Learning and Teaching Committee
Subject: Student Placements
Origin: Anne Mumford, Morag Bell
__
Executive Summary: At its July 2011 meeting Senate considered a
proposal by the PVC(T) that all undergraduate students across all programmes
commencing with the 2012 intake should have the opportunity to undertake a
placement (broadly defined) during their studies. It was agreed that a
feasibility study should be undertaken. This paper reports on the key findings
of that work.
Actions Required: Learning and Teaching Committee is asked to
comment on the paper and support the findings prior to consideration by Senate.
At
its July 2011 meeting Senate considered a proposal by the PVC(T) that all
students across all programmes commencing with the 2012 intake should have the
opportunity to undertake a placement (broadly defined) during their studies.
Senate agreed that a feasibility study should be undertaken.
Anne
Mumford was asked by Morag Bell and Caroline Walker to pull together the various
strands of the feasibility study and to:
·
review current activity across the
University which provides students with professional work experience (largely
45 week placements);
·
consider whether we can scale up existing
placement opportunities and create new types of opportunity;
·
identify what changes we might need in our
procedures and systems;
·
comment on the support required to
deliver this vision and where this support might be located.
The
study was informed by:
·
a report undertaken by SUMS;
·
activities already undertaken prior to the
Senate meeting in July 2011;
·
a review of information systems which might
be purchased/developed;
·
a report by the Careers and Employability
Centre (CEC) which reviewed current practice and reported on a survey of
exhibitors at the Careers Fair;
·
meetings with Deans and their colleagues in
all Schools;
·
meetings with colleagues from CEC, IT
Services, Marketing & Communications and with the PVC(T);
·
the views of the Steering
Group set up by the PVC(T) to oversee the work.
This
paper focuses on key findings and seeks the support of LTC for these. More
detail can be seen in the reports and notes of the meetings if members are
interested (contact Anne Mumford).
This
placements work links to a wider discussion about partnerships which is taking
place in the University and, although relevant, it is not expanded on here.
Key Findings
It
is essential that in seeking to deliver the proposed vision we do not undermine
what we do so very well at Loughborough University in providing 45 week
placement opportunities for around one third of all undergraduate students,
most of whom take up this opportunity at the end of
their second year. We assist students in finding professional work experience
relevant to their studies with supportive companies and organisations, and we
provide excellent support from the University both for the students and the
companies and organisations with whom they are placed.
The
following actions are proposed in order to deliver the vision articulated to
Senate:
1.
The University should adopt the description
“professional work experience” as an appropriate over-arching phrase to summarise the range of opportunities at graduate
level that would distinguish them from other work opportunities for
undergraduates. Our traditional 45 week “placements” would sit within this.
2.
The range of professional work experience opportunities offered by
Loughborough University should be made available on all programmes and expanded
beyond the current 45 week placements leading to a DIS/DPS to encompass a more
flexible range of opportunities which may include:
o
opportunities as part of the academic programme;
o
day release work experience in semester;
o
vacation
placements.
3.
There should be formal recognition of this greater range of
opportunities which may be through:
o
credit bearing modules within programmes;
o
the
Employability Award.
4.
A greater range of opportunities for all forms of professional work
experience (including the 45 week placements and shorter/more flexible
opportunities) should be sourced. Key to this are:
o
Careers and Employability Centre for both sourcing new opportunities
and encouraging others to seek new opportunities, which the CEC would collect
and pass on to appropriate Schools;
o
Enterprise Office for sourcing new opportunities.
5.
We shall need to ensure that there is clarity of roles between Schools
and Support Services, noting the following:
o
that the main link between the University, the employer and the student
for 45 week placements should remain with the School;
o
that there may be benefits of sharing support between Schools where
there is less of a tradition of professional work experience or where the scale
of activity is smaller than in other Schools (as happens now);
o
that
there would be merit in having central support for new, more flexible
opportunities which are not credit bearing and where academic input to the
provision is not required.
6.
There should be sharing of good practice between Schools in the
organisation and delivery of professional work experience for students, e.g.
regarding:
o
the balance of roles taken on by academic and administrative staff;
o
the ways in which academic staff are allocated to student visits to
maximise the benefits gained for both the member of staff and the University;
o
offering
professional work experience as part of a formal module.
7.
A database should be put in place for recording student engagement with
professional work experience, which is linked to the current student
information system.
Effective
implementation of the actions above, notably 4 to 7,
has resource implications. If LTC and
Senate are minded to support the recommended actions, work can be carried out
into the additional resources required, including their type and location, and
the timescale over which they would need to be in place. A strategy for the promotion of these
professional work opportunities can also be drawn up.
Author –AM.Mumford M.Bell
Date – January 2012
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