External CPD report
IF staff:
Alison France
Title, date and timings of external CPD attended:
Annual Teacher & Advisers’ Conference 5 th July 2017, University of Surrey
NB: Jacqueline Ridge also attended this conference, so I have tried not to repeat her information from the general talks, but have detailed my own notes. We attended different breakout sessions.
Powerpoints supplied are attached – for all the breakout sessions.
What you learnt and how it will enhance your work for Inspiring Futures:
1. Information about Surrey’s recruitment/selection processes, and more generally how universities are increasingly flexible on offers, particularly in the light of A Level reform and results this year. University is “nervously watching” how A Level reform will impact performance. Can share this with students, to show that there are many aspects to an application and selection.
2. Importance of employability as part of the university’s strategy, and how schools and students can enhance their employability prospects early on. Importance of work experience programmes in schools and links with employers. They cited Barclays Life Skills programme as a good example for use in schools. Can share this information with students and parents.
3. Insight into Civil and Structural Engineering programmes: the interdisciplinary nature of engineering, which students need to be aware of. Final year projects may are highly likely to involve multi-disciplinary engineering groups. School students (potential applicants) should be encouraged to think more specifically about how what a branch of engineering actually involves. (Could use Target Careers guide to help with this.) Examples for civil engineering – think of stadia, structures with canopies, shelters, tunnels, structures for disaster zones which can be erected and dismantled, Thames Tideway Scheme, sewerage implications (think how much the Victorians did), Crossrail etc. For international students, encourage them to consider infrastructure projects in their own cities and countries.
4. Insight into social sciences programmes – Media, Culture and Society and Sociology/Criminology. These areas discussed and compared in the context of the Hillsborough case study. Can use this example to open up ideas with students. Importance of data analysis and research methods as part of the degree content. Career destinations for Criminology include the Police, CPS, Probation service, Government Civil Service, Law.
5. UCAS/Clearing – less than 50% of offers make their grades! Surrey may drop by one grade in Clearing. Courses are usually full by midday on the Friday after Thursday results day. Students need to act quickly and have their ideas clearly thought through when they speak to an adviser from the university. Essential that the student speaks, and not their parent. Ideas and content to share with colleagues:
1. Themes listed above – and see further notes below.
2. For international applications – university fears EU numbers will drop after Brexit. This is a big worry, not unique to Surrey Uni. International applications are down generally a little, but this is in the context of a huge increase in international student numbers in recent years. Growth areas for applications have been from Egypt and South Africa.
3. Surrey Uni has a big emphasis on the professional training year (PTY) – similar to that at Aston Uni. This includes some students who find work as part of the student recruitment team. Some of these will also travel to European schools to recruit. They are keen to offer student ambassadors to go back to their own school to do talks, and to offer subject taster sessions for groups of school students (for logistical reasons, likely to be for UK schools – but generally they’re very keen to enhance international student recruitment). Recruitment team is UK/EU.
4. Surrey Uni uses Oracle Business Intelligence software (Surrey’s “Progression Dashboard”), to track student performance. See notes below from Dan King (Strategic Planning analyst). Really interesting to see use of data, both to support student progress, and to inform entry standards. They can track individual students, to follow performance, attendance etc, and review this in light of their entry qualifications, whether IB, A Levels or BTECs; they can also use this to offer interventions to help students gain additional study skills or top-up learning. This insight was one of the most interesting aspects of the day, to see how data is collected and used in different ways. It’s also an example of a “new” job.
5. University contacts for Student recruitment team:
Lizzie Burrows, Head of UK/EU Student Recruitment [email protected]
Summary of external CPD:
Keynote Panel address: A Level vs IB vs BTEC – which qualification leads to success at Surrey? Speakers: Mark Barlow, Head of Student Marketing, Recruitment and Admissions, Catheryn Murrant, Head of Curriculum AQA, Dr Ian Bailey, Teaching Fellow Biomedical Sciences Dan King, Strategic Planning, Surrey University
Some general information from Surrey Uni’s website about their ranking details. In particular note:
Times/Sundays Times University of the Year 2016
Times/Sundays Times University of the Year for Student Experience 2016 https://www.surrey.ac.uk/about/facts/rankings-league-tables
Mark Barlow: universities are competing for students. Typical offers from Surrey are AAA – ABB, D*, D*, D, or 32-34 points. IB equivalency for some courses has been reviewed and reduced from 36 to 34 points. Students should research carefully the required subjects for courses, especially for those where there is a high degree of numeracy required. Many applicants are still ignoring this advice when applying.
Catheryn Murrant: new A Levels are designed to address several of the weaknesses seen in new undergraduates, such as academic writing skills, self-directed study, independent inquiry and critical thinking. These are, however, addressed in the IB and the EPQ. HE requires the ability to write essays, address open-ended questions, and read extensively. This is what admissions tutors will want to see evidence of on the UCAS application.
Most universities will offer on 3 A Levels. The overall tariff scores from applicants influence the league tables.
Dan King: (fascinating talk on use of data) explained the university’s investment in data analysis to inform offers, and track student performance from Year 1 to Year 2, and if necessary put interventions in place to support students who may be struggling. This data also informs entry standards. Generally, if students can get through Year 1, they are likely to see the course through to completion. Surrey has an 83% completion record. Computer Science has one of the highest drop-out rates, at 25%.
Their data shows that 89% of A Level students progressed on to Year 2, whereas for BTEC students, the figure is 66%. However, for their Hospitality and Tourism course, the BTEC figure is 91%. There is clear evidence that BTEC students can be extremely successful in the courses which have a strong vocational element and coursework assessment. (Perhaps not a surprise, but useful to see how their data analysis records and proves this).
The figure for IB student progression is 90%, indicating that this is a very solid cohort of students. However, Surrey doesn’t attract so many IB students (no reason was given for this.)
A Level/IB students tend to be well suited to academic courses, but ALL students must recognise the step-up from 6 th Form to undergraduate level. Not enough use is made of student support resources.
Ian Bailey (academic staff): students appear to be more “fragile” over the past 5 years. Noted the tension presented in admissions by the OFFA/WP remit to accept more BTEC students, although they may not be best suited to all courses. Surrey, however, has some excellent courses in which BTEC students can excel.
Some interesting observations from him: International students tend to perform very well, and outperform the average. IB students “do well”, and seem to be less “needy”. Generally, IB students are narrowly ahead for producing the best results.
Surrey’s competitor universities are often KCL, Birmingham and Manchester, with the latter two having reduced their IB equivalency to 32. However, this lowering of the IB offer can backfire with students, as they then perceive the university as not good enough for them, if they see themselves as a 36-point student.
Overall conclusions from this talk: “horses for courses”! IB students seem to fare well, be fairly resilient to taking on HE and doing well. A-Level students also well placed, although concern about how exam results will be this year. There are definitely opportunities for BTEC students, particularly in the more vocational courses offered at Surrey. The use of student data informs entry requirements and provides sophisticated insights into student track records.
Breakout session: Keith Hermann (Director of Employability and Careers): Employability – How to Advise the Adviser (see attached Powerpoint)
Employers want fully-rounded individuals, which comprises academic success, plenty of work experience, evidence of full engagement with university life (eg: volunteering) and strong performance in selection assessment. He mentioned that in selection processes, applicants are not likely to be face-to-face with anyone until the 3 rd or 4th stage. Popular employer McLaren recently received 2000 applications for 5 places.
Employers use big data to “mine” key words in applications. For example, applications which mention languages, engagement with culture, project experience etc will all fare better. Breadth of experiences from school onwards is imperative.
Surrey puts great emphasis on the PTY – Professional Training Year. 40% of students receive job offers from their PTY employer. Students still pay £1,800 fees for their PTY, and receive support in helping to find placements. 50- 55% of students undertake placements, although they are available to all. Information is here on their website: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/discover/careers
Keith stressed the value of non-university routes such as school leaver schemes and degree apprenticeships, and the myth that Russell Group universities are the only universities worth going to.
IAG in schools (often “in a cupboard” in the old days!): now should be school-wide, with subject teachers all having a role in IAG. (see his slide link to Teachfirst guidance on this). He mentioned the Gatsby benchmarks as a useful structure to audit a school’s IAG provision. He also encouraged schools to reach out to local employers, perhaps use social media to do this. He cited the Barclays Lifeskills programme as a good example, with its virtual work experience option, which can help to prepare students.
Breakout session: Civil/Structural engineering lab tour led by Professor Abigail Bristow
Course details: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/undergraduate/civil-engineering
Structural Engineering involves materials, structures and strength; an everyday example would be a burst pipe. The lab we were shown had equipment to test the strength of material when different loads or forces were applied. One question asked: how are buildings designed to withstand earthquakes? Answer: different materials are used: wood is very strong (used in Japan), and buildings are on bearings, to allow them to shift during ground movement. An interesting question, which could be used with a student to get them thinking about different engineering issues.
Structural engineering is also a very creative and visual branch of engineering. The work involves computer modelling and design. Big focus on process, not just a product: how design decisions affect construction. Much is multi-disciplinary.
Only 20% of students are female; up to 50% are international/EU. Job prospects for engineering are excellent.
Breakout session: Media, Culture and Society vs Sociology and Criminology: A case study of Hillsborough – Dr Maria Adams and Dr Rob Meadows. (see attached Powerpoint)
Course details: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/undergraduate/media-culture-and-society and https://www.surrey.ac.uk/undergraduate/criminology-and-sociology
This session was delivered by the two academic staff as a workshop/lecture, to show the different approaches in analysing a topical issue. The Hillsborough example was used to link ahead to how the Grenfell Tower disaster responses and outcomes may unfold, and assess whether any lessons have been learned.
Surrey’s Media/Culture/Society course offers a sociological approach rather than being a course on how to produce media. Important that prospective students research the course content and approach as part of their research. Criminology is about the criminal justice system. Both degrees have research methods built in.
This should include links to sources of information and presentations should be sent as attachments for circulation to colleagues.
Please send this form to Jonathan Hardwick (Professional Development Manager) and Natalie Kaplanski (Human Resources Manager) as soon as possible after the CPD.