Harper Adams University is today revealed as a finalist for two Times Higher Education Leadership and Management Awards.
The winners will be announced at a gala dinner in June, with Harper Adams on the shortlist for both Teaching and Learning Strategy of the Year, and for the big award of the night, Outstanding Leadership and Management Team.
The Teaching and Learning shortlisting follows efforts to improve both teaching quality and student experience at the Shropshire campus, through strategic focus on staff improvement, financial investment, outstanding facilities and supporting research-led teaching.
Andy Jones, Director of Learning, Teaching and International, said: “The THELMA award shortlisting is very welcome recognition of the efforts our staff have been making to advance learning and teaching at Harper Adams. Our success at delivering good quality higher education already shows in our student satisfaction and graduate employment scores (92% and 99.4% respectively) and in the recent announcement that Harper Adams ranked number 1 in the country for student experience.
“But there is more we wish to do to develop our practice. We have started a three-year programme of investment, the DELTA Project (Delivering Excellent Learning, Teaching and Achievement), which will include a series of initiatives based on the three pillars of people, technology and spaces. This will be an excellent opportunity to add resources and expertise to the university’s learning and teaching activities for the benefit of our students and staff.”
Outcomes leading to the award shortlisting included increased attainment by students requiring learning interventions, with disabled students in particular achieving a higher proportion of good honours degrees from 2013 to 2016; increased use of the virtual learning environment, which 95 per cent of students say effectively supports their studies; and recognition that Harper Adams University has the 7th highest proportion of academic staff holding formal teaching qualifications across England.
Welcoming news of the Outstanding Leadership and Management Team Award shortlisting, University Vice-Chancellor, Dr David Llewellyn, said: “’These award short-listings are a further indication of the quality of the University’s activities and the hard work of its staff, students and governors. We are delighted to be recognised as amongst the best in the UK university sector in this highly competitive awards scheme.”
Highlights of the 2015/16 academic year that led to the award shortlisting included teaching and learning advances); world-leading research including work with UC Santa Barbara on the potential to use livestock gut fungi in biomass renewable energy production and agri-technology projects on the application of drones, laser-weeding systems and robots; industry connections including sponsorship or equipment and student scholarships; new international student exchanges and collaborative agreements, and a raft of national awards and high rankings.
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