INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY
INTERNAL QUALITY REVIEW 2007
Self-Evaluative Statement
A. Introduction:
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A.1. The Institute of Archaeology.
A.2. The scope of this Review.
B. Students, staff and learning resources: .
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B.1. Student profile.
B.2. Staff profile.
B.3. Learning resources.
C. Quality monitoring framework: .
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C.1. Academic Staff support.
C.2. Recruitment and reception of students.
C.3. Student support.
C.4. The teaching function and process.
C.5. Programme design, operation and review.
C.6. Student input and feedback.
C.7. Assessment of student performance.
C.8. Careers advice to students.
D. Self-analysis: . . . . . . . . .
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D.1. Introduction.
D.2. Students, staff and learning resources.
D.3. Quality monitoring framework.
E. Conclusions. . . . . . . . .
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Annex 1. Index of supporting documentation . . . . . .
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Annex 2. Student data: quantitative and qualitative indicators. .
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Supporting documentation web-site (identifier and password required):
<http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/iqr/list.htm#c1>
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A. Introduction.
A.1. The Institute of Archaeology.
The UCL Institute of Archaeology is an international leader in the discipline, unique in the scale and
diversity of its teaching and research, the international scope of its expertise and its worldwide range of
collaborative links. Its teaching and research encompasses fieldwork, laboratory analyses, artefact
studies and theoretical and synthetic work across the full spectrum of archaeological perspectives. It
has more than 60 research active staff, field projects on five continents as well as in the Pacific and
over the past six years, has won more than 40 competitive Research Council and charity grants of over
£10,000. Since 2001 its teaching and research environment has been strengthened by the
appointment of a number of staff recruited internationally to permanent positions, the establishment of
a cohort of postdoctoral researchers based on the award of major grants, increased numbers of PhD
students, and the expansion of its range of Master’s programmes, which provide a major channel of
recruitment for PhD research. There have also been significant investments in infrastructure, including
major equipment upgrades and improved facilities for teaching and student research. These
developments provide an exceptional environment for learning and teaching, and for the generation
and development of research opportunities for students at all levels.
A.2. The scope of this Review.
The Institute of Archaeology (IoA) is the only provider of the subject in UCL, and the principal provider
at undergraduate (UG) and graduate (PG) level within the University of London (UoL). It offers three
single honours BA/BSc degrees, and four combined honours BA degrees with the departments of
Greek and Latin, History of Art, and History, as well as 21 taught PG degrees (MA/MSc) and six
research PG degrees (MPhil/PhD). Individual degree programmes are described in the supporting
documentation for this review on the web-site (document M.01), and planned changes are noted in
sections C.5.ii and D.3.iv.b-c. The three combined honours BA programmes hosted by other
departments are appropriately reviewed with those departments. The present document has been
assembled with advice from the Director, the Chairs of Teaching Committee (TC), Staff Student
Consultative Committee (SSCC), the Graduate Tutor (Chair of the Graduate Research Student SubCommittee (GRSSC)), the Chairs of BA/BSc and MA/MSc Boards of Examiners, the Staff
Development Sub-Committee, the Academic Administrator, the Graduate Programmes Administrator,
the Financial Administrator, the Undergraduate Admissions Tutor, the Graduate Admissions Tutor, the
Fieldwork Tutor, the IT Manager, the Facilities Manager, the Keeper of IoA Collections, the Careers
Adviser, the IoA Librarians, and the student representatives of the Society of Archaeological Students
(SAS) and graduate student representatives. The final draft was received for comment by the IoA
Policy Group and the Chairs of TC, SSCC and GRSSC. The supporting documents for this review,
when available in electronic form, have been made accessible on the IoA IQR web-site
<http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/iqr/list.htm#c1>, and are listed in Annex 1; copies of the few
available only in hard copy, have been supplied to Academic Services.
B. Students, staff and learning resources.
B.1. Student profile.
B.1.i. Undergraduate programmes.
Statistics on the three most recent cohorts of UG students from the UCL Registry are provided in
Annex 2, Tables A1, B1-4, C1-2, D1-2 and D5. Summary information on enrolment by programme is
tabulated below.
Degree
BA Archaeology
BSc Archaeology
BA Egyptian Archaeology
BA Archaeology, Classics and Classical Art
BA Medieval Archaeology
BA Archaeology of Western Asia
BA Greek and Roman Archaeology
BSc Archaeological Conservation
Affiliate students (BA)
Total
1997-99
Average
151
41
33
16
20
6
7
8
10
292
2003-05
Average
132
34
43
11
5
discontinued
discontinued
discontinued
7
232
2006-07
Current
105
30
40
10
discontinued
discontinued
discontinued
discontinued
12
197
Undergraduate enrolment, by degree.
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
2
B.1.ii. Taught graduate programmes.
Statistics on the three most recent cohorts of taught PG students from the UCL Registry are provided
in Annex 2, Tables B5-7, C3, D3 and D5. Summary information on enrolment by programme is
tabulated below.
Degree
MSc Archaeology
MSc Archaeometallurgy
MA Museum and Heritage Studies
MA Cultural Heritage and Public Archaeology
MA Field and Analytical Techniques in Archaeology
MA Archaeology
MA Egyptian Archaeology
MA Forensic Archaeological Science
MA Museum Studies
MA Cultural Heritage Studies
MA Public Archaeology
MSc Conservation for Archaeology and Museums
MA Research Methods for Archaeology
MA African Archaeology
MA Archaeology of Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East
MA Archaeology of London
MA Artefact Studies
MA Comparative Art and Archaeology
MSc GIS and Spatial Analysis in Archaeology
MA Maritime Archaeology
MSc Palaeoecology of Human Societies
MSc Technology and Analysis of Archaeological Materials
MSc Skeletal and Dental Bioarchaeology
MA Managing Archaeological Sites
MA Principles of Conservation
MA Field Archaeology
Qualifying Year (all degrees)
Affiliate students (MA)
Total
1997-99
Average
12
2
13
1
7
25
5
7
36
9
10
14
7
1
149
2003-05
Average
discontinued
discontinued
discontinued
discontinued
5
23
15
9
33
22
12
18
3
3
6
8
11
3
7
2
6
8
5
12
14
3
0
228
2006-07
Current
discontinued
discontinued
discontinued
discontinued
discontinued
14
10
10
30
24
6
20
2
6
16
8
8
3
7
6
4
9
15
12
13
7
7
0
237
B.1.iii. Graduate research programmes.
Statistics on the three most recent cohorts of research PG students from the UCL Registry are
provided in Annex 2, Tables B5-7, C3, D3-5. Summary information on enrolment is tabulated below.
For 2006-07, 38 students are in year 1, 64 in years 2 and 3, 35 have Continuing Research Student
status, and 9 have interrupted their studies for various reasons.
MPhil/PhD
1997-99
Average
87
2003-05
Average
92
2006-07
Current
146
B.2. Staff profile.
B.2.i. IoA staff (01/01/07).
FT
PT
FTE
FT PT
Academic staff:
Administrative, clerical and technical staff:
Professors
10
1
10.5
Field Unit
15
4
Readers
5
1
5.5
Administrative
4
1
Senior Lecturers
12
2
14.0
Clerical
9
2
Lecturer B
22
4
23.8
Technical
4
2
Lecturer A
9
0
9.0
Library
4
5
College teacher
1
0
1.0
Custodial
0
1
Research staff:
Research Fellows
4
1
3.6
Research Assistants
5
0
Honorary Affiliate Staff
99
For a full list of staff, see supporting document O.01.
FTE
17.4
4.8
10.0
4.75
0.53
5.0
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
3
B.2.ii. Additional teaching contributions.
Through outside funding and collaborations with other institutions, it has proved possible to set up a
variety of academic and contract research posts and research fellowships, which support 30 specialists
who contribute to the teaching and learning environment of the IoA and the breadth of its teaching
coverage. Because of its location in London and strong collaborative links with London and national
institutions, it is possible to bring in a wide range of academic experts and professionals to provide
specialist teaching: over 240 (unpaid) guest lecturers have contributed to teaching in the past three
years. In addition, staff from 125 institutions have helped to supervise PG students on placements
over the past three years.
B.3. Learning resources.
B.3.i. Staff.
Because of the number and breadth of expertise of academic staff, the IoA can offer an exceptional
range of programmes and courses. The active research profile of academic staff emphasises the
degree to which teaching is research-led. Together, these factors mean that staff are able to teach
within their fields of active research and direct experience, and can readily keep their teaching both upto-date and engaging. This breadth also allows an unparalleled range of support for students pursuing
projects at third-year UG, taught PG and research PG levels.
The IoA has 16 (14.8 FTE) clerical/secretarial/administrative staff, four of whom have areas of
responsibility devoted to student support. IT support for teaching and research is provided by an IT
Manager and assistant. The use of collections in teaching is facilitated by a Keeper of IoA Collections
and a Collections Manager.
Support for laboratory teaching is provided by 6 (4.75 FTE)
technical/academic-related staff. They are allocated to specific laboratories, and also have particular
areas of responsibility (e.g. microscopy, analysis of materials, conservation, preparation of thin
sections). Support for photography and digital imaging is provided by two members of staff.
B.3.ii. Laboratories and equipment.
The IoA has well-equipped laboratories concerned with the analysis and documentation of skeletal
(human and animal), environmental, and artefactual material remains, and conservation.
The Wolfson Archaeological Science Laboratory is Europe’s foremost university-based archaeological
science laboratory, dedicated to the study of archaeological materials. It comprises a suite of major
analytical equipment including two electron microprobes, three scanning electron microscopes (two of
them environmental) with energy-dispersive spectrometers, an inductively-coupled plasma mass
spectrometer and an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, all dedicated to the analysis of archaeological
materials. In addition, there is a range of other equipment, including an FTIR microscope for pigment
identification and medium analysis, optical microscopes for metallographic and petrographic
specimens, access to X-ray diffraction instruments, and sample preparation facilities. Investment by
UCL in this research and teaching environment since the 2001 NIQA review includes provision from
UCL’s SRIF allocation to purchase a new electron microprobe, complete refurbishment of the
basement laboratory space and establishing a dedicated optical microscopy lab. External funds were
obtained to replace one of the SEMs with a brand-new machine in 2006, and to invest in new optical
microscopes and thin section preparation equipment.
Teaching in bioarchaeology and environmental archaeology is supported across a wide spectrum of
sub-disciplines. Zooarchaeology and human osteology are taught using the collections housed in the
Osteology Laboratory. These include a wide range of reference material (human osteological,
zooarchaeological (vertebrates, invertebrates, molluscs)); funding has recently been obtained from the
SHS Faculty’s Strategic Fund to refurbish the teaching, analytical and storage facilities.
Archaeobotany is supported by the Palaeoecology Laboratory and a herbarium/study room, with
collections of seeds, fruits, woods, charcoals, roots, tubers, pollen, phytoliths and pressed plants. A
small laboratory was recently refurbished and equipped as a phytolith preparation facility, while a
sedimentology laboratory is included in the Wolfson Laboratories.
The Conservation Laboratories were completely re-fitted (2000) with a grant from the Getty Grant
Program and are well equipped with all standard laboratory and conservation equipment, including
stereo microscopes, X-radiography and freeze-drying facilities, balances, cameras and air abrasives.
Teaching conditions are excellent with good natural light, a full ventilation system to extract solvent and
other fumes at the bench, plus high-powered fume hoods.
Additional equipment and laboratory facilities are available for teaching and student research through
co-operative arrangements with other departments (Anthropology, Chemistry, Geography, Earth
Sciences, Geomatic Engineering and Biology); staff are currently exploring the potential for teaching
and research uses for the Arius 3-D laser scanner in the Chorley Institute.
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
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The Photography Laboratory provides training and support for colour, black-and-white, infra-red and
ultra-violet field and studio photography, as well as digital photography, digital video editing and
computer imaging.
Six technicians/academic-related staff and various research assistants support laboratory work, and
can advise and assist students with their own research.
B.3.iii. Fieldwork equipment
The IoA has an extensive range of fieldwork equipment including a minibus, digital cameras (including
digital video), resistivity and magnetic susceptibility meters, a fluxgate gradiometer, GPS, hand
operated and heavy duty percussion augers and surveying software. In addition it has access to
equipment owned by the Centre for Applied Archaeology, including a 4x4 vehicle, top of the range total
station, Leica differential GPS, a Bartington magnetic gradiometer and another resistivity meter. Its
membership of the UCL Earth Sciences equipment pool also provides access to a Geometrics cesium
magnetometer.
The IoA’s Facilities Committee has developed a rolling five-year strategy for updating equipment and
laboratories, which takes into account staff and student demand and balances the interests of different
specialist groups. Major pieces of new equipment, such as the recently installed SEM, have been
acquired with external funding.
B.3.iv. Information technology.
The IoA has its own computing facility, the Archaeological GIS Laboratory, which offers specialised
facilities presently unavailable on the general UCL network. It is currently being completely reequipped with new computers, printers and a large format scanner and updated GIS and CAD
software, funded by UCL through a STEG grant. The facilities are principally used for graduate
teaching and research. There are two UCL computer clusters within the IoA building for student use
which can also be booked for teaching. Computers are available in all staff offices and in PG study
rooms, with additional data network access points for students’ own computers and high quality
roaming wireless network access is provided throughout the IoA building. Advice and assistance are
available from the IT Manager and his assistant, and a large pool of staff expertise in databases, data
analysis, graphics, CAD, GIS and modeling is available to advise students. Training sessions for
archaeologically relevant software packages are arranged to meet demand. Additional specialised
computation facilities are available through arrangements with the Space Syntax Laboratory of the
Bartlett School of Architecture, the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis and the Department of
Geomatic Engineering.
B.3.v. Library provision.
The IoA’s own library is one of the finest archaeological libraries in the world. It incorporates the Yates
Library of Classical Archaeology, the Edwards Library of Egyptology and the Library of the Museums
Association, and houses ca. 80,000 books, 10,000 pamphlets and 2,000 serials (of which ca 700 are
current), as well as the substantial rare book and archive collections housed with UCL Library Special
Collections at Hampstead Road. Less frequently used books and older runs of journals are housed
off-site in the UCL Library Services Store in Wickford (with a daily retrieval service). Other UCL
libraries are easily accessible and UCL has an outstanding set of e-journal subscriptions and electronic
databases. Notable non-UCL libraries in the vicinity include the British Library, Senate House (UoL)
Library, those of the School of Advanced Study (the Institute of Classical Studies, the Warburg
Institute, etc.), SOAS, British Museum departments including Anthropology (itself including the Royal
Anthropological Institute Library). The proximity of the libraries of the Society of Antiquaries and the
other learned societies at Burlington House, the Palestine Exploration Fund and the Egypt Exploration
Society, as well as the Science Museum, the Museum of London, the Guildhall Library, the Greater
London Sites and Monuments Record, the Museum in Docklands, the National Art Library, the Victoria
and Albert Resource Centre and the Science Reference Library, also puts the IoA in a superb position
to support student research. Pressure on course readings is addressed through duplicate copies of
texts in print, and through a Teaching Collection of photocopies (3,000 items: 1/3 of those held in
Teaching Collections anywhere in UCL); the comprehensiveness of the latter is limited only by
copyright restrictions. In 2006-07, three courses were used to trial the new UCL Online Reading List
Initiative; all IoA UG and PG courses are scheduled to adopt this scheme, to make weekly essential
readings available to students digitally on-line.
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
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B.3.vi. Facilities.
Presently, all staff (other than those associated with the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology) are
housed in the IoA building, and nearly all teaching takes place within its walls. Teaching spaces
include a large lecture theatre, two small lecture rooms and three seminar/lecture rooms. The lecture
theatre was refurbished in 2000, providing an up-to-date facility; all other lecture and seminar rooms
are equipped with facilities including computers with internet connections and data projectors.
Practical teaching and demonstrations take place in the Conservation, Osteology, Palaeobotany,
Photography, GIS Computing and Wolfson Laboratories, artefact store and Petrie Museum. There are
student and staff common rooms, and seven PG student study rooms, one specifically for the use of
taught PG students.
B.3.vii. Collections.
The IoA houses outstanding teaching and reference collections which can also be used by students for
research projects. Over the past six years, there has been continued investment to make the
collections more accessible for teaching and research, both physically and in digital form; the IoA and
the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology have obtained substantial external funding for this
purpose. UCL itself now recognises the importance of its archaeological collections, as demonstrated
by its commitment to construct a new building costing £28.5M, to be completed within the next three
years, to house the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology and teaching, research and display
facilities. Within the IoA a grant from the Leventis Foundation is making possible the display of the
Cypriot and Eastern Mediterranean collections. In addition to extensive artefact assemblages from
many parts of the world, other teaching collections housed in the IoA include archaeobotanical, human
osteological, zooarchaeological and sedimentological materials. Use of the collections in teaching and
student research is facilitated by the recent appointment of a Keeper of Institute Collections in addition
to a Collections Manager. The IoA collaborates with other UCL departments, such as Anthropology,
Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Geological Sciences, and the Grant Museum of Zoology with
their own extensive teaching collections, and with the Natural History Museum, the Royal College of
Surgeons, the Museum of London, the London Archaeological Archive Resource Centre and the
British Museum, whose galleries and collections are used extensively in teaching.
B.3.viii. Learning environment.
The IoA’s Research Groups provide an important focus for encouraging research and communication
among all Institute members, with their seminars, workshops and conferences, some of them coorganised with other institutions including the British Museum, the Institute of Classical Studies, the
Accordia Research Institute and the Institute for Archaeo-Metallurgical Studies, and involving IoA staff,
students and external participants. There is a weekly Institute Research Seminar with a different
theme each term. In addition, the Research Groups and Research Centres within the IoA organise
numerous seminars and workshops and various national academic societies base their evening
meetings and lectures in the IoA building, providing exceptional access for students to current research
and debate. Students are notified by e-mail of relevant opportunities and upcoming events, which are
also posted prominently on notice boards.
Activities of the students which contribute to the learning environment of the IoA are strongly
encouraged and supported by funding where appropriate. The SAS organises an annual dayconference for students to present their own research and an annual Graduate Student Conference
was instituted in 2006, organised by the graduate student representatives and the Graduate Coordinators of the Research Groups, as a showcase for current PG research. PG research students
also organise the Forum for Island Research and Experience (FIRE) seminars and workshops, the
African Peoples and Pasts seminar series, the Pub Theory Group, the GIS Discussion Group, Culture
Club, and recent conferences on ‘Community Archaeology’ and ‘Island Identities’. For many years the
research students have produced a refereed journal, Papers from the Institute of Archaeology, which
has established a strong reputation and sold-out issues are now available on-line
(www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/pia/index.html). Both it, and the on-line Journal of Conservation and
Museum Studies (www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/conservation/jcms/) are supported as fora for the
publication of student research, the latter currently being re-vamped by students in the Heritage
Studies Research Group.
B.3.ix. Fieldwork training.
All UGs attend an Experimental Archaeology Course and a Field Training Course at the beginning and
end of their first year, respectively. During their degree, they complete 70 days of fieldwork on
approved projects, often those run by IoA staff. The IoA expends ca. £140,000 annually to support UG
fieldwork training. The IoA's Centre for Applied Archaeology is integrally involved in delivering the Field
Training Course, and also provides specialised training as well as placements for students on various
degrees. An extended (150 days) fieldwork placement is organised for students on the MA in Field
Archaeology. Advantage is taken of the cultural wealth in and around London, and students regularly
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
6
visit more than 50 museums and institutions in London as part of course excursions; visits to over 40
sites allow the archaeology of Roman and medieval London to be incorporated into relevant courses.
Over 100 sites and institutions beyond London are also regularly visited.
B.3.x. Placements.
Placements are an integral component of five of the taught PG degrees, offering career-path training
and usually involving 21 days work at the host institution. Some placements are hosted in-house,
working with and developing the IoA collections. An extended placement is integral to the MA in Field
Archaeology and an internship to the MSc in Conservation for Archaeology and Museums, both twoyear programmes. Such placements have involved supervisory contributions from the staff of 125
institutions and organisations during the past three years.
B.3.xi. Financial support.
UCL provides considerable financial assistance to UG and PG students through its Access to Learning
Fund, Friends’ Trust grants, and Student Hardship Funds. Over the past five years, the IoA has raised
and awarded full and part studentships from outside sources (e.g. Marie-Curie Action for Early Stage
Training, English Heritage, Thames and Hudson, private charities), to support some 40 taught PG
students and 13 PG research students, totaling £1,074,000. The IoA, as part of proposed MA/MSc fee
increases, has recently negotiated with UCL the availability of at least £20,000 per year for bursaries
for taught PG students. In addition, Grants Committee allocates ca. £13,000 annually to support
individual PG student research and conference attendance; the UCL Graduate School provides
additional PG research support.
C. Quality monitoring framework.
C.1. Academic Staff support.
All probationary academic staff are mentored by a senior staff member, from 2007 the Co-ordinator of
their Research Group. Staff appraisals are conducted by trained members of staff (usually the Coordinator of the individual’s Research Group) on a biennial schedule. Appraisals assist the pragmatic
prioritisation of research objectives, provide advice on the balance of teaching, administration and
research activities, and help to plan the effective timing and use of research leave. Formal reports are
reviewed confidentially by the Director (and UCL’s Human Resources Division) and further discussions
may follow, to define and act on any desirable changes. In the intervening year, staff have less formal
research-focused interviews which are designed to monitor research progress and help to focus future
plans. In addition, Research Group Co-ordinators, the Chair of Research Committee and the Chair of
TC, as well as the Director, are available to provide advice to all staff. Peer observation of teaching is
undertaken annually in accordance with UCL policy, as an aid to the enhancement of teaching
practice.
To assess and manage staff workloads, a formal system of workload scoring covering all teaching and
administrative duties was established in 1997, commended in the 2001 NIQA review. This provides a
basis on which to monitor staff commitments, assess the practicality of new teaching proposals,
ensure that staff have the time to supervise their PG students, and to inform the allocation of
administrative responsibilities. Sabbaticals are not guaranteed contractually, but are granted
strategically to enhance research productivity and individual staff development. The IoA aims to offer
sabbatical leave to staff with defined research objectives on a 1 in 7 (term or year) basis, a possibility
facilitated by its large size, which usually makes arrangements for teaching and administrative
coverage feasible. Potential applicants first discuss their proposals with the Chair of Research
Committee, for their academic objectives, and the Chair of TC, to identify the implications for teaching
provision, before a decision is taken by the Director (with the advice of Policy Group).
The IoA Staff Development Sub-Committee provides a forum for discussion and dissemination of staff
development issues, opportunities and training, and organises seminars in the IoA to facilitate staff
attendance. In recent years, in-house seminars have dealt with interviewing applicants, supervising
graduate students, use of the on-line Graduate Logbook, support for students with dyslexia, meeting
the needs of students with disabilities, teaching with WebCT, full economic costing, using the RACE
costing tool, designing assessments, personal tutoring, introductions to new UCL facilities and
equipment, and the services and facilities of the Archaeological Data Service. All staff are expected to
attend at least one training session a year, while probationary staff, in addition, follow the Academic
Development Programme provided by UCL’s Centre for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching.
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
7
C.2. Recruitment and reception of students.
C.2.i. Recruitment and admission.
Eight UG open days for UCAS applicants are organised throughout the year, and the IoA takes an
active role in London outreach, for example holding activities during National Archaeology Week (see
section D.3.ii.a), to encourage potential applicants. Applicants for UG programmes who have a
chance of meeting UCL’s entry requirements (BBB) are invited to visit the IoA and UCL by the UG
Admissions Tutor. They are provided beforehand with literature about the IoA, UCL and the degree
programmes, which supplements the extensive information available on the UCL and IoA web-sites.
During their visit, applicants are welcomed by the UG Admissions Tutor and Administrator, given talks
about the IoA and UCL, given a tour of the UCL central site and the IoA by current UG students, and
interviewed by members of academic staff who have been briefed in UG interviewing; overseas
applicants are interviewed by telephone. Conditional offers of admission to programmes are based on
the applicant’s academic record, assessments made by the Admissions Tutor and the member of staff
interviewing the applicant, together with the reference and the personal statement provided in the
UCAS form. Students whose accepted offers are confirmed in August are sent welcoming letters well
before enrolment from the UG Admissions Tutor and First Year Tutor, and from the President of the
SAS, information on their degree and course options, a preliminary reading list, information on the
Experimental Archaeology Course (and safety procedures), information from the SAS Disabilities
Support Officer, and the SAS’s Alternative Prospectus.
Admissions:
Applications
Acceptances
Intake
Characteristics:
Total enrolled
Male
Female
UK & EU
Overseas
Standard
Mature (> 21)
Full-time
Part-time
1997-99
No.
510
281
87
261
84
177
259
2
172
89
260
1
55.1
31.0
2003-05
No.
254
138
71
54.2
51.6
32.2
67.8
99.2
0.8
65.9
34.1
99.6
0.4
228
84
144
216
12
185
43
226
2
36.8
63.2
94.7
5.3
81.1
18.9
99.1
0.9
%
%
UG admissions and student characteristics, three-year averages.
Applications for taught PG programmes are considered by the Tutor for Graduate Admissions, the
relevant programme co-ordinator, and at least one other member of staff relevant to the specific
programme. Whenever possible the applicants are interviewed (in person or by telephone) and a
decision is made on the basis of the applicant's academic record, stated education objectives, relevant
practical experience, the interview and the references supplied.
Admissions:
Applications
Acceptances
Intake
Characteristics:
Total enrolled
Male
Female
UK & EU
Overseas
Standard
Mature (> 24)
Full-time
Part-time
1997-99
No.
322
204
106
106
27
79
87
19
56
50
98
8
%
63.3
52.1
25.7
74.3
81.8
18.2
53.0
47.0
91.9
8.1
2003-05
No.
501
323
182
227
90
137
165
62
109
118
161
66
%
64.6
56.3
39.6
60.4
72.7
27.3
48.0
52.0
70.9
29.1
PG taught admissions and student characteristics, three-year averages.
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
8
Applicants who show sufficient interest and aptitude but do not yet have the relevant archaeological
background for the degree to which they have applied, are offered the option of undertaking a
Qualifying Year in advance of the PG programme, comprising key undergraduate courses. This allows
us to consider good applicants who otherwise would be rejected. Students who have accepted their
offer are, during the summer before enrolment, sent welcoming letters from their programme coordinator, general information on UCL and the IoA, the programme for induction week and suggestions
for preliminary reading.
Admissions:
Applications
Acceptances
Intake
Characteristics:
Total enrolled
Male
Female
UK & EU
Overseas
Standard
Mature (> 24)
Full-time
Part-time
1997-99
No.
322
204
106
106
27
79
87
19
56
50
98
8
%
63.3
52.1
25.7
74.3
81.8
18.2
53.0
47.0
91.9
8.1
2003-05
No.
501
323
182
227
90
137
165
62
109
118
161
66
%
64.6
56.3
39.6
60.4
72.7
27.3
48.0
52.0
70.9
29.1
PG taught admissions and student characteristics, three-year averages.
Applications for PG research are considered by the Tutor for Graduate Admissions, potential
supervisors, and other relevant staff. Students registering for MPhil/PhD are now normally required to
have a relevant Master’s degree at a good standard; many students are recruited, as intended, from
the IoA’s own MA/MSc programmes. Applicants are normally interviewed by the potential supervisors
and a decision is made on the basis of the applicant's academic record and relevant background, their
research proposal, the interview, the references supplied, satisfaction that the IoA has the resources to
support the specific project, and whether the proposed project appears suitable for completion within 34 years. When an applicant shows suitable interest and aptitude, but does not yet have sufficient
background to be able to commence research, they are likely to be given the option of enrolling for a
taught PG degree, in the first instance, to gain the necessary background.
Admissions:
Applications
Acceptances
Intake
Characteristics:
Total enrolled
Male
Female
UK & EU
Overseas
Standard
Mature (>24)
Full-time
Part-time
1997-99
No.
64
48
19
87
37
50
56
31
17
70
58
29
%
75.1
38.6
42.9
57.1
64.3
35.7
19.6
80.4
66.3
33.7
2003-05
No.
84
57
27
92
35
57
75
17
21
71
70
22
%
68.3
46.5
29.7
71.3
72.7
27.3
22.5
77.5
76.0
24.0
PG research admissions and student characteristics, three-year averages.
C.2.ii. Reception, induction and guidance.
On arrival in the IoA, all UGs are welcomed by the Director and given introductory talks about UCL and
the IoA by staff and representatives of the SAS. They meet with the First Year Tutor and their staff
Personal Tutor. All students are given a tour of the building, including an introduction to the library and
other facilities, and are provided with booklets (also available on the IoA intranet) which explain their
degree programme, timetables, maps, guidelines for assessed work, IoA and UCL facilities and
support systems, staff, key contacts and safety information. They are also given a tour of the Petrie
Museum. Students are automatically assigned an e-mail account, and informed of IoA activities by eIQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
9
mail. All new overseas students are encouraged to attend UCL's Overseas Students' Orientation
Programme, and there is a special reception for overseas students in the IoA.
At the end of induction week, all new UGs spend four days on the Experimental Archaeology Course,
held at West Dean College in Sussex, organised jointly by the IoA and the SAS. As well as engaging
them immediately in archaeological activities, this provides an informal context for students to get to
know one another, as well as the officers of the SAS and staff and research students who organise
experiments and activities. The induction process continues throughout the year through weekly
meetings with the First Year Tutor, and weekly seminars with staff and research student
demonstrators, which consider issues such as study skills, course requirements, IoA facilities,
fieldwork and career opportunities, as they become relevant. Near the start of term, new students
submit a practice essay, which is commented upon by their Personal Tutor to provide initial guidance
on academic writing, but also serves to alert tutors to students who should be assessed for dyslexia
and related conditions, or may need other assistance. Overseas and other UG and PG students
experiencing difficulties with academic writing can obtain assistance from an IoA graduate student,
trained and funded by UCL’s Centre for Teaching and Learning through its Writing and Learning
Mentor Scheme.
New students on taught PG programmes attend orientation sessions at the IoA, as well as an induction
course provided by the UCL Graduate School. They also meet with their programme co-ordinator,
Personal Tutor, and the Tutor for Part-time Students or Qualifying Year Students (when appropriate),
and are given a tour of the IoA library. They discuss their choice of course options, and are provided
with booklets which describe their degree programme, course options, assessment schemes, the UCL
and IoA facilities and support systems, staff, key contacts and safety procedures (also available on the
IoA intranet). All PG students are automatically assigned an e-mail account and informed of IoA
activities by e-mail. All new overseas students are encouraged to attend UCL's Overseas Students'
Orientation Programme, and there is a special reception for overseas students in the IoA.
PG students accepted into the MPhil programme attend orientation sessions at the IoA, as well as an
induction course provided by the UCL Graduate School. They meet with the Tutor for Graduate
Students, are issued with booklets describing the IoA, facilities, staff, key contacts and procedures
(also available on the IoA intranet), and meet with their supervisors and begin to define their
programme of study. The IoA provides extensive training for new MPhil/PhD students through its
Graduate Induction Programme, which involves fortnightly meetings during their first year. In addition,
the UCL Graduate School runs a Skills Development Programme, providing training to support
research and to enhance professional skills and employability. All research students have a primary
and at least one secondary supervisor from the IoA, with additional internal or external supervisors, as
appropriate. After discussion with their supervisors, students may be encouraged to sit-in on relevant
taught PG courses at the IoA, or elsewhere in UCL or the University of London, to broaden their
background or to acquire specialised research skills. All students choose to be members of one of the
Research Groups and are fully integrated into their Group’s activities.
C.3. Student support.
There are two complementary tutorial systems for UG students, one monitoring each year cohort (Year
Tutors), the other tracking students individually through their career (Personal Tutors). These are
designed to keep up-to-date with the progress of each UG student, while also ensuring they get
appropriate advice for each stage in their programme. The attention of two tutors also provides
students with multiple channels for advice on academic and pastoral issues. Personal Tutors meet
with their tutees at least termly, and a progress form with comments by both student and tutor is
passed to the appropriate Year Tutor, to note and act on any general concerns, and a copy is kept on
file as part of the individual student's academic record. In addition to being available to provide advice
to their tutees, tutors are also pro-active in identifying problems, based, for example, on a student's
course attendance records and delays in meeting deadlines for submitted work.
Personal Tutors guide UG students on course choices, ensuring that they satisfy their degree
requirements and that their programme of study is coherent. They also advise tutees on fieldwork
opportunities, career possibilities, provide references, and give pastoral as well as academic advice.
Students in their final year are assigned a supervisor for their dissertation, who liaises with the Thirdyear Tutor over progress. Careers advice interviews are offered to all third-year students by the IoA
Careers Adviser, following presentations in each year organised in collaboration with the UCL Careers
Service. The IoA has trialed and implemented UCL’s Transition Programme Student Mentoring
Scheme to complement its own support systems; student reaction has been very positive.
For taught PG students, their programme co-ordinators are in the best position to fulfill the
responsibilities comparable to UG Personal Tutors as well as Year Tutors in monitoring their progress
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
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and providing advice on the full range of student concerns. Students meet with their programme coordinator twice a term and produce a short termly report on their progress and any concerns, and can
meet to discuss any issues with the co-ordinator as they arise. In addition, their Personal Tutors are
available as a second source of advice and support, and once students have defined the area of their
dissertation research, they are assigned supervisors with relevant research background. The
supervisor meets regularly with the student, agrees on and monitors the programme of research, and
provides advice on the research and its writing-up. They also liaise with the programme co-ordinator to
assist monitoring of each student’s progress.
A termly Student Progress Meeting brings together all UG and PG degree and course co-ordinators to
monitor individual student progress. A follow-up meeting of the Year Tutors, Deputy Chair of Teaching
Committee, Academic Administrator and Faculty Tutor ensures that students’ academic and personal
problems have been identified and are being dealt with. Records are maintained of illnesses and other
circumstances which may affect a student's performance in assessments, which are evaluated and
graded by the Extenuating Circumstances Sub-Committee and are brought to the attention of the
relevant Examination Board, as appropriate.
PG research students meet regularly with their supervisors, and meetings should be documented in
the Graduate Logbook; progress is monitored by the Graduate Tutor and GRSSC through the annual
reports completed by students and their supervisors, and through the first year review and second year
upgrade procedures. From 2007, all third- and fourth-year PG research students will have progress
interviews with their supervisors and the Co-ordinator of their Research group.
All PG students may seek advice from the Graduate Tutor; the Deputy Graduate Tutor has particular
responsibility for MA/MSc students. Careers advice is available from the IoA Careers Adviser and
through the UCL Careers Service; taught programmes with a vocational orientation have careerspecific sessions incorporated in their core courses.
The IoA has a Tutor for Part-time Students, a Tutor for Affiliate Students, a Tutor for Qualifying Year
Students and three Department Equal Opportunities Liaison Officers, who can be consulted by any
student. The SAS has its own officers who can advise students, or act to bring issues to the attention
of the appropriate members of IoA or UCL staff, if a student does not wish to do so themselves. The
Academic Administrator, Graduate Programmes Administrator, Chair and Deputy Chair of Teaching
Committee, staff and student Chairs of SSCC, Tutors for Affiliate, Part-time and Qualifying Year
Students, Fieldwork Tutor, Careers Adviser, Year Tutors, Personal Tutors and Research Group Coordinators are all available to advise students on a wide range of issues, as are the student officers of
the SAS, professional advisers in the Students’ Union Rights and Advice Centre and UCL. Individual
student support is complemented through UG and PG student representation on all the major IoA
Committees: SSCC, TC, Research Committee, Library Committee, Facilities Committee and
Publications Committee, which provides channels for raising student concerns and contributing to IoA
policy development. Student representatives attend Staff Meetings as observers, and the elected
officers of the SAS meet termly with the Director. All students may seek the advice of the Faculty
Tutor (currently a member of IoA staff) on any issue.
C.4. The teaching function and process.
C.4.i. Aims and objectives of teaching in the IoA.
The general aim of the IoA is to provide education of the highest quality in all aspects of archaeology.
The specific aims, objectives and learning outcomes are defined in the programme handbooks for
each degree (available on the IoA intranet). Stated broadly, UG degrees aim:
1. to develop students' interest in, and understanding of, past societies within their socio-political,
economic, historical and environmental contexts;
2. to provide training in the method and theory of archaeological practice, for future professional
researchers and field practitioners in archaeology;
3. to educate articulate, literate, and numerate graduates, equipped with a range of generic and
transferable skills.
These aims are pursued through degree programmes with a core structure designed to provide a solid
understanding of the history, theories and methods of archaeology, and a wide range of options from
which students can assemble their own, individual programmes, tailored to their specific interests and
personal objectives. The structure and content of the degrees conform to the Subject Benchmark
Statement for Archaeology defined by the QAA. These general aims are pursued through broad
objectives:
1. to develop subject-specific (archaeological) skills;
2. to promote the acquisition of transferable intellectual skills;
3. to provide the opportunity for students to gain specific transferable practical skills;
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
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4. to extend students' general intellectual development.
All taught PG programmes are designed for students who already have a relevant degree, usually in
archaeology, at UG level; they are not designed as conversion courses. These programmes therefore
take for granted the previous acquisition of generic study skills, and a broad familiarity with
archaeology and archaeological knowledge. In broad terms, the taught PG degrees aim:
1. to provide a wide-ranging and challenging introduction to the theoretical issues involved in modern
archaeology as a comparative, anthropologically-informed, and socially-situated discipline;
2. to provide an in-depth understanding of approaches to the analysis and interpretation of
archaeological data;
3. to encourage critically-aware perspectives on archaeological practice and research processes;
4. to provide sufficiently detailed background on the culture history of specific periods and regions or
approaches to categories of archaeological data, to serve as a basis for independent research;
5. to foster the ability to develop original ideas and explore them effectively in independent research.
The taught PG programmes are followed by students with a variety of personal objectives, which can
broadly be divided into those pursuing a purely intellectual interest in the subject, those looking for
vocational training, and those intending to go on to further academic training, usually in the form of a
research degree (MPhil/PhD). While none of the degrees are exclusively intended for students with
one or another of these objectives, in practice, there are trends which have been taken into account in
the design of each programme. Overall, the structure and content of the individual degrees are
designed to be flexible enough to satisfy these different student objectives.
Graduate research degrees are designed for students who already have a suitable background for
research. Formal teaching and individual supervision are designed:
1. to develop further the student's abilities as a researcher;
2. to provide a supportive and challenging research environment;
3. to provide guidance and assistance in carrying through a major project of independent research.
C.4.ii. Teaching and learning.
Teaching is designed to be varied and challenging, through lectures supplemented by tutorials,
seminars, material handling sessions, demonstrations, laboratory work, projects, museum visits and
field-trips, where appropriate to the course objectives. The large number of research-active academic
staff and their diverse research interests and experience allow all teaching to be done by specialists,
so that teaching is readily kept up to date, and current research developments are incorporated directly
in teaching at all levels. Individual courses may be largely taught by one member of staff, or teamtaught, depending on the subject, individual expertise, and the need to present the diversity of views
within the subject itself.
Students are introduced to the IT and library facilities when they arrive, and more advanced skills are
introduced within the context of core course teaching. Additional training, particularly in generic study
skills, is provided by a series of weekly sessions which UG students attend throughout their first year.
All assessed work (except field and laboratory notebooks, and posters/displays) must be wordprocessed. Training in computer applications is provided centrally within UCL, and specialised
archaeologically-oriented training is provided in-house to meet demand.
Directed self-study is an essential part of the learning process, and students are helped in the
development of the necessary study skills through feedback in tutorial sessions which complement the
first-year core courses. Most courses at UG and PG level involve assessed essays, and students are
provided with a range of essay topics and guidance on reading; they may request further guidance
from the course co-ordinator, and can submit an outline of their proposed essays for comment by
course teachers, to ensure they are approaching the question effectively. Marked coursework is
returned rapidly, with comments on a structured form designed to give guidance on improving future
work.
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
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Seminars and discussion sessions, where students are encouraged or required to contribute, are
integral to many UG and most PG courses. Students are encouraged to develop their own
understanding of specific issues, as well as gain experience discussing and debating issues. Formal
presentations are incorporated into the weekly seminars for first-years, and all third-year students give
a presentation on their dissertation research. All taught PG programmes involve intensive seminars,
where students are expected to discuss issues based on directed reading, and the MA in Research
Methods for Archaeology requires a formal presentation on the student's proposed dissertation
research. Research PG students give presentations on their project in the Graduate Induction
Programme, and for their first year review and their second year upgrade.
Practicals, whether demonstrations, material handling sessions or laboratory work, are considered
essential to familiarise students with the material upon which interpretations are based.
All UG and taught PG programmes involve a mandatory dissertation, for which students have a staff
supervisor, with whom they meet regularly. The supervisor agrees a programme of research with the
student and provides advice on the research and its writing-up. Handbooks providing guidance on UG
and PG dissertations are provided to each student and are available on the IoA intranet.
Fieldwork is a crucial context for learning the specific field skills involved in archaeological practice, but
also teamwork, responsibility, initiative and leadership. UG students work both independently and in
groups in structured fieldwork in their first year, on the Experimental Archaeology and Field Training
Courses. This continues in a variety of independent contexts while completing their 70-day fieldwork
requirement. Students report on this in their fieldwork notebooks and other assessments, and a
satisfactory report on their performance is required from a project director before the fieldwork is
credited toward their requirement. A strong emphasis is put on safety in fieldwork and practical work,
and students are made aware of their safety responsibilities.
C.4.iii. Assessment.
Forms of assessment depend on the nature of the material covered and the objectives of the specific
course. The suitability of the specific form of assessment for each course is considered by the IoA TC
when it approves course proposals, with a particular eye toward comparability of workloads and
assessment procedures among different courses, and in terms of UCL guidelines. Responding to
recommendations of the 2001 NIQA review, an Assessment Working Group explored and developed a
range of assessment forms particularly relevant to specific elements of the UG and taught PG
programmes. The usual forms of assessment for UG courses are unseen examinations, held at the
end of the year, and continuously assessed work, usually essays and exercises. In-class tests, field
notebooks, laboratory notebooks, portfolios, reports on readings and site visits, Wikipedia entries,
press releases, posters, web-sites, presentations and displays are employed and assessed where
appropriate to the aims of each course. Exam scripts are anonymous, and all assessed written work is
double-marked by internal assessors, in accordance with UCL guidelines. Assessed work is returned
to the student following initial marking, usually within two weeks of submission (three weeks for
courses with >25 students), with both general and specific feedback and guidance for improvement, so
that the assessment process contributes to student learning. Taught PG courses are assessed
through submitted work; an oral examination (pass/fail) is held in accordance with the UCL
requirement for an element of unseen examination. External Examiners for the UG and taught PG
programmes regularly commend the quantity, detail and helpfulness of the written feedback provided
by staff on assessed work.
C.5. Programme design, operation and review.
C.5.i. Programme design.
All degree programmes and all courses have staff co-ordinators; all programme co-ordinators are
members of the IoA TC, which meets once a term. All UG and PG teaching is co-ordinated by the TC,
which reviews overall provision and approves specific course proposals after considering their
proposed content, contribution to the relevant programme, pattern of assessment, available resources
(staff, equipment, teaching collections, library holdings) and probable student demand. TC also
formally oversees programme and course documentation, quality monitoring of teaching and learning,
recommends modifications to programmes and courses, and considers and must approve all
significant changes to teaching provision.
The administration of each combined honours degree is co-ordinated by the host department. The
Tutorship of the Ancient World Studies programme rotates between the three host departments. Each
inter-departmental degree has a Steering Committee, which has one or more representatives from
each contributing department who report to their own TCs.
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
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C.5.ii. Programme structure and operation: UG degrees.
Following a comprehensive syllabus review, all UG degrees were revised, starting in 1997-98. The
objectives of the revisions were to integrate fully recent developments in archaeology into the teaching
programmes (e.g. anthropological, inter-disciplinary, scientific and heritage perspectives), to increase
the coherence of the programmes, and to build the programmes cumulatively, with clear progression in
both breadth and depth. Just prior to the last UCL NIQA and national QAA, the QAA developed a
Benchmark Statement for Archaeology, which the revised IoA UG degrees had effectively anticipated,
so no major modifications to degree structure or content have been required. Following an IoA staff
Away Day in June 2006, a Syllabus Review Working Group was established to review all teaching
provision, focusing primarily on the UG degrees. Its on-going work will be noted at relevant points in
the self-evaluation section of this SES (section D).
Coherence and progression through the UG degrees is provided by a range of first- and second-year
core courses which present a fundamental and up-to-date grounding in the theories and methods of
inter-disciplinary archaeological practice, while encouraging the development of reasoning, analytical
abilities and critical assessment, as well as the learning of specific (usually transferable) skills. With a
broad grounding in the subject, students are able to select an increasing number of options through
their three years (from among the 105 UG courses offered), with the potential to work from the general
to the more specialised as their interests become increasingly focused and informed. The curriculum
leads students toward specialisation and detailed knowledge based on a broad understanding of the
subject, and to increasing critical independence, enabling them to work with confidence and to develop
and explore their own approaches to the subject. The individualisation of each student's programme
(developed with the advice of their Personal Tutor), culminates in a mandatory third-year report
(dissertation), where they integrate different approaches, skills, and knowledge from their other
courses in an independent research project of their own choice.
Three UG degrees are presently available in archaeology and four degrees are offered in collaboration
with other departments. The structure of each IoA programme is outlined in supporting document
M.01. Individual courses may also be taken from other departments in UCL, and from other colleges
within the University of London. Since 2001 the BA degrees in the Archaeology of Western Asia and in
Medieval Archaeology have been discontinued, and the combined honours degree in Archaeology and
History of Art will cease taking students after 2007, responding to declining numbers of applicants and
the general trend in the field for specialisation to move up to taught PG degree level. Similarly,
declining applications and the increase in student fees, have led us to replace the four-year UG degree
in Archaeology, Classics and Classical Archaeology with a three-year degree in Classical Archaeology
and Classical Civilisation, the latter to begin taking students in September 2008.
C.5.iii. Programme structure and operation: taught PG degrees.
Coherence and choice are central to the taught PG degrees, which are structured around core
teaching in theories and methods, complemented by a wide range of options in approaches, skills, and
region/period studies. The breadth of the IoA’s research commitment and the size of its taught PG
enrolment allow it to offer the widest range of Masters programmes (21 degrees) of any archaeology
department in the UK, and the largest number of options (60 courses taught annually) within those
programmes. Individual degrees differ in structure (supporting document M.01), with some having a
largely fixed set of component courses, others having two required core courses and one unit of
options, and half have a single core course and two units of options. Many options can be taken from
more than one programme, allowing flexible tailoring of learning opportunities to individual student
interests and objectives. Seven degrees with a more vocational orientation have placements for
intensive hands-on training. All programmes have dissertations varying in size from 10,000 to 15,000
words, depending on whether the programme has a placement (which has an independent report).
All of the IoA's Masters programmes rely exclusively on teaching at PG level, though students without
previous background in a specific area of study at UG level may be recommended to follow a relevant
UG course (not assessed) in parallel with their PG courses for back-up. Recognising the increasing
importance of taught PG degrees, both as professional qualifications and as grounding for continuing
on to effective research, the IoA focuses considerable resources on its taught PG programmes. These
programmes serve as effective feeders into the PG research programme, and constitute a key bridge
between the IoA's Mission goals of excellence in teaching and research.
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
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C.5.iv. Programme structure and operation: PG research degrees.
Students will normally only be accepted to the PG research programme if they already have relevant
training in archaeology through a taught PG programme, or (very rarely) a considerable amount of
relevant experience, judged to qualify them to proceed directly into research. Applicants with
appropriate aptitude and ability but without such background will normally be redirected to a relevant
taught PG degree.
The IoA provides training for new MPhil/PhD students through its Graduate Induction Programme,
which involves fortnightly meetings during the first year. These begin with an introduction to the basic
structures, processes and resources for graduate research at the IoA, followed by brief student
presentations of their research topics, to identify common themes and concerns and foster cooperation within the cohort, going on to introduce topics such as constructing bibliographies, publishing
articles in journals, writing CVs, preparing for interviews, writing and presenting conference papers,
interaction with the press, and data processing and analysis. The IoA’s training scheme has been
specifically commended for its quality by the AHRC.
The UCL Graduate School runs a Skills Development Programme, providing training to support
research and to enhance professional skills and employability. Students are expected to enrol for a
range of training activities to assist them to develop a breadth of generic skills across all the categories
identified by the Research Councils, with participation recorded in their Graduate Logbooks. In
addition, students are encouraged to attend taught PG courses from the enormous range the IoA
offers, or others such as language courses, available within UCL, to benefit their research.
Opportunities are made available for PG students to gain teaching experience, for which UCL provides
appropriate training. Payment for teaching assistance is provided by the IoA from its own funds, and
through the AHRC Student Training Grant.
Students are accepted into the MPhil programme in the first instance, with upgrading to the PhD
programme dependent on appropriate progress. The students and their supervisors report on their
progress and future plans in writing once a year (twice for first year students) to the GRSSC, chaired
by the Graduate Tutor. The GRSSC meets four times a year to deal with research student concerns,
individual and generic, including the review of all student progress reports, appointment of supervisors
and examiners, and monitoring of individual student difficulties. Full-time students are expected to
submit their theses within a maximum of four years and progress is monitored closely by the GRSSC.
In addition to students and supervisors submitting written progress reports, each student goes through
a first year review, involving the submission of a short paper (2,000 words) and a 10 minute
presentation to members of the GRSSC, followed by questions and a feedback session with their
supervisors. Normally during their second year, students apply to upgrade from MPhil to PhD. This
requires the submission of a 15,000 word written report and a 30 minute presentation to an open
audience including members of the GRSSC. The GRSSC members decide whether the project is on
course for a PhD or whether further work is needed. In the latter case, the requirements for a
successful upgrade are specified in detail. The seriousness attached to this process is documented by
the 38% of students required to submit further written work, prior to successful upgrade, over the past
three years. From 2007-08, third-year (and where relevant fourth-year) interviews involving each
student, their supervisors and the Co-ordinator of their Research Group, will monitor and encourage
progress toward completion within three to four years.
Various of the above training opportunities and activities have benefited significantly from the recent
introduction of the AHRC Student Training Grant. Support from these funds for the Graduate Student
Conference and for student involvement in teaching was negotiated with the AHRC specifically to
address IoA student interests.
C.5.v. Programme review and monitoring of teaching quality.
The quality of the teaching provided by the IoA is maintained, monitored and enhanced by a number of
different processes involving students and staff, IoA and UCL bodies, and external monitors and
agencies (see also C.1 and C.6).
The UG and PG taught programmes are overseen directly by the IoA TC. PG research degree
programmes are overseen by the GRSSC, which reports both to TC and to Research Committee.
New programmes, new courses and changes to curricula or practices may be proposed by academic
staff or suggested by TC as a result of feedback from students or staff, or as a result of Working
Groups set up to address specific issues (e.g. MSc programme development, Assessment, Syllabus
Review). Any changes to curricula are considered by the Academic Administrator, Chair of TC and
Director, prior to consideration by TC; beginning in 2007, a smaller standing sub-committee of TC will
consider all significant proposals in detail. Proposals for new programmes or courses, and significant
changes to existing programmes or courses, are referred to a relevant external scrutineer for feedback
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
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and approval prior to being considered by the Faculty TC, the Academic Registrar and the Programme
Planning and Development Executive Sub-Committee for approval.
The IoA and Faculty Teaching Committees monitor all IoA teaching activities and the implementation
of Academic Committee's Guidelines for Good Practice. The minutes of the IoA TC meetings are
circulated by e-mail to all members of staff and student representatives, are posted on the IoA intranet,
and are forwarded to the Faculty TC. Topics considered by the IoA TC are, whenever appropriate,
discussed and if necessary ratified at meetings of the Director's Policy Group and IoA Staff Meetings.
UCL has a nested system of quality assurance monitoring in which all courses, degree programmes
and departments are reviewed regularly. Annual reports on individual courses (linked to student
questionnaires) are prepared by their co-ordinators and approved by the IoA TC. Course
questionnaire summaries are considered by the Dean of the Faculty, and programme reviews (from
2006-07 to be produced on an annual basis) are assessed by members of the Faculty TC, who report
on the conduct of the programme and identify areas for attention. A pilot for Annual Monitoring Review
was conducted in 2005-06, and the IoA degrees were reviewed very positively (see supporting
documents N.06-08). The IoA teaching and learning structures, procedures and practices are subject
to UCL Internal Quality Review (IQR) every 5 years or so. The IoA was last reviewed in 2000-01, with
very positive results (see section D.1.ii. and supporting documents N.01-03), immediately prior to
national QAA, where the IoA received 23 out of 24 points (see section D.1.iii. and supporting
documents N.04-05).
Feedback and conclusions from all of these quality monitoring procedures are considered by the
Academic Administrator, Chair of TC, QME Officer and Director, and reported to TC and SSCC.
Recommended actions are pursued at the relevant level: course co-ordinators, programme coordinators, TC, or Staff Meeting. Actions taken are reported to TC and SSCC, as appropriate, and
recorded in their minutes. Given the increasing quantity and frequency of such procedures at various
levels, particularly with the institution of Annual Monitoring Review for all programmes from 2006-07,
the IoA created the position of QME Officer in 2006.
Reports by External Examiners embody the discussions between the External, course assessors and
the course co-ordinator, and are considered in detail by course and programme co-ordinators, the
relevant IoA BA and MA Boards of Examiners and by the IoA TC; they are also scrutinised by the
Faculty and UCL Boards of Examiners. Written responses to any points of concern, clarifying points
and detailing actions to be taken, are reported to the relevant Board of Examiners, to TC, and to the
Dean of Faculty and the Registry
Feedback on professional needs and the suitability of IoA teaching in meeting those needs is received
from researchers and employers in the field, through individual staff contacts, formal discussions (e.g.
with External Examiners, external scrutineers of new programme and course proposals and placement
supervisors), and meetings involving representatives of outside groups with the Director and
programme co-ordinators. Various staff are members of national advisory bodies, and so are in an
excellent position to feed new developments and requirements into the design and implementation of
IoA teaching. Policy statements, benchmark documents and advisory notes by professional institutes
and agencies (e.g. HEFCE, the HEFCE Subject Centre for History, Classics and Archaeology, the
QAA, the AHRC, the NERC, the Subject Committee for Archaeology (SCFA), the Institute of Field
Archaeologists, the Council for British Archaeology, the National Occupation Standards for the Cultural
Heritage Sector; the Cultural Heritage National Training Organisation (CHNTO) and the Museums
Association) are monitored and individual courses have been modified and new courses and
programmes have been introduced in response to needs so defined, and developed with explicit
advice from the relevant organisations.
The IoA's conservation programmes were completely revised as a result of an IoA-organised
international review in 1998. All MSc programmes and courses were reviewed in 1999-2000, and the
MSc programmes in the Technology and Analysis of Archaeological Materials, the Palaeoecology of
Human Societies, and Skeletal and Dental Bioarchaeology were established with reference to the
Policy for Archaeological Science developed by the Science-Based Archaeology Committee of NERC.
The MA in Artefact Studies was initiated at the prompting of colleagues in museums, contract
archaeological units and English Heritage, the MA in the Archaeology of London was designed in
liaison with the Museum of London and the London Archaeological Archive Resource Centre, the MA
in African Archaeology was established with support from the British Institute in East Africa, and the
MSc in Forensic Archaeological Science was developed in consultation with the Hertfordshire
Constabulary. Most recently, the MA in Maritime Archaeology was established in consultation with the
Port of London Authority and the Museum in Docklands, the MSc in Skeletal and Dental
Bioarchaeology is taught using facilities and collections of the Royal College of Surgeons, and an MSc
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
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in Palaeoanthropology and Palaeolithic Archaeology has just been developed as a collaborative degree
with the Department of Anthropology.
There are no statutory bodies which accredit degrees in archaeology, but the UG programmes satisfy
the Subject Benchmark Statement developed by the QAA. The new MA in Field Archaeology has
been developed in consultation with the Institute of Field Archaeologists. The MA in Museum Studies,
MA in Principles of Conservation and MSc in Conservation for Archaeology and Museums were
developed with CHNTO guidelines in mind, and the programme co-ordinators for all three degrees are
involved in on-going national discussions over the nature of the replacement structure to such
accreditation. The international contribution of the IoA conservation training programmes was
recognised in 1998 by the Conservation and Heritage Management Award of the Archaeological
Institute of America.
C.6. Student input and feedback.
Student input and feedback to the teaching process is provided by the student representatives on the
SSCC and TC, through course and programme questionnaires, through feedback to Year and
Personal Tutors, and through direct discussions with individual course and programme co-ordinators,
the Academic Administrator, the Graduate Programmes Administrator, the Chair and Deputy Chair of
Teaching Committee, the Graduate Tutor, the Deputy Graduate Tutor and the Director. Minutes of the
meetings of the SSCC are circulated by e-mail to all staff and students, posted on the IoA intranet, and
sent to the Faculty and UCL Joint Staff-Student Consultative Committees.
Questionnaires are completed by students for all courses and programmes. Course questionnaires
are summarised by course co-ordinators and discussed with the students in the final session of each
course. Co-ordinators identify any significant problems and provide a written recommendation of
responses to the issues raised, which is submitted to TC. All questionnaires are reviewed by the
Director and the Chair and Deputy Chair of TC, who consider the course co-ordinator's comments and
recommendations, and identify points for discussion or action. Courses (and specific characteristics)
are graded by students on a scale of 1-5, and all courses which have an overall average less than 4.0
are scrutinised in detail by the Chair of TC, usually leading to discussions over potential improvements
with the course co-ordinator. Any action agreed to be taken is noted and monitored. Summaries of
the questionnaires and recommended actions are reported to TC, SSCC and Staff Meeting, as well as
to the Dean and the Faculty TC. An expanded annual report on all courses will form a component of
the newly-instituted Annual Monitoring Review of all programmes, which will be formally reviewed by
the Faculty TC.
UG student satisfaction with courses, as assessed through course questionnaires over the past five
years, has been consistent, averaging 4.3 - 4.4 out of 5, with 80-87% of courses rated 4 or above each
year. Similarly assessed, student satisfaction with taught PG courses has been stable over the past
five years, averaging 4.4 - 4.5 out of 5, with 82-97% of courses rated 4 or above each year.
Indirect student feedback on the effectiveness of teaching is provided by student performance in
assessed work, and the implications for the success of teaching strategies for individual courses are
considered in detail at meetings of the individual course teachers and assessors and through
discussions between course assessors, co-ordinators, programme co-ordinators and External
Examiners. The effectiveness of teaching is regularly singled out for positive comment by External
Examiners.
Programme questionnaires are considered by the programme co-ordinator, the Academic
Administrator, the Chair and Deputy Chair of TC and the Director, and any desirable action agreed and
implemented; where significant, proposed changes are brought to TC for consideration and approval.
Consideration of programme questionnaires will form a component of the new Annual Monitoring
Review of each programme.
Some PG research funding agencies (e.g. AHRC, NERC, foreign national funding bodies) require
annual statements from both students and supervisors, which provide an element of formal feedback.
Regular monitoring is achieved through the annual reports completed by students and their
supervisors, which are considered by the Graduate Tutor and the GRSSC, and through the first year
review and second year upgrade procedures.
Student complaints are dealt with through the SSCC and by course and programme co-ordinators, the
Academic Administrator, the Chair and Deputy Chair of TC, the Graduate Tutor, the Deputy Graduate
Tutor and the Director, as appropriate. The SAS and the UCL Students' Union can provide students
with additional advice, and UCL has a formal complaints procedure.
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
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C.7. Assessment of student performance.
C.7.i. Student progression and achievement: UG degrees.
In order to proceed from one year to the next, a student is required to have passed at least 3 course
units (CU) to progress to the second year, and at least 7 CU to progress to the third year. Specific
core courses must be passed for a student to progress, ensuring that they are adequately prepared for
the next level of courses. In order to be awarded a degree, a student must normally have completed
12 (and passed 11) CU. The final degree mark, which determines the degree class, is calculated as
the weighted median of the highest 7 CU marks for second and third year courses, with weights of 2
and 3 for courses taken in the different years, respectively, and must include the mark for the third-year
dissertation. This weighting has been determined partly because of the greater relevance of courses
in the third year as an indicator of the student's ability and achievement on completion of their degree,
and partly to compensate for the differing educational backgrounds of incoming students, which
become less significant as they progress through their degree programmes. For students who began
their degree in October 2005, the calculation of final degree marks will conform to the SHS Faculty
variant of the UCL Harmonisation Scheme, with the weighting for year 1, 2 and 3 courses being 1, 3
and 5, respectively.
Transfers between degrees are allowed if academically justifiable, and realistic in terms of the
student's attained background and demonstrated ability. Interruption and transfer rates for UGs are
relatively low; most students are satisfied with their degrees, and difficulties tend to be personal and
financial rather than academic. Some students at all levels occasionally need to switch their status
between full and part-time registration, to deal with medical, financial or family problems. Most UGs
undertake at least some part-time employment, because of the costs of living in London. Individual
stresses are monitored by Tutors and responded to principally through re-scheduling assessed work
deadlines. The Dean of Students, the UCL Access to Learning Fund, and a variety of other UCL funds
can assist students with financial difficulties.
Student achievement is demonstrated by the degree results achieved consistently, which have been
certified as appropriate by the External Examiners (table below, Annex 2, Tables D1-2). External
Examiners regularly comment on the high standard of education, as reflected in the students’
assessed work, and particularly the high quality of the dissertations produced by students in their third
year, where they are able to demonstrate their ability to synthesise and apply what they have learned
from their different courses, in independently researching a topic of particular interest to them.
1997-99
2003-05
1st
15.4
27.2
2.I
71.2
62.3
2.ii
12.7
9.6
3
0.7
0.9
Fail
0
0
UG degree results, three-year averages, percentage distribution.
A high degree of student satisfaction with courses is documented by consistently strong performance
in course questionnaires. Another indicator of success in learning outcomes is the first destination
data which, while patchy, indicates that IoA graduates are successful in gaining employment, and can
compete effectively for places and funding for PG degrees (Annex 2, Table D5).
C.7.ii. Student progression and achievement: taught PG degrees.
Students are normally only admitted to a taught PG programme if they have shown the ability to
achieve a good 2.i in their first degree, or have considerable relevant previous experience.
To be awarded the degree, a student is required to have achieved a mark of 50% in all elements of
their programme. PG degrees are not classed, but an average mark of 70% (with a 70% or above in
the dissertation and at least one full course element) is awarded a distinction. Students who fail to
meet the requirements for completion have the right to re-sit (on one occasion only) those units they
have failed.
The formal results obtained (table below), the satisfaction expressed by students in their course and
programme questionnaires, the success of graduates in going on to employment or further study
(Annex 2, Table D5), and the overwhelmingly positive comments of the External Examiners attest to
the success of the taught PG programmes.
1997-99
2003-05
Distinction
19.0
28.7
Pass
81.0
71.3
Fail
0
0
PG taught degree results, three-year averages, percentage distribution.
C.7.iii. Student progression and achievement: research degrees.
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Students are only admitted to research degrees when it is clear that they have an adequate
background, that appropriate supervisors are available in the IoA, that the IoA has adequate
resources, in terms of equipment, laboratory facilities and library holdings, to support the student's
research, and that the project is suitable for doctoral research and can be completed in three to four
years. Progress is formally monitored through the supervisors’ reports, the first year review, the
second year upgrade procedures, and the newly initiated third (and fourth) year interviews.
Admissions, monitoring and upgrading procedures were considerably tightened, following the
establishment of the GRSSC, leading to improvements in completion rates (table below). The
standard of research achievement is monitored by the examination process, as well as first-destination
statistics (Annex 2, Table D5).
Start year
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
Registered
13
18
27
21
Left, various
reasons
3
2
3
1
Completed
within 4 years
7
6
7
13
Extended
deadline
0
0
7
7
Completed
after 4 years
3
10
3
0
Overdue, still
registered
0
0
7
0
PG Research, completion rates.
C.8. Careers advice to students.
In the process of satisfying their Fieldwork Requirement, UG students are required to participate in a
variety of professional activities in the field, gaining first-hand experience with a range of the
possibilities for professional careers in archaeology. Contributions to teaching by over 240
professionals from the field expose students to the breadth of employment opportunities, as well as
providing potential future professional contacts. In addition, careers advice is provided to all students
through scheduled meetings with UG in each year, presented in collaboration with the UCL Careers
Service. Taught PG programmes with a vocational orientation have career-specific sessions
incorporated in their core courses, and programme co-ordinators are well-positioned to provide
relevant careers advice. Individual advice is also available to all students through Personal Tutors,
supervisors, the IoA Careers Adviser and the UCL Careers Service.
D. Self-analysis.
D.1. Introduction.
D.1.i. Quality monitoring and enhancement.
The IoA was last reviewed in 2001 and given a strongly positive assessment. The preceding review
(1994), while positive, noted areas where practice across the IoA could be made more consistent inconsistencies resulting from the then recent amalgamation of several distinct departments into the
formerly independent IoA. In the 2001 review, these concerns were seen to have been addressed in
the far-reaching administrative re-organisation which followed the arrival of a new Director in 1996.
This re-organisation was accompanied by dramatic changes in teaching programmes at all levels: the
re-structuring of all UG degrees around core teaching, incorporating clear progression, the significant
expansion of the range of taught PG programmes, and the tightening-up of admissions, up-grading
and supervision procedures for PG research degrees. All of these changes have been subject to
continuous review and revision over the succeeding years, and it is felt that teaching and learning
structures and practices within the IoA are effective, and conform to or exceed best practice as
outlined in Academic Committee's Guidelines for Good Practice, or as followed in other Departments
of Archaeology in the UK. This is not to say that there are no areas of concern or that there is no room
for improvement, and in the remainder of this section, areas of current concern, discussion and action
are noted, as are areas of on-going but unresolved concern. We will not dwell, in this SES, on areas
where central UCL provision of information or services is not particularly effective, as these are widely
known (e.g. PORTICO teething troubles, the long processing delays in the Applications Office, the
erosion of staff morale during the HERA re-classification, the accuracy of student figures produced by
the Registry - Annex 2), as these are widely recognised, and many have been highlighted in the
Provost’s recent Green Paper.
D.1.ii. The 2001 NIQA review.
The 2001 NIQA SES, Report and IoA Response and Action Plan are available on the web-site as
background documents for this IQR (N.01-03).
The review was very positive, with no
recommendations of actions considered to be necessary, a more formal staff development scheme
was considered to be advisable, and formal briefing of interviewers and greater variety in assessment
were considered to be desirable. All of these were implemented immediately, and are commented
upon in sections C.1 and D.3.i and C.4.iii and D.3.iii.b.
D.1.iii. The 2001 QAA review.
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The national QAA review was a very frustrating experience; its report and the IoA response written for
the UCL Subject Review Panel are available on the web-site as supporting documents for this IQR
(N.04-05). Given the size of the IoA and the breadth of its provision, we requested five academic
reviewers, but were only assigned four. One was only partially trained, and immediately became
obsessed with an inappropriate line of inquiry, and had to be side-lined by the remainder of the review
panel; the Chair of the panel requested that we submit a formal complaint about this individual’s
behaviour, to ensure that he was not included on any future panels. UCL was willing to back the IoA in
an appeal against the point docked, but as no Archaeology department had been awarded the full 24
points prior to our review, a successful outcome appeared unlikely and was not pursued. As the report
to the Subject Review Panel makes clear, most of the QAA criticisms were outright misunderstandings
- others had been corrected in earlier drafts, but we eventually reached a stone wall. The principal
criticism, embodied in paragraph 62 of their Report, reflects the fact that none of the review panel had
experience of a department even half the size of the IoA, and entertained the unrealistic view that all
staff of a department must sit together and discuss and decide on all issues.
D.2. Students, staff and learning resources.
D.2.i. Student profile.
It has been the stated intent of the IoA, for the past decade, to shift the balance of students taught from
UG to PG programmes. This has been achieved, to a degree, by a subject-wide decline in UG
applications and the rise in popularity of taught PG programmes. The IoA has taken full advantage of
this, by developing the largest range of taught PG degrees offered by any department of Archaeology
in the UK, with the highest recruitment. Several of these programmes are currently at capacity relative
to the available teaching resources, though others have scope for further expansion. It would be
desirable to be able to increase applications and be more selective at UG level, and to recruit more
taught PG students; recruitment difficulties are considered further below (section D.3.ii.a.).
D.2.ii. Staff profile.
With declining UG student numbers, the overall staff/student ratio, while good for students, has
become a problem for the IoA’s financial management, though upcoming staff retirements (including a
number of early retirements) will help. The degree to which the IoA can maintain its existing strengths
following retirements, and respond to new developments in the field through new staff appointments,
will depend on how well it continues to meet Faculty and UCL regeneration targets.
D.2.iii. Learning resources.
D.2.iii.a. Staff.
The most significant staff concern is the low number of support staff available to support academic
staff and the teaching process. The last member of support staff to leave could not be re-appointed,
exacerbating this. Most academic staff under 50 have never had secretarial support, so are selfservicing, and all academic staff have to photocopy handouts for their classes, articles for the Library
Teaching Collection, etc., which is poor use of UCL resources. At the same time, the increasing
demands of tutorial and supervisorial duties as well as teaching administration, with consequent
increases in paperwork, mean that academic staff have less time for teaching and its preparation, to
make time for teaching administration.
Faced with the need to free up academic staff time, a suggestion which emerged from the staff Away
Day held in June 2006, was to explore offering at least some UG second and third year option courses
on a biennial basis. A Syllabus Review Working Group was established to consider this and other
issues, and a significant degree of bienniality in option teaching will be instituted from the coming
academic year. While it is hoped that this will increase staff time to meet the increasing demands for
research productivity driven by the RAE, it will be unfortunate if the gains are lost to ever-expanding
administrative demands.
D.2.iii.b. Laboratories and equipment.
The success story for the 2001 NIQA review was the refurbishment of the Conservation Laboratories.
The Palaeobotany Laboratory was subsequently re-organised internally by the IoA, and advantage has
recently been taken of the construction of the SSEES and Anthropology building (along with external
funding for major equipment renewal and additions), to re-develop the Wolfson Laboratories. The IoA
has just been successful with two UCL bids to facilitate refurbishment of the Osteology Laboratory and
the Archaeological GIS Laboratory, improving our teaching facilities very considerably. Parallel to this
have been gradual improvements in classroom teaching facilities, and in the storage and access to
collections, enhancing teaching at all levels. Stabilising the long-standing debt on our equipment grant
has allowed development of a sustainable programme of equipment replacement, providing needed
support for student teaching and research in laboratories and in the field.
D.2.iii.c. Information technology.
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
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The refurbishment of the Archaeological GIS Laboratory will re-establish it as an up-to-date facility,
suited to its intensive use by PG students on taught and research programmes. At present,
maintenance as well as student training in more specialised equipment and applications need to be
undertaken by academic rather than IT staff. Current negotiations to pass management of the GIS
Laboratory software and file storage to UCL ISD should alleviate some of this pressure, and allow staff
time to be shifted from maintenance to teaching.
D.2.iii.d. Library provision.
The IoA library is an exceptional resource, but not surprisingly, is under extreme pressure, both for
student seating space (60 places), and in particular dealing with the focused demand by students for
required readings, especially for large enrolment core courses. While multiple copies of volumes in
demand are acquired, the constant updating of reading assignments means that such provision rapidly
goes out of date. The very extensive UCL e-journal subscriptions have alleviated demand for some
journals, but do not address as effectively the more specialised journals particularly relevant to taught
PG courses. The Library and academic staff have attempted to meet this demand through very
extensive use of the Teaching Collection, and at present, 1/3 of all UCL Teaching Collection holdings
are in the IoA library. For large courses, however, the ability to meet demand is still constrained by
copyright limitations (five copies maximum). To help address this, a trial was made in 2006-07 of the
new UCL Online Reading List Initiative; all IoA UG and PG courses are scheduled to adopt this
scheme, to make all essential readings available to students on-line, though there will remain
limitations imposed by copyright regulations. The reading lists will also provide an electronic interface
allowing access to all e-resources (e-journals, e-books) held by UCL, and to a wider range of electronic
resources available through public and government initiatives, for example the Archaeological Data
Service (funded by JISC). The interface will also allow easy access to WebCT teaching materials, and
course handbooks; handouts and other electronic resources can also be accessed. The potential of
this system will be explored further by the Library during 2007-08, building on the trial in 2006-07.
A major area of student dissatisfaction in recent years has been the limitation of library access in
evenings and weekends, particularly out of term. With the UCL drive to expand taught PG student
numbers, it has not been felt to be sufficient to structure library access primarily around the UG
teaching schedule; for several years, the IoA has had more taught PG than UG students. We have
made regular representations to the appropriate UCL committees, and are hopeful that progress will
be made for the upcoming summer. In the past, the IoA has helped to fund an extension of hours, and
also funded short-term assistance to the Library (e.g. for re-shelving); unfortunately, attempts to do so
more recently have been thwarted by the need for central advertising of even such casual employment,
to ensure recruitment conforms with equal opportunities and health and safety legislation. Last year,
for the first time, special funding was granted by UCL to cover extended opening hours.
The IoA has also been subsidising library provision for many years by providing free copies of our inhouse journal for exchange, but can no longer continue to do so to a significant degree, given the IoA
deficit. Some of these costs have now been picked up by the Library, but journal exchanges remain
subsidised by the IoA.
D.2.iii.e. Collections
For the past decade attention has been given to raising funds, within UCL and externally, to enable
cataloguing and improvement of access to and display of the extensive archaeological collections.
This involves high-profile activities (the recent display of the Petrie Palestinian Collection at the Brunei
Gallery, development of a display area for the Cypriot and Eastern Mediterranean Collection, Petrie
Museum outreach, the Panopticon project), and regular improvement of storage and access for
teaching collections. The recent appointment of a Keeper of Institute Collections has allowed the
development of on-demand handling sessions for students, in addition to encouraging and facilitating
the greater integration of artefact-based teaching in UG and PG courses.
Space within the IoA building is at a premium, which presently allows only restricted room for laying-out
and studying collections, whether the IoA’s own, or new material generated by staff and student field
research. The nature and scale of such demand is presently being investigated, and the degree to
which this can be met by reserving and equipping teaching rooms for study purposes outside of
teaching terms, or whether some teaching will need to be moved outside the IoA building to create fulltime study facilities, will be considered.
D.2.iii.f. Learning environment
In recent years, the IoA has been involved in establishing several Research Centres which have
significantly expanded the learning opportunities available to students, and diversified the learning
environment of the IoA. The AHRC Centre for the Evolution of Cultural Diversity attracts international
researchers and hosts regular conferences and workshops, and members contribute regularly in IoA
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
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seminar series. The International Centre for Chinese Heritage and Archaeology has provided a focus
for developing collaborations in teaching and research with SOAS, staff exchanges with Chinese
universities, and attracting funding to support Chinese students undertaking PG taught and research
degrees at the IoA. The London Archaeological Research Centre supports student learning at UG and
taught PG level, particularly through opportunities for student placements, archive archaeology
experience, and involvement in the MA in the Archaeology of London. The recent re-development of
the IoA Field Archaeology Unit as the Centre for Applied Archaeology recognises its increasingly
integrated role within IoA teaching, at UG and taught PG levels.
Illustrative of the character of the learning environment engendered in the IoA, the Vice Provost has
regularly thanked Institute staff for their active participation in student graduation ceremonies. In a
subject in which fieldwork is a significant activity during the summer, some staff are obviously unable to
be in London, but in 2006, 25 staff attended the ceremony.
D.2.iii.g. Fieldwork training
Last year, the IoA re-established direct organisation of the Field Training Course provided at the end of
the first year for all undergraduates, taught collaboratively with the Centre for Applied Archaeology, and
relocated to West Dean College in Sussex. This has allowed the development of a more active
research orientation to student training, which will feed back into a more integrated range of student
practical projects relevant to different courses. This year, the course will be expanded from 8 to 12
days, allowing a wider range of intensive training for each student. The consolidation of the
Experimental Archaeology and Field Training courses at West Dean will allow the development of a
permanent experimental archaeology facility, building on the extensive involvement of staff and
research students in the Experimental Archaeology Course. It is hoped to expand areas of
collaboration with West Dean College to involve students in landscape research, conservation and
public outreach.
Long-standing plans to develop the Palaeolithic site at Boxgrove as a research and teaching centre
have begun to move forward, after several years waiting for agreement from English Heritage.
D.2.iii.h. Placements
A number of the more vocationally-oriented MA degrees have placements to provide students with
hands-on experience. While extremely grateful for the high level of support we receive from
colleagues in the profession, it can be difficult finding suitable placements, particularly that are
accessible to students in and around London. The staff commitment involved in arranging and
monitoring placements has now been recognised with a workload score.
D.3. Quality monitoring framework.
D.3.i. Staff support.
Staff co-operate well with QME systems, but the increasing demand of UCL monitoring exercises is
putting additional pressure on staff time, and inevitably takes time away from teaching provision itself,
to monitoring and documenting that provision.
We noted in 2001 that while UCL recommends that staff spend three days a year on professional
development courses, relatively few staff have reported positive insights from them. It is difficult to
encourage staff to participate, when the courses are not viewed as providing value for the time
committed. More practically, it is difficult to find opportunities to attend courses which take up most of
a morning or afternoon, within busy teaching schedules. To deal with this positively, we organise one
or two in-house events each year to encourage staff to participate, as well as to make such teaching
more efficient, for example reducing the unnecessary time often incorporated into courses provided by
CALT (e.g. mutual introductions and sharing of experiences, coffee breaks). We are grateful to
colleagues elsewhere in UCL for collaborating with us in this.
Universally positive reactions followed from the Staff Away Day held in June 2006, the first in over a
decade. This identified various areas of staff concern, and raised a number of issues, many of which
have already been acted upon (e.g. informal staff meetings and circulation of Policy Group minutes, to
improve information flows, weekly staff coffee mornings, introduction of bienniality in some UG
teaching), and others are actively under discussion (e.g. the role and structure of Research Groups).
D.3.ii. Recruitment and reception of students.
D.3.ii.a. Recruitment and admission.
A major concern, noted in 2001 and exacerbated since then, is the recruitment of undergraduates. It is
now clear that this is a national subject trend, though it has probably impacted the IoA particularly hard,
given the high costs of living in London. At PG level, students recognise the advantages and
opportunities provided by the unique range of degrees and courses available, and the breadth of staff
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
22
research and expertise, but these opportunities and advantages are less clearly appreciated by
applicants at UG level, and a significant number of applicants is lost to universities located where there
is a significantly lower cost of living. Since UG applicants' interests are not likely to become more
focused, the answer appears to be to shift the student balance more towards PG teaching, as has
been implemented in recent years.
UG recruitment is likely to be pressed further following this year, as all standard entry offers are set at
a minimum of BBB. In the past we have had some discretion for making exceptional offers, which
allowed us to respond to some of the non-standard routes whereby students come into the subject.
Changes to UCL’s admissions procedures regarding students formerly classified as ‘mature’, designed
to conform to the new age discrimination legislation, are also likely to have a disproportionate effect on
the IoA, given the significant number of such students attracted to the subject (presently ca. 20% of
UG admissions). Under the new procedures, ‘mature’ applicants cannot be given special treatment,
and non-standard applications (in the past, single A-level grades or Birkbeck College Diplomas were
routinely accepted) all require exceptional requests. It is unclear how readily such requests will be
granted, as we still await explicit guidance on this from the UCL Admissions Office.
We hope that a more competitive three-year UG degree in Classical Archaeology, and potentially a
combined honours degree with Anthropology, will aid UG recruitment, but these will not come on-line
until 2008 and 2009 (respectively) at the earliest. We are also currently exploring the possibility of
adding a year abroad option to the BA and BSc Archaeology programmes. This has boosted
recruitment in other departments in the Faculty, and would be a natural extension of our global
teaching coverage, and build on our world-wide network of research collaborations.
To help address recruitment difficulties, a Working Group explored various options, and had particular
success under the UCL Widening Participation Initiative, facilitated by support for a Widening
Participation Co-ordinator. Together, these initiatives have explored various forms of outreach,
including hosting a range of activities during National Archaeology Week, running taster courses,
school visits and classes, evenings for mature applicants, excavations at Kingsbury and Hendon
Schools, an excavation in collaboration with the London Canal Museum, and archaeology projects
linked to relevant curricula at several schools (the Romans, Indus civilisation). The Petrie Museum
has developed a wide range of outreach programmes and events, raising UCL’s profile within London.
The Camden Young Archaeologists’ Project and the Camden@UCL Young Archaeologists Club have
been popular, though the funding for the latter from Camden Council has now been terminated; the IoA
has committed funds to maintain the programme for another three years, to see how it develops in the
medium term. Presentations by visiting archaeologists to Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan,
Chinese, Kenyan, Nigerian, Zimbabwean and Caribbean/Cuban community organisations in London
were designed to foster awareness of archaeology in BME communities. While commended by the
Faculty, it is far from clear that this investment in outreach and Widening Participation will actually
result in any increased recruitment of UG students, particularly given the recent raising of the minimum
A-level offer. Other strategies, such as targeting collaborations at schools with relevant A-level
teaching, are presently under discussion.
A recent survey of UG and PG applicants has identified the key role played by the IoA web-site in their
decision to apply, and re-structuring it to present a more exciting profile, particularly highlighting the
diversity of IoA field projects, is underway.
D.3.ii.b. Reception, induction, guidance and student support.
The IoA has trialed and implemented UCL’s Transition Programme Student Mentoring Scheme. This
has been well-received by students, and is felt to be a useful addition to our existing comprehensive
student support schemes, though perhaps not as essential as it may be in other departments, due to
the effectiveness of the existing IoA tutorial and student support structures. We plan to adapt this to
include Qualifying Year students, who fall somewhat between two stools, being in preparation for a
taught PG programme, but following UG courses.
There is continuing concern over the English writing skills of some students, particularly at UG level,
since despite stable A-level results, there has been a noticeable decline in the standards of written
English among some home students in recent years. As was accepted in the NIQA review in 2001,
this is a problem recognised widely within UCL. To help address this, all incoming UG students submit
a practice essay, which allows Personal Tutors to identify students who should be assessed for
dyslexia and related conditions, or who may need coaching in academic writing. Any student having
such difficulties is encouraged to seek assistance from an IoA graduate student, trained and funded by
UCL’s Centre for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching, through its Writing and Learning Mentor
Scheme.
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
23
Linked to the costs of living in London, the shift to student loans for home students and the rise in
student fees, is the fact that nearly all students engage in part-time employment alongside their
studies. At present this is recognised, but other than a strong tutorial system to identify difficulties,
flexibility over assessment deadlines, and the availability of some financial assistance from UCL, it is
difficult to see how else we can deal with this. We have been most successful with taught PG
programmes, where a significant number of students are formally enrolled part-time, and many of
these are employed in archaeology or museums, taking advantage of the IoA's commitment to parttime study as a route to up-to-date training and a formal qualification. Scheduling classes can be
difficult when a significant proportion of students are in part-time employment; what flexibility we have
is likely to be constrained by the move to a UCL-wide timetabling system, which has little obvious
benefit for IoA students.
D.3.iii. The teaching function and process.
D.3.iii.a. Teaching and learning.
The Syllabus Review Working Group is presently considering a wide range of concerns with respect to
programme and course provision, including the core courses and progressive structure of UG degrees,
widening participation aspects of course content and provision, assessment strategies, and curriculum
breadth and efficiency in teaching. The principal recommendation so far, responding to concerns
expressed at the 2006 Staff Away Day, is being implemented for 2007-08, and will introduce bienniality
for many undergraduate second and third year option courses. While increasing the efficient use of
staff time and other teaching resources and aiming to conform to Faculty recommendations on
minimum course enrolment, focusing student demand should also allow some courses which rarely
make the enrolment threshold to be taught, thereby broadening subject coverage and student
satisfaction. However, concern still focuses on some courses on the archaeology of parts of the world
which cannot be taught anywhere else in the country, but which will only ever attract a small number of
students. After seeing how enrolment is affected by bienniality, the IoA will need to consider whether it
is viable to preserve such minority subjects. This schedule will be introduced over the coming two
years, to ensure that a balance of options is available in each alternating year, and not to disadvantage
students currently in their second year who had anticipated specific courses being available in their
final year. A corollary, to treat students in each year fairly, has been the detailed specification of
assessment criteria aimed specifically at second- and third-year students, which will be instituted
across all courses.
Following recent UCL and Faculty recommendations, the IoA is presently considering the initiation of 4year UG degrees, to incorporate a year abroad. Recently, SOCRATES agreements have been signed
with several overseas universities (Aarhus, Bologna, METU Ankara and Selcuk in Turkey, and
discussions are underway with Barcelona, Leiden, Venice and Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne) to facilitate
UG and PG students studying abroad.
D.3.iii.b. Assessment.
The 2001 NIQA review recommended that a greater variety of forms of assessment be considered,
and a Working Group developed new forms which have been incorporated into specific courses to
achieve effective matches between course objectives and assessments.
As part of its
recommendation that many second and third year option courses be taught biennially to students in
both years, the Syllabus Review Working Group has recently proposed new assessment criteria,
defining clearly the different expectations for students taking a course in each year of study.
Concerns over the recognition of plagiarism were raised in the 2001 NIQA review as a general UCL
concern. Though this was not actually documented as a problem, it is unlikely that the IoA is in some
way distinct from the general trends noted in UK education at all levels. Commended in the 2001
NIQA review, the explanation of plagiarism and poor practice in all programme handbooks has been
expanded, and an explicit briefing incorporated into the student induction programmes. Some staff are
currently trialing the ‘Turn-It-In’ software for the detection of plagiarism, assessing how effective it is,
and how its use may most effectively be implemented. As a result, the Standing Sub-Committee of TC
recently agreed that, with effect from next session, all students should be required to submit their work
to ‘Turn-it-in’ before submitting it for marking.
Overall within each UG programme, core courses tend to be assessed with a significant component of
unseen examination. As core courses are reduced in frequency within each programme with
progression, so too is unseen examination, replaced with essays and other forms of continuous
assessment which allow students greater scope for developing their specific interests. This is
considered appropriate, since programmes are designed to enable students to explore, through their
options, increasingly specialised areas of the field, and they are encouraged to engage with material in
increasingly original ways, to foster independence and individual development. This overall
assessment strategy is appropriate to the aims and objectives of our programmes, though we
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
24
recognise a need to demonstrate the originality of students’ own work. With these concerns in mind,
the Syllabus Review Working Group is considering ways to introduce elements of unseen assessment
into more second and third year courses, while maintaining assessment appropriate to the aims and
objectives of each course.
Because the IoA is so large relative to other departments of Archaeology in the country and requires
External Examiners to cover many different areas of specialisation, it is very difficult to find Externals
from departments from which the IoA does not already have an External, or in which a member of IoA
staff is not currently serving as an External. These constraints also apply to the rule which does not
normally allow a PhD examiner to examine for UCL more than once in one year. With more and more
colleagues in other universities also declining to act as Externals because of internal pressures, it has
become almost impossible to appoint External Examiners who conform fully to Good Practice and UCL
regulations. Each exception needs a special case to be made, which is a predictably regular extra
demand on staff time.
D.3.iv. Programme design, operation and review.
D.3.iv.a. Programme design.
With the continued expansion in the number of programmes offered, and because all programme coordinators are members of TC, this committee has become unwieldy as a decision-making body, and
serves more to receive and disseminate decisions. Therefore, a new Standing Sub-committee has
been instituted in 2007 to facilitate the detailed consideration of significant proposals, for example to
evaluate the contribution of each new proposed programme or course to overall IoA provision.
In addition to the regular review and development of existing and new courses and programmes,
individual members of IoA staff have been widely involved in teaching initiatives. Various staff have
been awarded ESCILTA grants to develop teaching resources: Hillson and Martin have developed
visual guides for identifying human and animal skeletal and dental remains, Hillson’s project is
incorporated into his extensive WebCT course provision, and Martin’s project ‘BoneView’ is producing
a web-based resource which will be accessible to teachers at other universities; Reid employed an
ESCILTA grant to develop a new course taught in the field in Kenya, while Fuller presently holds an
ESCILTA grant to develop an on-line reference and teaching collection of Old World phytoliths. A
number of staff have received Teaching Development Grants from the Higher Education Academy:
Orton is developing ‘Realistic and accessible statistics for Archaeologists’, a series of exemplar
statistical analyses of archaeological datasets, to serve as teaching models, available on the web;
Brookes held a grant for developing reflexive pedagogies in archaeological fieldtrips; Flatman holds a
grant to develop role-play materials to teach issues in archaeological site management; and Moloney
held a grant to explore approaches to assessment aimed at developing first-year students’ analytical
skills. Larger scale projects have also been developed: Pye directed a HEFCE-funded project to
develop graduate apprenticeships in conservation, which fed into our present internship programme,
while Milne and Orton (with colleagues in Durham and Bristol) have substantial funding from HEFCE
for their ‘Archive Archaeology Project’, reviewing the use of archaeological archives, collections, and
Sites and Monument Records in teaching archaeology in English Universities. For a number of years,
Rehren has organised two summer schools on mining and early metallurgy, sponsored by the Institute
for Archaeo-Metallurgical Studies, which is open to all of our relevant taught and research PG
students. The Petrie Museum has been involved in pioneering the development of a range of
resources for public access, outreach and university teaching. As one such project, Quirke has
developed the JISC funded ‘Digital Egypt for Universities’ as an on-line resource for teaching Egyptian
archaeology and philology, based on the resources of the IoA and the Petrie Museum. All of these
innovative projects have developed out of, and feed directly back into, IoA teaching provision.
D.3.iv.b. Programme structure and operation: UG degree programmes.
The IoA is rationalising its UG programmes, through recently ceasing to admit students for the BA in
Medieval Archaeology and (after 2007-08) the joint BA in Art History and Archaeology, and is in the
process of replacing the four-year BA in Archaeology, Classics and Classical Archaeology with a threeyear BA in Classical Archaeology and Classical Civilisation. Given new Faculty and UCL guidelines on
the viability of programmes, the combined honours BA in Ancient History and Egyptology will need
close scrutiny by its parent department. Balancing this, we feel there is considerable scope for
developing a combined honours BA in Anthropology and Archaeology, a strong recruiter of excellent
students at the small number of UK universities where it is offered, about which there is enthusiasm in
both UCL departments. The IoA is in discussion with both Anthropology and the Faculty about this.
We are also exploring the possibilities for a four-year BA Archaeology with a Year Abroad programme
(see section D.3.ii.a).
During the 1997 teaching re-organisation, integrated progression was designed into all programmes, a
structure now required by the QAA Benchmark Statement for Archaeology. This essential coherence,
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
25
however, appears to run counter to UCL plans to increase student mobility between programmes, as
exemplified by the imposition of a uniform UG teaching timetable. However, courses do not stand
alone, and students coming in from other departments who do not have a relevant background in
archaeology (as provided by the programme core courses), are not able to perform as well as students
following a coherent and cumulative archaeology programme. While not wishing to exclude interested
students from other departments, it has to be recognised that most simply do not have the relevant
background to excel at our courses. Adapting IoA teaching to facilitate inter-departmental flexibility
would undermine the coherence and content of our programmes. In this, UCL appears to be imposing
one UG education model, perhaps relevant to some subjects but certainly not necessarily to all, which
runs counter to the national frameworks we also need to satisfy.
D.3.iv.c. Programme structure and operation: taught PG degree programmes.
A new MSc in Palaeoanthropology and Palaeolithic Archaeology has been proposed, and an MA in
Roman Archaeology is under discussion, both designed to take advantage of areas strengthened by
recent staff appointments. The MSc in Human Palaeoecology is being re-designed as an MSc in
Environmental Archaeology, to make it more easily recognisable to potential applicants, and to cater
better for student and professional training needs. It has been encouraging that the recently
established MA in the Archaeology of the East Mediterranean and Middle East and the MSc in Skeletal
and Dental Bioarchaeology are both recruiting well. Less positively, the viability of the MA in African
Archaeology is under consideration, though this is a programme not duplicated anywhere else in the
UK. Recruitment to the MA in Comparative Art and Archaeology will be monitored closely over the
next few years, and attention will be given to whether the MA in Maritime Archaeology is able to
establish itself.
While all teaching is at dedicated PG level, there is a large demand for PG conversion courses, which
cannot satisfactorily be met by recommending that students also sit-in on relevant UG courses. This
has led to the development of a formal Qualifying Year, which is being increasingly used across a
range of taught PG programmes. We are presently considering whether this might be formalised
further using the UCL Certificate or Diploma structures. Such formalisation would make it easier to
advertise such preparation as a recognised qualification, and would address the obvious demand for
taught PG conversion degrees, while not compromising the value of the existing taught PG degrees.
D.3.iv.d. Programme structure and operation: PG research programmes.
PhD completion rates, while improving over the long-term, and benefiting from the tightening-up of
admission and first and second-year review procedures, remain a serious concern. Students and
supervisors have recognised the importance of timely completion for home/EU students on Research
Council grants, where sanctions are imposed, but self-funded students and their supervisors have
viewed this as the student’s own concern. On the other hand, overall completion rates are increasingly
being considered as an index of the effectiveness of research support, and completion complacency
needs to be addressed. From 2007-08, third- and fourth-year interviews involving each student, their
supervisors and the Co-ordinator of their Research Group will be instituted, to monitor progress toward
and encourage completion within three to four years.
While students do participate in the Graduate School Skills Training Programme, some of the courses
offered are not particularly relevant, or the orientation of the coverage and examples used are
exclusively relevant to only some subject areas (e.g. natural science as opposed to social
science/arts), reducing their value to students. With a yearly intake of 30-40 MPhil students, some
courses could be run for IoA students alone, and be designed to be more relevant and therefore
effective. These concerns have been raised by students very recently, and will be discussed with the
Graduate School, and it may be possible for IoA staff to collaborate actively with the Graduate School
in providing more relevant courses within this useful programme.
For quite a few years, there has been conflicting guidance from UCL on the Graduate Logbooks as
these have been repeatedly debated and re-designed, though supervisors have, this year, been
instructed that their use is now mandatory. They are extremely unpopular with both supervisors and
students: too much subsidiary documentation has been required, padding out the elements which
might be recognised as potentially useful, and completion is almost universally viewed as a
considerable waste of staff and student time. In addition, there are glitches in the implementation,
which practically discourage staff and students from using them. With so little support and the
practical difficulties, compliance is difficult to justify or enforce. The IoA will attempt to encourage and
facilitate their use, by running another workshop in how to use them, with practical advice on how to
get round the difficulties our staff have experienced with them, but the present system is simply not
user-friendly enough to encourage acceptance.
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
26
Negotiations with the AHRC over how the IoA can use the funding available through the Student
Training Grant, has allowed funding to support greater involvement of PG students as teaching
assistants, and institution of an annual Graduate Student Conference, both viewed as highly desirable
by IoA students.
D.3.iv.e. Programme review and monitoring of teaching quality.
Quality monitoring and enhancement is taken very seriously by the IoA, as reflected by the
establishment of various new Sub-Committees, Working Groups and procedures since the 2001 NIQA
and QAA reviews, and the appointment in 2006 of a QME Officer. However, such processes are an
increasing burden for academic staff, particularly when coupled with the proliferation of UCL research
monitoring procedures, obviously exacerbated by the current UCL preparations for the upcoming RAE.
The new Annual Monitoring Review of all programmes will be a significant new burden, particularly with
the very large number of UG and PG courses run each year. This specific concern was raised by our
Faculty when AMR was presented last year, but is not recognised in the final model proposed to be
implemented from this year. This is a concrete, rather than chimerical concern, since the IoA instituted
its own annual degree reports in 2001, yet it has not proved possible to get all programme coordinators to produce these every year, even though these are quite slim, relative to what is being
specified for the new AMR. The problem is particularly acute for taught PG programmes, since
External Examiners’ reports may take well into January to appear, following the MA/MSc Examiners’
Meeting in early November. By then, programme co-ordinators are fully engaged in the current cohort
of students, rather than looking backwards. Unlike the UG programmes, there is no clear point of
closure established by the examination period, with a following break (before fieldwork), to catch up
and complete the relevant paperwork. The course-oriented structure adopted may be appropriate for
some subjects and departments, but will demand significant and comprehensive staff involvement for
a highly differentiated field, and teaching provision, as in the IoA.
D.3.v. Student input and feedback.
As all forms of student feedback, and the SAS Alternative Prospectus make clear, the IoA is perceived
by students to be a friendly and supportive institution. This impression is created and sustained by the
commitment and hard work of academic and support staff, as well as the positive contributions of
students, facilitated by the officers of the SAS and graduate student representatives. But over the past
decade, the number of students enrolled in the IoA has grown from 499 in 1996 to 560 in 2001, to 577
in 2006. Numbers alone do not tell the whole story, since the simple totals hide the magnitude of the
shift from UG to taught PG students. PG students are more demanding to teach, having clearer ideas
of their own interests, career concerns, and requiring greater attention, encouragement and feedback
to respond to the greater intellectual independence expected of them. This pattern of expansion puts
increasing strain on the time which can be devoted to individual students, and the degree to which they
can receive tutorial support and academic investment. At the same time, the increasing administrative
burden which falls on all staff, from national and internal UCL systems, competes for the same finite
staff attention. The Provost’s recent Green Paper recognises this incompatibility, but this needs to be
translated into action, before the positive educational environment which characterises the IoA
deteriorates.
D.3.vi. Assessment of student performance.
At all levels, the IoA processes and practices of assessment are judged to be appropriate and effective
by External Examiners. The principal concern under student performance and progression is PG
research completion rates. The nature of the problem and new initiatives to address this have been
outlined in section D.3.iv.d, above.
E. Conclusions.
The quality audits of 2001 (NIQA and QAA), at a point where the major teaching revisions initiated in
1997 were beginning to stabilise, encouraged the IoA to develop a range of structures, processes, and
attitudes for formalising, documenting, reviewing and continually assessing its teaching objectives and
practices. Some of these have been adopted or adapted as UCL QME policies and practices have
evolved, whereas many have been developed as a result of our direct involvement with on-going
changes and demands in the field, much as the revisions to teaching provision anticipated the new
structures developed nationally by the QAA for the Benchmark Statement for Archaeology.
Overall, the staff of the IoA are proud of the education they provide for students at all levels, and of the
challenging but supportive learning environment fostered at the Institute. They are encouraged to
maintain the commitment this requires, by the reciprocal commitment of IoA students to this shared
endeavour. The current programmes have been proven to be effective, and are continually adapted
and developed to keep up with changes in the field and feedback from students and the profession.
Following the significant changes reported in the 2001 NIQA review, staff continue to be engaged in a
considerable amount of fine-tuning, in individual courses as well as entire programmes, and new
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
27
courses and programmes are constantly being developed to respond to professional and student
demand. The observations noted in this final section serve to indicate the areas of concern which are
currently being explored with respect to the teaching provision and learning environment of the IoA.
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
28
Annex 1: Index of supporting documentation.
The supporting documents for this review, when available in electronic form, have been made
accessible on the IoA IQR web-site <http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/iqr/list.htm#c1>, and are listed
below. The few which are available only in hard copy are indicated, and a copy has been supplied to
Academic Services
A
DIAGRAM OF DEPARTMENTAL COMMITTEE STRUCTURE
Document A.01
B
MEMBERSHIP OF KEY DEPARTMENTAL COMMITTEES
Document B.01
C
MINUTES OF KEY DEPARTMENTAL COMMITTEES 2004-7
Documents C.01.1-C.14.8
Teaching Committee, Staff/Student Consultative Committee, MA/MSc Boards of
Examiners,BA/BSc Boards of Examiners, Extenuating Circumstances Committees, Student
Progress Meeting, Departmental Tutors’ Meeting, Steering Committee for BA in Archaeology,
Classics and Classical Art, Graduate Research Student Sub-Committee, Fieldwork SubCommittee, Departmental Staff Meeting, Facilities Committee, Library Committee, Policy
Group
C.01. TEACHING COMMITTEE
Session 2004-5
1.1
Term 1
1.2
Term 2
1.3
Term 3
Session 2005-6
1.4
Term 1
1.5
Term 2
1.6
Term 3
C.02. STAFF/STUDENT CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE
Session 2004-5
Session 2005-6
2.1
Term 1
2.4
Term 1
2.2
Term 2
2.5
Term 2
2.3
Term 3
2.6
Term 3
Session 2006-7
1.7
Term 1
1.8
Term 2
Session 2006-7
2.7
Term 1
2.8
Term 2
C.03.
3.1
MA/MSc BOARDS OF EXAMINERS
2004
3.2
2005
3.3
2006
C.04.
2004
4.1
4.2
BA/BSc BOARDS OF EXAMINERS
2005
June
4.3
June
November
4.4
November
2006
4.5
4.6
June
November
5.3
2006
5.6
2006
C.05. EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES COMMITTEES
BA/BSc BOARD OF EXAMINERS
5.1
2004
5.2
2005
MA/MSc BOARD OF EXAMINERS
5.4
2004
5.5
2005
C.06. STUDENT PROGRESS MEETING
Session 2004-5
Session 2005-6
6.1
Term 1
6.3
Term 1
6.2
Term 2
6.4
Term 2
C.07. DEPARTMENTAL TUTORS’ MEETING
Session 2004-5
Session 2005-6
7.1
Term 1
7.4
Term 1
7.2
Term 2
7.5
Term 2
7.3
Term 3
7.6
Term 3
Session 2006-7
6.5
Term 1
6.6
Term 2
Session 2006-7
7.7
Term 1
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
29
C.08. STEERING COMMITTEE FOR BA IN ARCHAEOLOGY, CLASSICS AND CLASSICAL
ART
Session 2004-5
Session 2005-6
Session 2006-7
8.1
Term 1
8.3
Term 3
8.4
Term 2
8.2
Term 3
C.09. GRADUATE RESEARCH STUDENT SUB-COMMITTEE
Session 2004-5
Session 2005-6
9.1
Term 1
9.5
Term 1
9.2
Term 2
9.6
Term 2
9.3
Term 2
9.7
Term 2
9.4
Term 3
9.8
Term 3
Session 2006-7
9.9
Term 1
C.10. FIELDWORK SUB-COMMITTEE
Session 2005-6
Session 2006-7
10.1
Term 2
10.4
Term 1
10.2
Term 3
10.3
Term 3(2)
C.11. DEPARTMENTAL STAFF MEETING
Session 2004-5
Session 2005-6
11.1
Term 1
11.4
Term 1
11.2
Term 2
11.5
Term 2
11.3
Term 3
11.6
Term 3
C.12. FACILITIES COMMITTEE
Session 2004-5
12.1
Term 1
12.2
Term 2
12.3
Term 3
Session 2005-6
12.4
Term 1
12.5
Term 2
12.6
Term 3
C.13. LIBRARY COMMITTEE
Session 2004-5
13.1
Term 1
13.2
Term 2
13.3
Term 3
Session 2005-6
13.4
Term 1
13.5
Term 2
13.6
Term 3
C.14. POLICY GROUP
Session 2005-6
14.1
Term 3
Session 2006-7
11.7
Term 1
Session 2006-7
13.7
Term
Session 2006-7
Term 1: 14.2, 14.3,
14.4, 14.5, 14.6
Term 2: 14.7, 14.8
D
EXTERNAL EXAMINERS’ REPORTS 2004-6 AND CHAIR’S RESPONSES
(External Examiners’ reports are available only as hard copy: each batch is accompanied by the
Chair’s report for the year, the latter also available as documents, noted below)
BA/BSC
2006
Dr Joanne Clarke
Dr Caroline Jackson
Dr Kate Spence
Dr Catherine Hills
Dr John Robb
Prof Tim Insoll
Dr Gillian Shepherd
D.01 Chair’s report
2005
Dr Joanne Clarke
Dr Caroline Jackson
Dr Stephen Snape
Dr Penny Dransart
Dr John Robb
Dr Catherine Hills
Dr Gillian Shepherd
D.02 Chair’s report
2004
Dr Douglas Baird
Dr Caroline Jackson
Dr Kate Spence
Dr John Robb
Prof Terry Barry
Dr Gillian Shepherd
Dr Penny Dransart
D.03 Chair’s report
MA/MSC
2006
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
30
Dr Megan Brickley
Dr Elizabeth DeMarrais
Dr Mark Gillings
D.04 Chair’s report
2005
Dr Megan Brickley
Ms Mary Brooks
Dr Elizabeth DeMarrais
Ms Dinah Eastop
D.05 Chair’s report
2004
Ms Mary Brooks
Professor Bob Chapman
Ms Dinah Eastop
D.06
Chair’s report
Dr Jane Grenville
Dr Caroline Jackson
Dr Simon Knell
Prof Colin Martin
Mr Richard Morris
Professor Robin Osborne
Dr Mark Gillings
Dr Jane Grenville
Dr Caroline Jackson
Dr Simon Knell
Professor Martin Millett
Professor Robin Osborne
Ms Jane Grenville
Dr Caroline Jackson,
Dr Simon Knell
Dr Gary Lock
Professor Martin Millett
E
POSTGRADUATE PROSPECTUS
Document E.01
F
UNDERGRADUATE PROSPECTUS
(hard copy)
G
STAFF HANDBOOK
G.01 Student numbers 2006-7
G.02 Lists of Students, Personal Tutors and Supervisors:
G.02.01
BA/BSc Year 1
G.02.02
BA/BSc Year 2
G.02.03
BA/BSc Year 3
G.02.04
MA/MSc
G.02.05
Research students
G.03 List of Staff, Rooms and E-mail addresses
G.04 How to find e-mail addresses of UCL students and staff
Group e-mail addresses for staff, students, etc
G.05 Dates of Committee Meetings
G.06 Membership of Committees
G.07 Post Holders: Research Group Convenors; Committee Chairs and Secretaries;
Tutorships and other posts; Graduate and Undergraduate Degree Co-ordinators, G.08
Teaching Timetables
G.08.01
BA/BSc
G.08.02
MA/MSc
G.09 Institute Procedures and Reminders, including guidance concerning Coursework
Extensions, Target Return Dates for Marked Coursework, Plagiarism
G.10 Queried provisional coursework marks
G.11 Peer observation of teaching
G.12 Duties of Personal Tutors
G.13 Role of the co-ordinator in multi-teacher courses
G.14 Guidelines for the use of Visiting Lecturers in teaching
G.15 Marking criteria and guidelines
G.15.01
BA/BSc
G.15.02
MA/MSc
G.16 Undergraduate dissertation schedule
G.17 Provision for those with dyslexia, or in need of help with writing academic English
G.18 Funding Student Fieldwork
G.19 Access to Learning Fund
G.20 Teaching, Supervision and Examining Chronology
H
STUDENT HANDBOOKS
H.01 Undergraduate Students: Year 1
H.02 Undergraduate Students: Year 1 – The First Two Weeks
H.03 Undergraduate Students: Year 2
H.04 Undergraduate Students: Year 3
H.05 BA ACCA (four-year degree)
H.06 Affiliate Students
H.07 MA/MSc Students (general information – see I for handbooks for individual degrees)
H.08 Research Students
I
PROGRAMME/COURSE GUIDE MATERIALS
Selected Degree Handbooks:
I.01.1 MA in Artefact Studies
I.01.2 MA in Museum Studies
I.01.3 MSc in Technology and Analysis of Archaeological Materials
I.01.4 MSc in Palaeoecology of Human Societies
I.01.5 MA in Archaeology
Selected Course Handbooks:
BA/BSc Core Courses
I.02.1 1007 Interdisciplinary approaches to archaeological material
I.02.2 2037 Interpreting archaeological data
I.02.3 3056 A detailed study of a selected topic (Dissertation)
BA/BSc Options
I.02.4 3044 Empires of Iran
I.02.5 2034 Archaeology of the Middle East 2000-300 BC
MA/MSc Courses
I.02.6 G135 Archaeology of London
I.02.7 G043 Themes, thought and theory in world archaeology
I.02.8 G168 Ethnoarchaeology
(Handbooks for all degrees and courses are available on the Institute Intranet)
I.03
I.04
MA and MSc Course Options List
BA/BSc Course-Unit Booklet
J
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA, MARKING SCHEMES, etc
J.01
Guidance for Examiners (BA/BSc)
J.02
Guidance for Examiners (MA/MSc)
J.03
Colour-coded coursework coversheets for each student group,
with marking criteria on reverse
(J.03.1, J.03.2, J.03.3, J.03.4, J.03.5, J.03.6)
See also Student and Staff Handbooks (G, H and I above)
K
SUMMARIES OF STUDENT COURSE EVALUATION FORMS 2004-6
Documents K.01, K.02, K.03
L
DEPARTMENTAL POLICIES AND PRACTICES
Please see Staff Handbook (G.1-20) and J.1 and J.2 for examination and other policies
L.01
Peer observation of teaching policy
L.02
Duties of Personal Tutors
L.03
Departmental templates for Course and Degree Handbooks
L.3.1 BA/BSc Course Handbooks
L.3.2 MA/MSc Course Handbooks
L.3.3 MA/MSc Degree Handbooks
L.04
Letter concerning updating of handbooks
L.05
Start of session arrangements letter
L.06
Start of session changes letter
L.07
Start of session reminders letter
L.08
Instructions to Master’s Degree Co-ordinators at start of session
L.09
Induction Week schedule: Undergraduate
L.10
Induction Week schedule: Postgraduate
L.11
Student Mentoring Scheme for New Undergraduates
L.12
Support structures for First-year Undergraduates
L.13
Instructions to Master’s Degree Co-ordinators in Term 2
L.14
Reminder re examination procedures (see also J.01 above)
L.15
Procedures for marking Master’s dissertations - reminder
L.16
Procedures for reviewing Course Evaluation Forms, and related
forms
L.16.1 Procedure
L.16.2 Blank course evaluation form
L.16.3 Summary sheet for completion by teacher
L.16.4 Blank Master’s degree evaluation form
L.16.5 Summary sheet for completion by teacher
L.16.6 Blank undergraduate degree evaluation form
L.17
Policy with regard to staff attendance at Graduation Ceremonies
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
32
L.18
L.19
L.20
L.21
L.22
L.23
M
Fieldwork Bulletin - fieldwork procedures are summarised here (and in the
Undergraduate Student Handbooks – see H above)
Safety Code of Practice Handbook
Key dates and deadlines during the year
Briefing document for new staff
Teaching and Learning Strategy
Strategic Plan 2004-09
DEGREE STRUCTURES AND PROGRAMME SPECIFICATIONS
M.01 Degree Structures
PROGRAMME SPECIFICATIONS (hard copy)
BA Archaeology
BSc Archaeology
BA Egyptian Archaeology
BA Archaeology, Classics and Classical Art
MA African Archaeology
MA Archaeology
MA Archaeology of London
MA Artefact Studies
MA Comparative Art and Archaeology
MA Cultural Heritage Studies
MA Egyptian Archaeology
MA Field Archaeology
MA Managing Archaeological Sites
MA Maritime Archaeology
MA Museum Studies
MA Principles of Conservation
MA Public Archaeology
MA Research Methods for Archaeology
MSc Forensic Archaeological Science
MSc Palaeoecology of Human Societies
MSc GIS and Spatial Analysis in Archaeology
MSc Skeletal and Dental Bioarchaeology
MSc Conservation for Archaeology and Museums
MSc Technology and Analysis of Archaeological Materials
MA Archaeology of Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East
N
DOCUMENTATION RELATING TO PAST AUDITS
N.1
NIQA SES 2001
N.2
NIQA Report 2001
N.3
NIQA Response 2001
N.4
QAA Report 2001
N.5
QAA Response 2002
N.6
AMR pilot for 2004-05, general submission
N.7
AMR pilot, degree review statements
N.8
AMR Faculty Reviewer’s comments
O
INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY STAFF LIST
O.01 Staff list.
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
33
Annex 2: Student data: quantitative and qualitative indicators.
Tables of student data have been supplied by the Management Information Section of the UCL
Registry. As noted in the 2001 NIQA review, we find that these correspond variably to our own data,
which in most cases should be the data on which the College figures are based. This discrepancy was
noted by the review panel in 2001 as a more general concern, and has been commented upon in the
Provost’s recent Green Paper. No detailed analysis of figures we have only broad confidence in is
warranted, so relevant data have been averaged to give guideline data, in various tables in the SES.
These figures have been generated in some cases from annual intake data, in others from aggregate
student numbers, and so can only be indicative of general patterns or trends. We requested the raw
spreadsheet data (which we obtained in 2001 to be able to correct, for our QAA review), but were told
this is unavailable. We also requested data for earlier years, to link up with the data obtained in 2001
to allow analysis of trends, but were told that this too, is unavailable. The data was supplied only in
paper copy, so is separate from the electronic submission of the SES.
IQR Self-Evaluative Statement: Institute of Archaeology:
34