1 Introduction
The Faculty of Engineering aims to establish itself as a leading international centre for Engineering and interdisciplinary research underpinning a portfolio of high quality teaching across a full range of engineering disciplines. In this way, the Faculty will contribute to improving the supply of engineering skills to the economy and meeting the emerging shortage of numerate skilled engineering graduates. With this in mind, it is the intention of the Faculty to position itself as the first choice for the majority of prospective Engineering students in Scotland.
2.1
2.1.1 UG Recruitment and Retention
Attracting motivated, well-qualified students remains a key issue for the Faculty. This is also seen as being a key mechanism for improving retention.
In 2006/7 the Faculty failed to reach its UG target of 330 home students even
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• counting SOCRATES/ERASMUS students. In response to this, the Faculty introduced a number of initiatives to boost recruitment:
Establishment of a new Faculty Recruitment & Retention Group.
Two GU based school teachers events to promote Engineering.
Regular newsletters to applicants to maintain contact from initial application to arrival at the start of the programme.
The development of a Faculty promotional DVD.
More flexibility with individual Departmental targets in order to meet overall
Faculty targets.
In 2007/8 the Faculty exceeded its target of 320 home students without considering
SOCRATES/ERASMUS exchange students. This is a welcome development but the UG recruitment position is still not as healthy as it should be and there is still work to be done to attain the required KPI-LT7 of a minimum average of 420 tariff points for the 2008-9 intake. New initiatives are underway. In particular, in October we ran a very successful event bringing together school pupils, current students and professional engineers from industry. This was aimed at attracting school pupils into
Engineering at the same time as being a careers event for current students. It was attended by more that 250 school pupils and ten key employers from the Engineering sector. There is real need for further, closer interaction with schools and this is a key priority for the Faculty.
The retention of undergraduate students is also being addressed by the Faculty through an LTDF funded retention project that is half way through its two year programme.
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The project aims are to:
1. develop an Engineering Personal Development Planning (PDP) website and introduction of this to first years, along with a personal tutor scheme. This also
2. aims to address KPI-LT9, regarding graduate employment.
Set up an attendance monitoring system at all lectures/labs and tutorials for
Mechanical Engineering first year students and identify when and why students attend lectures
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Set up a student mentor scheme with senior Aerospace Engineering undergraduates providing peer support for first years in core courses.
Develop team-building and academically motivating exercises, introduced from induction for EEE students.
Provide pre-entry information packs for all students accepting a place at
Glasgow.
Pilot early (week 3 or earlier) formative assessment and feedback for first year students through a range of mechanisms including diagnostic testing in mathematics using a system originally developed in FIMS.
Overseas undergraduate numbers have grown slightly between 2006/7 and 2007/8 and this is an area of potential growth. We have been actively engaging with potential international partners; two split degree programmes currently under consideration are with MDIS in Singapore and IST in Pakistan.
2.2.2 PGT Recruitment
As well as recruiting to established degree programmes, we successfully diversified our portfolio of taught postgraduate courses in a cost-effective manner. In 2006/7 we introduced a suite of Engineering with Management PGT programmes across the disciplines and in 2007/8 we introduced a new programme in Electronics Design.
These programmes, primarily focused on the overseas market, produced a 36% increase in PGT numbers in 2006/7. Numbers dropped slightly in 2007/8 when overseas PGT numbers in the institution as a whole dropped. New programmes aimed at addressing KPI-LT1 & LT3 are in development and are discussed later.
3. SWOT Analysis
3.1 Learning and Teaching
Faculty’s Strengths
A broad base of fully accredited core UG degree programmes
How can the identified strengths be used to help the University?
Consistent with a leading UK University and breadth of provision protects core income stream from market fluctuations in specific subjects
Only Aerospace UG degree programme in Scotland
Civil Engineering UG programme with
Distinctive elements of the provision raise visibility
Protection of core income streams and
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core emphasis on structural engineering currently attracting high numbers of applicants
Successful cross-disciplinary courses such as PDE, Electronics with Music and
Civil Eng. with Architecture
The Faculty has successfully launched a number of PGT programmes in the last few years that are working well.
Faculty’s Weaknesses
Home/EU UG recruitment weak in terms of number of fully qualified students
Engineering attracts
GU is not viewed by all West of Scotland school leavers as the “University for
Engineering”.
UG retention levels are poor
PGT provision is not fully developed
NSS results are not good for the Faculty
External Opportunities
GU has made little penetration into the
UG market share of other Scottish
Universities. The opportunity to boost intake standards by positioning GU as the leader in this market exists. potential for growth
Consistent with the multi-disciplinary research culture and environment
Use the model for these programmes to expand the portfolio.
How can the identified weaknesses be stopped or removed?
We recruit largely from the West of
Scotland where engagement with schools has been poor in the past.
There is a need for active engagement with schools to raise the profile of GU
Engineering. Other universities do this well. We must do this better and the appointment of a Faculty based schools liaison officer working closely with RAPS will improve the situation.
The Faculty has instituted a number of schemes to tackle retention but these must be backed up by a rise in entrance standards if real inroads are to be made.
Once again, recruitment is the key issue here.
PGT provision is increasing across the board. It is being targeted in areas of demand. Courses in Telecoms and
Aerospace Systems are planned for
2008 start and Chemical Engineering is under discussion.
We have not engaged with students about this in the past. There is much more effort going into this now and results will improve.
How can the identified opportunities be exploited?
We hold all the cards in terms of history and esteem. We have not been aggressive enough in recruitment in the past. Direct engagement with pupils, parents and teachers though a schools liaison officer, backed by applicant follow up and a strong web presence will improve our position and intake standard.
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There is no UG provision in Biomedical
Engineering in Scotland. GU has recruited one of the UK’s leading experts in this area and has critical mass in
Engineering, Medicine and FBLS to deliver such a course.
Fee structures in England may present an opportunity to diversify UG intake.
The GIC intake will potentially boost UG and PG overseas student numbers.
Overseas and home PGT markets have been identified and are being exploited in areas such as telecoms and aerospace systems. Further opportunities exist, particularly in relation to the oil and gas industry and could be exploited.
External Threats
UG home intake is still overly dependent on Aerospace Engineering – a competitor could mount a rival course.
The NSS results will impact on league tables adversely for Engineering
Overseas PGT markets are volatile and unpredictable.
Market variations between disciplines require flexibility in provision that currently does not exist.
Discussions are underway within the
Faculty and will soon extend to Medicine and FBLS. The intention is to introduce a UG course in 2009. Experience suggests that this will attract highly qualified students to GU who would not otherwise have come here. There is a real opportunity here to grow the UG intake.
GU as a whole should go after the
English market. Engineering has kept an eye on the 14-19 diploma developments there to make sure we can secure applicants through that route is appropriate.
We must make sure integration of these students into our courses is as seamless as possible. Good working relationships with GIC staff have been established through which this issue is being addressed.
Close working with IPS will allow us to make informed choices for course development. Telecoms and Aerospace
Systems are good examples of this.
The portfolio will continue to develop in this way.
How can the identified threats be mitigated against?
UG recruitment across the board is a major priority for the Faculty. By strengthening other areas, the dependence on aerospace will diminish.
In the meantime, Aerospace must continue to market aggressively.
Improve significantly next time.
Creative use of existing courses to form new programmes in areas of demand can mitigate this effect.
The structure of the Faculty is currently under review. Departmental boundaries are too rigid and have to come down if we are to improve efficiency in teaching, research and administration.
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Population demographics suggest that we will be competing for a larger slice of a smaller cake at UG level.
The TUR for Engineering could change.
Evidence is emerging to suggest that
GIC may fail to deliver expected numbers of undergraduate Engineering students.
Improved positioning in the Scottish market and further penetration into the
English market will mitigate this.
Balancing the income portfolio to remove the dependency on the UG teaching grant in all sectors of the Faculty will mitigate this effect.
This has been attributed, in part, to poor exposure of GU in the Middle East market. The Internationalisation
Working Group, IPS, and the newly appointed regional champion for the
Middle East must develop a strategy to raise the profile of GU in this region.
There is also a need to explore the potential for three year honours degrees.
The Faculty is engaged in this process.
4. Faculty Strategic Objectives
2. Internationally renowned for enquiry led learning
2.a Raise entry tariff above 430 by 2010
2.b Improve year 1 to 2 progression rates to > 90% by 2010
2.c Increase numbers of overseas taught students in line with Faculty Targets between now and 2010
2.d Significantly improve NSS scores in the coming year and to Faculty target by 2010
2.e Strengthen the current undergraduate taught profile through the development of innovative high-quality courses, strategic partnerships and flexible provision.
3. Leading postgraduate University
3.b Expand range of PGT provision with the aim of increasing PGT numbers to >150 by 2010
5. A great place to study research and work
5.a. Improve efficiency and structure of the working environment to maximise opportunities for quality research and teaching
Objective Actions required
2a i) The Faculty must engage more directly with schools and parents to raise the profile of GU Engineering. To do this, the Faculty is appointing a Schools Liaison Officer (3 days per week) to work with the
Engineering Departments and the schools to increase interaction. ii) The Faculty must offer a more attractive portfolio of courses. Biomedical Engineering courses attract highly qualified students and we
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2b
2c
2d
2e
3b are uniquely placed to introduce such a degree. We will do this in
2009. To reflect the changes in the Aerospace Industry, the current
Avionics degree will be replaced by an Aerospace Systems degree in
2009. i) Increased entry standards will impact favourably on progression rates ii) Current retention schemes including PDP, attendance monitoring, student mentoring, team building, early formative assessment and the issuing of pre-entry packs will be continually evaluated and expanded where effective.
The range of PGT provision will be extended as identified in 3b below and courses will be carefully marketed through IPS and Faculty staff.
Care will be taken to integrate GIC students into Faculty courses to ensure retention for future years
We have initiated an electronic mimic of the NSS for all students in the earlier years. In addition to the 1 – 5 answers, we will ask students to write suggestions for improvement – being specific to their degree programme/course if possible. Students will be able to elect to remain anonymous, but will have to identify degree programme and year.
Students will be encouraged to identify themselves and also to volunteer for follow-up focus groups. Departments are also exploring opportunities for enhanced feedback mechanisms for students.
The Faculty has developed a course structure for an undergraduate
Biomedical Engineering degree programme. This has been done in conjunction with FBLS and there is market demand in this area. Such a course would be unique in Scotland and help to cement the growing reputation of the University in Biomedical Engineering research. The course has the potential to attract highly qualified students who would not otherwise come to Glasgow. Given the current national priority in
Health, there is also the potential to attract additional funded places.
An MoU has been developed between the Department of Aerospace
Engineering and the Institute of Space Technologies in Pakistan to allow students to study for two years there and then gain direct entry into the third year of the Aeronautical degree programme at GU. This will increase overseas student numbers. Negotiations are continuing with IST to determine likely numbers. Current estimates are between 6 and 10 initially in year 2010/11.
The Faculty is currently negotiating to set up collaborative programmes with MDIS in Singapore.
The range of PGT provision will be extended as follows:
Telecoms Electronics 2008/9
Aerospace Systems 2008/9
Chemical Engineering with Management 2008/9
Aerospace Engineering 2009/10
These are all courses for which there is a known market (IPS).
Discussions are currently underway to examine the potential for an
M.Sc. in Chemical and Process Engineering 2009/10. This would require coordination with physical Sciences and could lead to a broader activity. Other M.Sc. courses currently being considered are
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Renewable Energy Technologies, Nanofabrication and Music
Technology.
Recent meetings between the Faculty and the Glasgow School of Art have highlighted the potential to develop an M.Sc. programme in
Product Design Engineering. Both organisations are currently exploring the potential to deliver this course in 2009/10
6. Key Performance Indicators
06/07
(actual)
07/08
(est)
08/09
(f’cst)
09/10
( f’cst)
10/11
(f’cst)
Learning & Teaching
Undergraduate student FTE 939 980 990 1000 1010
PG Headcount
Non EU student Headcount
255 270 300 307 310
164 189 204 215 238
Year 1 to 2 progression rates (%) 82% 84% 87% 90% 94%
UG Entry standards
Student from neighbourhoods (%) low participation
NSS data (student satisfaction) (%)
410 >410 >420 >430 >430
14% 14% 14% 15% 16%
73% 79% 85% >90% >90%
Undergraduate leavers in further study or 69% 80% 85% 85% 85% graduate level jobs (%)
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