Student as Academic Partners
Project 2015/16
The project scheme which offers students the chance to enhance
their course and develop their own employability skills
The Student as Academic Partners (SAP) projects scheme offers an opportunity for paid employment
(payment of up to £783 per project) to enable students to work in equal partnership with academic
staff to strengthen the student learning experience at the University for the benefit of all. This year the
scheme will focus in particular on the course experience.
The purpose of the programme is to develop collaboration between students and staff and a sense of
shared ownership in the learning process. The scheme will employ students as active members of
project teams based within the University’s departments.
We invite students and staff to submit project bids which have a clear emphasis on supporting future
course development.
In order to help develop your ideas here are some examples of possible themes:
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Evaluation of an innovation from a student perspective
Development of an innovation or idea relating to learning and teaching
Development or design of an assessment, learning resource or tool
Conducting a literature review to inform pedagogic research or some aspect of learning and
teaching
The development of course materials such as a guide for students about a particular course
or module
Conducting research into an aspect of learning and teaching (e.g. a survey, interviews, video
polls)
Closing date for applications to Carolyn Nisbet (c.nisbet@worc.ac.uk) is Monday 26th October
2015. The application form can be found in this document; please note that both staff and
students will need to be named on this form before approval can be granted.
NB Projects with a research focus will need to follow the University Research Ethics
Procedure.
Ethos of the programme
The purpose of the Student Academic Partners Scheme is to encourage partnership working in the
University communities which actively support student learning. It is something which has come to
epitomise the collaborative partnership which exists between students and staff at the University and
plays a key role in promoting a sense of ownership and pride in the institution. The scheme seeks to
employ students as active partners of learning and teaching project teams based within the
University.
What are the benefits for staff?
This is an opportunity for you to access funding to employ a student to collaborate with you in the
development of a specific aspect of learning and teaching practice. Partnerships between students
and staff can lead to rich and valuable outcomes for students and staff alike. In this instance, this
may result in new learning resources, developments in curriculum design or the evaluation of
innovations and changes made. One hundred hours is a significant amount of funded additional time
to enable development and evaluation activity. It will also offer you direct access to the student
perspective as it relates to your chosen focus of collaborative investigation.
Who can be a Student Academic Partner?
This year we are keen to work with both undergraduate and postgraduate students; both full and part
time students are eligible.
Before a student is named in a proposal they should have fully considered whether this commitment
is compatible with their studies and they must be eligible to work in the UK.
How long must the project last?
Data collection and research for projects should ideally be completed by May 31st 2016. All projects
will be required to give a short presentation at the Annual Learning and Teaching Conference (16th
June 2016), and a final report (to be received by 30th June 2016).
How will students be recruited?
This document will be released to staff and students in parallel. Therefore it is likely that ideas will
emerge from the students with whom you come into contact. Where a member of staff initiates a
project it is suggested that they discuss their ideas with a group of students or cohort in order to find
out whether one or more students are interested in applying for the role. If this is the case, a
recruitment process should be organised. Please note that students must be named on the
application before approval for the project can be granted. NB Students must be registered on a
UW course or programme during 2015/16 to be eligible
What will the funding pay for?
Up to £783 is available over the identified period for projects, which will fund approximately 100 hours
of work. It is not anticipated that funding will be used for the purchase of equipment. In many cases
more than one student will work on a project; we will still, however, only pay for 100 hours, and the
funding will be divided between the students.
How will the student(s) be paid?
Payment will be arranged by the completion of authorised time sheets available via the student SOLE
pages (further guidance is available in Appendix 1). The workload each week will vary and will be
determined through negotiation between the student and the project lead in the department/Institute
at the outset of the project, so students have a clear idea of workload and expectations of the type of
activities they will be required to undertake. To aid with the administration and monitoring of the
projects, students are required to register with the payment system within two weeks of
project approval.
NB Project proposals must include a detailed schedule of student activity.
Please note payment will be authorised only on submission of student timesheets (see
Appendix 1) AND a final project report (see Appendix 2)
What additional support will be available?
EDU will offer students and staff a series of opportunities to meet other academic partners and share
experiences in an informal setting over the duration of the scheme. Details of these meetings will be
publicised during the project.
What other commitments are required?
By entering the scheme the student and member of staff agree to share their findings with a wider
University audience through a variety of dissemination routes.
Can I find out more?
Please contact Carolyn Nisbet (c.nisbet@worc.ac.uk)
Applying and selection
The application form is brief as we want to understand your ideas, not weigh you down in
bureaucracy. Please see the attached form.
Completed proposals should be sent to Carolyn Nisbet (c.nisbet@worc.ac.uk). Your application will
then be considered by a cross University group made up of Institute Learning and Teaching Leads
and Senior Fellows of the HEA.
We expect around 25 projects to be supported.
Criteria for Approval:
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Clear focus on course enhancement
Explanation of intended benefits to the course/ Institute/University or local community
Coherent explanation of intended procedure and methods
Detailed schedule of activity required of student(s) during the course of the project
Successful completion of previous SAP projects (if appropriate)
Please note specific outputs are expected; e.g. a presentation at the UW Learning and Teaching
Conference, and/or an article submitted to the Worcester Journal of Learning and Teaching (this is a
separate document to the final project report and is subject to additional review/editorial control).
Payment for students will only be authorised upon production of a final project report (see
Appendix 2).
The closing date for applications is Monday 26th October 2015.
Key Dates
Note that dates may be subject to change. Any updates to key project dates will be
published on Blackboard and via email during the course of the project.
Date
Item
Monday 26th October 2015
Deadline for submission of Project Proposals
Friday 6th November 2015
Project Teams informed of decision
Monday 9th November 2015
Lunchtime briefing session for Project Teams
Monday 23rd November 2015
Students register on SOLE payment system
Wednesday 16th March 2016 (pm
only)
Development and guidance session for writing
abstracts for UW Learning and Teaching
Conference and presentation preparation
Monday 2nd May 2016
Deadline for submission of abstracts for the UW
Learning and Teaching Conference
Thursday 16th June 2016
UW Learning and Teaching Conference
Thursday 30th June 2016
Deadline for submission of reports
SAP Project Scheme - Application Form 2015/16
Please state your name(s)
and status (student/staff)
Please
state
Institute/Dept.
your
About this application form:
The purpose of the Student Academic Partners Scheme is to integrate students into the University
communities which actively support student learning. It is something which has come to epitomise the
collaborative partnership which exists between students and staff at the University and plays a key role in
promoting a sense of ownership and pride in the institution. The scheme seeks to employ students as active
partners of learning and teaching project teams based within the University of Worcester.
Those projects that are designed collaboratively by students and staff and which focus on intended
enhancements to the student course experience are especially welcomed and will be treated favourably.
Student partner(s) name(s), e-mail
and contact number(s):
Staff partner name(s) e-mail and
contact number(s): :
Proposal Title; short description; anticipated staff and student roles and a detailed
schedule of student project activity (maximum 500 words)
Is this project a continuation, associated with or a further development of a previous Student Academic
Partner Project?
YES / NO
If YES which one:
Appendix 1 - Guidance for students on payment
Once your project has been approved, you will be added to the SAP project area on
Blackboard. Forms and information on claiming for your time can be found here and
will be kept updated as required during the project.
To register as a staff member on the SAP project, please complete the following
steps:
1. Complete a ‘New Staff’ form, if not already employed by the University (e.g. as a student
ambassador, Institute rep), to be completed along with the HMRC Starter Checklist.
2. Return the forms to the Personnel department and inform Carolyn Nisbet
(c.nisbet@worc.ac.uk) that you have done so. Once your forms have been processed, you
will be added to the SAP project and will be able to log your hours on the online timesheet
system.
3. To access the system, you will need to log into your SOLE page – once you have been
approved as a member of staff, you will see the following link on the page:
4. NB there is a maximum of 100 hours paid work to be claimed (per project NOT per student)
5. EDU will only approve payment upon receipt of online timesheets AND a completed
final project report (see Appendix 2)
Appendix 2 - Guidance for writing the final project report
Overall we are looking for reports of between 500-750 words
1. Abstract (You will already have this, but may wish to update depending on progress since
submitting the original).
2. Short introduction (This should outline the purpose of the project, drawing on references
where appropriate to justify the project and approach adopted).
3. Main Section This section should include a discussion of the following:
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Who was involved in the project e.g. Institute/school and/or department, course, number
of researchers (student/staff).
How the project was conducted e.g. methods/approach/strategy used.
4. Outcomes of the project: (drawing on references where appropriate).
5. Impact: (how success of the project was measured)
6. Conclusions
7. Any recommendations (for the course/department/wider university community?)
8. How might the project be replicated or extended? (If appropriate)
Each report should be accompanied by a cover sheet giving details of the project and lead
academic approval for release. An example cover sheet can be found below. General report
writing guidelines can be found at http://www.worc.ac.uk/adpu/documents/Notes_for_authors.pdf
SAP Project 2015/16
Final Report Cover Sheet
Project Title:
Report Author(s):
Academic Lead(s) for project:
Release Date:
Lead Academic approval for release: