DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENTAL TEACHING COMMITTEE
Monday, 8th June 2015
SUMMARY OF ACTIONS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
Minute
38B.1
38C.1
38G.1
38M.1
42.11
42.12
42.3
43.1
Action required
Person(s)
responsible
To review modules and assess
their suitability for affiliate
students. Procedure to be
BH, AG and SF
formalised and reported to staff.
The website to be updated
accordingly.
Discuss with the Department of
Civil, Environmental & Geomatic
Engineering switching to a
SF
complete electronic format for
our Annual Review exercise.
MSc preparatory material to be
BH
created over the summer.
3rd yr project panel presentations.
Suggested that these are mixed
up more, and that next year they AG with PF
are scheduled on Thu/Fri, rather
than Fri/Mon
Wash-up meeting on MSc
Individual projects and setting of SF, AG, LU, MZ
earlier dates
Review of RBs form for MSc
Individual project students who LU and SF
work with industry partners.
Communication to current finalist
students about the deadlines for MR, LU, SF
applying to our MSc programmes
Report back on meeting with
Simon Banks regarding
accreditation rules (as relate to
our rule allowing up to 3 units of AG
failure)
Due date
ASAP
To do once the IQR
report has been
received
Report on progress
after the summer
Before September
Ready for start of
process
Before term starts.
In the weeks leading
up to these deadlines
(end April, May and
July 2016, depending
on programme)
By end of December
43.5
Module coordinators to provide
information on module
contributors, to be added to the
timetable
43.7
SB to provide AG
Request for change of module to with form. AG to
ASAP
be made for MSc EwF
perform Chairs
Action.
SF to request
from MCs
2
Ready for start of term
DEPARTMENTAL TEACHING COMMITTEE
Monday, 8th June 2015
Room G09, 16-18 Gordon Square – 2pm
CONFIRMED minutes
PRESENT:
Dr Alistair Greig (Chair) [AG]
Dr Stavroula Balabani (Graduate Tutor, Taught) [SB]
Dr Ben Hanson (Departmental Tutor) [BH]
Dr William Suen (Graduate Tutor, Research) [WS]
Mr David Wright (Departmental IEP Coordinator) [DW]
Mr Douglas Stridsberg (UG Student Representative) [DS]
In attendance:
Ms Siobhan Fitzgerald (Senior Teaching and Learning Administrator) [SF]
Ms Lucy Underhill (PGT & Short Courses Teaching and Learning Administrator) [LU]
Key to abbreviations
DTC
Departmental Teaching Committee
FTC
Faculty Teaching Committee
IEP
Integrated Engineering Programme
PD
Programme Director
UPC/GPC
Proposal for new Undergraduate/Graduate Module (form)
Vacancy PG Student Representative
Vacancy Senior Staff Member
Preliminary Business
36. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
To note:
36.1
Apologies received from Yiannis Ventikos, PJ Tan, Ben Hanson and Sian Lunt.
37. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF 11th March 2015
To confirm:
37.1
The minutes of the meeting of 11th March were approved and confirmed.
38. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
3
38A
38A.1
(30D.1, DTC 11/03/15) BH to discuss change of registration revisions with John
Mitchell and disseminate revised draft. Check on foreign language requirements.
Noted: Action completed.
38B
(30I.1, DTC 11/03/15) BH/AG/SF to review modules and assess their suitability for
affiliate students. Procedure to be formalised and reported to staff. The website to be
updated accordingly.
38B.1
Action: Add a footnote to the module descriptors if modules are suitable for
affiliate students. Double check if affiliates students are required to do both terms if they
choose modules that run over both terms.
38C
38C.1
38D
38D.1
38E
38E.1
38F
38F.1
(30F.1, DTC 11/03/15) SF to liaise with the Department of Civil, Environmental &
Geomatic Engineering regarding switching to a complete electronic format for our
Annual Review exercise.
Noted: This action is to be taken once the IQR report is received.
(32.1a, DTC 11/03/15) AG ask with Manish Tiwari to write to External Examiners to
explain about the poor performance of students in MECH101P
Noted: Action completed.
(32.1b, , DTC 11/03/15) Additional test for students who did not pass MECH101P test
to be organised
Noted: Action completed.
(32.2a, DTC 11/03/15) SF in liaison with academics to produce a list of unsuitable
teaching rooms. SF to discuss with room-booking about black-listing these rooms for
Mech. Eng.
Noted: Action completed.
38G
38G.1
(32.2b, DTC 11/03/15) BH to produce MSc preparatory material over the summer.
Noted: This item is ongoing.
38H
(32.2c, DTC 11/03/15) BH and EB to communicate with 4th yrs the links between their
group design project and the rest of their curriculum.
Noted: Action completed.
38H.1
38I
38I.1
38J
38J.1
38K
38K.1
38L
38L.1
38M
38M.1
(32.3b, DTC 11/03/15) AG and EB to confirm whether prototyping should be included
in MECH202P
Noted: Action completed.
(32.3b, DTC 11/03/15) AG and SJ to confirm further details about MECH312P, and
SJ to update the UPC accordingly.
Noted: This item is ongoing.
(32.3c, DTC 11/03/15) AG to chase up AW for the UPC for MECH205P. Chair’s
action for approval to be taken once received.
Noted: Action completed.
(33.1, DTC 11/03/15) SF to organise the removal of redundant PGT modules from
Portico during the Module diet window in April-May.
Noted: Action completed.
(34.2, DTC 11/03/15) AG and PF discuss suggested changes to organisation of 3rd yr
project panel presentations.
Noted: This item is ongoing.
4
38N
38N.1
(34.5, DTC 11/03/15) SF to organise a wash-up meeting on MSC Individual Project
allocation process in the summer. Earlier deadlines and updated allocation process
to be agreed on.
Noted: Action completed.
38O
SF to liaise with PDs about MSc March exam start dates, and ensure lectures do
not take place too close to start of exams.
38O.1
Noted: Keep as it is, but ensure that nothing but revision sessions are
scheduled in the week before exams start.
39. CONFIRMATION OF CHAIR’S ACTIONS SINCE THE PREVIOUS MEETING
39.1 Change to Mechanical Engineering with Business Finance yr 2 module diet. AG
requested that the modules and timing that the department of Management Science &
Innovation provide on this programme be changed. Instead of MSIN7016A Managerial
Accounting for Decision-making (MAD) in Term 1 and MSIN7022 Business Economics in
Term 2, they will have MSIN7022 Business Economics in Term 1 and MSINXXXX Managerial
Accounting for Engineers (MAFE) in Term 2.MAFE is more engineering focussed, and also
fits in better with the timetable since it doesn’t run over scenario weeks. This change has
been agreed to.
Business for Discussion
40. REPORT FROM WORKING GROUPS TO THIS COMMITTEE – standing item
Discussed:
40.1 IEP Strategy Group.
Progress on second year modules is being made, currently the content of the
scenarios is being worked out. DW will give an overview of yr 2 scenarios at the
upcoming departmental meeting. DW also to give an overview of how yr 1 scenarios
went in the first year of the IEP. TB will also contribute to preparing this overview.
40.2 IEP Firefighting group.
No fires to report. Anything that has come up has been relatively minor, and has been
resolved.
41. TO REPORT ON CHANGES TO UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING – standing item
Discussed:
41.1 ENGS203P Mathematical Modelling & Analysis. Concerns have been raised by Ian
Eames and Becky Shipley around two issues:
a) the number of tutorials need to be increased
b) Mechanical Engineering should ideally take ownership of specific aspects that are
particularly important to our students (mainly the PDE part), and also monitor what students
might need additional help with.
Noted: Two additional hours per week have been requested on the timetable,
these are split into 3 groups, to cater for different needs. This extra time has been attached
to MECH206P.
41.2 Reports from module co-ordinators on 1st yr of IEP
5
Noted: Not all reports have been submitted. When they are all in, they will be sent
round for discussion.
42. TO REPORT ON CHANGES TO POSTGRADUATE TEACHING – standing item
Discussed:
42.1 MSc Project allocation
This didn’t go very smoothly this yr. A meeting will be held to discuss issues and come up
with earlier deadlines.
42.11: Action: SF to organise a meeting between AG, Mehrdad Zangeneh, and
Lucy Underhill.
After discussion at the MSc Group Meeting, a new method of choosing projects has been
decided on, whereby three choices are initially made, followed by another round. Selfproposals will be encouraged. An issue that was identified is where students work with
someone from industry as their supervisor. It was mentioned that Richard Bucknall uses a
form in cases like this to agree on how this relationship will work.
42.12: Action: LU to obtain a copy of this form in order to create something
suitable for all students working with industry.
Another issue that was mentioned was student requests for feedback. The guidelines state
that students may request feedback from the supervisor directly after the marking of the
report. PJ informs academics about this.
42.2 MSc Exams
Issues with organisational difficulties and paper problems were discussed. Plans are
already in place for improvements next year.
42.3 MSc Admissions numbers and closing date discussions
This year it was agreed that the target number would be slightly reduced, however it looks
like numbers will actually increase. Four programmes have now closed early. This has
caused a problem with some internal students who have missed the deadline for
application, however it was noted that they were emailed with warnings about the likely
early closure of programmes.
Next year the dates will be shifted forward, and we will let our let our students know of the
dates well before the exam period. It was noted that a big issue with application deadlines
is that Home and EU students tend to apply later.
Action: SF/LU to request that Mykal Riley include messages about the
deadlines for MSc applications in his bulletins to students.
It was noted that the MSc review will be starting soon. A meeting with John Mitchell will be
held to discuss this process.
Other Business for Approval or Information
43. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
To discuss:
43.1 IQR Summary Report
The draft of the final report has ow been received. AG reported that there are no surprises
in the report. The department was complemented on the thoroughness, frankness, and
openness of the submission, and commended for being fully engaged with students.
Classroom observations (peer review), was commented on as particularly strong. Space
and resources were recognised as problem areas; these are issues we are fully aware of.
6
It was noted that the next review to take place is accreditation. This is for 2016/17, and as
we would like the review to take place early in that year, we will need to make our
submission in 2015/16. Data collection for this will therefore need to begin quite soon. A
potential problem, which is Faculty-wide, is that under UCL rules students are permitted to
fail up to 3 units, but this is more than accrediting bodies are comfortable with. We might
need to review our rules on this – AG speaking with Simon Banks on this.
Action: AG to report back on his meeting with Simon Banks on accreditation
rules.
43.2 Module feedback issues
MECH3003 Crack Detection and Measurement techniques Lab Report: timely feedback
was not given, as the TA who was in charge of this left and no one else took on the task.
Feedback has now been provided. It was noted as the module coordinator’s responsibility
for ensuring that all elements of assessment are fed-back on, regardless of whether these
parts are undertaken by other academics or TAs.
A discussion then ensued about other ways of producing and providing feedback AG noted
that the IQR draft report recommended that the department contact UCL Centre for the
Advancement of Learning and Teaching (CALT) to discuss whether a Transforming the
Experience of Students Through Assessment (TESTA) audit would help staff to improve
assessment processes audit of feedback. This recommendation and any others will be
reviewed and discussed once the IQR draft response is ready.
43.3 Items to note from FTC
Referrals being kept for one more year, possibly two more. After that time the plan is to
offer summer resit exams. A potential issue with this is for PGT students still working on
their projects.
43.4 Module feedback data
A discussion about students being unhappy with module feedback took place. The second
year UG students seemed to be the most dissatisfied. It was speculated that students may
fill in the box about feedback being unsatisfactory even when they have been told that they
won’t receive any.
43.5 Timetable issues – Kai Lui has requested that module coordinators inform the PS
team about the contributors for each module, so that information will show on timetables.
Action: SF to request this information to add to bookings.
43.6 Berne Eccles has reported his concerned about a reduction in student attendance of
lectures over the last 2-3 years, and wonders if this may be because lecture material is available
on Moodle. He would like attendance records to be used for lectures, but it was noted that this
would be impracticable. A discussion ensued about changes in lecturing-style, and the need to
make lectures more of a discussion that use the material online in a dynamic way. It was noted that
some lecturers use group exercises in order to ensure that good attendance is maintained. Tim
Baker would be a useful person to speak with on this.
Action: Action point for this?
43.7 MSc Engineering with Finance. SB plans to replace CEGEM010 Environmental
Systems with something that contains more numerical analysis for finance, and is
discussing options with Computer Science. SB is waiting for the Module Coordinator’s
response to her request. In the longer term SB and Manish Tiwari are discussing the
possibility of creating a new module, but at this point in time no new modules are allowed to
be created, since the department is already overloaded.
7
Action: SB to complete the required form and submit to AG this week. AG will
need to pass this through Chair’s Action. SB also needs to check on prerequisites for the
course, and find out when the exam takes place.
43.8 DS fed-back on MECH310 Design Presentations.
Concern over the level of presentation skills was raised. DW noted that as part of the IEP
there is a big emphasis on presentation skills, so this will be addressed through that
programme.
AG and the committee thanked Douglas Stridsberg for his contribution over this year.
44. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
To note:
44.1
The next meeting of the DTC is scheduled as follows:
Early September – date TBC.
Siobhan Fitzgerald
Senior Teaching and Learning Administrator
Department of Mechanical Engineering
[TEL 0203 108 1346, EXT; 51346, siobhan.fitzgerald@ucl.ac.uk ]
8