Discover and share good practice for smarter working universities

Degree apprenticeships

What degree apprenticeships can do for you

This year sees the introduction of the apprenticeship levy which will help fund degree apprenticeships. As Elena Magrini of Universities UK explains, this is a great opportunity for universities to put themselves at the forefront of degree apprenticeship provision.
Apprenticeship agenda has benefited Staffordshire

Using apprenticeships to bring wider regional benefits

On the HEFCE blog, Sarah Tudor, director of business engagement services at Staffordshire University, explains how apprenticeships have given the university the opportunity to enhance employer relationships and address skills gaps.
Collaborative teaching laboratory at the University of Birmingham

How one university is tackling under-utilised teaching spaces

Single discipline teaching labs can often be under used: typically for just 24 weeks per year. Ian Tidmarsh explains how new larger teaching labs at the University of Birmingham aim to provide more flexibility, higher utilisation and thus deliver better value for money.

How lean can nurture the relationship between educators and students

At the University of Winchester, academics are working with professional services to improve the student and staff experience. Dr Tammi Sinha, one of the academics in the HE continuous improvement unit, describes the benefits of lean approaches from the perspective of an educator.

Harnessing attendance data to drive better experiences of learning

Nick Moore is director of IT services at the University of Gloucestershire. In this post, and at Inside Government’s conference this week on utilising data effectively across higher education, he describes how his university is using attendance data to inform decisions on tailoring services to meet the needs of individual students

Giving students power over their learning data

Universities are investing time and money in creating learning analytics systems, but Ed Foster of Nottingham Trent Universities says these systems are only as good to the support given to staff and students who use them.

Analytics in higher education

Universities already collect vast amounts of data about their student populations, but often this is underutilised. This Universities UK report, written in partnership with Civitas Learning and Jisc, sets out the case for better use of analytics in higher education through effective implementation of appropriate technology and techniques.

From manual to automatic: developing learning analytics at Aston

After Aston University carried out a project to identify students at risk of withdrawal or non-progression, they realised they needed to move from manual analytics to a more comprehensive learning analytics system. Following a partnership with Jisc to develop such a system, they are already seeing the benefits, as James Moran explains.
Overall view of the Mission Control Center (MCC), Houston, Texas, during the Gemini 5 flight. Note the screen at the front of the MCC which is used to track the progress of the Gemini spacecraft.

What happens when the dial turns red?

When the data shows that a student is struggling, how should universities respond? Brian Hipkin issues a plea to academics and their professional services colleagues to work together more to understand the student lifestyle from the student's perspective.

Beacons of learning – micro-location technology on campus

The growing use of smartphones is making micro-location technology more attractive and delegates at this week's ALT Annual Conference 2016 will learn about how it could be used in universities. Ahead of the presentation, Sheffield Hallam University's Ian Glover describes a study he has jointly carried out into the use of 'bluetooth beacons' in higher education.