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Academic Office

Enhancing the Student Learning Experience Awards

The aims of the awards are to support academic staff to enhance the student learning experience and to disseminate good practice. The awards are particularly aimed at individuals or small teams of academic staff and/or support staff who have been teaching for five years or more and who have identified opportunities for improving the student learning experience.

Possibilities might include:

  • developing resources to improve students' skills in learning, particularly in relation to the diversity agenda;
  • developing resources to support independent learning, e.g. through DUO;
  • developing the curriculum, e.g. to promote internationalisation and/or employability;
  • developing new forms of learning, e.g. problem-based learning;
  • developing new forms of assessment, e.g. synoptic or computer-marked assessment;
  • developing resources to support students to develop enterprise-related skills.

There will be 10 grants available, and each will be of the value of up to £7000, although applications for smaller sums will be welcomed.

The Applications Procedure

Colleagues are invited to submit short (no more than 4-page) applications stating:

  • the aims and objectives of the proposed project including how, in principle, it would enhance the student learning experience;
  • the rationale for it, where appropriate making reference to other work in the area;
  • the amount for which they are applying and how in outline this would be spent (e.g. amounts required for purchase of materials, employment of others to do part of the work, travel and accommodation for external dissemination activities);
  • an estimated timeline for the project (which may last for more than one academic year);
  • how they would evaluate the impact of the project on the student learning experience;
  • how they would disseminate the results, including external forums such as the Higher Education Academy Subject Centres.

Applications should be signed by the relevant Head of Department.

Applications will be considered by a panel including the chair of Education Committee (or nominee), the Dean of the Graduate School, the Faculty Deputy Heads responsible for taught programmes, the Director of the Centre for Learning, Teaching and Research in Higher Education (or nominee), and the Head of the Centre for Academic and Researcher Development.

The panel will take into account the proposal itself, its potential for enhancing the student learning experience, and how it will be evaluated and disseminated. While all applications will be considered, the panel may favour those which have a clear potential for dissemination across a range of subjects.

Applications should be sent to Dr Stan Taylor, Centre for Academic and Researcher Development (stan.taylor@durham.ac.uk) by 12th April 2013. Applicants will be informed of the outcome by the end of May.

Successful applicants will be expected to produce an interim report after 6 months and a final report normally after 12 months which will be published on the University's Quality Enhancement web site and in 'Quality Enhancement at Durham' (QED). They will also be expected to showcase their results at a Faculty Education Forum.