Quality assurance

The Department has a number of mechanisms in place to ensure delivery of a good learning experience for the student.

Informal dialogue

In a small department with good staff-student contact and an open-door policy it is easy for students to express their views to teaching staff, either directly or through academic or personal tutors. From questions in lectures and elsewhere the effectiveness (or otherwise) of the learning experience can be gauged.

For a list of places to go for assistance, see the help page.

Questionnaires

Towards the end of modules in the Department each student is given a questionnaire in which specific questions are asked about the module. Each module is surveyed at least once every three years, whenever there have been changes to the content, delivery or lecturer, and whenever a problem has been identified on the previous occasion. A programme questionnaire is given to all students shortly before graduation. Students are encouraged to give some thought as to what feedback they want to give and to write down any particular points in the comments section at the back of each questionnaire. Constructive written comments are often more valuable than the box ticking exercise since they can give a clearer picture about how a module can be improved, or what is going well. Lecturers are encouraged to discuss issues raised directly with the students at a subsequent session.

After the forms have been optically read, the Feedback Coordinator notes the major points (good or bad) and returns the forms to the module organiser for response. The summary and responses are discussed at the next Staff Student Committee meeting.

Staff Student Committee

Each part of each degree programme is represented (although programmes with small numbers of students may share a representative); there is one postgraduate representative. The Head of Department, the Programme and Year Tutors, the Director of Teaching, and the Executive Officer also attend. Each student representative is elected by the appropriate year group and will then serve for the academic year. Loughborough Students' Union offers training sessions, which representatives are encouraged to attend.

The Committee meets three times a year to raise issues of concern and to give feedback on changes which have been made, and also for staff to consult students about possible future changes. Standard items include reports on actions taken following the previous meeting, discussion of feedback questionnaires and external examiners’ reports and reports from year representatives.

The minutes and membership list are available here (Loughborough ID required).