Academic review of UK higher education
Introduction
A Subject provision and overall aims
B Academic standards Intended learning outcomes
Intended learning outcomes
Curricula
Assessment
Student achievementC Quality of learning opportunities
Teaching and learning
Student progression
Learning resourcesD Maintenance and enhancement of quality and standards
Summary of the main review outcomes
Subject provision and the overall aims
The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (the QAA) helps to provide public assurance that the quality and standards of higher education are being safeguarded and enhanced by conducting academic reviews of higher education provision.
In developing its method for academic review, the QAA has published a wide range of materials designed to provide a background against which the reviews can take place. These are:
The QAA carries out reviews of individual subjects through service level agreements with the main higher education funding bodies. It also carries out institutional reviews of higher education institutions. The judgements made by the subject reviewers can contribute substantially to institutional review.
Subject review is a peer review process. It starts when institutions evaluate their provision in a subject in a self-evaluation document. This document is submitted to the QAA for use by a team of reviewers who gather evidence to enable them to report their judgements on the academic standards and the quality of learning opportunities. Review activities include meeting staff and students, scrutinising students' assessed work, reading relevant documents, and examining learning resources. Full details of the process of subject review can be found in the Handbook for academic review, QAA, 2000.
The range of judgements that reviewers may utilise when they have completed a subject review are summarised below.
To reach this judgement, reviewers look at:
Reviewers make one of the following judgements for each of three aspects of
learning opportunities:
The three aspects of quality of learning opportunities are:
Reviewers also report the degree of confidence they have in the institution's ability to maintain and enhance quality and standards in the subject under review.
1. This report presents the findings of a review of the academic standards achieved, and the quality of the learning opportunities provided, in history programmes at the University of Hertfordshire. The review was completed in the academic year 2002-03.
2. History is currently offered within the humanities modular undergraduate programme and the humanities MA programme as follows:
3. There are 94 full-time equivalent (FTE) students presently studying history on the humanities undergraduate programme and on the MA History programme there are five full-time and six part-time students.
4. All of these programmes are delivered by the History Subject Group within the Department of Humanities, which is located within the Faculty of Humanities and Education. All of the programmes are presently based at the Watford Campus of the University, although the Department will be relocated to the Hatfield de Havilland Campus before the beginning of the 2003-04 academic year. The History Subject Group has nine FTE academic staff.
5. The overall aims of the subject provision, as stated in the self-evaluation document (SED), are to:
6. The overall aims of the provision are in line with the expectations of the Subject benchmark statement for history.
7. The intended learning outcomes (ILOs) for each programme are stated in the respective programme specifications. There is particular emphasis upon the skills of reflexivity and historiographical awareness as a significant feature of the provision.
8. The staff have adopted a new, outcomes-based learning approach and have engaged fully with the Subject benchmark statement for history. There is good evidence of an explicit referencing of the provision against the Subject benchmark statement in documentation including the History Subject Guide. The MA programme's ILOs are being developed to emphasise more explicitly the subject-related and generic transferable skills and to ensure greater compatibility with The framework for higher education qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (FHEQ) masters level descriptor.
9. Students are informed about their programme through a variety of documents, including the programme specifications, individual module guides and the information technology-based StudyNet pages. The students' understanding of the programme and module ILOs is reinforced during programme and module induction sessions. Written guidance on graduate skills is given to students through the Humanities Undergraduate Programme student handbook and the Acquiring Graduate Skills handbook. Students indicated that their programmes had met their expectations and commented favourably on both the programme information provided and their induction. However, there is some unevenness and inconsistency in the communication of aims and ILOs to students in module handbooks across both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
10. The BA is offered within the humanities undergraduate modular programme, in which subject specialisation takes place largely on progression to level 2, but which also allows the flexibility for students to reshape the balance of their degree into level 3. The BA curriculum is appropriately wide ranging in its content focus. It includes coverage of early modern to contemporary chronological material; modules on local, British, European and world history; and varying thematic approaches. Hence, the BA curriculum meets both the letter and the spirit of the Subject benchmark statement for history in terms of range, variety and diversity of cultures studied.
11. The MA places a strong emphasis on research and the methodology of practising history. A recent external examiner's report refers to the MA as being excellent and distinctively postgraduate in both conceptual and research terms.
12. In the BA at level 1, prospective history students must take a minimum of two compulsory history modules plus an optional third if they so choose. Level 2 offers a range of module options of a thematic or broad chronological nature. These module options in particular stress student engagement with historiography and preparation for the level 3 dissertation. Level 3 consists of more narrowly focused specialist modules, centred on the analysis of primary evidence, capped by a dissertation for single honours students. Meetings held with staff and students, and scrutiny of students' work and the external examiners' reports, confirm that academic progression is achieved through the programmes. The BA students the reviewers met were aware that they are being supported towards autonomous learning. The BA graduates felt enthused and equipped to undertake postgraduate study.
13. The curriculum maps, contained within the programme specifications, identify how module content contributes to the assessment and/or development of the programmes' ILOs. The curriculum maps indicate that the achievement of the ILOs is contributed to, in whole or part, by all of the modules, in all levels, of the BA and in the MA. In the case of the BA, this reflects the progressive development and cumulative reinforcement of knowledge and intellectual skills ILOs. Scrutiny of ILOs within the definitive module documents bears out this pattern of knowledge and skills, but the extent to which this is reflected in modules is variable. The staff also provided evidence of ongoing work on mapping module ILOs to programme ILOs. An early conclusion to this work is required so that the relationship between module and programme ILOs is explicit and the progressive development of the programme ILOs is then more evident.
14. The programme curriculum maps indicate that the ILOs relating to transferable skills are developed within all modules, but that the majority of them are not formally assessed. The staff stated that transferable skills are largely developed through experiential learning and are not formally taught. There is no clear strategy for the teaching, development and assessment of most of the transferable skills throughout the curricula, and it is difficult to see how these can be claimed for the programmes if achievement of them is not assessed. This is likely to be resolved, since the University's developing learning and teaching strategy expects the assessment of transferable skills will be expressed in module ILOs. Nevertheless, meetings with BA students confirm that the students are developing a good range of transferable skills and that staff raise student awareness of these skills informally. While there is evidence that students develop transferable skills over the duration of the programmes, the development of a formal strategy to support transferable skills should be considered.
15. Student progression into employment is addressed through close liaison with the University's careers service, which provides the opportunity for individual consultations. Students are introduced to the service at induction, and a series of careers sessions are available to students throughout their study. Employability is not yet formally addressed in the curriculum, but the reviewers encourage staff to develop their ideas for history-related work placements.
16. Staff are active participants in the History 2000 Fund for Development of Teaching and Learning project, engaging in research on curricular design, and they have a continuing active involvement with the History Learning and Teaching Subject Network Centre. Development and innovation in the curriculum has taken place, informed through such networks. The excellent research and scholarly activities of the staff positively influence the design and content of the curriculum, with BA level 3 and masters modules particularly reflecting staff research interests. Students and graduates strongly commend the staff on this positive feature and felt that the curriculum made them feel part of a scholarly community. They also commented on the staff's enthusiasm for their subject. The knowledge, ability and experience of practising professional historians ensure the richness and currency of the curricula, and are a strength of the provision.
17. Several forms of assessment are in use, including examinations and assessed coursework, particularly essays. On the BA programme, students are required to undertake more than one form of assessment for each module, which contributes to the overall learning experience and provides a varied means of demonstrating achievement of learning. The students indicated that they are aware of assessment requirements and the external examiners are satisfied with the range of assessments, although the BA external examiner has recommended that they be extended. The staff are considering this recommendation. The definitive module documents do not specify which module ILOs are assessed in the various means of assessment. This issue will be addressed in light of the University's learning and teaching strategy, which requires that module ILOs should be mapped against items of assessment.
18. The BA students are given several generic sets of assessment criteria through the History Subject Guide, Acquiring Graduate Skills Handbook and the assessed assignment feedback forms. These are supplemented by additional requirements specified within module handbooks. There are currently no published criteria for assessment of masters work, although detailed briefs are in the MA Introductory Guide. Although the generic criteria are congruent, this diversity of information could be confusing, particularly for students. In practice it appears that much of the deficiency is in written and explicit communication of both general and module-specific assessment criteria. There is extensive staff availability, both personally and by email, for pre-submission advice on assessments, guidance on examination techniques, and discussion of assessment in seminars. BA students confirmed that the pre-submission essay tutorials helped them understand the requirements for their essays. The weakness is that it is not readily demonstrable, and may be unevenly accessed.
19. The assignment feedback forms give a clear indication of the rationale behind the marking of assessed coursework. This has been commented on with approval by the BA external examiner. However, neither external examiner is critical of the lack of detailed assessment criteria. There are no discernible guidelines on what is expected in examinations, and there is minimal written comment on the examination scripts. Staff and external examiners alike assume a shared understanding of the nature of an examination compatible with the indicative criteria set out in the Subject benchmark statement. Lack of adverse comment by either external examiner would indicate satisfaction with this aspect of assessment.
20. The SED indicates that the Subject Group is undertaking detailed work on both BA and MA assessment criteria, and there is evidence to show that this work has been ongoing since November 2002. Early action should be taken to ensure that generic assessment criteria are standardised and that they are complemented at module level with criteria for each form of assessment.
21. The departmental manual sets out the procedures for the internal moderation of examination papers, although there is no requirement for the internal moderation of assessed assignment briefs. The manual also sets out the procedures regarding the nature and amount of students' marked work that needs to be internally moderated. A new form, for use by internal moderators during the marking process, has been introduced recently to provide comparability across modules. This is now in use, but responses vary in depth and the staff might consider developing guidelines on this. Anonymous marking is used for examinations, but the relatively small numbers of students make preconceptions of student ability a possibility on the BA programmes. However, the external examiners indicate satisfaction on assessment procedures, citing consistent and fair assessment methods, scrupulous marking, and rigorous double-marking procedures.
22. The work scrutinised by the reviewers indicated the process followed for plagiarised student work. The University has recently reviewed its provision on plagiarism to prevent adjudication and penalty being the responsibility of the same person, which is an improvement in respect of equity. The staff endeavour to prevent plagiarism by the use of in-course tests or examinations, providing both written and verbal information on plagiarism to students, and requiring declaration of authorship of submitted work.
23. In respect of individual students, the formative strategy has two components, namely support prior to the submission of assessed essays, and feedback to students on marked work. The SED instances considerable scope for pre-submission assistance, and this is confirmed by existing documentation. The level of assistance and the staff's commitment to the students is commendable, especially in respect of formative input into essay preparation. Students expressed appreciation of the level of formative input and staff availability. Written feedback, both as forms and comments on students' coursework, is provided. MA students were highly appreciative of the diagnostic content of tutor feedback. The sampling of undergraduate assignments indicates a tendency to give greater feedback to the better students, and the staff may reflect on the need for under-performing or marginal students to have a fuller awareness of areas needing improvement. There is, however, no provision for individual feedback to students on examination performance, and staff may wish to consider giving such feedback.
24. The external examiner for the BA programme shows confidence that the standard of student achievement is comparable with similar institutions. The scrutiny of a sample of student work shows evidence of the BA graduates' abilities in analytical techniques, problem-solving skills, evaluation of evidence, arguments and assumptions, and the ability to communicate these successfully. The students show the expected range of achievement through the recognised levels of attainment. Weakness in written expression is a characteristic of poor performance, a feature also commented upon by external examiners. Good work shows a good grasp of the graduate skills as described in the FHEQ and the Subject benchmark statement for history.
25. The MA external examiners have also made highly positive comments about the programme and its comparability within the sector. The scrutiny of students' work showed evidence of a mature use of secondary sources, familiarity with the relevant historiographical issues, and an impressive range of detailed analyses of primary source documents comparable to those expected in the FHEQ.
26. The range of degree classifications shows that relatively low numbers of First class degrees are being awarded compared to the average in the sector. Over the past three years, over 70 per cent of graduates have entered full or part-time employment or gone onto further study, with a strong emphasis on careers related to history teaching or research.
27. With respect to academic standards, the reviewers conclude that:
Overall, the reviewers have confidence in the academic standards achieved by the programmes in history at the University of Hertfordshire.
28. A broad range of teaching and learning methods is demonstrated in the modules, including lectures, seminars, individual tutorials and supervisions, group work, role play, workshops and computer-assisted discussion. Students described the teaching as excellent, supportive and enjoyable. Student feedback questionnaires scrutinised confirm the high quality of teaching. Students are given the opportunity to develop transferable skills throughout the provision. They are encouraged to do so through an identified graduate skills coordinator, the provision of the Acquiring Graduate Skills Handbook, and programme induction sessions offered on a number of study skills. However, most transferable skills are not taught or formally supported at any point in the programme. Some further thought should be given to the development of specific teaching sessions to achieve this, albeit through the medium of history subject material, in line with an articulated transferable skills development strategy. Overall, the students are provided with a high-quality and challenging teaching and learning experience.
29. Peer observation notes and guidance to students indicate the expectation that lectures will involve an interactive component and that students are expected to participate. A culture of high attendance at, and preparation for, seminars has been established and this has resulted in a high level of intellectual challenge. Seminars make use of active learning methods, such as prepared discussion, brainstorming, video commentaries, group work and some student-led elements. Students said they appreciated being encouraged to attend seminars and tutorials and to be active participants in sessions. There is an active student history society that organises visiting history speakers and social events.
30. A guide is provided for each module, with materials also increasingly available electronically through the University's StudyNet virtual-learning environment. The module guides contain material to support the learning sessions, and this is further enhanced by the use of study materials. Secondary literature and primary documents are provided, as appropriate, together with guidance notes on preparation for lectures and seminars. Further electronic resources are provided for specific modules; examples are Teaching and Learning Technology Programme CD-ROMs, and legal, census and local history database material. The reviewers agree with the external examiners that the learning and teaching materials developed, are of a high quality. As part of the move to the new campus, staff expect to develop the use of StudyNet from being a resource to an interactive learning medium
31. Teaching is currently provided by research-active staff who, particularly at BA level 3 and on the MA, teach to their areas of expertise. Students, particularly those undertaking BA dissertations and on the MA, appreciated the strong links between teaching and research and the feeling of being part of a research culture. This was reinforced by the experience of those students attending the annual Cumberland Lodge conference that, for a small fee, brings together dissertation students, postgraduates, staff and external speakers to engage in intensive research-led historical debate. The influence of research on teaching is a strength of the provision.
32. Clear guidance to staff on the levels of work that can be demanded of students on individual modules is provided at departmental level. Student feedback indicates satisfaction with the balance of coursework and examinations. There are high expectations placed on students by the staff in terms of ongoing preparation, seminar work and assessment, and the students appreciate this.
33. Staff are actively involved in staff development activities related to the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), in particular StudyNet, and other formal teaching development. They engage in peer observation of teaching and ongoing subject discussion of teaching strategies. There is no faculty, departmental or subject learning and teaching strategy in place, but the Faculty has an action plan and the Department has a staff development plan, intended to deliver the University's learning and teaching strategy. This structure leaves history staff remote and disengaged from some elements of the University's learning and teaching strategy as evidenced in meetings with staff. A more effective, locally owned and operated learning and teaching strategy including the development of e-learning should be developed.
34. The provision contributes substantially to the achievement of the intended outcomes, with most elements demonstrating good practice.
The quality of teaching and learning is commendable.
35. Support for undergraduates is provided through the personal tutor system and the humanities programme help-desk. The help-desk runs daily during term-time, offering personal advice on practical writing skills and welfare issues. It is staffed by humanities programme management staff and the humanities part-time students' tutor. In meetings with staff, the reviewers were informed that guidance on writing skills and literacy support is reinforced at subject group level through written advice in the History Subject Guide and the MA Introductory Guide, which are on StudyNet. Postgraduate academic and pastoral support is provided by the history MA coordinator. Clear written guidance on the range of student support is provided to students in the humanities undergraduate and postgraduate student handbooks.
36. The Faculty's disability officer has responsibility for the admission, induction and support for students with special needs. In a meeting with the reviewers, the officer cited examples of the proactive readjustment of learning and teaching techniques for students with disabilities, such as the use of note-takers and the provision of revised learning materials produced on StudyNet.
37. Admissions to history programmes are managed centrally, with recruitment targets set for the humanities programme as a whole. The history staff are actively involved in a range of recruitment activities, such as visits to sixth forms and presentations to local history societies. Staff also indicated that tutors participate in the induction programme for students entering the humanities modular undergraduate scheme, providing relevant subject-specific input. Students met by the reviewers were positive about their admission and induction experiences; in particular, the MA students thought that their induction was very effective, combining practical information and guidance with an informal social gathering.
38. The history staff operate a number of support techniques to facilitate student learning, such as published office hours, email correspondence, message boards, and individual and group tutorials. Supervision of dissertations occurs throughout the final year at three-weekly intervals. Students indicated that the levels of support from module teaching staff are well received, giving particular praise for the diagnostic benefits of both pre and post-essay tutorials and the general flexibility, supportiveness and accessibility of staff.
39. Although the written guidance given to undergraduate students encourages them to use the full range of academic support on offer, it was not evident that this advice is being acted upon. Students expressed a lack of need for, and engagement with, the personal tutor system. The high levels of academic support offered in conjunction with the relatively low student-staff ratio may well alleviate the need for alternative means of academic and pastoral support. Scrutiny of the University's learning and teaching strategy indicates the impending implementation of a new university-wide personal development planning system, and the reviewers suggest that, in conjunction with this development, further consideration is given to the most beneficial method of combining pastoral and academic means of support.
40. The provision contributes substantially to the achievement of the intended outcomes, with most elements demonstrating good practice.
The quality of student progression is commendable.
41. The staff are all well qualified to PhD level and have excellent research profiles. The low student-staff ratio of 12.6:1 allows considerable personal attention to be given to students, which both staff and students note as a positive feature of the provision. However, one of the consequences of research leave is that the full range of teaching expertise is not always available. Both undergraduate students and graduates expressed concern at the withdrawal at short notice of various modules they had hoped to study, and at the availability of subject expertise for dissertation supervision. However, staff advised that option modules, advertised in May for the next academic year, are always delivered, although staff did not comment on the issue of dissertation supervision. The Department should review its practices.
42. Staff development is promoted through the annual staff appraisal process. The annual departmental reports show the range of opportunities and confirm the high level of take-up by all staff, including support staff. Academic staff development is primarily in the areas of teaching and scholarship, but includes training such as in the use of the University's StudyNet facilities. The Department gives considerable support to attendance at national and international conferences.
43. Technical and administrative support is available within the Department, Faculty and the learning resources centre (LRC). In particular, a faculty technician is available to provide support to staff in their use of ICT facilities. The University Learning and Information Service also provides learning consultants, who liaise with academic groups and provide professional advice and support in their specialist areas.
44. The teaching accommodation currently available on the Watford Campus is suitable overall. There are some problems, particularly for disabled access, as the Mansion House is a listed building. However, the staff have made considerable efforts to try to minimise these, for instance in the use of ground floor teaching rooms for students with mobility problems. Currently, all teaching rooms are provided with whiteboards, TV and video facilities, and overhead projection equipment, and lecture theatres have additional equipment including an online link. The size of the teaching rooms is appropriate for the class sizes. Academic staff are provided with a PC both in their office and at home, which allows access to university facilities from home.
45. There is an ongoing purchasing policy in place to ensure the currency of the book stock in the LRC. Students are able to recommend titles for purchase, and external interlibrary loans are freely available. The move to the new campus will result in improved access, since there will be 24-hour opening. Students reported disappointment with the range of books and their availability; in particular, the MA students reported this as the least satisfactory aspect of their experience. Staff were surprised at the students' comments and noted that, in their view, the range was extensive and there was no restriction on purchase. The reviewers think that the provision of subject books is adequate and accessible, in that strategies are in place to facilitate rapid circulation of key texts. The stock of periodicals is outstanding, and there is an excellent facility of remote and on-site access to about 150 history-related electronic journals. On line training in the use of this resource is a compulsory feature of the provision.
46. The LRC houses 130 networked computer workstations, a student to PC ratio of approximately 12:1. Additionally, there are network points for laptops. There are help-desks, together with an extensive range of self-help guides and training during the induction process. The University's StudyNet virtual-learning environment is available 24 hours daily and provides the students with a wide range of facilities, including library search, access to examination papers, on line journals and module materials.
47. The provision contributes substantially to the achievement of intended outcomes, with most elements demonstrating good practice.
The quality of learning resources is commendable.
48. The University's quality assurance procedures are devolved to faculty level, operating through academic quality and enhancement committees, which report to the University's Academic Quality and Enhancement Committee. Within the Faculty's quality framework, the Humanities Modular Undergraduate Committee and the Humanities MA Programme Committee are responsible for the management and development of various programme routes, of which history is one. The programme committees include subject leaders and student representatives. Minutes of meetings and students' comments provide evidence that these committees play a significant role in the enhancement of the provision, approving new modules and annual subject action plans as well as considering issues raised by student representatives.
49. Procedures for programme design, approval and review agree with the guidance in the Code of practice for the assurance of academic quality and standards in higher education (Code of practice), Section 7: Programme approval, monitoring and review, and require input from independent external panel members. A University periodic review of the history provision occurred in 2002. Based upon the periodic review report and the History Subject Group's responses to the recommendations, this is effective.
50. The annual monitoring of the history provision involves assembling evidence from a variety of sources, including staff and student module evaluation forms, course grade profiles, external examiners' reports and issues arising from the subject board of examiners. The process culminates in the production of a subject annual monitoring and evaluation report (SMER), which identifies a number of resulting action points for the History Subject Group. Scrutiny of recent SMERs and the minutes of the History Subject Group meetings indicate careful tracking of, and responsiveness to, action points throughout the year on, for example, the issue of compulsory essay tutorials for students.
51. Statistics provided indicate that monitoring of undergraduate enrolments, progression rates, withdrawals and destination statistics is undertaken at the humanities programme level and not at the level of individual subject programme pathways such as history. The data provided indicated that, as a result of the common humanities level 1, history statistics are not disaggregated until levels 2 and 3, and even then not easily interpreted. MA completion rates are less clearly articulated in the SED and, according to staff, this is mainly due to the exigencies of the predominantly part-time mode of study on the postgraduate route.
52. Scrutiny of recent external examiners' reports indicates evaluative feedback is being received from external examiners. These have demonstrably helped to enhance the history offering in a number of ways including, for example, improved referencing, improved use of journals by students, and greater intellectual coherence within the MA. The Associate Head of Department formally responds to external examiners' reports. Scrutiny of relevant documentation and discussions with staff confirmed both the subject's response to these reports and the level of engagement between the external examiners and the History Subject Group.
53. Students' views are sought through module student feedback questionnaires (SFQs), programme committee representation and the recently established History Student Forum. The scrutiny of SFQs indicates that they invite feedback on both tutor performance and relevant aspects of the module delivery. Student return rates are high on undergraduate modules, but the reviewers noted that postgraduate levels of return are more variable. The SFQs are subject to statistical analysis by the University, which feed directly into the annual monitoring process. Students indicated their satisfaction with the extent to which their views were considered and acted upon. The History Student Forum is chaired by the Subject Leader and attended by student representatives and teaching staff. Recent minutes of the Forum confirm staff and student observations that it is a potentially important arena for student feedback and programme enhancement, although its effectiveness has yet to be fully demonstrated.
54. The reviewers have confidence in the Department to maintain and enhance quality and standards in the history programmes within the Department of Humanities.
History programmes at the University of Hertfordshire were reviewed in the academic year 2002-03. Judgements were made about the academic standards achieved and the quality of the learning opportunities provided.
The review covered the following programmes:
Overall, the reviewers have confidence in the academic standards achieved by the programmes in history at the University of Hertfordshire.
Strengths include:
Issues include:
The quality of teaching and learning is commendable:
The quality of student progression is commendable:
The quality of learning resources is commendable:
The University's quality assurance procedures are devolved to faculty level, operating through academic quality and enhancement committees. The Humanities Modular Undergraduate and the Humanities MA Programme Committees are responsible for the management and development of various programme routes of which history is one. A university periodic review of the history provision occurred in 2002. The annual monitoring of the history provision is an effective and evaluative process. Enrolment and progression statistics are produced at the humanities programme level, which makes it difficult to disaggregate the data relevant to the history provision. The History Subject Group is responsive to external examiners' reports. Students' views are effectively sought through module student feedback questionnaires, programme committee representation and the recently established History Student Forum.
The reviewers have confidence in the Department of Humanities to maintain and enhance quality and standards in the history programmes at the University of Hertfordshire.