Academic advising 201011 Law Politics Sociology

Academic advising 201011 Law, Politics & Sociology

Academic advising 2010 -11 The new context: Student Life Centre Update on new policies for MEC and academic misconduct Advising your students and referring them to other support: overview of resources and services

Student Life Centre: main aims and phasing The SLC is the new single point for student information & nonacademic advice The SLC replaces the old Student Advising service but retains skills, knowledge and expertise – including links with schools Phase 1 (2010) co-location of Student Advising, Student Funding Team, Health & Wellbeing. Phase 2 (2011) current plans are to further co-locate with SLC: - the International Student Support team - SSU disability service (Chi Level 1; shared mtg rooms) - introduce some student progress & finance capacity On youtube at http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Wh. Mme 4 jpt 78

SLC: visibility and accessibility Location, Look & Feel: Chichester I, ground floor (opposite the Library, next to Chi Café); large main reception; comfortable waiting + informationresource area; private interview rooms. Access & web resources: in-person and phone based service; text-linked 24/7 booking system; better IAG materials. A pro active approach, based around student lifecycle, addressing particular needs of UG, PGT, PGR and International Face to face service remains central, but aims to pre-empt many questions by delivery of key information at the time and in the way(s) that student want it; web, text, mobile, 24/7, etc.

SLC: expertise SLC staff will welcome students and direct them to: Published information and resources An SLC Advisor Student Funding Team Health & Wellbeing Coordinator SU ‘ARC’ if representation/advocacy is requested Specialist advisors (Student Support Unit, Counselling) Alternatively, appointments with SLC Advisors can be made directly via a 24/7 online booking service as well as by telephone. Also a ‘drop in’ service will be available daily at advertised times

SLC: clear Remit SLC Advisors will focus on general well-being of students and provide non-academic advice on a wide range of matters, with referral to specialists as appropriate to individual needs. First advisor that the student sees may ‘own’ the case through to conclusion. Confidential SLC record will allow another advisor to assist as appropriate. SLC Advisor provision of academic-related information: - guidance on assessment and progression rules (including MEC); - programme changes – how to apply; issues re. funding - intermission – process, risk of non-return and other practicalities - welfare issues affecting study progress - sources of help and resources to improve academic performance

New policies Late submissions ◦ New policy now on the Academic Office website http: //www. sussex. ac. uk/academicoffice/ Academic misconduct ◦ Policy amendment agreed by TLC, on Academic Office website shortly Coming soon Attendance monitoring ◦ proposals for discussion in Schools Process changes for MEC ◦ New MEC at university level to confirm changes, on basis of existing policy

Late submission Specific changes to late submissions schedule of penalties § Work submitted up to 24 hours late: penalty deduction of 5 percentage points (currently 10%); § Work submitted after 24 hours and up to 7 days late: a penalty deduction of 10 percentage points (currently all work received more than 24 hours late receives a 0 mark). § Work submitted after 7 days and up to the published final deadline: mark capped at 40%. If appropriate this submission date may be set earlier than the published University date § Non-submission by the final submission date: fail with zero mark, normally retrievable via (40% capped) resit. Impact on progression: the application of penalties above shall not reduce the overall mark below the 40% pass threshold.

Academic misconduct Proposed approach o ‘First-offence’ plagiarism: student referred to a remedial plagiarism workshop rather than going through current misconduct procedures; ◦ The student is told the proportion of the piece judged to be plagiarised; the work would continue to be marked, but available marks would be reduced in proportion to the extent of plagiarism identified, and marking of the non-plagiarised sections would happen normally. ◦ The mark emerging reflects a combination of the extent of plagiarism and the quality of the non-plagiarised work; may or may not be a fail. ◦ Students can challenge allegation by going through formal procedure ◦ The plagiarism will be recorded; satisfactory attendance at the remedial workshop will be recorded; a 2 nd offence -> formal process.

Attendance monitoring Proposed approach: • • • We should continue current monitoring of attendance, but take urgent steps to make data collection radically more efficient (via cardscanning); We should enable key teaching sessions to be flagged as really critical, for a given topic, ie. it is especially problematic if the student misses. A revised monitoring and escalation logic might be:

Academic advising The core role of the AA is to be responsible for oversight of the advisee’s general academic progress and intellectual development through his/her programme, including progress in acquiring the academic skills needed for success. Additional guidance on the role and responsibilities of advisors will be available shortly, online

Referring students on: Student Support Unit Manager: Brenda Giddey Disability Advisors: Theresa Stone, Jacqui Painter, Amanda Shaw Mental Health & ASD Advisor: John Terrill Dyslexia Advisors: Alison Firbank, Mary Rudling, Amanda Shaw Additional support – sessional staff Educational Psychologists o Dyslexia & Study Skills Tutors o Mental Health Mentors o Note-takers, Readers, Mobility Support Workers o Sign Language Interpreters http: //www. sussex. ac. uk/sas/1 -4 -3 -1. html A summary of services provided is in your information pack

Referring students on: Study skills The Library for information literacy tutorials: http: //www. sussex. ac. uk/library/infosuss/ Sussex Languages Institute, for academic development workshops and self-study help for international students http: //www. sussex. ac. uk/languages/1 -4 -1 -7. html; Study Success at Sussex (S 3) website, for first years in particular http: //www. sussex. ac. uk/s 3/ RLF Fellows, for 1 -1 writing support: advertised on student Study Direct pages and here http: //www. sussex. ac. uk/tldu/studentskills/rlf For student with additional support needs, help and guidance with writing and other study skills is also available from the Student Support unit. Student mentors are co-ordinated by Amanda Griffiths in the SLC

Turnitin essay-checking software Due to be introduced formative use by students only, during 2010 -11; more information is available here http: //www. sussex. ac. uk/tldu/initiatives/turn The software is accessed through a Study Direct site, and there is a complementary site for staff to use to familiarise themselves with the resource https: //studydirect. sussex. ac. uk/login/index. php Discussing the Originality Report generated on a submitted piece of work could be a valuable activity for an academic advising session, with a group or an individual.

Skillclouds is a new resource in Sussex Direct that shows students the main skills they are developing on their degree programmes. It addresses the question ‘What am I learning to do? ’ http: //www. sussex. ac. uk/skillclouds