Staff Briefing

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Index

• Presentation of Pass List Decisions
• Revised guidance on Developing and Amending a Module Descriptor
• Information for Admissions Tutors and Secretaries
• GMB members - manual and ancillary staff
• Results of the Staff Satisfaction Survey
• Staff Development Core Programme of Events 2002/3
• Susan Edmondson

Presentation of Pass List Decisions

In October 2001 the Academic Standards and Support Unit undertook an analysis of issues arising from meetings of Boards of Examiners across the University during the 2000/01 academic session.

One of the issues identified is the wide diversity of presentation and recording of pass list decisions which is leading to difficulty for colleagues to process this information for internal and external purposes. In many cases insufficient information is provided, for example, no clear indication of when a supplementary examination is to take place and no indication of the number of attempts at assessment that have been made by the student. It is important that information given to the students is clear and that the data is presented in a uniform manner across the institution.

Colleagues have been consulted in order to ascertain a minimum standard information requirement necessary for effective and efficient use of this data. Pass lists from Schools across the University have been reviewed in order to identify good practice and standard requirements have been drawn up which take into account existing custom and practice and the requirements of University Regulations Governing Undergraduate and Postgraduate Awards.

The Senate, at its meeting of the 10th April 2002, approved the minimum standard information requirement presented in the document, The Recording and Presentation of Pass List Decisions and examined examples of good practice from across the University. The Senate endorsed the use of the format shown in the appendices 1 and 2. Colleagues within Schools are asked to follow the examples appended in the preparation of pass lists from June 2002 onwards.

This information is available on the web by selecting Recording and presenting Pass List Decisions made by Boards of Examiners (24th April 2002) at http://www.brad.ac.uk/admin/acsec/assu/information.html

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Revised guidance on Developing and Amending a Module Descriptor

This guidance has been revised and updated in line with the introduction of the new student information system SAINT and is available on the web at http://www.brad.ac.uk/admin/acsec/QAH_1999/QAH3_1_6.html.

The revised guidance will be of interest to you if you are:

• required to develop new modules or amend existing ones
• if you are a ModCat user with authority to input new modules or amend existing ones.

The module catalogue forms a definitive record of the University's modules for quality assurance and course development purposes and is available to all members of the University, both staff and students, enabling them to gain concise, accurate information about each module delivered within the University. The catalogue comprises separate descriptors, which contain basic information about individual modules.

The data in the catalogue is updated via the University's electronic input system ModCat which is used in conjunction with University's Course Approval and Review procedures to process amendments to existing modules and approval of new modules.

More information about the approval process using the ModCat system may be obtained from the Academic Standards and Support Unit or at ModCat Applications Home Page http://www.brad.ac.uk/admin/mis/prowess/ModCatApps/ Module information is stored in the central University database called SAINT. In order to display module information in a clear and readable format the descriptor template on ModCat is constrained by maximum field lengths; with this in mind guidance has been developed to assist people in the development of module descriptors.

The guidelines also include advice with regard to the kind of information to provide within the descriptor and to the layout of information so that the data can be used in the compilation of appendices to Programme Specifications.

Additional information about University Course and Module Approval process may be obtained from the Academic Standards and Support Unit or by consulting the Guidelines for Developing and Reviewing Definitive Course Documents, Including Programme Specifications at http://www.brad.ac.uk/admin/acsec/QA_Hbk/QAH3_2.html and in the Handbook for the Approval of New Courses and Units and Changes to Existing Courses and Units http://www.brad.ac.uk/admin/acsec/QA_Hbk/QAH3_1.html

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Information for Admissions Tutors and Secretaries

You may be contacted by International Students who are requesting confirmation that they have booked accommodation in order to obtain their student visa. If you receive a request like this, UKCOSA has given the following information:

It is apparent that some students currently applying for UK visas in their home countries believe that they are obliged to provide evidence that they have booked accommodation in order to qualify for a student visa. This is incorrect - the Immigration Rules require that someone who is seeking permission to enter the UK as a STUDENT is: "able to MEET THE COSTS OF his course and accommodation and.. maintenance..." (our emphasis). They do not require specific accommodation to have been booked. It is only in those cases where a student does not have sufficient funds available to meet normal market rents, and expects to occupy subsidised or free accommodation, that it will be reasonable for an Entry Clearance Officer to insist on seeing evidence that such accommodation will definitely be available to the student. Staff at UK VIsas in London, who are responsible for the central management of entry clearance posts abroad, are concerned to hear that some Entry Clearance Officers seem to be misapplying the Rules. They do not want queues to build up as a result of Entry Clearance Officers asking for evidence that is not required by the Rules. Although they have asked Entry Clearance Managers at some posts to make sure their staff do not ask for evidence of booked accommodation from students, they want to make sure the problem is addressed as quickly as possible. For that reason, they want to identify the particular Entry Clearance Officers concerned.

If you are contacted by a student who is having problems with this, please contact Andrea Moorhouse, (e-mail: a.e.moorhouse@bradford.ac.uk)

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GMB members - manual and ancillary staff

Final pay offer from employers nationally (based on 38 hours):

• Grade 1 increase £8.53 (5%)
• Grade 2 increase £8.85 (4.9%)
• Grade 3 increase £7.95 (4.2%)
• Grade 4 increase £7.97 (4%)

Contact Glenn Leedham (g.g.leedham@bradford.ac.uk , or phone 1131) to comment. Ballot papers will be available if and when I receive them.

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Results of the Staff Satisfaction Survey

A summary of the Staff Satisfaction Survey results is being sent out to all staff this week (you may have already received one). 705 members of staff filled in the questionnaire in April 2002, and the results make interesting reading.

The full report is available on the web at: www.bradford.ac.uk/admin/staffdev/.

If you do not receive a copy of the summary, please contact the Staff Development Unit at: staffdev@bradford.ac.uk or on extension 3102.

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Staff Development Core Programme of Events 2002/3

The Staff Development Unit's Core Programme of Events Programme 2002/3 is now available at: www.bradford.ac.uk/admin/staffdev/programmes.

Although most of our courses are open to all members of staff, this year's programme includes some specific training opportunities for managers as part of the University's Management Development Strategy. These include a 2-day Managers Induction, 2 half days on Managing Sickness Absence, a half-day on Finance for Managers and a day on Legislation Awareness.

To update Appraisers on the revised Career Development and Staff Appraisal Scheme we are also running a few Appraiser Refresher courses for those people who attended a course more than 2 - 3 years ago. The paper version of this programme will be sent to all staff week commencing 12 August. If you do not receive a copy, please contact us at: staffdev@bradford.ac.uk or on extension 3102. Our second programme, 'Short Course for Research' (for research staff and students) will be published in late August.

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Susan Edmondson

Many of you may not know that Susan Edmondson is leaving at the end of August. Susan has worked for the University for about 11 years, initially as the Student Tutoring Co-ordinator, but latterly with a much greater role in Schools Liaison. It's Susan who sorts out the students for Open Days and Visit Days, who largely runs the ACE Days for Year 9 and 10 school students, and with Anwar Ayub has run the highly successful Summer Schools for the last three years, among many other things.

Susan's husband Chris, who is a Vicar, has been head-hunted to run a Church Retreat and Conference Centre in north Devon, overlooking the sea. It's a tough job but someone has to do it! Chris and Susan will be working together there, so Susan will still be able to use her impressive organisational skills and work with young people too.

We will miss her enormously, and are inviting you to join with us in giving her a card and suitable parting gift. If you would like to sign the card and contribute to a farewell gift, please see Margaret or myself in the Enquiries Office, Room D47, Richmond Building. We will be having a presentation for her and I will let you know when a date has been arranged.

Thanks, Meena Mistry, m.mistry@bradford.ac.uk

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Last updated: 6 August 2002
Comments/suggestions to: briefing@bradford.ac.uk