impact
www.bathimpact.com/news
Monday 8th February 2010
News in brief Work to begin on new Student Centre Gown
The tenth annual Student Volunteering Week will begin on February 22nd. Events and talks will be given on campus daily, providing information and advice on charity work and volunteering, including talks by Susan Johnson and Severine Deneulin on doing volunteer work in developing countries. Full details can be found at http://www.bathstudent. com/sorted/.
• Project is a response to student demand • To be finished by September 20th Building work on the new student centre is due to begin on February 15th. The building, to be situated by the Founders Sports Hall, will feature a new café and a ‘Chill-Out Area’ with sofas and Sun-Ray computers. The building works will also involve modifications to Elements and Plug, including a larger kitchen area, which will allow them to expand the range of food available. As part of the plans, the Parade will be extended and widened towards the bus stop, and a bridge will be built from there over the road to the East Car Park. Building work will be in two stages, the first of which will involve the erection of steel foundations and
to be finished around September 20th, shortly before the beginning of Freshers’ Week 2010. This stage will also involve a thorough refurbishment of Norwood House, and will require the SU building to be empty. As a result, it is possible that the SU shop and the Terrace cafe will be closed for the last two weeks of Summer Term. The project is being funded by £5.5 million of University money, with
an extra £400,000 provided by the Students’ Union, as a direct result of student demands for more social space, both via the Student Opinion Survey, and less formal channels, such as Facebook. VP Communications Ben Cole explained to impact that “all of our research has shown that students want more social space”; Ian Robertson, who is overseeing the project, added that “3,500 people
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signed up to a Facebook group, which we think was pretty powerful”. As the environment is one of the SU’s priorities, it is being ensured that the building will have a “high environmental rating”, “high levels of insulation”, and be energy efficient. An information session will be held
£5.5m
Budget for the project
on the Tuesday of Refresh week, during which students will be able to question those involved in the project.
“It feels like some sort of military campaign” Bath psychology students are being invited to attend a lecture which will take place in the virtual world Second Life. Dr Jeff Gavin was granted money by the Teaching Development Fund to buy land and rooms on the website. This is apparently more than a publicity stunt; being ‘immersed’ in a virtual world will help students advance on their cyberpsychology unit by allowing them to “critically reflect upon how psychological theory relates to their online experiences”, according to Dr Mark Brosnan. A public lecture on Wednesday will examine the influence of Spain on legendary Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. City University lecturer Graham Griffiths will give the talk, part of a lecture series running this term which will include a talk by Prof Ian James on the topic “Climate Change: Challenge or Swindle?”
Town The General Medical Council has concluded a two and a half year inquiry into the activities of Bath expatriate Andrew Wakefield, the man responsible for the media’s 1998 MMR scare. The GMC condemned his methods of data-gathering, including paying children at his son’s birthday party £5 to provide blood samples, and found he had acted “dishonestly and irresponsibly”, and “failed in his duties as a responsible consultant”. Herbie’s chip shop on Moreland road was briefly on fire during the evening of January 27th. As a precaution, the road was closed by police, and Sainsbury’s local was evacuated. The fire began in one of the deep-fryers, and was initially minor, until a staff member threw water on it in an attempt to extinguish the blaze. No one was hurt.
- Ian Robertson, on the challenges of organizing the project the basic structure of the building. This is scheduled to be finished by the end of the Easter holidays, but if it isn’t, work will be suspended for the duration of the exam period. Part of the road under the Parade will be temporarily closed during this stage. Stage two of the plan will begin on June 7th, and it is expected
CHILL-OUT AREA: as imagined by a computer
Academic news • Nominate staff for teaching awards • National Student Survey launched
Teaching awards Nominations have opened for the University of Bath Teaching Awards, which recognise significant contributions by staff to the academic lives of students. There are four awards covering a range of areas including curriculum design, content, delivery, pastoral support, leadership and research. The deadline for nominations is Friday 12th March 2010. Undergraduate and postgraduate students are encouraged to submit their nominations for these awards; these need to be any more than a few points demonstrating why a particular member of staff is deserving of recognition.
£750
Prize money for each teaching award
Staff who have been nominated in the past have commented on how much being nominated means to them, even if they do not win, and the University is keen to know what students think and to demonstrate how seriously teaching is taken. There are four different teaching awards. The Innovation in Learning and Teaching Award is awarded to a member of staff who makes a significant contribution to innovation
in curriculum design, content or delivery; this is open to all members of teaching and learning support staff. The John Willis Award recognises accomplishment in research combined with a significant contribution to teaching, including to pastoral support of students; this is open for staff who have occupied an academic post for less than ten years. The Mary Tasker Award recognises excellence in teaching and is open to all members of teaching staff. The Leadership in Learning and Teaching Award recognises exceptional examples of leadership in learning and teaching, and is open to all members of staff who teach or support learning. Further details about these awards including criteria, past winners and nomination forms are available at: http://www.bath.ac.uk/awards/staff/
index.html To submit a nomination, or for further information, students should contact Georgina Eggleston, Secretary to the Awards Committee, at G.Eggleston@bath.ac.uk
Student survey This year the National Student Survey (NSS) is being launched at the University of Bath on Monday 8th February. The NSS is an annual survey which started in 2005 and is carried out at all universities in the UK on behalf of the National Union of Students (NUS). The survey, which is exclusively for final year undergraduates, is an opportunity to give feedback on the good and bad aspects of degree courses. The NSS covers all aspects of courses, including learning and teaching, assessment and feedback, academic support, and overall satisfaction. The results will be made available on Unistats.com to enable prospective students to make an informed choice
TEACHING AWARDS: a selection of previous winners
about where they want to study, and are also used by the University and the Students’ Union to improve the quality of the student experience. Departments with low student satisfaction scores are asked to draw up action plans on how they will improve their scores. This is usually done with input from academic reps at Student/Staff Liaison Committee meetings. NSS results inform various university league tables. In order for a university to perform well in league tables it helps to have a high level of student satisfaction.
“If you could change one specific thing about your course or academic department, what would it be?” - A typical question Consequentially NSS results are taken seriously, and to have a breadth of student feedback through this is important for the University. Previous NSS feedback has led to improved rules on how Student/ Staff Liaison Committees are run to strengthen the ‘Student Voice’. An annual report has been introduced, written by the Students’ Union, summarising the key academic issues from across these committees so that the University and Union can deal with the issues and concerns raised by students. The personal tutorial system has been reviewed to enhance the support given to students on taught programmes, both academically and personally, through a personalised point of contact with the University. The new system will assist new students with the transition to university life.