Portfolio Review Pathway: Breakfast Drop-In slides and Academic Year project update

On 27 July we hosted another informal ‘Breakfast drop-in session’ for colleagues to learn more about the work of the Portfolio Review Pathway.

Elizabeth McCrum started with an overview of the pathway, followed by each of the four project leads talking through an update on progress and next steps for their respective areas:

• Programme & Module Review
• Programme Expectations
• Blended Learning
• Academic Year

Slides from the session are available for you to download. 

The next drop-in will take place on 21 September and all colleagues are very welcome to attend. Register your attendance on UoR Learn

Academic Year proposals

Following extensive consultation with our students and colleagues from a range of Schools and Functions, Senate and Council have approved a proposal from the Pathway recommending that we restructure the academic year. The new semester system is designed to improve the student and staff experience and create capacity for future growth and innovation.

The semester model is widely used in the HE sector, in the UK and internationally. The main benefits of this approach are:

• Modules can be fully assessed/examined during the term or semester in which they are taught, which students have told us they prefer. 
• A greater proportion of the academic year will be available for teaching to take place, with a smaller amount of time set aside for formal summative examinations. This increases our teaching capacity, without the need to extend the length of the teaching day.
• Improved opportunities for the development of international partnerships, including student and staff exchange programmes, by aligning with the globally dominant model within the HE sector.

The Portfolio Review Steering Group will now take forward detailed planning for implementation, including considering the feasibility of introducing the new structure in time for the 2023/24 academic year.