These minutes are for information only and are not a formal record of the meeting. A copy of the official record is held by the Secretary to this Committee
SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL AND AFRICAN STUDIES
LEARNING & TEACHING POLICY COMMITTEE
MINUTES
Wednesday 3 November 2004
Professor P G Robb (Chair) Ms N Antoun Dr M Bentham Dr J Campbell* Dr A Contadini Dr P Deans Ms C Dratz* Dr B Fuehrer Mr T Harvey L Hatami* Professor P Jaggar Dr M Khan* H Mehdyzadeh* Professor W Menski Dr J Parker Mrs A Poulson Dr R Snell Mrs S Yates
Mrs K Clarke (Diversity Advisor) was present for minutes 1 - 5.
In attendance: Mrs J Airey Ms C Berry Mr M Humphreys
Those whose names are marked with an asterisk were unable to be present.
1. Membership & Terms of Reference
The membership and terms of reference of the Committee (Appendix A) were noted. The Chair welcomed new members to the Committee.
2. Minutes i) The minutes of the meeting held on 14 May 2004 were approved, subject to the following amendment:
Minute 63: The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine had agreed to host Blackboard Enterprise 6.1, rather than the Royal Veterinary College. ii) Extracts from the Research Policy Committee minutes of 12 May 2004 (Appendix B) were noted.
3. Matters Arising
Resubmission of Failed Coursework (Minute 53) It was confirmed that this would only be available where the facility to resit already existed. There was no intention of extending the eligibility for September resits. The Academic Registrar would ensure that this was clear in the regulations.
4. Draft Disability Policy
1 The draft policy (Appendix C) had been to Faculty Committees and was about to be considered at Staffing Committee, Equality Committee and Executive Board.
The Committee noted that changes in legislation, while viewed positively, had had resource implications for parts of the school including the Library.
The question of the responsibility of Heads of Department for students who were away on a year abroad was raised, particularly for elements of schemes which may be beyond the Head’s control. The Committee was informed that new regulations were likely to strengthen the responsibility of the School for students in such a position, and the Diversity Advisor would be investigating this further. Members of the Committee were asked to send comments on the draft policy directly to the Diversity Advisor.
5. Teaching Guidelines
The Committee considered and welcomed the teaching guidelines at Appendix D, which were intended to formalise existing good practice.
6. Curriculum Reform
The intention of the paper at Appendix E was to outline a more efficient and effective way of working, rather than a route and branch reform of the whole curriculum. It was noted that the proposal did not refer to the LLB.
The question of whether this was actually a simplification of current practice was raised. The paper set out the idea of a ‘standard’ programme, giving Faculties power to approve programmes which met this pattern. There was no intention to discourage programmes which did not fit the pattern, but these would need to be approved by the Learning & Teaching Policy Committee. This would allow programmes to be approved at a more appropriate level, and give LTPC more time to deal with strategic issues.
It was agreed in principle that the proposal should be progressed, and that the Chair would meet with appropriate Associate Deans to discuss concerns and details. Matters which had been raised by the Committee included the following:
a) paragraph 5 of the paper suggested creating a category of ‘home’ departments. The implications of this would need to be carefully thought through, as students on joint degrees would normally be attached to their Language Department for the year abroad. This would have implications for the Languages & Cultures Faculty b) there was a need to be consistent in the use of terminology, with a clear explanation of what terms meant (single subject, joint degrees, joint honours, minor subject etc) c) paragraph 2 of Annex A would need to be reworded, to remove the illusion that there was always choice between three-year and four-year versions of a degree.
Work was currently being undertaken on the redesign of a programme approval form, and it was agreed that the Head of Learning & Teaching Strategy would meet with Associate Deans to move this matter forward, taking account of the curriculum reform proposals.
A revised paper would be brought to either the December or February meeting of the Committee, with a view to asking Academic Board for approval in March.
7. Coursework Extensions
The paper at Appendix F outlined the scheme adopted by the Law & Social Sciences Faculty. The Committee agreed that, subject to the first line of the scheme details being amended to read:
All coursework handed in late, but before the School deadline, should be accompanied by evidence explaining late submission, e.g. a medical certificate or a note from the relevant tutor in support of the late submission the scheme would become School policy and be extended to all three Faculties (other than for the LLM). The Associate Deans were asked to ensure that their Faculties were informed of this.
2 The Associate Dean (Learning & Teaching) (L&SS) offered to brief other Associate Deans on the operation of the scheme if they felt this appropriate.
8. ICC Programme at the European University of Lefke
The document at Appendix G outlined proposals for ensuring that the ICC programme met all the QAA and School QA requirements. These recommendations were approved.
9. Peer Observation of Teaching
All three Faculties had undertaken some peer observation of teaching and feedback from this was outlined in Appendix H. The purpose of the scheme was to help colleagues to improve their teaching, and to encourage innovation and dissemination of best practice.
However, feedback from staff had not generally been positive, and concerns were expressed about the amount of staff time such a scheme would take up, and the administrative burden it would add.
The question of whether peer observation of teaching was a QAA requirement was raised. The Chair would investigate this and the matter would be brought back to a future meeting of the Committee. No decision was therefore made concerning the process itself (Appendix I).
10. Student Evaluation of Courses
The Committee considered the report on the pilot scheme (Appendix J), and approved the recommendations.
Associate Deans were asked to inform their Learning & Teaching Policy Committees of this outcome, and to remind Heads of Department to send completed forms to the relevant teachers, to give them feedback on their teaching.
Consideration would need to be given to the number of questions on the form, as it was quite lengthy, and to the ways in which students could be allowed time to complete it. It was possible to amend the form, and comments should be sent to the Head of Learning & Teaching Strategy.
The National Students Survey Questionnaire (Appendix K) was noted.
11. Research Student Support
The Committee considered the report on research student support from the Head of Learning & Teaching Strategy (Appendix L). One of the Web addresses in the report had changed, and the Head of Learning & Teaching Strategy would send the revised address to Associate Deans.
More than 300 students from other institutions had already completed the skills and training questionnaire, and further developments would be reported to the future meetings of the Committee.
The Faculty of Languages & Cultures reported that it would be taking part in the generic training workshop, currently run by the other two Faculties, from the start of next session.
12. English Language Requirements
The Committee noted the revised grid, which had been approved by Chair's action (Appendix M).
The Committee approved a request from IFCELS that it should be allowed an element of discretion in the application of the grid in the few exceptional cases where there was a substantial disparity in the subscores obtained. Any such discretionary decision would need to be agreed by a second opinion within IFCELS.
The paper raised the question of whether the agreed levels of English language ability should be required for students enrolling for School degrees, diplomas and certificates unless the programme included a substantial taught English language component. After discussion, it was agreed that the Head of IFCELS and the Associate Dean (Undergraduate) from the Faculty of Languages & Cultures would discuss the issue and would make a recommendation to a future meeting of the Committee.
3
It was noted that the Language Centre Certificate in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language had yet to be approved by the Committee, and the Associate Dean (Undergraduate) from the Faculty of Languages & Cultures would ensure that the papers passed through the Committee structure as a matter of urgency.
13. September Language Examinations
The paper at Appendix N, requesting that September language examinations be made available for Masters students, had been considered and rejected in each of the Faculties. The proposal was not approved.
14. Tutorial Class Size
The Faculty of Law & Social Sciences had raised the issue of a mismatch between the sizes of tutorial classes, and the availability of rooms of suitable size (Appendix O). The Teaching Room Review had identified several rooms formerly listed as holding 15 students, when they were in fact suitable for fewer than that number.
After discussion the Committee agreed that maximum tutorial class size was an issue which needed to be decided within Faculties, as Faculties would need to budget for any change in class size. It was likely that each Faculty would have a different view on what should be the maximum class size. This was not something that should be decided centrally, but requirements would need to be reported and considered by those responsible for space planning and timetabling.
15. Programmes and Programme Amendments i) BA Cultural Studies & Development (Appendix P) This programme was approved. The information provided to Faculty Board (Law & Social Sciences) and to the Learning & Teaching Policy Committee was incomplete, and the additional page relating to Development Studies would be circulated with the minutes. ii) Amendment to BA Hindi (Appendix Q) This amendment was approved. The Committee noted that this change would be introduced from 2006. iii) MSc in Development Finance by distance learning (Appendix R) The withdrawal of this programme was approved. iv) MA Historical Research Methods (Appendix Z) The Committee noted that this had been approved by Chair's action. v) MA Gender Studies (Appendix A1) The Committee noted that the UCL options for the MA Gender Studies had been approved by Chair's action. vi) MA Cinemas of Asia and Africa (Appendix B1) The Committee noted that the Birkbeck options for the MA had been approved by Chair's action. vii) Independent Study Projects (Appendix E1) The Committee noted that independent study projects were to be made compulsory in the final year of study for single subject honours students in the Department of the Study of Religions.
16. Annual Report to Academic Board
The annual report to Academic Board (appendix S) was approved, subject to the paragraph covering guidelines on marking and assessment being amended to show that this had not yet been completed in all Faculties.
17. Teaching Quality Enhancement Fund Additional Funding
The report at Appendix T was noted. The Committee congratulated everyone involved.
4
18. Virtual Learning Environment
The Committee received an oral report from the Head of Learning & Teaching Strategy. The School had a shared platform with the Royal Veterinary College and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. There were currently over 60 courses and 1000 students involved.
19. Programme Reviews
The Committee received programme reviews from the Arts & Humanities Faculty (Appendix U) and the Law & Social Sciences Faculty (Appendix V). The Associate Dean (Undergraduate) (Languages & Cultures) was asked to provide a report for the next meeting of the Committee.
The Committee agreed that in future, the summary of programme reviews should be included as a separate paragraph in the report from Faculty Learning and Teaching Committees.
20. Faculty Learning & Teaching Committee Annual Reports
The Committee received the reports from Faculties (appendices W, X and Y)
21. Regulations
The Committee noted that the Chair had given approval, for recommendation to Academic Board, of regulations relating to resubmission of coursework (Appendices C1 and D1).
22. Courses
The Committee noted the following: i) Arts & Humanities Faculty (Appendices E1 and F1) a)
Department Course Title New /Amended/ Withdrawn History Introduction to the History of South East Asia New (U/G) History Introduction to African History (U/G) New History Introduction to South Asian History (U/G) New History Introduction to the History of the Near and New Middle East (U/G) History Introduction to East Asian History (U/G) New History Modern Japan (U/G) New History Iran: Qajars to the Islamic Republic I (U/G) New History Iran: Qajars to the Islamic Republic II (U/G) New History Islam in East and West Africa from the late 18th New Century (U/G) History Japanese Modernity (P/G) New History Sources and research design in historical New research (P/G) History Modern Japan (UG) Amended Music Indian Classical Music (UG) Amended Music Aspects of Jewish Music (UG) Amended Music Asian and African Music Cultures (UG) Amended Music Sounds of Asia and Africa (UG) Amended Music Music of the Arab World (UG) Amended Music Music and Culture (UG) Amended Study of Religions Introduction to Jainism (UG) Amended Study of Religions Religions of the Near and Middle East (UG) Amended
5 Study of Religions Religions of East and Central Asia (UG) Amended Study of Religions Introduction to Islam (UG) Amended Study of Religions Modern Approaches to Talmud (UG) Amended History Japanese Modernity (PG) Amended Anthropology Anthropology of Development (PG) Amended History History, Peoples and Cultures of Ethiopia New (Masters) (PG) History The Il-Khanate: Mongol Rule in West Africa, New 1258-1335 (PG) History H471 Nationalism and transfer of power in Deleted Ghana 1945-57 (UG) History H242 The Middle East from 1500 (UG) Deleted History H102 Islamic World and its Margins (UG) Deleted History H103 Colonial Encounters (UG) Deleted History H104 African and Asia in the Imperial Age (UG) Deleted History H284 History of Japan since 1850 (UG) Deleted History Patients, Healers and Society in China from the Deleted Han Dynasty to the Cultural Revolution (PG) History Ayurveda: the history and culture of Indian Deleted classical medicine (PG) History Aspects of Ancient History of South Asia (PG) Deleted History Middle Eastern Perspectives on History (PG) Deleted History Nationalism and Modernisation in Japan c. 1868- Deleted 1952 (PG) Art and South Asian Art II: Tradition and Modernity Deleted Archaeology (UG) Study of Religions Introduction to Judaism Deleted Study of Religions Independent Study Project in the Study of Deleted Religions C b) Learning & Teaching Policy Committee noted the deletion of the following course:
H377 Religion, Power and Society in Modern Africa (15 480 0005). This course had two course codes – the above for the Department of History and another in the Department of the Study of Religions (15 800 005). Therefore the course would continue to run, but the above duplicate code had been deleted. c) Learning & Teaching Policy Committee noted the inclusion of courses in Masters programmes:
MA in Cinemas of Asia and Africa: • Chinese Culture and Society • East African Culture and Society • Japanese Culture and Society • South Asian Culture and Society • South East Asian Culture and Society • Translations and Permutations towards an Anthropology of Film • Chinese Cinema and Media
MA in Critical Media and Cultural Studies • Chinese Culture and Society • East African Culture and Society • Japanese Culture and Society • South Asian Culture and Society • South East Asian Culture and Society • Translations and Permutations towards an Anthropology of Film • Chinese Cinema and Media • Art and Society in Africa
MA in Global Media and Postnational Communication • Chinese Culture and Society • East African Culture and Society
6 • Japanese Culture and Society • Near and Middle Eastern Culture and Society A and B • West African Culture and Society • African and Asian Diasporas in the Contemporary World • South East Asian Culture and Society • Translations and Permutations towards an Anthropology of Film • Chinese Cinema and Media • Anthropology of Development • Perspectives on Development
MA Anthropology of Media • Theoretical Issues in Media and Cultural Studies • Media and Performance as Strategies for Participation in Development in Africa • Aspects of African Film and Video
MA Japanese Religions • Japanese Modernity
MA Gender Studies and Religion • Media in Africa
MA in Buddhist Studies • Tibetan Historical and Biographical Tradition
MA Cinemas of Asia and Africa • British Film and Television, 1960-82 (Birkbeck) • Contemporary American Cinema (Birkbeck) • European Post WWII Cinema (Birkbeck) • Melodrama in Hollywood and World Cinema (Birkbeck) • Avant-Garde Film and Video (Birkbeck) • Early Modern Media (Birkbeck) d) Learning & Teaching Policy Committee noted the following amended title:
From ‘Analysing world music: an introduction to the theory and practice of transcription and analysis in ethnomusicology’ to ‘Analysing world music: transcription and analysis in ethnomusicology’ (code: 15PMUH004). ii) Languages & Cultures Faculty (Appendix G1)
Department Course Title New/Amended/ Withdrawn China and Inner Modern Chinese Literature in translation (MA) New (PG) Asia NME Persian Language 1 New (UG) South East Asia Independent Study Project in South East Asian New (UG) Studies South East Asia Independent Study Project in South East Asian New (UG Studies (Year Abroad) Japan and Pre-Modern Japanese Lit 1 15PEAC023 Amendment (PG) Korea Africa Language in Africa - 155900867 Amendment (UG) NME Persian Language 1 - 155900800 Withdrawn (UG) South East Asia Burmese ISP - 155901055 Withdrawn (UG) South East Asia Indonesian ISP (Yr 3) 155901110 Withdrawn (UG) South East Asia Indonesian ISP (Yr 4) 155901111 Withdrawn (UG) South East Asia Thai ISP (Yr 3) 320 - 155901037 Withdrawn (UG) South East Asia Thai ISP (Yr 4) 420 - 155901044 Withdrawn (UG) South East Asia Vietnamese ISP (Yr 3) - 155900707 Withdrawn (UG) South East Asia Vietnamese ISP (Yr 4) - 155901114 Withdrawn (UG) South East Asia ISP in SEA Lit - 155901100 Withdrawn (UG) 7 South East Asia ISP in Burmese Studies - 155901175 Withdrawn (UG) South East Asia ISP in Indonesian Studies - 155901021 Withdrawn (UG) South East Asia ISP in Thai Studies - 155901041 Withdrawn (UG) South East Asia ISP in Vietnamese Studies - 155901048 Withdrawn (UG) Linguistics Grammatical Typology of American /Indian Amendment (PG) Language Linguistics Applied Language Documentation and Description Amendment (PG) Linguistics Field Methods Amendment (PG)
Linguistics Topics in Lexical Semantics Amendment (PG) Linguistics Linguistic Typology Amendment (PG)
Linguistics Technology and Language Documentation Amendment (PG) Linguistics Issues in Language Documentation and Description Amendment (PG) Linguistics Principles of Linguistic Analysis Amendment (PG) Linguistics Historical Linguistics Amendment (PG)
Deleted courses (PG) AFRICA 15PAFC001 LANGUAGE IN A DEVELOPING NATION 15PAFC007 CONTEMPORARY AMHARIC POLITICAL TEXTS 15PAFC008 EARLY AMHARIC TEXTS 15PAFC011 HAUSA POETRY & SONG 15PAFC012 HAUSA ORAL & WRITTEN NARRATIVE 15PAFC019 ELEMENTS OF LINGUISTICS 15PAFC023 MUSLIM SOCIETIES IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA (MASTERS) 15PAFC025 DICTIONARY-MAKING: ISSUES IN LEXICOGRAPHY
CHINA AND INNER ASIA 15PEAH001 MING LITERATURE 15PEAH002 CONTEMPORARY CHINESE LITERATURE
LINGUISTICS 15PLIH010 STRUCTURE OF INDONESIAN (MASTERS) 15PLIH014 DIALECT STUDIES (MASTERS) 15PLIC014 TECHNIQUES IN LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS (MASTERS) 15PLIC992 DISSERTATION IN LINGUISTICS (ARABIC) 15PLIC993 DISSERTATION IN LINGUISTICS (DEVELOPMENT) 15PLIC994 DISSERTATION IN LINGUISTICS (TRANSLATION THEORY) 15PLIC995 DISSERATION IN LINGUISTICS (CHINESE) 15PLIC996 DISSERTATION IN LINGUISTICS (JAPANESE)
NME MODERN YIDDISH LITERATURE IN TRANSLATION: THEMES AND 15PNMC003 GENRES 15PNMC008 ARABIC INTERMEDIATE (MASTERS) 15PNMC017 THE STRUCTURE OF YIDDISH 15PNMC018 CLASSICAL YIDDISH LITERATURE 15PNMC019 TWENTIETH CENTURY EUROPEAN JEWISH LITERATURE THE IMAGE OF WOMEN IN TWENTIETH CENTURY JEWISH 15PNMC020 LITERATURE 15PNMC026 ORAL GENRES IN THE NEAR AND MIDDLE EAST JEWISH SOCIAL IDENTITY THROUGH THE PRISM OF YIDDISH 15PNMC034 LITERATURE 15PNMC041 YIDDISH LITERATURE IN TRANSLATION 15PNMC043 ADVANCED YIDDISH 15PNMC149 ARABIC HISTORICAL & GEOGRAPHIC TEXTS 15PNMC375 OTTOMAN HISTORICAL WRITING
SOUTH ASIA
8 15PSAC001 HINDI LITERATURE
SOUTH EAST ASIA 15PSEC002 MODERN BURMESE FICTION: ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT 15PSEC004 HISTORICAL SOURCES IN BURMESE 15PSEC005 ISSUES IN BURMESE LINGUISTICS INTRODUCTION TO THE LITERATURE OF AN INDONESIAN 15PSEC010 REGIONAL LANGUAGE 15PSEC011 CLASSICAL THAI LITERATURE 15PSEC012 CONTEMPORARY THAI POETRY 15PSEC023 THE AUSTRONESIAN BACKGROUND OF MALAY
Deleted Courses (UG) CHINA AND INNER ASIA 155900780 ELEMENTARY CHINESE ORAL 155900782 CONTEMPORARY CHINESE LITERATURE 155900142 CHINESE CLASSICAL FICTION CIVB 155900147 CHINESE MODERN POETRY CIVG
NEAR AND MIDDLE EAST 155900099 AKKADIAN RELIGIOUS TEXTS 155901182 AVESTAN STUDIES 155901103 BACTRIAN STUDIES 155900743 EARLY OTTOMAN LITERATURE 155900335 EARLY PERSIAN POETRY 155900473 EARLY PERSIAN PROSE 155900732 EGYPTIAN COLLOQUIAL 2 155901161 EXTENDED ESSAY IN ANCIENT AND NEAR EAST STUDIES 155900742 HISTORY OF HEBREW 155900869 INTRODUCTION TO CUNEIFORM STUDIES 155901142 ISRAEL,EUROPE,AMERICA:THE 20TH CENTURY IN JEWISH NARRATIVE PROSE 155901104 KHOTANESE STUDIES 155901094 KURDISH A (KURMANJI) 155901095 KURDISH B (KURMANJI) 155901096 KURDISH STUDIES 155901109 ORALITY AND LITERACY IN THE NEAR AND MIDDLE EAST 155900902 READINGS IN BABYLONIAN MAGIC AND MEDICINE 155900729 SCHISM, HERESY AND SYNCRETISM: THE FRINGES OF THE JEWISH WORLD 155900114 SYRIAC 155900995 TURKISH FOLK LITERATURE 155900567 UZBEK LANGUAGE
SOUTH EAST ASIA 155801044 THAI 420: INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT IN THAI STUDIES*
* N.B. course 155901044 with the same name should remain
9 iii) Law & Social Sciences (Appendices H1 and I1) Department Course Title New/Amended/ Withdrawn DeFiMS 15PFMC017 Management in Japan 1 Amended DeFiMS 15PFMC019 Management in Japan 2 Amended Law 15PLAC092 Colonialism, Empire and New International Law (LLM) Law 15PLAC093 Colonialism, Empire and New International Law (MA) Economics 15PECC039 Research Methods 1 Amended Economics 15PECC034 Research Methods 2 Amended Economics 15PECC046 Comparative Political New Economy DeFiMS 15PFMC041 Research Methods in New Management Economics 153400107 Intermediate Economic Amended Analysis Politics and 15PPOC205 Government and Politics in New Title (and new International Studies Tropical Africa code) Law 15PLAC67 Central Asia: Law, New Title (retains old Institutions and Political Transition code) Development Studies Issues in Gender and Development New Title (and new code) Development Studies Themes in Contemporary Development: New Title (and new Civil Society and Social Movements code)
The Committee noted the availability of the combined pair of courses, Management in Japan 1 plus Management in Japan 2, as an option for students of the MA Japanese Studies.
10