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Department of Physics

Education Administration

The Teaching Administrator, Mr AM Skelton, is located in Room 13 on the ground floor of the Rochester Building and is responsible for the management of the Department's education-related activities.  He is assisted by the Postgraduate Administrator, Mrs JL Richardson, the Undergraduate Courses and Admissions Secretary, Miss NJ Kennedy, and by the General Secretary (job share), Miss LM Pigden (Monday to Wednesday) and Miss AA Crosby (Wednesday to Friday).

Undergraduate admissions, courses and examinations are supported by Undergraduate Courses and Admissions Secretary and the General Secretary, who are responsible for:

  • UCAS applications
  • Open days and visits
  • Updating course web pages and duo
  • Attendance records and student records
  • Examinations support and marks entry
  • Secretarial support for the Teaching Administrator
  • Departmental reception window
  • Some general duties including distributing post and maintaining stationery stocks

Postgraduate studies administration is led by the Postgraduate Administrator, who is responsible for:

  • Postgraduate Admissions
  • Postgraduate progress monitoring
  • Providing support and guidance to Postgraduate students on any matters related to their time within the Department
  • Support for the Director of Postgraduate Studies
  • Providing advice on postgraduate policy, planning and operational issues as required; participating in decision making on strategic issues and supporting implementation
  • Organisation of postgraduate demonstrators and markers, including spot-checks of marked scripts for quality purposes
  • Secretary to Postgraduate Studies Committee and to the Staff-Student Consultative Committee (Postgraduate)
  • Minutes Secretary to the Education Committee (all other Education Committee matters are dealt with by the Secretary to the Education Committee, who is the Director of Operations)
  • Deputy Secretary to the undergraduate Board of Examiners in Physics, including coordination of resit examinations.
  • Member of the Board of Studies in Physics

The Teaching Administrator is responsible for the management and development of the Education Administration team and for:

  • Board of Examiners
    • Secretary to the Board: responsible to the Chairman for the whole of the Department's examinations and assessment process.
  • Monitoring undergraduate students' progress
    • Generating warning emails to students with poor attendance/submission records; discussion with students in extreme or difficult cases; liaison with students' colleges when appropriate; initiating Academic Progress Notices; overseeing the granting of appropriate exemptions from attendance in cases of student illness; helping to organise any special arrangements needed as a result of student disability or serious illness; raising, supporting or coordinating concession requests.
  • Weekly Problems organisation
    • Managing the system for each of the four levels; drawing up the problems schedules with lecturers' input; producing instructions for staff, students, markers, problems assistants; briefing the markers and examples class demonstrators; briefing and advising new lecturers about weekly problems; briefing relevant secretarial staff; liaising with lecturers, secretaries and problems assistants throughout the year; monitoring the promptness of lecturers in supplying questions; arranging amendments to the schedule where absolutely necessary; overseeing spot-checking the marked scripts for quality of marking; dealing with students' queries about the problems or marking or "missing" scripts; granting appropriate exemptions from weekly problems in cases of student illness.
  • Member of the Board of Studies in Physics and of the departmental Education Committee
    • Includes membership of Teaching Review Committee.
  • Timetabling
    • Determining departmental requirements; liaising with the University Office to produce University timetable; checking the various editions; producing the departmental "translation" of the timetable; allocating student groups; arranging timetable refinements and any necessary late lecture swaps.
  • Database maintenance and development
    • Student electronic records; proposing database improvements and liaising with the Computer Officer and the Director of Operations re their implementation.
  • DUO
    • Briefing new lecturers; advising staff re content; reviewing policy; implementing module evaluation questionnaires.
  • Learning and Teaching documentation
    • Annual revision/production of Assessment Manual for Staff, including changes to assessment proformas/criteria; overseeing the annual production of course booklets and module web pages; drafting and administering changes to module outlines, programme regulations and programme specifications.
  • Level 4 Projects organisation
    • Overseeing the collection of titles and project descriptions from staff; publishing titles to students via the web and booklets; allocating projects to students; arranging the project seminars; overseeing the arrangement of project vivas.
  • Registration
    • Coordinating the registration of students in June and October, particularly those with unusual circumstances; early registration; changes of registration.
  • Advice
    • Providing advice to students and staff on all teaching-related matters, based on information provided by them, on a detailed knowledge of University regulations and external requirements and on experience; providing advice and support to students who may be experiencing adverse circumstances affecting their ability to study effectively.