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NEXT STEPS TO STRATEGY

We've designed this resource to take you through the process of developing our future Flexible Learning strategy. It's not a final version of our strategy, but an opportunity to check in with students and staff on our direction of travel.

You will find:

  • Three key shifts in mindset we'll introduce to embed blended and flexible learning
  • Changes we'll make to support these mindset shifts
  • Links to a summary of feedback we gathered from students and staff and a summary of recommendations made by our theme leads
  • A link to a feedback form, so you can let us know your views

Gathering your ideas and feedback

In 2021/22, we held 30 workshops for students and staff to learn more about what they needed to make the move to flexible and blended learning a success. We also visited a series of local meetings and collected ideas via an online open feedback form.

The key themes we spoke to students and staff about were: Accessibility; Assessment; Training and skills; Innovation; Technology and Space on campus.

Overall, we collected more than 4000 comments.

Click the button below to learn more about the feedback we received from staff and students and key recommendations from our theme leads.

We need to think differently

To enable the ideas of students and staff, the Flexible Learning strategy needs to put in place the right support, infrastructure, processes and policies.

This will allow us to offer a university experience that is truly accessible, inclusive and international to support learners’ individual choices, enabling us to adapt as the world continues to change around us.

This is not our full strategy, as we’re still developing this. Instead, it’s an opportunity to check in with students and staff, let you know the direction we’re heading in and give you a chance to let us know if we’ve missed anything, before we take the strategy to Senate for endorsement in October. There's a feedback form at the end, so you can let us know your views.

Keep scrolling to learn more about the mindset shifts we'll introduce.

Flexible Pathways to Lifelong Learning

Offering our students more choice over how, when and where to study:

  • Part-time study, open access courses and stackable degrees to make higher education more accessible
  • Lifelong learning, so learners can upskill and reskill throughout their life
  • Greater choice over whether to study remotely or on-campus depending on what works best for each student
  • An increased transnational and interdisciplinary offer

Design and delivery by team

A team of experts to deliver learning:

  • Co-creating with students to ensure changes are effective to enhance the student experience
  • A Digital Learning Service to support teaching staff in creating engaging learning materials
  • Experts in pedagogy and assessment working with teaching staff to ensure assessments are inclusive and authentic
  • Allowing staff to play to their strengths with better support to deliver learning that's accessible, inclusive and works for diverse audiences

Flexible First

Enabling students and staff to benefit from the flexibility that digital technologies bring:

  • Helping students and staff to develop their digital skills by building this into the curriculum and staff training – along with additional personalised support. 
  • Working with the Digital Learning Service to produce interactive digital learning resources that work whether students want to join us on campus or remotely
  • Setting up the right digital infrastructure (Digital Learning Environment), to give students a seamless and accessible experience
  • Ensuring all students have access to the right software and hardware to support their learning

Changes we'll make to help us get there:

With our Flexible Learning strategy, we'll kickstart long-term transformations that will take a number of years to be embedded across the University.

Our priority will be to take forward the recommendations produced by the theme leads, enabled by the mindset shifts - Flexible pathways to lifelong learning; Design and delivery by team and Flexible first.

Below you'll find some of the key changes we'll make and which shift in mindset they support.

By mid-2022

  • Student design group to feed into all plans and designs and review accessibility
  • Assessment working group to deliver accessible, inclusive and authentic assessments
  • Further roll-out of digital skills and literacy support for students and staff
  • Exploring mechanisms for collaboration between, students, staff and external partners and sharing effective practice across the University

Longer term

  • A Centre for Flexible Learning, scoping, coordinating and supporting innovative courses for the future
  • A seamless and connected Digital Learning Environment
  • Pilots for innovative courses, using our expertise in transnational and interdisciplinary teaching to introduce greater flexibility
  • A University-wide Digital Learning Service
  • Equitable access to hardware and software for all students

Get involved

What are your views on the changes we're seeking to put in place? Are we missing anything?

Fill out the short form below to share your feedback.

Credits:

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