Just over a year since I started my induction (or three hundred and seventy one days to be precise), and here we are, the end of the road. Today marks my last day as Deputy President (Education). Before I look ahead to starting lectures tomorrow, I wanted to look back over the past twelve months, and share my highlights of the year with you. I actually counted 1868 highlights, but, given I have a word limit, have settled for my top three:
The Fastest Ever Responses:
Each year the DPE produces two responses to student surveys. This year was the National Student Survey (NSS) and Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES). These responses are based entirely on student feedback and contain recommendations on how to improve the education for students here at Imperial. This year we completed both the NSS Response and PRES Response in the fastest ever time, meaning we had the full academic year to tackle the changes you called for.
The First Ever Feedback Audit:
This year I completed the first ever College-wide assessment of feedback timeliness, working with the academic reps to collect data on when assessment feedback was actually returned. In doing so, we held the College to account on their commitment to return feedback in a timely manner. We identified shortcomings in how cases of late feedback were communicated to students, an item that is now firmly at the top of Faculty’s agendas heading into the next academic year.
The Highest Ever SACAs Nominations:
I couldn’t write a blog about my year without mentioning the Student Academic Choice Awards (SACAs)! The SACAs are our annual campaign that gives students the chance to say ‘thank you’ to all the staff who make a positive difference. For the past five years we had targeted 1,000 nominations, but always fallen short. But this was the year we finally did it! With our highest-ever 1868 nominations cast, this year saw students saying ‘thank you’ more than ever before.
So there you go, three highlights from a hugely enjoyable year. Thank you to everyone who has worked with me along the way, the journey wouldn’t have been nearly as enjoyable without you!
All the best,
Nick
