FACULTY OF HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Department of Economics
Departmental Staff-Student Consultative Committee (DSSCC) Meeting
Wednesday 18 November 2015 – Minutes
Student Members Present:
Andreas Charisiadis (Economics, Year 1)
Niranjan Bhardwaj (Economics, Year 1)
Houda Nait el Barj (Economics with a Year Abroad, Year 1)
Kin Kwan Kenneth Fung (Economics, Year 2)
Victoria Kongoasa (Economics, Year 3)
Alexandra Terizakis (Econ/Geog Year 3)
James Yan (Phil/Econ Year 3)
Dhesh Padiachey (Economics with a Year Abroad, Year 4)
Staff Members Present:
Viv Crockford (BSc Programme Administrator)
Balli Sarkaria (UG Teaching & Learning Administrator)
Valerie Lechene (BSc Director)
Martin Cripps (Deputy Head of Department)
Christian Spielmann (Senior Teaching Fellow)
Cloda Jenkins (Senior Teaching Fellow)
Frank Witte (Chair)
Apologies:
Paula Moore (Secretary)
Abdul Ilyas (Econ/Stats Year 2)
1.
Welcome and Introduction
FW opened the meeting, welcomed everyone, and circulated the Terms of
Reference.
2.
Minutes of the Meeting held on Wednesday 18 March 2015
The minutes of the meeting were approved.
3.
Matters Arising
Construction Nuisances / UCL Premises Facilities – FW informed the meeting that
academic staff had been requested to document any issues they may come across
with regard to teaching spaces – e.g. IT problems (Lecturecast / Clickers not working
etc.) and asked whether students would find this a useful exercise to complete also.
The meeting agreed.
Action: FW & colleagues to set up a Moodle survey for students to report issues
connected to teaching spaces.
“You Said, We Did” – FW noted that feedback from students had been very positive
regarding this initiative (located on module Moodle pages) which has been
introduced as a result of student evaluations of modules from 2014/15, and
demonstrates that student feedback can, and does, affect change.
National Student Survey (NSS) – VK asked if the department had met the desired
completion rate of 75% in last year’s NSS. FW confirmed that we had not. A
discussion ensued as to how to improve this for the current year. It was agreed that
direct incentives work best, so the financial incentive would be circulated to students
earlier than last year. Also to make it clear to students regarding the benefits of a
good response which reflect on the degree programme in general for all students.
.
Action: FW/VC to circulate completion rate for 2014/15, approximate time taken to
complete the survey, and amount of questions involved. All to encourage maximum
participation amongst our finalists.
Careers & UCL - CJ reported that there is an UCL Economics Alumni event taking
place on 24th November. A number of alumni have been invited to come back to UCL
and network with our current students and share their career experiences.
Information regarding careers, networking events and jobs is available via CJ’s
Economics Careers Tutor Moodle page as well as the Economists Society who also
advertise events via their Facebook page.
Changes of Assessment – FW reported that the exams for students taking
ECON1004 & ECON1008 (in Year 1) have been merged so that students will now sit
one 3-hr exam (instead of two 2-hr exams) in the main Exam Period April/May.
There have also been changes to ECON7007, ECON7011 & ECON3012 to
incorporate coursework elements counting towards the final mark.
No further matters arose from the last minutes.
4.
StARs Scheme
FW noted that he understood that the representatives were already aware of the
training scheme for StARS that is available via UCLU. No further comments were
made.
5.
Departmental Equal Opportunities Liaison Officer (DEOLO)
FW informed the meeting that the DEOLO is still Nirusha Vigi, who is located in
Room G18c, Ground Floor, Drayton House.
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6.
Research Based Education (RBE)
CS outlined generally what RBE entails and informed the meeting that College is
very keen to push this initiative and to involve students in gaining research
experience from Day 1. The department facilitates this by starting with the First Year
Challenge (FYC) during Induction Week, and continues to provide opportunities to
pursue research throughout the degree programme, mainly via projects in optional
modules, collaborative working within modules, Skills Lab and, of course, the UG
dissertation. A discussion ensued as to how this information is made clear to
students and how best to facilitate their understanding of how to go about
researching. FW mentioned using Google scholar to search for relevant / useful
publications. VL noted that the department imparts knowledge regarding RBE
incrementally over the course of the degree programme, and that links to relevant
publications for further reading and research are usually made available on module
Moodle pages. CJ observed that RBE enhances employability skills: reading,
discerning, condensing, and explaining to a wider audience, all tools which are
invaluable in any career. VK observed that it might be a little unclear in Year’s 1 and
2 but really becomes apparent by Year 3, and that previous preparation in the
modules taken in earlier years facilitates this. NB suggested information be provided
on Moodle to advise students how to develop research skills.
Action: FW & colleagues to compile a checklist of pointers and useful online
resources.
7.
UCL Careers
CJ explained about the Explore Econ conference and hoped everyone was well
aware of this initiative (now in its 2nd year). She explained that it is not departmental
policy to email students about every careers opportunity but that information is
available via the Careers Tutor Moodle page, and recommended that all students
check out the information there which is updated regularly. She also welcomed any
suggestions. HN observed that UCL in general sends out so many emails to
students that are not necessarily relevant, and that it is easy to disregard information
under the sheer volume. Staff members present said that information in the form of
emails to students from the department is kept to a minimum for this very reason and
that the information in the title heading of the email should make the relevance clear.
8.
Student Matters:
KF – Mid-Term Evaluations
KF suggested that, in order to improve response rates, students need to be
incentivised. “You Said, We Did” was a good initiative. Also the practise of giving
students 5-10 mins to complete the evaluations during the lecture reaped benefits (as
was the case in ECON2004), followed by giving out the results and inviting
subsequent discussions. This practice demonstrates immediately to students
whether their opinions are felt by others (or not!) and gives the lecturer a chance to
explain why (s)he can/can’t implement any suggestions. CJ outlined the difference
between mid-term and end-term evaluations. Mid-term evaluations can influence the
module as it is taking place - and thus are of direct benefit – but are generally not
made public. End-term evaluations are publicised as it is especially important that
students have access to this information.
Action: Academic staff to encourage colleagues to follow the above suggestion in
their modules.
Action: Students to raise the above with lecturers if this doesn’t occur.
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KF – Module Selections
KF observed the fact that some modules grew full very early on in the selection
process and made some suggestions to mitigate against this in future, e.g. by asking
students to select their modules in advance so the dept knows the numbers and can
plan accordingly.
FW observed that we are constrained to an extent by UCL’s estate and the lecture
theatres we are given.
VC informed the meeting that, historically, the dept used to ask students to choose
their modules early on in the process but this practice was discontinued since not all
students submitted their selections when required, and those that did made
significant changes after exam results were known. She observed also that students
often make their choices based on elective availability, and also timetabling (often not
confirmed until the current time of selection), and that lecturer delivery played a part
in influencing choice, so changes are often requested after the module has begun.
The dept notes that it would be helpful for students to amend modules themselves in
Portico (up to a cut-off point) but that the system does not facilitate this at present.
We will thus be asking College if this situation can be changed.
9.
Any Other Business
NB – Marking Issues
NB observed that there seems to be a lot of variance amongst and within modules
with regard to coursework marking. He requested that the dept provide more
standardised or model-type solutions. CS stated that the difference in module
content means model answers are not ideal for e.g. discursive modules, where
tutorial classes aim to facilitate discussion and where there may be no “ideal”
answer. Demonstration lectures exist for the purpose of providing a more
standardised model. With regard to the ECON1001 assessment in January, he
assured the meeting that students would be given practice in taking this exam in the
time leading up to it.
VL observed that, throughout the 3 years of the degree programme, students will
encounter a variety of teachers and teaching methods and practices over this time,
which is part of the rich tapestry of learning.
It was at this point that the meeting ran out of time. FW thanked all members for
attending and it was agreed that another informal meeting would be held later on in
the term – date and time tba.
Date of Next Meeting: Wednesday 24 February 2016.
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