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Q190/95

Quality Assessment Report by the HEFCE for

University of Greenwich

Environmental Studies

December 1994

Contents

Introduction
Aims and Objectives
Student Learning Experience
Student Achievement
Conclusions and Recommendations

Introduction

  1. This Report presents the findings of an assessment in December 1994 of the quality of education provided in environmental studies by the University of Greenwich.
  2. The University of Greenwich has its origins in the former Woolwich Polytechnic, founded in 1890 and the second oldest polytechnic in the UK. It offered its first degree-level courses in 1907, and in 1935 introduced the first sandwich courses available in Britain. Considerable growth has resulted from amalgamations with other colleges. In 1970 the Institution became Thames Polytechnic, and in 1992 the University of Greenwich. There are several campuses in south London and in north and west Kent.
  3. The University is organised into 17 schools, grouped under seven faculties, but there are plans to modify this structure. The Head of School provides academic leadership and administrative and financial management; budgets are devolved directly to schools. There are nearly 17,500 students, around 650 full-time teaching and research staff, and 430 part-time teaching staff. The University operates a two-semester academic year and teaching is based on a unit structure.
  4. The School of Environmental Sciences was established four years ago and is one of three schools within the Faculty of Science; it is the sole occupant of the Rachel McMillan campus in Deptford. The School is organised into two subject groups - environmental studies and environmental and occupational health. There are 547 full-time equivalent (FTE) students in the School, of which 249 FTEs are in the environmental studies subject area.
  5. The assessment focused on the quality of provision in the BSc Environmental Sciences, a degree course which has run for several years and which developed from an earlier diploma course. The programme is a three-year full-time course; a four-year sandwich mode was introduced in 1993, but few students have followed this route. A physical science based BSc Environmental Control is currently being phased out, with a newly re-validated scheme being launched in October 1994; this shares a common first year with the BSc Environmental Sciences, but the second and third years will be based on different units. The School provides an access course as an entry to its environmental degrees, and the first year (Stage 0) of a four-year extended degree provision may be taken at West Kent College, to be followed by three years in the School.

    Aims and Objectives

  6. The University's mission includes the provision of high-quality teaching, scholarship and research, the encouragement of access, and the provision of flexible pathways leading to employment and continuing professional development. The School of Environmental Sciences follows the University's mission by providing a multi-disciplinary course covering the scientific and technological, as well as the economic, sociological, philosophical and political aspects of environmental issues. This is coupled with training in practical, communication and information technology (IT) skills; the aim is to prepare students for both professional practice and further study or research.
  7. The BSc course has a unit structure with clearly defined but flexible pathways offering considerable breadth. The first year (Stage 1) covers the theory and practice of the natural and living environment, aspects of sociology and the environment, and a range of courses in mathematics, statistics and the physical sciences. The first-year curriculum supports the aspirations for more open access and aims to bring students from diverse academic backgrounds to a common level. Provision is achieved through a wide range of teaching and learning methods, and considerable emphasis is placed on interdisciplinary integration.
  8. Core units run through later stages of the programme alongside a wide choice of optional subjects, in line with the mission of flexible provision and interdisciplinarity. This flexible provision is continued in Stage 3 with the major core unit Politics, Philosophy and Ethics of Science and the Environment. This unit requires students to produce a short documentary video film on a selected environmental topic as a group project, involving film design, provision of the script or documentary text, and an individual student diary; assistance is provided by external specialists. There is also a major final-year project which offers a variety of research experiences across the environmental spectrum. The involvement of a wide range of external guest lecturers further enhances the programme.
  9. Training is offered in IT, writing and communication skills, and there are opportunities for students to have European language tuition, though only around 10 per cent are taking up this opportunity. The assessors consider that there is scope for strengthening students' exposure to languages and other aspects of the European dimension. Between five and 10 students each year undertake exchanges through an ERASMUS network with several European countries and there are also European field trips.
  10. The programme offers students relevance, flexibility and choice, and the aims and objectives of the School and the University are met. Students receive training across a wide range of professional, vocational and transferable skills, in preparation for employment or further study. There is clear evidence of enthusiasm for innovation and the adoption of new teaching methods, and the process of curriculum development is working effectively.

    Student Learning Experience

  11. The School demonstrates a clear commitment to the provision of high-quality teaching and learning. Considerable effort is made by staff to support, encourage and guide all students, particularly those with non-standard entry qualifications. Remedial workshops are offered in all Stage 1 units, and other courses are offered in examination technique, word-processing and statistical analysis.
  12. All students are assigned to a personal tutor who provides both academic counselling and pastoral support, and whose role is clearly understood and valued by the students; other academic support is provided by year (stage) tutors and unit co-ordinators. Several members of the course team have received formal training in pastoral skills. The separation of the Deptford campus from the main site has implications in terms of access to the University's professional counsellors and other welfare services, but there is no evidence that this presents any disadvantages to students in the School, and a university counsellor spends one day per week on the School site.
  13. Similar considerations apply to the provision of careers advice and assistance. A careers adviser with special responsibility for environmental studies visits the Deptford campus one day per fortnight, but students have access to the University's careers service on the Woolwich site.
  14. The assessors observed a wide range of teaching and learning activities, covering lecture, seminar, tutorial and workshop sessions, as well as some fieldwork. Of the classes observed, nearly 50 per cent were judged to be excellent; the rest were all judged to be satisfactory, with many good features and strengths. There were no unsatisfactory classes. With few exceptions, the assessors were impressed with the care paid to the preparation of teaching materials, with the selection of the teaching method most appropriate to the particular content of each class, and with staff concern to engage and retain students' attention. Objectives were generally clearly stated at the start of every class, were located in the context of the course as a whole, and key points were summarised at the conclusion. Effective use of overhead projectors was widespread.
  15. The assessment methodology for all courses is clearly stated and understood by staff and students. A wide range of assessment methods is used, including oral and video presentations, projects and laboratory and field reports, as well as more traditional essays and examinations. The assessments are at an appropriate level for all stages of the programme and students expressed considerable satisfaction with the level of feedback provided.
  16. The School of Environmental Sciences is housed in a single building containing three large lecture rooms seating between 70 and 100 students, a medium-sized lecture room seating 50 and five further rooms seating between 30 and 40. Teaching rooms are well equipped and there is good technical support. Most staff are housed in single offices adequate for tutorials. The accommodation is generally of a good quality and is well maintained. There is a substantial student common-room and a general canteen used by staff and students.
  17. The on-site library houses an adequate stock of most of the books and journals required by the students, with multiple copies of a considerable number of the major texts; books ordered from the central library at Woolwich arrive within one or two days. There are around 50 well-lit study spaces in the library for nearly 550 FTE students on site. The library opening hours are rather constrained, and there is no weekend opening except close to examination periods; students expressed some concern about the limited opening hours. The library staff are supportive and effectively work as part of the school team. The library provision is the major area of concern in student evaluations, particularly in the second and third years. Considerable efforts have been made to develop the provision, but more attention is needed in this area.
  18. There is a dedicated computer laboratory housing nearly 40 PCs and an additional 23 PCs are available in another computer suite; all are networked to the university system. There are eight PCs in another laboratory on a local network, and three new Sun workstations support advanced geographical information systems work. All staff have access to a PC and to laptop computers, but there is limited e-mail access. The opening hours of the building limit the availability of IT facilities; the assessors recommend that the School should explore ways of extending access.
  19. There are three well-resourced laboratories, each with bench spaces for 40, and a smaller overflow laboratory. There is a substantial range of field equipment and specialist equipment is housed in small rooms close to the laboratories; there are three research laboratories. The equipment is ample and is well maintained, and students commented favourably on both the access to and the support from academic and technical staff.
  20. The documented evaluations and the assessors' discussions with students provided clear evidence of a high degree of satisfaction with the course and with the support provided by the staff. The staff commitment is to be commended and is undoubtedly a major factor in creating a high quality experience.
  21. There are 26 academic staff, 14 technicians and five administrative staff in the School. Some 18 of the academic staff are directly concerned with the units under assessment, most holding a doctorate degree. The multi-disciplinary approach to the teaching is reflected in the staff profile, which covers a very wide range of professional disciplines. The School also makes use of practising environmental scientists as external lecturers. The appointment of six new members of academic staff over the past three years has expanded the range of expertise. All new lecturing staff are required to undergo a formal induction process, and those with less than three years' teaching experience must complete part or all of the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (HE) course. The technical support staff are also well qualified.
  22. Regular reviews of the staff base identify staff development needs, as does the annual appraisal process; this leads to members of staff undergoing training in new subject areas and broadening their experience of environmental matters. The team approach is also evident, and research and consultancy activities are actively encouraged. There is clear evidence of the interaction between research and teaching. All the staff work well together as a multi-disciplinary team, the School and the University are seriously committed to the professional development of staff at all levels, and morale and motivation are high.
  23. The Head of School chairs a general school management group comprising course directors, elected representatives and the safety officer; the elected representatives also carry cross-school responsibilities. Academic management at unit, course and subject levels is under the control of the designated unit co-ordinators, course director, and subject group leader, all of whom are ultimately responsible to the Head of School for the maintenance of academic quality. The Head of School is responsible to the Dean, the Faculty's senior quality manager, and the Dean is accountable to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Affairs) for the management and quality assurance procedures in the Faculty. All members of the course teaching team, together with elected student representatives, constitute the Course Committee, which is responsible for all matters connected with the degree scheme and which reports to the Faculty Board. This Committee also functions as a staff-student liaison committee.
  24. Unit co-ordinators are responsible for reviewing their units annually and make use of students' responses to comprehensive unit evaluation questionnaires. Students also respond to overall course evaluation questionnaires. This information, together with external examiners' reports and quantitative data on recruitment, progression, examination results and first destinations of graduates, contributes to the annual monitoring report, which is constructed by the course director and the course committee. The report includes an account of action taken in response to the previous report and an action plan for the coming year. Annual reports progress through the University's quality monitoring mechanisms which appear to work well, and there is good evidence that these reviews contribute to the development of quality programmes. There is also considerable informal student input to which staff are responsive. Procedures for the validation of new programmes and periodic review of courses are sound. Overall, there is a rigorous approach to quality assurance and a responsiveness to the views of students, external examiners and other external authorities. The clear cross-institutional commitment to providing high-quality education matches the University's mission statement.

    Student Achievement

  25. The assessors are satisfied that the School's aim to train students in a range of subject-specific and general skills is achieved. The course team stressed the importance attached to instilling an awareness of the social construction of scientific knowledge, and there is evidence that a critical approach to science is not confined to the social scientists, but is also shared by team members with formal science qualifications. The final-year core unit Politics, Philosophy and Ethics of Science and Environment constitutes a major component of the whole course. This is a demanding unit, but one which challenges the more able students. Reviewing examination scripts for this unit, the assessors encountered some excellent answers to questions on complex concepts, demonstrating that success in the course demands both depth and breadth of knowledge.
  26. The University stresses its commitment to flexible access and seeks to recruit students with diverse academic backgrounds. The standard entry requirement to the BSc programme for candidates with GCE A-Level passes is 10 points, though students are admitted with lower scores and many are recruited through `clearing'. A high proportion of students enter with alternative qualifications, for example BTEC, or from access courses, or through foundation (Stage 0) or bridging courses. Of the students recruited over the period 1992 to 1994, 54 per cent held qualifications other than two or more GCE A-Levels, 56 per cent were female, 31 per cent were mature students and 15 per cent were of ethnic minority origin. This last figure reflects local demography rather than the application of a positive discrimination policy. The range of pre-entry provision, coupled with admissions tutors' assessment of applications, has permitted expansion of the intake, primarily by mature students, without compromising the principle of recruiting only those believed to be capable of completing the course. There is provision for disabled students.
  27. Progression statistics suggest that the increased intake has not resulted in a corresponding increase in wastage at the end of Stage 1. The percentage deferred or failed has not risen in 1993-94 and the increase in the proportion (10 per cent) choosing to withdraw, transfer or interrupt their studies is probably due to financial difficulties rather than any dissatisfaction with the course. The assessors consider that the progression rates are consistent with the University's commitment to flexible entry.
  28. Discussions with employers also revealed a high degree of satisfaction with the quality of the graduates, and the Institution of Environmental Sciences has commended the quality of the course. Former students were likewise very supportive and felt that the course had equipped them well for their chosen careers or further study. Together, the employers and former students confirmed that the School is meeting its aim of achieving vocational relevance. The assessors felt that the School makes insufficient use of the breadth of experience of former students, given their clear gratitude and loyalty. The employment statistics reflect the difficult employment conditions of recent years and the overall results are similar to those of other institutions offering environmental science/studies programmes. The course team has made good use of Enterprise in Higher Education funding to develop links with employers to support the teaching programme and to develop opportunities for students.
  29. For those entrants with non-standard qualifications, and those who have spent many years outside formal education, the award of an honours degree must be accepted as an indicator of real personal achievement. Similarly, for those students entering with modest achievement at GCE A-Level, the award of an honours degree represents a considerable achievement requiring the development of academic skills and a commitment to learning. The key issue for the assessors was whether the overall results, for example 26 First and Upper Second class degrees in a total of 38 awarded in 1992-93, can be justified. On the basis of the external examiners' comments and scrutiny of a range of examination scripts, the assessors are confident that the degree classes awarded are fully justified. Overall, the external examiners appear to be very satisfied with the level of work attained by the students and are supportive of the programme.
  30. The impressive student achievement reflects the high quality of the education provided, which is ideally matched to the level and diversity of the student intake. The School is encouraged to continue to focus on the range of students which it currently recruits.

    Conclusions and Recommendations

  31. The University of Greenwich claims to provide an excellent education in environmental studies. The assessors come to the overall conclusion, based on the assessment visit and an analysis of the self-assessment, together with the statistical indicators, that the quality of education in environmental studies at the University of Greenwich is excellent.
  32. The positive features identified by the assessors include the following:
  33. The University of Greenwich can build upon these positive qualities by considering the following recommendations:

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