funding to undertake research in this area. 11. The school should articulate a clearly documented procedure for evaluating the evidence of a candidate s prior learning and mapping this against the learning outcomes of each stage of a programme.

9 In the context of this Review, an evaluation of the School s current standing in relation to RPL (Recognised Prior Learning) was undertaken. The School currently has some elements of RPL in practice. In the main, these elements are the provision of exemption from required modules to registered students, and the admission of students onto programmes by virtue of prior learning. The application of such elements will be made more consistent with the evolution of best practice as it develops on an Institute wide basis through the School s continued engagement in a consultative process with Dr. Anne Murphy, the DIT RPL Officer. The development of an RPL policy and procedure for the School will be incorporated into Programme Documents. 12. The panel would encourage the school to continue to improve the physical and technical environment of the school and caution that they do not paralyse growth in this area whilst waiting on the move to the new campus in Grangegorman. The School had acknowledged a lack of physical facilities for some activities on site in the Self Study documentation, whereas some facilities have been rented while the Faculty prepares to move to a new campus development at Grangegorman. In addition, the School has been involved in the strategic planning process in relation to the development of facilities in the Grangegorman campus. The provision of facilities for all programmes is kept under constant review as part of the annual monitoring process. The School recognizes the need which exists to provide rooms for teaching and learning which enhance the students experience and provide a conducive environment for undergraduate and postgraduate education. Reference to the quality assurance tracking documents shows that this is an issue that has been raised over a number of years at a management level. It is recommended that more flat room space be provided. The School will continue to lobby the Buildings Office at each annual consideration of the capital budget to ensure that some improvements are made in this regard (in addition to the

10 development of communications facilities) in both the Main Building of CBS and Sackville Place. Outstanding deficiencies in Sackville Place are currently being addressed through the Buildings Office and it is important to note that considerable improvements in relation to the production of a number of new flat teaching rooms with fully equipped IT support which will come on stream in late 2008-early In addition, a flat room with capacity for 120 students is being developed using the old basement area of Sackville Place. This will also be available to the School for classes in It is expected that this facility will be of particular importance for Leisure Management classes and represents a considerable improvement on the current situation. 13. The school should investigate improving and strengthening the support services available to students in the evening. For part-time students in particular the Faculty should consider opening the administration offices at least 1 evening a week. The School has responded to this request over the past two years by opening the office twice a week in the evenings for a number of weeks. We are not resourced adequately to undertake this task on an on-going basis however. It has been found that demand for services in the evenings are more around general administration, examinations and registration issues than School specific needs. Demand from students has been extremely low and does not justify the continuation of this practice into the future. There may be some merit in the opening of general administrative offices on a faculty basis for a limited number of weeks at the commencement of the academic term but this does not fall within the remit of the School. 14. The school should further develop informal networks of communications with its students and facilitate a greater degree of communication between students on the various years of its programmes.

11 Student representatives for each class are invited to their programme committee meetings. In addition, there is student representation on the Faculty Board, the Institute s Academic Council and the Governing Body of the Institute. The programmatic and year tutors working together with the Students Union will consider the opportunities for improvement of communications between the various student groups through the development of blogs, a School newsletter and general website information. In addition, a number of initiatives are underway in the first semester to pilot an inter-programmatic series of day trips during term and a major field exercise to be undertaken between students of B.Sc Tourism Marketing and BA Tourism Management during the review week. 15. The school should further develop their teaching methodologies to include a proactive use of new technologies. The School has introduced many innovative learning and assessment strategies. Considerable progress has been made in this regard in areas such as finance and accounting for example and it is hoped to replicate this innovation across a number of other areas. The School piloted the introduction of WebCT (Now WebCourses) for use throughout the Institute. The Institute is at a relatively early stage of using such technology as a platform for extending the use of learner-centered strategies and the School volunteered to pilot the system to assist the Institute in moving forward with this initiative. The School has endeavoured to demonstrate the wide use of such technologies and other learner-centered teaching strategies. In addition, the annual monitoring process for all programmes within the School ensures that all issues relating to programme design and delivery are kept under review. The School recognizes the need to develop further modules in e- Learning format. Distance learning at Masters level for Tourism and Hospitality Management is growing internationally. The School is investigating the feasibility of introducing a

12 number of e-learning initiatives with international academic partners including George Washington University, CERAM Business School and the University of Westminster under a SIF Funded proposal. The School will continue to encourage innovation in teaching. Programmes including the Get Smart and Write Right initiatives will be facilitated and further innovative development in this regard supported where feasible. 16. The school should work to having the information management systems which support their staff further developed to facilitate easy access to report data and ensure that staff are provided with adequate training so they can best utilize the available Systems. A number of structured staff represent the Faculty on central DIT committees responsible for MIS and technology development issues. This enables the School to gather information quickly and be to the forefront of any developments in this field. 17. To foster a greater understanding of the ability in disability and to enable the school to adopt a more proactive approach to supporting students with disabilities, the panel recommend that the school should engage in disability awareness training for all staff and students. It has been agreed by all staff that we will begin a more structured dialogue with the disability office in DIT, together with external advisors in this area with a view to developing a strategy to increase our understanding of needs within this area from an education perspective. This may ultimately require provision of staff and student workshops and identification of training needs and supports required to turn provision of disability services in the School of Hospitality Management and Tourism into a strategic advantage from a competitor positioning perspective.

13 18. The school needs to continue to build its expertise in the newer discipline areas of event and leisure management and the panel would recommend that further staff is employed in these areas before any further programme expansion occurs. Greater use of industry experts to give guest lecturers should also be considered. The School welcomed the observation that pro-active recruitment strategies are required and will bring some proposals forward through the Faculty Board in this regard, especially for areas where specific expertise is required. Inherent in this is the need for the development of a staffing plan which will build on our current favourable position with respect to the resource based costing model but will also be creative in terms of utilising alternative sources of support through industry and the engagement of Fulbright Scholars and related initiatives. The role of the School Advisory Board will be important in this regard. 19. The school should strategically engage in applied tourism and hospitality research. The school should utilize the research skills of Tourism Research Centre and apply them to the school s own market research, investigating, for instance, why students choose the study route they choose. The School welcomes the recommendation that an active policy should be formulated in this area and will work on this in the coming months. A number of initiatives are underway targeting the research area, including the re-establishment of the School Research Group with seminars and workshops and the development of a digest of research to be produced annually. The manager of the Tourism Research Centre (TRC) will be meeting with each member of staff to explore a number of ideas including:

14 The identification of staff interests linked to future research projects The utilisation of the TRC as a Think Tank Linking research into the classroom Linking applied and academic research and the possibilities of accessing funding 20. The school should seek to have a review of policies that are perceived to control and constrain the school s development so that they enable the schools development, in particular the school should seek a review of certain recruitment policies. The School will continue to keep areas of constraint under review through appropriate channels including the Faculty Board and the consideration of innovative initiatives. (See Point 18 above). 21. The preparation of the documentation for the school review was clearly a time consuming activity and the panel feels that the school should reconsider the processes it followed to create this documentation with a view to reducing the amount of time spent preparing for future reviews. In addition the panel was of the view that it would be useful if the Institute reviewed the Handbook for Quality Enhancement to reduce the time required to prepare for the school review. The School supports the notion of reviewing the Handbook for Quality Enhancement and we would like to be involved in the review to enable us to have an input into such a system. The collection of data pertaining to aspects of the self study was extremely time consuming during this review period due to the fact that the Institute had moved to Banner mid way through so not all data was available electronically or in a

15 consistent manner. We would not anticipate such a difficulty in the next review period. 22. The Schools deliberations were informed by a number of Staff Away Days, Industry Workshops and an International Review of Programme Content. These practices should be continued and programme content regularly reviewed to ensure competitiveness. An annual staff planning away day is firmly fixed in our School calendar. We have had such an event in September 2008 to consider the response to the School Review. The School engages with industry through the Magic Touch initiative and the Advisory Board will be significant in ensuring industry and academic relevancies maintained at all levels. The School support team fully engage in this process and the Head of School continues to use every opportunity to support the call for more promotional opportunities for administrative staff at School level across the Institute. Conclusion: The School found the School Review process, and in particular the preparation of the Self Study document, to be an important part in the initiation of reflection and positive change within the School. The positive comments from the Review Panel regarding the progress made to date were welcomed by the School.