Academic Quality Framework Chapter 17, Part L

Overview

1. Northeastern University London (‘the University’) will ensure that there are mechanisms in place to collect, review and, where appropriate, respond to feedback from all concerned with postgraduate research programmes. There will be arrangements for feedback to be considered openly and constructively and for the results to be communicated appropriately.

Standard Evaluation

2. The University should seek the views of students on the programme they have studied via questionnaires or another agreed form of evaluation.

Other Forms of Evaluation and Feedback

3. The University will ask students to complete a Postgraduate Research Satisfaction Survey.

Student Engagement Committee

Role of Student Engagement Committee

4. The Student Engagement Committee (‘SEC’) should be regarded as a forum for engaging students in the quality management and enhancement of their programmes of study. It should be seen as an opportunity for staff members to consult with students on all aspects of their student learning experience and involve them in discussions with regard to future developments at the University.
5. There will be one SEC until the point at which a programme grows to ten students. At this point another SEC will be established for the programme.
6. The membership of the SECs should normally include at least one student from each year for the group of programmes and, for each programme or group of programmes, at least one member of staff who has a detailed knowledge of the programme(s).

Minimum Number of Meetings

7. They should meet at least once per semester. Dates of meetings should be widely publicised and students and staff should be invited to submit, through their representatives, items of business for consideration at the meeting.

Meeting Provision for Student Representatives

8. They should be arranged, as far as possible, for times and dates when the student representatives are able to attend.

Agenda-setting Meetings

9. Prior to the SEC an agenda-setting meeting should take place between the Chair and the student representatives. The agenda-setting meeting should include an opportunity for the student representatives to bring to the attention of the Chair any matters that they wish to raise at the meeting. This will ensure such matters are included in the agenda and allow them to be properly addressed.

Student Representative Expectations

10. Student representatives are expected to attend all relevant SEC meetings. If, exceptionally, a student representative cannot attend a meeting, they are encouraged to send a written submission to the meeting instead. The student representative may also send a written submission to a meeting if there is a matter that the representative feels should be raised anonymously. Any written submissions should be sent to the Chair by the date of the agenda-setting meeting.

Agenda Notification

11. Agendas for meetings and associated papers should be sent to all members in advance of meetings.

Scope of Student Engagement Committee Agendas

12. Agenda should include any matters raised by student representatives and should ensure that there is opportunity for consideration of suggestions from staff or from students for enhancement of programmes. Agendas should be comprehensive and provide scope for discussions of all aspects of the student research experience including, for example, programmes of study, student support, learning resources, disability support and curriculum development.

Specific Agenda Items

13. Specific agenda items to be discussed include:
    1. Matters raised by student representatives;
    2. Internal student survey results;
    3. Proposed programme specifications (both new and major revisions to existing specifications) prior to the specifications being submitted for University approval (see note).
14. Student representatives must be given the opportunity to be explicitly involved in discussions. Student comments and the University responses should be recorded in the minutes.
15. Note: Discussion on programme specifications should focus on what the students might see as attractive about the programme, and what they would want to learn and experience while studying for it. The relevant extract of the minutes will be included in the documentation submitted as part of the programme approval process.

Publication of Meeting Minutes

16. Minutes of meetings should be made available to all students taking the programme(s) falling within the remit of all staff teaching on the programme(s).

Reporting and Recommendations

17. They should report to and make recommendations to the PhD PMB.
18. Students should be informed of how their views have been considered in a timely fashion following each meeting.

Monitoring Student Representative Attendance

19. The DS should monitor the attendance of student representatives. Secretaries are recommended to maintain attendance lists (for both staff and students), which will allow any non-engagement to be easily identified.

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