An Coiste Feabhais Acadúil
The Committee on Academic Quality Improvement
The Academic Quality Assurance Programme 2005 - 2006
REVIEW OF
THE DEPARTMENT OF CLASSICS
FINAL REPORT
13th March 2006
Department of Classics: Review Report 2005–06
2
Introduction
This report arises from a visit by a Review Team to the Department of Classics from
1st – 3rd February, 2006. The Department had already prepared and submitted a 'Self
Assessment Report' that, with other documentation, was made available to the Review
Team in advance of the visit.
The Review Team consisted of: Professor Christopher J Smith, School of
Classics, University of St Andrews (Chair); Professor Andrew Smith, Department of
Classics, University College Dublin; Professor Tadhg Foley, Department of English,
NUI Galway; and Dr Kathryn Moore, Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, NUI
Galway, acting as Rapporteur.
The report is structured to cover the following main topics:
1. Aims and Objectives
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Organization and Management
Programmes and Instruction
Scholarship and Research
Community Service
The Wider Context
Summary and Concluding Remarks
Classics is recognised as a core discipline in the University. The following are
examples of its contributions:
•
Contribution of the Classical Civilisation programme to undergraduates in the
Arts Faculty;
•
Significant contribution of the ancient languages to postgraduate research
training;
•
High quality, internationally recognised research.
The Department faces a period of rapid change and difficulty in terms of staffing
levels in an environment of Faculty restructuring. Despite the current short-term
uncertainty, the Department chose to engage with the process of review. We
sincerely hope that the Review Group is able to contribute to its thinking about the
future.
1.
Aims and Objectives
The Review Team appreciates the hard work and commitment that the Department of
Classics has shown in preparing an extensive and comprehensive self-assessment
report. The aims of the Department are clearly and coherently stated in the report.
The self-assessment report is an important interim statement and the Review Group
would like to encourage the Department to continue to think about its aims and
objectives with greater focus on operational reality.
A strategic planning process would enable the Department to consider its aims in
terms of the local infrastructure, with greater recognition of the place of the
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Department within the Faculty. It needs to exploit the position that it already holds
and develop it in the context of its own future staffing, and the research directions and
trajectory of the institution. The objectives should be clearly stated, in order of
priority, date of completion, and locus of responsibility.
The self-assessment is heavily focussed on the Department of Classics as an
independent unit and on a limited kind of staffing model aimed primarily at covering
a wide spread of subject areas within the discipline. Whilst this is important, in the
near-future the Department will need to consider more actively its role in the Faculty
and more innovative solutions to its staffing model. Many of the suggestions
contained later in this report will centre on this aspect.
A strategic plan involving staffing levels could include the advance replacement for
retirements in the wider context of planning for research and resources, to enable a
smooth transition and continuity of expertise during a time of change. Simultaneous
appointment would also be advantageous in terms of planning subject integrity and
language cover. This is particularly important in any possible development of larger
academic units.
2.
Organisation and Management
The Review Team acknowledges the commendable work of the Department in
maintaining the integrity of the discipline in a warm and friendly atmosphere since the
last review. It is natural for a Department of four academic staff to work in an
informal environment. However, it has been noted that the Head of Department
carries the majority of administrative responsibilities, leading to concerns over longterm operational sustainability. The duties of the Departmental staff are clearly
understood and well executed but not equitably distributed. The current Departmental
staff recognise this as something that will need to be addressed. The mode and style
of management is not periodically evaluated and improved, and this should be made
routine and formalised when the new Chair is appointed. The Review Team
recommends that the management structure be reviewed specifically in terms of its
sustainability.
There is student feedback above and beyond the standard measures, with
questionnaires introduced by the Department after the last review: students have open
access to academic staff and feedback is acted upon. Information on course structure
and organisation is available to students both as information in lectures and
informally. But the Review Team recommends that information be systematised and
streamlined for students and staff. Course templates could ease the burden of
administration, particularly for new staff.
There are two staff meetings each semester and another examination meeting at the
end of the academic year, though academic staff are in contact on a daily basis.
Minutes are now taken at Departmental meetings, as a consequence of the findings of
the previous Review. But staff meetings are concerned with operational matters,
rather than strategic planning, and are reactive rather than proactive. There is no
representation of tutors at staff meetings, even though tutors play a large role in the
teaching of the Department.
All academic staff, tutors, postgraduates, and undergraduates bemoaned the lack of a
full-time administrator, which inevitably imposes a greater administrative load on the
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Head of Department and other academic staff. An administrator would also be able to
manage the Departmental accounts and examination mark collation, providing the
Head of Department with time for strategic planning as well as relieving academic
staff of the burden of dealing with routine student enquiries for half of the working
week. The Review Team recommends that the University should consider provision
of a fulltime administrator to the Department.
The spatial organisation of the Department is not ideal. Postgraduates heavily
involved in tutoring, vital to the effective teaching of Classics undergraduate students,
are located in a separate building. Core research materials are locked in three
different rooms and are not readily accessible. Computers for postgraduate students
engaged in the Masters programme are located in the undergraduate tutorial room,
used heavily for the latter purpose. The pressure on space thus restricts the ability of
the Department to provide adequate access to literature and computers, and to support
its increasing postgraduate community. The geographical spread of Masters and PhD
students, and staff militates against the development of a more extensive research
culture. The Review Team recommends that the Department engage in a review of
the space requirements for maximizing the co-operative effectiveness of its complex
activities.
The quality of the furnishings in staff offices is outmoded: drawers are broken and
chairs are basic. The Review Team recommends that the Department consult with the
Buildings Office regarding the refurbishment of offices.
3.
Programmes and Instruction
The Department provides excellently taught, wide-ranging programmes that enthuse
and engage students and has, since the last review, provided tutorials that are highly
valued by students who felt that they gave direction and significantly aided
understanding. Students also greatly appreciate staff feedback, particularly regarding
examination performance. The individual members of the Departmental staff are very
accommodating in serving student needs for academic advice and guidance. The
reliability and cooperation of the Department in provision of courses, for example to
overseas visiting students, has been noted. Mature and non-traditional students are
very well represented and feel well supported. The results of student feedback
questionnaires are circulated among all academic staff and acted upon, though more
formal consideration could be made of feedback at staff meetings. Courses are
regularly reviewed at modular, rather than at degree level, perhaps because the
fundamental aims and objectives of the Department have not yet been formalised.
Students and the external examiner appreciate the diversity of assessment procedures
employed by the Department, including the oral examination. Some students
expressed some dissatisfaction that a degree in Classics could be obtained without
ever seeing a Classical site. The Review Team recommends that the Department
consult with the Quality Office, in order to investigate the viability of pilot fieldtrips.
The Latin and Greek languages are recognised by both Faculty and University
Management, as well as students, as fundamental to the core activities of the Arts
Faculty. In addition to Irish students registered for undergraduate and Masters
courses in Classics, ancient languages are taught by members of the Department to
visiting American undergraduates and postgraduates registered to other Departments
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in the Arts Faculty. Careful consideration should be made to correct and complete
FTE accounting for this activity. The Review Team has identified that teaching
provision of the ancient languages is a potential growth area for the Department; that
language teaching is a means of facilitating research across the University; that
language provision could be further and more-widely developed in the context of
options and specialisation; and therefore recommends that the Department formalize
the issue of credit for language teaching. An expansion of language teaching
provision would require strategic planning in terms of staffing as well as course
structure.
The Classical Civilization curriculum has a similar structure in the second and third
years in order to cover the great breadth of topics that are currently compulsory.
Students feel that the present course structure and direction is excellent but would like
the opportunity to take options. The provision of options (including languages) could
facilitate greater specialisation at a relatively advanced level in preferred areas and
could be combined with the provision of additional transferable skills and a wider
range of assessment methods, including a dissertation. Such developments might be
accommodated within the framework of a four year degree programme now being
considered by the Faculty of Arts. The Review Team recommends that the
Department investigate the possibility of providing optional courses within the
undergraduate programme and consider the resource requirements that would be
needed for such an endeavour. The possibility of establishing a diploma is viewed as
a worthy, indeed excellent, development.
New facilities in the University have the potential to facilitate exciting developments
in the Department. For example, consultation with the learning technologist with
responsibility for languages within CELT would help to establish the technologies
that are most suitable for application to Classics. Students have also suggested that
images could be more available online. The digitisation of an image database would
significantly enhance the Department’s teaching resources, and may be facilitated by
consultation with CELT and the Quality Office. The Review Group feels that the
Department could be more ambitious in its requests for resource provision and
technological assistance from the University and therefore recommends greater
liaison with service units, in particular CELT and the Library.
There could also be greater liaison between the Classics Department and the Careers
Service. In particular students should be made more explicitly aware of the
transferable skills that they obtain through the completion of a Classics degree (these
include computer literacy and oral presentation skills) which would empower them in
the job market.
4.
Scholarship and Research
There is a culture of scholarship and learning in the Department which has a positive
influence on teaching. For example, postgraduate tutors use research to illustrate case
studies to undergraduates and staff research interests are often reflected in
undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Individual research is of a high quality and
is internationally recognised. Individual scholars within the Department seem to find
that they can conduct research under the present conditions and by making use of
inter-library loans and visits to libraries in Dublin and abroad. New staff are
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encouraged and on target for productive research. The Review Team recommends
that the new Head of Department strategically plan research to accommodate both the
individual and the Department, with regard to its central position within the Arts
Faculty, and involving external contributions. The research plan should include
strategic research directions for the new Department, the balance of research
directions in terms of replacement appointments and strategic Library enhancement
through the Library resource allocation for new staff and Faculty of Arts discretionary
funds.
The existing strengths within the Library are primarily focussed on literature, but
consultation with the Library regarding research collections may facilitate the
Department’s ambitions in terms of its resources. Research strengths within the
Department and the Faculty at large that may be future strengths include Literature,
Reception and Text Editing. But a greater engagement with the Research Office will
inform the members of the Department of the opportunities available for funding and
collaboration. Discussion with academics from other Irish institutions would also
help to establish collaborative research and funding opportunities, and also the areas
in which the Department might occupy a national niche.
The Department of Classics has an identity as a discrete and independent unit
although it has and does make important contributions to the research activities of at
least six other Departments, right across the Arts Faculty (for example, the provision
of Latin for postgraduate students). Such research connections are presently informal
and have not resulted in any significant formal or financial recognition for the
Department of Classics. In the present academic environment of promotion of larger
academic units, such research activities should be formalised and the provision of
ancient languages is likely to be a key area in the future development of the Faculty of
Arts, particularly if Graduate Schools are developed in Ireland. In the light of recent
trends in funding allocation, the Department should investigate the opportunities that
may exist for research collaborations with other Departments in the Arts Faculty. It is
essential that the integrity and internal dynamism of core Classics activities be
maintained at both undergraduate and postgraduate level while collaboration is
simultaneously developed with other disciplines.
5.
Community Service
There have been substantial contributions to the academic community in intellectual
terms by individual members of the department. Participation in national bodies
include: the Classical Association of Ireland, the Irish Institute of Hellenic Studies at
Athens, the National Committee of Greek and Latin Studies of the Royal Irish
Academy. The team noted the continuing high visibility of the Department in
important summer schools, international conferences and public occasions in support
of classics.
The attention given to attracting and retaining non-traditional students is
commendable, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level. However, the
disappearance of Classics from the school curriculum is a cause for concern in
attracting school-leavers. The Department might give consideration to how it can
assist in raising the profile of Classics within the existing curriculum and any areas in
which it can provide guidance and support to schoolteachers.
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Department of Classics: Review Report 2005–06
6.
The Wider Context
An immediate staffing crisis exists in the short term but the long-term necessity and
sustainability of the Department of Classics is clear and needs strategic planning. The
University wants Classics at the heart of the Faculty of Arts and the Department needs
to respond positively on its part.
In the immediate future only one of the complement of staff is assured within the next
five-year period. The state of the department is that the Chair is vacant, a professor
sustaining the language teaching of the Department is to retire imminently, another
long-serving professor with an international reputation will be retiring shortly
thereafter and one member of the staff is a contract appointment. It is apparent to the
Review Team that the University Management recognises the need for a stable,
permanent complement of staff to deliver the current range of courses offered by the
Department, including the ancient languages. It would be advantageous for the
University to make advance replacement appointments for these impending
retirements to secure a viable platform for the maintenance and strategic development
of research.
7.
Report Summary and Recommendations
The activities of the Department are appreciated and admired, to an extraordinary
degree, by the Review Team, all of the students it met and the representatives of the
wider University community including senior management. The Department is
entering an exciting phase of potential development and expansion. A large number
of recommendations have been proposed by the Review Team, focussing on strategic
planning for staffing, research, and curriculum development. We are confident that
both the Department and the University are committed to defining and achieving a set
of realistic goals.
Recommendations
The following recommendations are made by the Review Team:
•
A strategic staffing plan be developed, with reference to research and
resources, fully supported by the Faculty and University
•
The Department be more explicit in seeing the Department centrally in the
context of the Faculty and its strategic plan
•
The management structure be reviewed in terms of sustainability
•
Information for students be systematised and streamlined
•
The University should consider provision of a fulltime administrator
•
There should be a review of space for postgraduates, particularly tutors
•
Broken or inadequate equipment and furniture should be replaced
•
There should be consultation with CELT and the Quality Office to investigate
the viability of a digitised image database and pilot fieldtrips
•
The issue of credit for language teaching should be formalised
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Department of Classics: Review Report 2005–06
•
Students should be made more formally aware of the transferable skills they
obtain by completing a degree in Classics, and their consequent employability
•
The Department should work towards provision of optional courses and
specialisation in the undergraduate programme
•
The Department should continue to develop graduate and postgraduate skills,
particularly language skills
•
There should be greater liaison with service units in general, in particular
CELT and the Library
•
There is a need to engage in strategic research planning involving external
contributions and advice, as well as consultation with the Research Office
Comments on The Methodology of the Review Process
1. Documentation available was appropriate both before and during the review.
2. The methodology of the review requires a very open engagement between the
review team and the senior management of the University, which did indeed take
place.
3. Quality assurance is somewhat light of touch in this methodology.
4. It will be important that the University and the Department find effective ways of
keeping the student body informed as to the action plans, as well as results of the
review.
Professor Christopher J Smith (Chair)
Professor Andrew Smith
Professor Tadhg Foley
Dr Kathryn Moore (Rapporteur)
13th March 2006
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