 Accoloades
for Bradford in QAA visit
A visit by the Quality Assurance
Agency for Higher Education (QAA) to Geography
and Environmental Science has brought praise for the Department, the
University and the Students' Union.
Dean of School Dr Carl Heron
said: "The official verdict of the visit confirmed confidence in the quality
of learning opportunities for students and the academic standards set
and achieved, but it is clear that they were impressed by many aspects
of our provision."
Praise was given for the staff's
good relations with students, the diversity and structure of the placement
year, and the innovative developments in key skills.
A special commendation was
given to the Department's students who, with the help of Academic Affairs
Officer in the Students' Union David Curran, developed the student submission
to the review.
The reviewers were also impressed
with the central University procedures, noting that the institution was
clearly being "proactive in relation to developing policy and practice".
The Developmental Discipline-Level Engagement involved four reviewers
visiting the Department for two days. It is the first time the University
has experienced one of the QAA's new 'lighter touch' visits, intended
to aid the transition from subject review to institutional audit.
Lecturer Liz Sharp said: "It
was hard being a guinea pig for this new system, particularly as we had
to submit our self-evaluation only a few weeks after the guidance had
come out. However, we were very pleased with the results."
Comparing the experience with
subject review in Archaeological Sciences,
School Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning), Cathy Batt, said: "It was
a bit lighter in advance - in that less new documentation was required
- but the questions that they asked during the visit were just as searching
as during subject review."
6 May
2003
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