Apologies were received from students Sam Waters and Xiang Li and tutor Dr Tristan Bunnell

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1 University of Bath Minutes of Meeting Department of Education Meeting: Date and Time: SSLC MA IEG Monday 9th November 2015, 1.15pm Venue: 1 West North 3.20 Present: Ms Meenakshy Venkiteswaran- Student Rep (Chair) (MV) Mr Nan Zou - Student Rep (NZ) Miss Allison Rudd - Student (AR) Mrs Laurie Hale- Student (LH) Miss Zhiling Jiang Student (ZJ) Ms Suki Atherton Student (SA) Miss Yumin Cao Student (YC) Miss Jie Wang Student (JW) Miss Xiaoxiao Xu Student (XX) Ms Hsiang-Hui Yu Student (HY) Ms Elisabeth Barratt Hacking - Director of Studies, MA IEG (EBH) Mr Justin Hodds - Department Librarian (JH) Mr Dave Ford - IT Support Manager, Faculty of H&SS (DF) Miss Rachel Potter - Secretary (RP) 1.0 Apologies Apologies were received from students Sam Waters and Xiang Li and tutor Dr Tristan Bunnell 2.0 Confirmation of Terms of Reference and Membership EBH welcomed everyone to the meeting including the new Academic Reps, Meenakshy Venkiteswaran (MV) and Nan Zou (Patrick) (NZ) who will act as cochairs. EBH explained the function of the SSLC and the decision to have a separate SSLC for the MA IEG as it is a new programme. The SSLC provides a two-way channel of communication between staff and students about all aspects of the student learning experience. The minutes of the meeting are circulated to various committees so student issues are listened to and acted upon. The membership of this committee includes Justin Hodds, the Department Librarian and Dave

2 Ford, The IT Support Manager for the Faculty. Dr Tristan Bunnell, one of the tutors on the programme is also a member. 3.0 The operation of the SSLC There will be four SSLC meetings across this year; these will be co-chaired by the Academic Reps. The committee agreed that all meetings will be open SSLCs and all students on the programme will be invited to attend each meeting. An annual report will be produced at the end of the academic year as a summary of the issues raised and actions taken to be shared with the following year s students. 4.0 Director of Studies Report EBH noted the excellent attendance for the first ever meeting of the MA IEG SSLC. She thanked MV and NZ for chairing the meeting. 13 students are enrolled on the MA IEG (exceeding the target of eight for this first year of the programme). The target for next year is 15 with 20 the following year. Marketing are keen to meet students to find out how they heard about the programme and why they applied. Louise Andrews, Marketing Officer, will be in touch to arrange a focus group. An External Examiner has been appointed, Dr Doug Bourn, Institute of Education in London. Students will meet Dr Bourn in February, Report from the Subject Librarian JH explained his role was to support students in obtaining resources for the programme, including books, e-books, journals and review articles. He also provides training in the use of these materials. JH is willing to meet groups of students in the library training rooms if they have similar interests/ needs. Students should contact him in advance to arrange these sessions. JH is based in 5.02 on level 5 of the library and can be contacted by j.hodds@bath.ac.uk. Librarians are always available to help so students are welcome to drop in to his office anytime Generic sessions are also available to students through the SU and the Research Development unit for PG research sessions Report from Dave Ford, IT Support Manager DF will be attending SSLCs to hear about any IT issues for the programme and to act on issues raised. DF explained how to save and back up assignments and dissertations and advised students to save a master copy in my documents on the desktop of computers on campus. These files are stored centrally in two different locations on campus and backed up regularly so are very safe. It is possible to get hold of previous copies if necessary. It is possible to access the University system through the internet via Unidesk. He advised never to work on a memory stick unless moving data from one place to another as they can become corrupted and thus students risk losing work.

3 7.0 Students Business The co-chairs reported on feedback gathered prior to the meeting. This was followed by discussion. Positive feedback 1. The students are pleased that the many of the readings and articles they are using are written by their lecturers, or refer to their work. We realise we made the right decision to study here our lecturers are scholars and pioneers. 2. Students reported excellent support from tutors and administrators including Rachel Potter and Katerina Ray. They are also impressed with support from the Academic Skills Centre, the library and BUCS. The students have valued full replies to their enquiries. Specific comments included: Some students used drop in sessions ASC prior to handing in the first assignments and found this helpful. Students who attended optional ASC classes (writing and reading) found these very helpful. Some students have dropped into the library to seek help from Justin Hodds and found his help and information very useful. Personal tutors have been very helpful in talking about both academic and personal matters. 3. The timing of the two short essays is very good and beneficial. Writing just 1000 words so early is good practice because many of the students have not done assignments in the UK before and this helped them to become more familiar with academic writing prior to undertaking lengthier assignments. However, there was a problem having the same hand in date for two assignments. Students found it confusing because the two topics overlapped and they could not focus on one assignment. A time difference in the deadlines of maybe just one week was suggested. 4. Moodle is very useful, most tutors upload session slides and readings prior to sessions so that students can prepare Having further reading lists is also very helpful. 5. The group has established a social events committee with SW and AR leading on this. There are plans for a gathering before Christmas. 6. The referencing system is very different to what many students are used to in their home countries. Justin s session was very helpful including the information about end note. b) Suggestions 1. Many tutors upload information to Moodle in advance of sessions; the students would like this to be the practice for all sessions as they find this very helpful in orientating themselves to new topics.

4 2. The recap of the session at the end is very important as in three hours, students can lose track of the subject matter. Many of the tutors do this already and students suggested this could be a universal practice. 3. The course is more theoretical than practical with a strong research focus; this was expected. However, students suggested including school visits or education/ research institute visits to add a more practical element to their studies. It was suggested that the two-month break in Dec/ Jan could be used for this. EBH responded with a suggestion to consider volunteering (the SU can help with this) and explained how one former student volunteered in a primary school in Bath one afternoon per week for two or three months. EBH explained some of the issues around visiting schools including the need for Enhanced Disclosure when working with children in England. NZ reported he had used the SU volunteering advice and is now volunteering at the Museum of East Asian Art. 4. The students are concerned about the Research Methods assignment which is due in two weeks. There seems to be less momentum with this unit due to its fortnightly sessions. The students have requested an additional assignment session just before the deadline. EBH will follow up with the Unit Convenor. 5. Students reported a view that the two month long break in Dec/ Jan is too long and asked how this was to be used. Again they suggested field trips or a short internship. There was also a suggestion to have the hand in dates for assignment 2 later in January. EBH explained that this was not possible because of the lead in time for Board of Examiners in February. EBH hopes that the time will be used in part for dissertation work. 6. The mid unit week break from sessions was after the hand in date for the two assignments and would be better placed before the hand in date. 7. Students would like some practical help to find out more about career paths including teaching, and anything else. Students have found that the University Careers Service does not seem to be as connected with education institutions as with organisations/ businesses. EBH agreed to follow up. 8. There is a split view on the length of sessions; a minority of students think three hours is too long and would like to meet two times per week but other students disagree. EBH explained the timetable cannot be changed for this year and asked for any other suggestions. There were suggestions intended to support maintaining concentration including: Timing of breaks. Session materials uploaded to Moodle prior to sessions so that students can orientate themselves. Review at the end of the session. EBH noted these suggestions and agreed to follow up with the teaching team about these at the team meeting tomorrow (10 th Nov).

5 Pre-enrolment and Induction The Academic Reps asked for some feedback on the pre-enrolment and induction process. AR was happy with the amount of resources available but requested a checklist of all the things that needed to be done in advance of arriving. Having one list that tells you what to do would be helpful. There were lots of different people to talk to and lots of things to set up especially for international students. This could include basics such as setting up a mobile phone as well as more University based processes. SA suggested the library induction session be earlier in induction. Students appreciated the keeping warm letter received over the summer from EBH. They felt it was very welcoming. Some students had also received a postcard to welcome them to the University but not all. RP would talk to admissions and marketing as to why only some students received this. Students liked receiving correspondence in the post but appreciated s too. NZ asked why an Unconditional offer letter was not posted to students. Students were told to check SAMIS which seemed rather impersonal and was not convenient for Tier 4 students who needed a letter for their visa. A web print out was the only option. RP would talk to admissions about this. Students enjoyed the induction week session with TESOL as this encouraged them to make friends across the Department. It was also good to have a session with just the MA IEG students about the programme. Students really liked the January webinar and it had helped them make their decision to apply to Bath. Some of them had watched it more than once. Some students had missed it due to applying later. EBH reported that it is planned slightly later this year which may help. EBH hopes to involve one or two current students this year. 8.0 Any other business There was no other business 9.0 Date of next meeting Monday 8 th Feb, 1.15pm in 1WN 3.20

6 Signed: Meenakshy Venkiteswaran Signed: Nan Zou Student Academic Representatives Date: 18 th November 2015 The agenda and minutes of the SSLC will be disseminated to the wider student cohort and to relevant members of staff. In addition the distribution list for minutes must include: Faculty / School Board of Studies R.S.Acres@bath.ac.uk (for noting); Department Learning, Teaching and Quality Committee K.E.Ray@bath.ac.uk (for consideration); Students Union: academicreps@bath.ac.uk (for information); Learning and Teaching Enhancement Office: learningandteaching@bath.ac.uk (for information).