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UCD Education and Student Experience Strategy 2009-13

UCD Quality Reviews

UCD Teaching Awards and Grants

UCD Registry News

Have your say!

Dear Colleague,

Welcome to our summer edition of the bulletin which marks the end of a very successful 07/08 Academic Year.

The Semester 2 examinations in May were a great success with the majority of sessions taking place in the RDS. Monday, 12 May was a particularly momentous occasion for UCD with the largest number of candidates, 3,388 students, examined in one sitting and the largest number of candidates, 8,147 students, in one day. I would like to thank you all for your hard work throughout this very busy period. While logistically this has been a success, the total volume of assessment should give us pause for thought: do we need to have this many examinations? Assessment, and approaches to assessment, will be a priority strategic issue in the next year.

I am enthusiastic about current discussions on our developing Education and Student Experience strategy 2009-13 and I would like to thank Professor Joe Mannion for his leadership in this work. I know that lively debates are taking place within Colleges and have been held at University level, on priorities for Education and the Student experience. I would like to thank all those leading and participating in these discussions – and encourage sustained involvement over the coming months as we bring clarity to our strategic aims and objectives for the 2009-13 period. Details of the current strategy process can be found below.

It was a great pleasure to hear of the first awards in the new College Teaching & Learning Awards scheme which were made in the Life Sciences and Engineering, Maths and Physical Sciences Colleges in early June. I would like to congratulate the six recipients of the awards in their inaugural year: Dr Tom Curran, School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine, Dr Louise Rainford, School of Medicine and Medical Science, Dr Mark McEntee, School of Medicine and Medical Science, Dr Amanda Gibney, School of Architecture, Landscape and Civil Engineering, Dr Dominic Zerulla, School of Physics and Dr Donal Finn, School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering

The May CAO figures are very positive with an increase in first preferences of 4.9% since the March statistics, up 5.2% compared with the same time last year. Programmes with unusually high preferences include Mathematical Science, Food and Agribusiness Management, Commerce with German and Social Science.

Going forward, preparations for the 08/09 Academic Year are well underway to ensure that everything runs smoothly for staff and students throughout the registration and orientation period. I would also like to alert you to some re-configuration within UCD Registry, aimed at further enhancing the integration of key administrative processes. Further information can be found within the Registry news section below.

I hope that you find this bulletin helpful. As ever, I am keen to hear your feedback, so please do contact me with your ideas.

Dr. Philip Nolan,
Registrar

	UCD Education and Student Experience Strategy 2009-13 Detailed consultation on the UCD Education and Student Experience Strategy 2009–13 Framework is well underway within Schools and Programmes, led by College Principals and Vice-Principals, and within Student Services. Key initiatives and actions are being proposed within a set of draft strategic objectives that were endorsed by Academic Council in April. Work will soon commence to synthesise feedback, informing the final draft of the strategy in Autumn 2008, and developing an Implementation Plan that can act as a guide during the 2009-13 period. Details of the current strategy development phase can be found on http://www.ucd.ie/registrar/educationstrategy/ SIF II: Building HE partnership across the Dublin city-region The development of the Dublin Region Higher Education Alliance (DRHEA), funded by the HEA’s Strategic Innovation Fund, progresses apace with the formalisation of the Alliance governance structure and detailed planning well underway within the key strands of: - Enhancement of Learning - Graduate Education - Internationalisation - Widening Participation In line with the development of the UCD Strategic Plan 2009-13, SIF II funding will enable an acceleration of institutional activity in the above thematic areas at UCD. I will update you in September on how it is intended to use SIF II resources. << BACK TO TOP
	UCD Quality Reviews The UCD Quality Office completed a peer review of the UCD School of Computer Science and Informatics between 26-29 May 2008. A summary report of the review group will be made available in due course. The quality review schedule for 2008-2009 is as follows: Academic UCD School of Languages and Literatures UCD School of Classics UCD School of Social Justice UCD School of Public Health and Population Science UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering Support UCD Student Services (collective units) UCD Careers and Appointments UCD Applied Language Centre In addition to periodic reviews of units, the University will also undertake broader based reviews, for example, cross-University thematic reviews; college level (or cross-college) review; and/or reviews focusing on cognitive ‘clusters’. UCD International UCD successfully hosted the Universitas 21 Annual General Meeting from 7-9 May. One of the highlights of the week was the Universitas 21 Symposium, which addressed the topic “Strategic Partnerships with the Developing World: A new direction for Universitas 21 in research and education.” President Mary McAleese formally opened the Symposium and gave an address on the challenges of international development. As an outcome of the Symposium, UCD has volunteered to take the lead in coordinating the Universitas 21 networks’ combined efforts in international development studies and will be spearheading a number of major funding applications in support of this work. Professor Paul Walsh will be the lead academic on this project with support from Dr Erik Lithander in UCD International. << BACK TO TOP
	UCD Teaching Awards and Grants Call for Applications for Module Support Grants 2008-09 I am pleased to announce that a number of small grants, up to €5000 each, are available to module co-ordinators who have significantly redesigned a module, either undergraduate or graduate, that will be delivered in the academic session 2008/9. The purpose of the grants are to fund a one-off transition or change within the module and not to provide recurrent funding which may be required again in future years. Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis to module co-ordinators who would benefit from special support to deliver this enhancement of their module. Click here for further information. << BACK TO TOP
	UCD Registry News The Semester 2 examination session was a great success. Results are now available. UCD Registry continues to evolve in line with developments more generally across the University. Earlier this month, the Fees & Grants Office became part of the UCD Registry team, having up to that point been part of the Bursar’s Office. This change should benefit both staff and students. Some other changes are also being made, including some unit re-configuration. Further details will be made available in due course by the Director of Registry, Kevin Griffin, beginning with high-level details being made available this Friday 20th June on Registry’s website: http://www.ucd.ie/registry and thereafter through a range of communications channels. Last year’s successful Registration Oversight Group has been reconvened in preparation for activities at the start of the next academic year. Monthly information and planning sessions are also underway: these provide a forum for all staff to feed into, and be informed on, university-level preparations for registration and orientation. Visit http://www.ucd.ie/registry/sysdem/reg_plan.html for more details. The annual review and renewal of the university’s curriculum is a process which runs from early spring to the close of the main teaching year at the end of May. Many staff across the university, academic and administrative, are involved in this Information Capture and Curriculum Management process and are supported by UCD Registry. All schools and programmes had completed their main submissions by the end of May, continuing the advances made last year in terms of preparatory work for new academic years. The development of the undergraduate teaching timetable is also making good progress and is ahead of this time last year. The 2008 Undergraduate Change of Mind Campaign commences on 20 June. A personalised letter from the Vice President for Students will be sent to approximately 22,000 CAO applicants who mentioned UCD on their application form. The campaign will also include web and radio advertising. Over 5,000 transition and fifth year students from secondary schools all over Ireland participated in the Campus Tours Programme during 2007 – 2008. The programme includes a 35 minute information talk plus a tour of the campus with a student ambassador in groups of 10 students or less. The top 50 feeder schools were targeted with a 90% uptake. The Student Ambassador programme also offers year-round tours to individual prospective students and their families. There are 50 student ambassadors representing undergraduate, graduate and international students. The strategic drive to deliver student-centred programme specific communication to prospective students to date has included a shift in focus in the Science, Arts and Social Science programmes. This is now available on www.ucd.ie/myucd Peter Shearer, Admissions Officer, is taking a year’s leave of absence. Bronwyn Molony will be the interim Admissions Officer in his absence. << BACK TO TOP
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