From the Chancellery
It is two years since the UniSA Academic Board, after
considerable consultation, endorsed a new Teaching and Learning
Framework for the University. UniSA was again ahead of its time,
just as it was more than a decade before as one of the first to
embrace the embedding of Graduate Qualities in all of its programs.
In approving the new Teaching and Learning Framework, the University adopted as its central theme the notion of student engagement. This was before the term had gained prominence in Australian higher education circles, before the introduction of the national Australasian Survey of Student Engagement, and before the Bradley Review used the concept as a means of arguing for increased funding.
In the past two years, the University has embarked on an ambitious program of implementing experiential learning as a means of increasing student engagement. At UniSA we have defined experiential learning to include practice-based learning; a greater exposure of our undergraduates to both the process and practice of research (the so-called teaching-research nexus); and service learning.
We have set ourselves the target that at least 30 per cent of learning experiences should be active. The Student Engagement Project, known as STEP 2010, has committed about $6 million to an exciting array of initiatives to improve student engagement.
A number of common themes have emerged from an analysis of the projects approved so far for funding. These include a greater use of e-Portfolios for a range of activities, embedding more career management skills, increased industry placements, the development of simulation tools in a wide variety of settings, development and use of a new online system, and a range of curriculum reforms.
In addition, STEP 2010 has unleashed a wave of creativity which has seen the emergence of innovative approaches, some requiring capital investment. New teaching spaces and laboratory equipment have been funded, including a digital radio station and a mobile studio space for the School of Art, Architecture and Design, that can be transported to any location.
This project has been a great illustration of the true strength of UniSA – its people. Our staff have embraced the need for change, and given the opportunity to rethink our approach to teaching and learning and some resources to carry it out, they have produced some truly outstanding and world-leading approaches to education.
As this will be my last opportunity to contribute to UniSA News, I want to thank so many people who have made this University such a dynamic and pleasant place to work. UniSA is on a trajectory that will allow it to fulfil its mission of being a leading contributor to Australia having the best higher education system in the world. I look forward to receiving news of its progress and hope that the many friends I have made here may stay in contact and visit from time to time – but not all at once!
Professor Peter Lee
Deputy Vice Chancellor: Academic
Editor’s note: Professor Peter Lee joined the University of South Australia in April 2006. He will commence as Vice Chancellor of Southern Cross University in September 2009. We wish him every success.