student feedback and leadership - Office for Learning and Teaching

Student Feedback & Leadership
One of its priority areas identified in the Academic Plan 2006-2010 is the
need to:
improve the student experience, particularly in regard to the quality
of teaching.
The Plan recognises the need to listen to what students are telling us, especially
in light of the fact that (using the Good Teaching Scale of the Course Experience
Questionnaire), while student satisfaction with teaching varies across programs and
disciplines, it is generally low. The areas identified as requiring improvement are:
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the use of on-line technologies;
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the quality of feedback provided to students;
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the quality of service teaching and teaching in large classes;
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student access to teaching staff;
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the need for more formative and student-centered assessment practices;
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the quality of facilities that support teaching and student life.
Thus both the Strategic Plan 2010 and the Academic Plan (2006-2010) support
and expand the University commitment to the RMIT Student Feedback Policy
(2005) that has the objectives of:
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Enhancing the student experience through the systematic collection and
analysis of student feedback as a basis for improvement activities.
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Recognising and sustaining good practice by providing data to assist staff
in improving professional practice and the scholarship of teaching and
to inform the development of processes which recognise and reward
good teaching.
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Enhancing the student experience by providing students with the opportunity
to actively participate in the continual improvement of their program and
course via a range of feedback methods.
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Ensuring the provision of information to students regarding the purpose and
outcomes of student feedback collected over time, including action taken
to address concerns.
Action taken to implement these strategies included the establishment
of a Learning and Teaching Innovation Fund (LTIF). As the project developed,
links between Academic Plan and the project were strengthened through
the funding of proposals for change to learning and teaching practice that
had arisen from within the project.
Paralleling the identification of the links between this project and the RMIT's strategic
direction, action was undertaken to establish the multi-level Leadership project
approach. The project was designed to enable formal and informal leadership
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