The Higher Education Academy Summit programme
Developing Inclusive Learning and Teaching
Final Report – UHI Millennium Institute
Work being undertaken
The overall aim of the UHInclusion programme is to ensure that the UHI learning
experience supports the individual success of all our students, without discrimination.
It is an initiative with two distinct phases:
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Phase 1: Clearly articulating where we are and where we want to be in terms of
the UHI student experience (During the HEA Summit programme).
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Phase 2: Making inclusion part of everyday practice - the normalisation of
inclusive practice (Post HEA Summit programme).
Institutional context
UHI Millennium Institute (UHI) is addressing a historical wrong: half the landmass of
Scotland, with some of the most rural and isolated communities in Western Europe,
has never had a university situated in, and serving, its dispersed region. As a
collegiate and federal partnership of colleges, research institutions and learning
centres, UHI is uniquely of, and for, the communities it serves in the Highlands and
Islands of Scotland.
It is transforming the economic, social and cultural life of the Highlands and Islands
by creating a university for the region which builds on local roots in education and
research, offers relevant, situated curricula and a blended learning delivery
pedagogy that suits the needs of its communities. Designated a higher education
institution in 2002, since August 2008 UHI has had the power to award its own
degrees; a major step towards establishing the University of the Highlands and
Islands.
Its mission is to be a distinctive and innovative regional university of national and
international significance: a university with a pivotal role in the educational,
economic, social, cultural and environmental infrastructure of its region and which
reaches out to the people of the Highlands and Islands and the rest of the world
through its research and teaching.
This is translated into the strategic aim of making a transformational contribution to
the economic, environmental, social and cultural development of the region. It is
doing this by, inter alia, contributing to the sustainability of fragile communities and
the regional environment, supporting the development and enhancement of the
Gaelic language, culture and heritage, identifying and targeting underrepresented
groups in higher education within the region, and optimising opportunities for local
access to higher education using the latest developments in learning technology.
President McAleese of Ireland described UHI in 2003 as “The greatest, the most
inclusive adventure in education ever undertaken in the Highlands and Islands and
possibly in these islands. The widely dispersed colleges of this institute, linked by
new technologies, delivering education in a stimulating and imaginative way and
enjoying broad local support, are powerful engines of enterprise and renewal.”
For UHI, inclusion is at the heart of its mission: with a history of regional
depopulation, a low wage labour market and major demographic challenges, it is a
project with lofty regional regeneration and development ambitions.
The Highlands and Islands of Scotland
The Highlands and Islands cover over half the landmass of Scotland, with less than
10% of the population. There are around 80 inhabited islands with towns and
communities dispersed across the region. There has been some population growth
this decade, but there are considerable variations across the region with some areas
experiencing continuing depopulation.
Figure 1: Population in the Highlands and Islands
Source: General Register Office for Scotland
With the creation of Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh in 2007, that city, with a
broadly similar sized population to the Highlands and Islands has four local
universities to serve the needs of its community: the Highlands and Islands still does
not have one.
The area has a relatively smaller proportion of the population aged 16 to 44 years,
reflecting the out-migration of younger generations. With, historically, a high value
being placed on the benefits of tertiary education, the lack of higher education
provision in the region contributes to a net loss of young people. Figure 2 illustrates
that if the Highlands and Islands were to have the same demographic profile as
Scotland, there would be an extra 20,000 people aged between 16 and 44 years.
Figure 2: Population in Highlands & Islands and Scotland by Age Group,
2006
Source: General Register Office for Scotland (adapted)
Since 2001, there has been a rise in the number of people of pensionable age and a
decrease in the number of children, reflecting a population that is ageing faster than
in Scotland as a whole. The region is also marked by a low wage economy relative
to the rest of the country and lower levels of productivity.
The rate of employment is higher than the Scottish rate with the public
administration, education and health sector the largest employer and, perhaps not
surprisingly given the rich natural beauty of the region, employment in the tourism
related sector higher than in the rest of the country. Self employment is also
relatively high.
A regionally-based university would contribute towards sustainable population
growth by providing opportunities for younger people to live and study in the area. It
would also have the potential to underpin various aspects of economic development,
including improvements in skills development and lifelong learning, development of
the knowledge economy, and the strengthening of remote and rural communities.
UHI Millennium Institute
“It was acknowledged from the beginning of the UHI project that any
new university serving this vast and complex region would have to
be different. Even if it was desirable to follow an old model when the
potential existed to create something dynamic and new, a traditional,
single leafy campus was unlikely to meet the disparate needs of
places as far apart culturally and geographically as Argyllshire,
Shetland, Skye, Dingwall and Lochaber.” (Hills and Lingard,
2004:64).
In 1975, at a conference organised by the regional economic development board in
Inverness, the distinguished Highland educationalist Dr Farquhar MacIntosh
proposed that a new Highlands and Islands University should take a radically
different form. Instead of a single campus, the institution should amalgamate the new
and old colleges and learning centres which were scattered throughout the region, to
form “a federal university or polyversity for the Highlands.” (ibid:22) Dr Macintosh’s
innovative proposal was given impetus and drive by the development in the early
1990s of a range of new technologies, including the internet and video conferencing
which meant that for the first time the geographic barriers could be effectively
overcome in the Highlands and Islands. These developments were recognised at
another conference held in Skye in 1992 to debate the new university. Sir Robert
Cowan, chairman of HIE, told delegates and speakers from across Scotland and
northern Europe that: “We have to eschew conventional thinking. We have to aim for
something radically different and of supremely high quality . . . The University must
be widely accessible to new sectors of our population, flexible in format and delivery
- and here our new information technology capability will be an important factor.”
(ibid:43).
UHI is now a federal partnership of colleges and research institutions, the academic
partners, with strong roots in their respective communities and a unifying mission
(Theodore, 2006). This collegiate structure and the links to the diverse communities
of the Highlands and Islands are potentially key strengths of the institution. Through
its constituent colleges and research institutions, UHI delivers a wide range of higher
education across the Highlands and Islands, including degree and higher national
courses, continuing professional development and lifelong learning, research
degrees and research programmes. It has built upon existing facilities and
infrastructure, rather than developing a central green field campus, to develop an
institution that seeks to join up tertiary sector provision. UHI was designated as a
higher education institution in 2001 by the Scottish Executive and gained degree
awarding powers in 2008.
UHI is trying to develop new and innovative solutions to post-compulsory education:
including widening access to ‘non-traditional’ students, seamless progression
between further and higher education, lifelong learning and the use of new
technologies. It is a distributed model of higher education using technology where
necessary to provide access to learning materials and existing infrastructure to
support that learning in local communities. The academic partners have a network of
learning centres in some remote island and mainland communities to enable access
to their provision from those not based near the main campuses, as well as provision
that is entirely online.
The geographical dislocation and sparcity of population of the region are amongst
the greatest challenges facing UHI. UHI staff often comment that they cover an area
the size of Belgium with a population the size of Brussels. Substantial use is made of
VLE, video-conferencing facilities to overcome distance: on any particular day UHI is
usually making more use of video-conferencing than the rest of the UK higher
education sector combined. UHI is not a “virtual” institution, however, and it is the
physical presence of staff in academic and support roles across the region that
underpin the student experience.
UHI delivers lifelong learning opportunities to students who would be unable
otherwise to access higher education due to personal or social circumstances and,
increasingly, attracts students to the area to study on a range of courses distinctive
to the culture, environment and industries of the region. UHI is also unusual in the
way that it links up further (FE) and higher education. Most of the academic partners
were FE colleges prior to UHI’s establishment, and FE provision continues to form
the bulk of their operations. However, since the same colleges also offer HE
opportunities under the UHI banner, it is possible for someone to progress from FE
to HE in the same building, with the same group of peers and often with the same
lecturers.
UHI bases its provision on the Scottish Curriculum and Qualifications Framework
(SCQF) and offers a very flexible system of exit and entry points and progression
routes to try to encourage students to engage in learning in a way that suits their
own circumstances. A brief portrait of UHI:
 Delivered university-level courses to 8,156 students in 2008-2009.
 Has awarded more than 1600 undergraduate degrees since 1999.
 Is the only higher education institution (HEI) based in the Highlands and Islands
of Scotland.
 Achieved taught degree awarding powers (tDAP) in 2008.
 Provides access to university-level study through a partnership of colleges and
research institutions.
 Provides Gaelic language learning opportunities and delivers degrees through
the medium of Gaelic.
 Has an associated network of over 50 outreach learning centres.
 Is the UK leader in using video conferencing technologies in education - not to
create a virtual institution but to bring people together so that they can learn from
and with each other.
 Includes over 40 undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses and over 100
higher national awards and other vocational qualifications with flexible ways of
studying.
 61% of our students study on a part-time basis.
 61% of our students are over 25 years old.
 Covers half the land mass of Scotland, including many islands.
The HEA Summit programme offered UHI a framework to continue the development
of its inclusive learning and teaching practices, to learn from other institutions, to
provide some intellectual space to reflect on how the above context has informed
and shaped our students’ experiences and to identify and improve what needed to
be done.
Strategy
The small team working on the HEA Summit programme decided that the
overarching approach would be to pull together existing practice and initiatives with
the planning framework to identify strengths and areas for improvement. Inclusive
learning and teaching vision underpins a great deal of UHI’s mission including the
following strategic objectives:
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Enhance the employability of our graduates (Objective 3)..
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Be a centre of excellence for the development and enhancement of the Gaelic
language, culture and heritage (Objective 4).
Enhance the impact of our cultural engagement activity (Objective 5).
Contribute to the sustainability of fragile communities within our region, ensuring
growth is shared (Objective 7).
Enhance the student learning experience, including the social dimension of
learning (Objective 8).
Achieve optimal outcomes in all areas of external quality assurance (Objective
11).
Deliver learning that is relevant, flexible and adaptable to the needs of employers
and individuals (Objective 12).
Optimise opportunities for local access to higher education for students who are
not geographically mobile (Objective 13).
Identify and target under-represented groups in higher education within the
region (objective 14).
Activities completed or currently in progress
Institutional Analysis
An analysis of UHI in relation to inclusive learning and teaching concluded that
current strengths included the following:
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Institutional mission statement that supports inclusive teaching and learning.
Highly motivated staff with strong commitment to widening participation and
student success.
Already demonstrably a widening access institution.
Expertise in designing and developing online and blended learning material that
enhances inclusive teaching and learning, especially to remote and rural
students.
Significant investment in Wider Area Network and capital investment in
distributed campuses and learning centres.
Geographical spread of staff and students: providing local access to learning.
Experience of overcoming challenges of rurality.
Equal Opportunities Committee and Equality and Diversity working group.
Expertise in use of videoconferencing.
Networked student support.
Previous research, for example, induction for non-traditional students.
LEARN and e-learning teams (see below).
SDB funded posts in retention, progression and networked support.
Experience of bilingualism.
It also concluded that there were the following drivers for change:
Internal drivers
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UHI Strategic plan underpinned by aspirations about inclusion.
Need to improve UHI’s student retention figures.
UHI’s blended and increasingly networked curriculum architecture and delivery
model must balance need to use technology to reach isolated students with the
potentially excluding nature of e-learning for some students.
Equality and diversity, and inclusive learning and teaching, as themes in the new
Quality Management process.
Evidence from UHI and national student surveys.
Anecdotal evidence of exclusive practice gathered by UHInclusion team.
Development of UHI student engagement strategy.
Existing good practice: aim to be champions of excellence.
Bilingualism.
Need to enhance UHI’s ‘university-ness’ in preparation for title application.
Need to revise UHI Student Charter and define UHI student entitlements.
External drivers
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Equality legislation – imminent single equalities framework but generally low level
of awareness of equalities issues across UHI.
Changing general population demographics and greater student diversity,
including more international students.
QAA Graduates for the 21st century Quality Enhancement theme;
Employability agenda.
External stakeholder expectations.
Scottish Funding council’s Learning for all and Access and Inclusion Committee
putting greater emphasis on social inclusion.
Existing research evidence about the moral and business case.
Enabling Plans
The UHI Strategic Plan is underpinned by a series of operational ‘enabling plans.
UHInclusion activities are directly and explicitly included in these plans and are now
being updated, implemented and monitored on an ongoing basis.
Inclusive learning and teaching: a vision for UHI
Using the model presented at the HEA Summit residential, the UHInclusion team
submitted the following vision statement to the UHI Learning and Teaching
Committee. This was warmly welcomed by the committee and the VP (Academic)
was keen to ensure that the vision was linked into the UHI Core Values statement
currently in development as part of the Graduates for the 21st Century Enhancement
Theme.
UHI is fully committed to inclusive learning and teaching, and manages
the learning experience to achieve this:
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Diverse student perspectives are proactively sought and acted upon.
Students are engaged with high level policy setting.
Commitment is long term and sustainable.
There is genuine and proactive senior management commitment across the
partnership.
Inclusive learning and teaching is reflected in appropriate policies, strategies and
procedures.
It is embedded in quality assurance and enhancement practices.
Sufficient human, financial and physical resources are committed to it.
Staff recruitment, development, recognition and reward processes promote
inclusive learning and teaching.
Monitoring, data, research and evaluation are used for continual improvement.
UHI’s curriculum is designed to be inclusive for all students.
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The curriculum is based on an analysis of student entitlements, and is sufficiently
flexible to meet these changing requirements.
It is culturally sensitive and varied, offering different perspectives and building on
students’ educational backgrounds, interests and experiences.
Timing of delivery is accessible to all students.
Inclusive learning and teaching is promoted within validation, revalidation and
review processes as well as the quality assurance framework..
There are opportunities for individual pathways within coherent programmes
There is appropriate use of technology.
Consideration is given to the range of stakeholders engaged in delivery.
An equality impact assessment is used to identify the extent to which a course is
inclusive of all students.
UHI works in partnership with professional bodies to ensure competence or
fitness to practice standards do not discriminate against particular student
groups.
The curriculum is delivered across UHI’s provision to be inclusive of all
students.
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There is student-centred learning.
There is flexibility with regard to location, timing and delivery methods.
Delivery is tailored to individual entitlements and requirements.
Accessible practices are used with regard to resources and materials, location,
pace, delivery style, availability in advance, different formats and so on.
There is a range of modes of delivery.
Peer interaction and support are promoted and facilitated.
Attention is paid to discrimination and awareness raising amongst students and
staff.
Each UHI student is able to develop academically, professionally and
personally to fulfil their potential.
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Support is based on a positive view, rather than a deficit view of students from
diverse backgrounds.
Student development spans the whole student lifecycle from pre-entry to
progression into the labour market or further study.
Induction is planned to maximise learning and development.
Academic and professional development are embedded into disciplines and
proactively delivered.
Additional specialised academic development is provided.
Personal development is embedded into the curriculum.
Student development is recognised and accredited.
All students have access to appropriate information, advice and guidance and
support services regardless of location.
Assessment and feedback are designed, implemented and managed to
meet the needs of all students.
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There is transparency and clarity of assessment processes and related issues
A range of assessment methods are used.
Assessment systems and procedures are sufficiently flexible to give all students
an opportunity to meet the learning outcomes.
There are early assessment points and timely use of constructive formative
assessment and feedback.
There are realistic grading systems.
Procedures and monitoring are put in place to encourage and share good
practice amongst staff.
Assessment is linked to student support and development services.
Accessibility and usability built into development of teaching materials
UHI have embarked on an extensive two year project to enhance the student
experience of learning in UHI through the increased use of blended and networked
approaches to learning. The Learning Enhancement and Research Network project
(LEARN) is a European Social Fund project. This project has three strands:
development of materials and networks, staff development and research, each
providing a mechanism to enhance the student experience for all students. The
project also provides the opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of
inclusive learning and teaching and help to ensure that new materials are compliant
with disability legislation.
The project includes working intensively with staff teams from eight different subject
areas from across eight different academic partners. Staff are given training and
advice on methods of making programmes engaging and interactive and are
supported though the process of redesign, development and evaluation of the
materials. The new approaches developed will enhance learning and teaching for all
students but will also help to make the curriculum more accessible and inclusive.
Many of the things that help to make materials more inclusive involve only minor
modifications at the time of design and development and are achievable with little
additional resource and time. The main issue is therefore raising awareness of the
importance of addressing the issues of accessibility and inclusivity at an early stage
and making them a natural part of the design process. This should then become part
of the institutions quality assurance and enhancement process.
The project is raising awareness of the importance of a blended approach to delivery
and the most effective use of a wide range of different experiences, technologies and
methodologies. This will enhance learning and teaching for all students whilst also
helping with accessibility, allowing students to choose the most suitable access to
learning to meet their personal needs. Examples of this are the use of audio and
video in online material e.g. voiceovers, podcasts, video demonstrations etc.
Early feedback from one of the newly developed learning objects has already
indicated that students have found the new material beneficial and that one student
with additional needs has found the interactive nature of the material very helpful.
Full evaluation of all new materials will be completed after they have been delivered
to students. If evaluations are positive then this will encourage faculties to extend
this practice to all new developments.
Slight changes to formatting of materials can make an impact on accessibility e.g.
allowing screen readers to identify headings etc. Raising awareness of these issues
is essential and again if implemented at the development phase involve no extra
costs. Core project staff development therefore included raising awareness of basic
issues and will involve input from JISC TechDis on the subject.
Early review of materials at the design phase has been instigated and is important
for both accessibility and usability. Ensuring that the template used is fit for purpose
before proceeding with full development is essential both to ensure the quality of the
finished product and to save costs in late changes.
One of the core projects has involved students at a very early stage of development
asking advice about the need for the new materials, the content and the design. This
early engagement with students is fairly unique within UHI and it is hoped that this
practice will be more widely adopted.
As part of the LEARN project a toolkit is being produced with details of development
templates, guides to the use of technology, how to support students in the delivery of
this material, examples of good practice etc. creating a legacy for future
development.
The next steps include:
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Continuing to raise awareness of the importance of inclusive curriculum at early
design stages.
Working to ensure that this becomes part of programme and institutional quality
assurance processes.
Review of EOC
The Equal Opportunities Committee is one of the committees of the Board of
Governors, that UHI is required to have in terms of our funding from the Scottish
Funding Council. As such this committee is still in existence. As part of the HEA
Summit programme and to ensure that we are meeting the needs of the organisation
as a whole, we are undertaking a review to determine whether the committee is
fulfilling its remit and whether individual committee members are contributing to the
achievement of this.
Faculty development days and review of staff manual
The institutional analysis suggested that staff development around inclusion and
equalities was a key imperative. A series of equalities development days have been
run in each of the four UHI faculties. In addition, the following sections of the staff
manual have been reviewed and updated:
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Dignity at work policy.
Healthy working lives.
New contents page.
The Red Button
Another outcome from the institutional analysis was the need for UHI to enhance our
service to our students on a continuous basis. Specifically, we need to find ways to
identify and resolve problems more quickly than is sometimes the case, particularly
given that our students are spread over vast geographic distances.
If a student’s expectations have not been met, their Student Adviser is the best
person to provide advice and support. If they are unsure who their Student Adviser
is, they can contact their programme leader, tutor or student support team at their
UHI Academic Partner. The recent Quality Monitoring discussions with Academic
Partners suggested that there can be delays between a problem arising and an
answer being provided through the formal channels.
If a student does not know who to contact, or would like to tell us something about
their experience as a UHI student, then The Red Button is now one of the ways we
can ensure that our service is inclusive. It is a simple, web-based feedback
mechanism, with supporting marketing and awareness raising material, that allows
students to tell us when things go wrong, and the normal channels of restitution have
not worked. It is located at www.uhi.ac.uk/students/redbutton
Student Charter
As indicated at the start of this paper the aim of Phase one of UHI was clearly
articulating where we are and where we want to be in terms of the UHI student
experience. An important element of this articulation will be a new UHI Student
Charter. At time of writing this is approaching final draft stage and will be submitted
for approval to the appropriate bodies for implementation in 2010-11. This Charter
states what one can expect and are entitled to as a UHI student. Students also have
responsibilities, and the Charter sets out UHI’s expectations in respect of the part
they should play as an active and independent co-creator of your own learning.
UHI is committed to equality of opportunity and values diversity in all aspects of its
operations. This Charter applies to all potential and enrolled students of UHI and has
been developed to ensure that all students have the opportunity to maximise their
educational potential at UHI.
Key successes
The HEA Summit programme’s success at UHI is largely grounded in the following:
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Working as a cohesive and supportive group.
Gaining the support of senior managers from an early stage.
Having the opportunity to take a step back and think strategically.
Initial involvement of UHI Students Association (UHISA) as part of the
UHInclusion team.
Undertaking the institutional review and then following up with strategic and
operational interventions.
Challenges that have been over come
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No additional time or budget was allocated to UHInclusion. Where funding was
required, core budgets were diverted and wherever possible individual
responsibilities and UHInclusion developments were aligned as closely as
possible.
UHISA went through a difficult year and both sabbatical officers left their posts
early in their tenure. Great support was given by other students, in particular the
UHISA President from 08-09 whose input was invaluable, but plans to involve the
student association more in the outputs and initiatives, such as running student
forums, were curtailed.
Restructuring of UHI Executive Office took place during the programme which led
to changed responsibilities and organisational positions for members of the
UHInclusion team. Despite being potentially fatal to the ambitions of the team, the
experiences of participating on the HEA Summit programme, particularly the
residential and workshops, had created a cohesive, strong bond between team
members that allowed progress to continue despite the disruption.
Future plans
Plans for phase 2 of UHInclusion are currently in development. Broadly they focus
on:
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Identification of funding.
Collection of data.
Staff and student surveys.
Records management review.
House styles.
Publishing guidance.
Development of project proposal for LEARN 2.
Reflecting back
On reflection, the team agree that we were probably too ambitious in our initial aims.
Without the underpinning, discrete resources, we were forced to adapt and
continually re-evaluate our action plan, which we kept updated as a ‘live’ document
for all team members and reviewed regularly. Undoubtedly, though, the Summit
programme allowed us to engender a great focus on the student experience and the
need to be inclusive in our strategic planning and our operational practice. An
unexpected and very pleasant outcome was the strengthening of personal and
professional bonds between team members which will serve us very well as we
proceed with phase 2 of the programme, and with our areas of shared interest.
Lessons for other institutions
UHI is a unique institution with particular strengths and particular challenges. Just as
some approaches would not work within UHI, we do not claim to have found any
universal truths to share with colleagues elsewhere. Nevertheless, key
considerations for anyone else participating in the HEA Summit in future would
include:
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Being realistic about what you can achieve in its short fame.
Getting time and funding dedicated to the programme.
Getting and maintaining senior management support from the outset.
Maximising the internal and external PR opportunities to raise awareness and
garner support.
Involving students in the design and implementation of the programme.
Articulating and demonstrating ‘added value’ and institutional benefit through
inclusive learning and teaching.
Specifically, framing a business case for inclusion particularly in discussions with
senior managers.
We would be happy to share our ongoing experiences with colleagues at other
institutions at any point.
UHInclusion Team
9 March 2010
References
Hills, G, and Lingard, R. (2004) UHI: the making of a university, Edinburgh, Dunedin
Academic Press.
Theodore, C., (2006) ‘Moor or Less? What can the Scottish University of the
Highlands and Islands mean for an integrated, locally-delivered mode of community
and higher education in Gippsland?, paper at Lifelong Learning Conference, CQ
University, Australia, 15th June