The most recent Coventry University Framework for Professional Recognition (CUFPA) panel was held in March 2024. The categories of fellowship awarded were as follows:

• Principal Fellow: 1
• Senior Fellow: 19
• Fellow: 10
• Associate Fellow: 2

Huge Congratulations to you all on your successful completion!

We look forward to receiving applications for the next panel. Confirmation of submission dates, details and all resources to support applications can be found on the  Advance HE Recognition section of the Academic Enhancement and Professional Development (AEPD) website.  Webinars introducing the framework and the process of application are listed on the course booking system

Congratulations to all sixty-eight PgCAPHE March 2024 graduates!  (Picture above is Dr Gloria Oliomogbe, Coventry University London Campus). It was great to see so many of you at the graduation ceremony and wonderful to hear about the development of practice in individual contexts. I am delighted to share with you, and all Coventry University Group PgCAPHE graduates, a new opportunity which offers space for continued collective dialogue around learning, teaching, and assessment.

Working in partnership with thirteen PgCAPHE graduates, I am trialling the idea of a five-strand alumni framework with a series of pilot activities throughout May 2024 with the intention that this will shape a permanent alumni programme moving forward. Each activity within the pilot will offer opportunities to advance practice, providing the beginning of a sequential and supported space to gather the range of experiences required to achieve recognition as Senior Fellow (SFHEA).  The five strands of activity included within the pilot will be:

• Connect: Informal get togethers offering time to catch up, check in, swap ideas, and eat cake!
• Co-Create:  An invitation to share and exchange practice around a given theme leading to a collective output.
• Publish: Call-Outs and guidance to support writing up practice for publication and conference presentation.
• Learn: Guest speakers, information, and resources to advance practice and explore what’s new in HE.
• Lead: Opportunities to mentor, guide, and share experiences with new and early career academics

If you are interested in participating in the pilot series of activities or would like to support the programme as a guest speaker, please do get in touch with me and I will share further details and timings of each activity.

Tamar MacLellan: ad5070@coventry.ac.uk

Dr Christina Magkoufopoulou and Dr Misrah Mohamed, Academic Developers at AEPD, recently secured £10,000 in funding for a QAA Collaborative Enhancement Project. Coventry University will be the lead institution for the project "Enhancing Assessment Literacy: Balancing staff expectations with students' effort and time". The partner institutions are: Aston University, IU University of Applied Sciences-Germany, University of the West of Scotland and University of West London. 

The project, which will be delivered within the next 24 months, seeks to enhance assessment literacy among both students and staff by openly discussing the concepts of ‘time’ and ‘effort’.

It aims to provide clarity on those expectations when tasks are being introduced to students and to offer ways for better engaging students with formative and summative assessments while equipping them with practical methods for managing assessment demands. The project aims to support staff to have clearer, realistic expectations towards assessment completion, while demystifying the demands of authentic assessment tasks.

The project team in collaboration with students as partners will explore staff and students’ current perceptions on time and effort in relation to assessment tasks, to produce a framework for effort-focused assessment design and an assessment literacy toolkit for staff and students.  The project strives to promote inclusivity and transparency in assessment expectations.  This collaborative project holds immense value, particularly because it embraces the diversity across five institutions that are located in different regions and countries. It also combines the expertise of multiple disciplines and faculties which may offer a broader perspective.

If you are interested in joining this project and trying out the toolkit with your students, please complete the below form by 1^st of May. 

Our programme of workshops will continue throughout Semester 3, with a variety of interactive sessions designed to fit into your busy schedule.

A wide range of themes will be explored through the workshops. Many are designed to support you with your assessment and feedback practices, including the use of the new digital assessment tool, Inspera. Or you might be inspired to learn more about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its implications for learning design. In addition, there will be a number of sessions to support you on your journey towards Advance HE recognition.

The Active Learning Community of Practice is excited to have two guest speakers joining us:

• Mary Jacob (Aberystwyth University), on April 25th, to discuss how to redesign our sessions with Active Cognitive Tasks in mind. 
• Richard Beggs (Ulster University) on June 19th, to share his experience and expertise on using Apps for Active Learning.

Many sessions are listed on the booking system already, with more to be added in due course. Places are limited, so sign up ASAP to reserve your space.

Book club on Student Engagement

Join us on  Wednesday 17th of April , when we will be discussing  Chapter 1: Starting Positive, from the book "Keeping us engaged", by Christine Harrington and 50 College Students. The book is available online via Locate, the Coventry University's online library's search tool.  

The roll out of Inspera continues with over 3200 students (as of 21^st March 2024) having submitted tests on the system during semester 2; these have been on over 130 formative and summative assessments. 

Aula Inspera Integration

The first phase of the Aula Inspera integration is now available.  A full article providing details is available on the Teaching Knowledge Base - https://teach.coventry.domains/articles/aula-inspera-integration/ Please note that colleagues need to have been added to Inspera before using the integration link for it to work.

Moodle Quizzes switch off

A reminder that Moodle Quizzes are being phased out.  If you have quizzes that need to move across from Moodle then guidance on what questions can be exported from Moodle for upload to Inspera is available on the Teaching Knowledge Base:

• Importing questions into Inspera

Please do also ensure you have signed up for a Getting Started with Inspera workshop - Professional Development Booking system.