SWAP develops new resource pack for Scottish social work students
By Education & Training,

The Subject Centre for Social Policy and Social Work (SWAP) has developed a resource pack to support the work of the Enhancement Themes initiative in Scotland. The pack provides background information on the Scottish Quality Enhancement Framework (QEF) and highlights key learning and teaching resources.

The Enhancement Themes are developed as part of the Scottish Quality Enhancement Framework. This thematic approach to quality enhancement aims to help Scottish higher education institutions, both individually and collectively, to:

  •     Address the problems and challenges inherent in twenty-first century mass and global higher education
  •     Find high quality and effective solutions to improve the student experience
  •     Be more efficient and effective in delivering transformational change

The Enhancement Themes are planned and directed by the sector through the Scottish Higher Education Enhancement Committee (SHEEC). SHEEC manages the programme of Enhancements Themes activity in the context of a five-year rolling plan of topics.

Five partner bodies are involved in implementing the Enhancement Themes initiative: The Scottish Funding,  Council, Universities Scotland, QAA Scotland, Higher Education Academy & NUS Scotland.

SPARGS (student participation in quality Scotland) further assists and supports student engagement in quality assurance and enhancement activities, working closely with student associations.

The five-year rolling plan

The five-year rolling plan was introduced in 2005 following a sector-

wide discussion about the overall strategy of the work on Enhancement Themes. One of the conclusions was a move away from the initial approach based on an annual process for identifying the two Themes for the following year to a more strategic, flexible programme of Themes.

A significant feature of the proposed 5-year rolling programme is the establishment of arrangements to help ensure that there is an integrated and supportive programme of enhancement work that focuses on the student learning experience and can:

  •     support the embedding at both institutional and practitioner level of a sustained enhancement-led approach to quality and standards
  •     help support higher education institutions and the sector as a whole in continuing to enhance practice – i.e. there is support beyond the period of any given theme
  •     support higher education institutions in addressing the outcomes from each of the Themes through learning from the experience of each other
  •     support the sector in monitoring and reviewing progress: identifying any new issues or Themes to be added to/amended/removed from the 5 year flexible plan and ensuring that the topics to be addressed continue to reflect the needs and issues facing the sector.

Topics to be covered between 2005 and 2010 include:

  •     Integrative Assessment
  •     The First Year
  •     Research-Teaching Linkages
  •     The Effective Learner
  •     The Inclusive Curriculum
  •     Progression and Success.

Further information about timing of these Themes will be posted on the Enhancement Themes website as it becomes available. http://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/default.asp

To download this resource pack, visit: http://www.swap.ac.uk/docs/scottish_enhancement_pack180810.pdf