The University of Queensland is in the top five Australian universities and the only Queensland university to perform well in a table of teaching quality published for the first time in August 2005. Additionally, UQ won one third of the 2005 Australian Awards for University Teaching plus more than one third of Federal funds for excellence in teaching and learning. These are notable achievements when you consider there are 38 publicly-funded universities in Australia.
The School of ITEE is proud to contribute to UQ's success through its activities in monitoring, reviewing and enhancing the quality of its teaching and learning.
Student involvement
Student representatives are members of School curriculum development and other policy and decision-making committees. An active Student Consultative Committee operates at each of the St Lucia and Ipswich campuses, with representatives from each program and year. The SCC provides a forum for student concerns and has led to changes to teaching and learning.
Analysis and improvement of coursework offerings
The School's Teaching & Learning Committee (TLC) analyses results from various survey instruments, such as the UQ Student Experience Survey, the national Course Experience Questionnaire and Graduate Destination Survey, and ITEE surveys of its international and other students. In the latest available Course Experience Survey (2004), for example, overall satisfaction with undergraduate Electrical Engineering at UQ is the highest of the Group of 8 universities, while in Computer Science, UQ is in equal first place with the University of Melbourne.
ITEE undertakes an annual review of each of its programs, reflecting on survey data, as well as student entry levels, progress, attrition rates, curriculum trends and industry needs.
At the individual course (unit of study) level, ITEE requires all lecturing and tutoring staff to complete a teaching evaluation each semester, in which students are independently surveyed. The results are for the information of individual staff members, but ITEE goes one step further, collating lecturing results for the consideration of the TLC and using tutor results to determine whether re-appointment should occur. Anonymous lecturing results are circulated so staff can see how they are going against their peers. Under-performing staff are offered assistance to improve. A celebratory certificate presentation is held each semester for the top-performing tutors.
A teacher peer review mechanism is under development to complement student evaluations, and a mentoring scheme is in place.
UQ requires each course to be evaluated by students using a Course Evaluation questionnaire at least once every three years. The results are published within the University, and ITEE identifies any courses that are performing 'below par' so that content and delivery can be reviewed. Coordinators of well-performing courses are invited to share their techniques with others.
ITEE takes its quality assurance another step further, conducting Course Audit Forums at the end of semester in each of the three major discipline areas of Engineering, Information Technology, and Interaction Design & Multimedia. Courses are strategically or randomly selected for audit, at which staff consider grade distribution patterns and reflect on what worked and what did not. Staff implement changes on the basis of suggestions from peers.
Analysis and improvement of research higher degree (RHD) student advising
ITEE conducts a comprehensive and independently-collated annual survey of its PhD and MPhil candidates to assess that support is adequate. Results are published to staff and students and considered by the School's Research Committee. Arising from this, improvements have been implemented, such as the development of a Writing Skills Learning Package and creation of a confidential grievance-handling process.
As staff are appointed, their RHD student advising skills are assessed by the School's RHD coordinator and appropriate training is encouraged. Existing staff are encouraged to refresh their skills through in-house training.
Relevance and innovation
ITEE strives for an appropriate balance between theory and practice, with an emphasis on ensuring that our students are ready for not just their first job, but for their career. Each of the three major discipline areas of Engineering, Information Technology, and Interaction Design & Multimedia consults with an Industry Advisory Board at least annually. Leading industry practitioners provide feedback on the relevance and effectiveness of ITEE programs to their needs as employers. Some members host ITEE students on industry placements in their final year of study. The School has also appointed a number of industry representatives as adjunct staff members.
The School encourages the professional development of its staff through UQ and other training schemes. About half of eligible lecturers have gone back to school themselves to complete a Graduate Certificate in Education, to update their teaching practices. ITEE consistently attracts up to one-third of the Faculty's nominations by the best-performing students of the most-effective teachers. Tutors are trained each semester and their performance is evaluated by supervising staff, as well as by students.
Innovation in teaching and learning is encouraged and rewarded:
- ITEE staff have in recent years won UQ Teaching & Learning Awards for innovative curriculum design, RHD student supervision, and outstanding individual effort.
- The School is the driving force behind UQ's collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology iCampus outreach initiative, which is creating greater on-line learning opportunities for students via remote Internet access to real laboratories.
- ITEE has won Faculty funding in recent years to develop new learning approaches, such as Web Log Infrastructure for Student Project Courses, SMS Infrastructure for Student Communication, and Development of a Framework for Online Lab Equipment Access.
Created by School Administrative Manager. Last updated 16 December 2005.