Wednesday 14-12-2022 - 13:25

These are the GCU Delivery Principles from Trimester B & C 2022/23 and the framework that GCU Programme Leaders should follow for your for learning, teaching and assessment for your course. This framework will help you understand what to expect from your studies at Glasgow Caledonian University. 

GCU Delivery Principles Framework

1. Academic delivery teams should plan for predominantly in person delivery supplemented by online/blended activities that may be either synchronous or asynchronous.
2. A minimum of 75% of timetabled classes should be in person. Some modules may have more or indeed all classes in-person in order to achieve their learning outcomes; this figure is a threshold. Module Leaders should specify the balance between in-person and online teaching in the Module Handbook.
3. It is essential that lessons learned and good practice developed during the pandemic are retained and built upon, where appropriate, to enhance the quality of our student experience.
4. On-campus/ in-person learning and teaching should be designed to be high value, high impact and not replicate activities which can be easily achieved online. For campus-based programmes, not online/ distance learning programmes, work-based learning etc.
5. Regardless of delivery mode (in-person, online) there should be an emphasis on active and collaborative learning to enhance students’ knowledge and understanding.
6. Learning and teaching activities which are primarily one directional (e.g. content focussed didactic delivery, resources for self-directed study etc) should normally be online, continue to be recorded and made available to our students asynchronously (after classes for timetabled lectures).
7. All recordings of learning and teaching activities e.g. demonstrations, lectures etc. must be accessibility legislation compliant.
8. All programmes should have an element of interactive online learning as this is an essential graduate skill.
9. All timetabled classes should be synchronous (either on campus or online) wherever possible unless there is a strong pedagogic rationale for an alternative, asynchronous approach. Students are expected to attend all timetabled classes in line with the University’s student attendance engagement policy.
10. Assessments to meet specified learning outcomes should be designed which encourage deliberative and active engagement with the tasks set.

At GCU contact hours will be defined as the total combination of contact hours spent in-person, online and/or hyflex learning environments. The University’s guidance on contact hours identifies that the minimum contact hours for all students is expected to be 4 timetabled hours per 20 credit undergraduate module per week. Contact hours will vary across levels as students develop as independent learners and take more ownership of their learning and contact can take a number of forms e.g. face-to-face, online learning, professional activities, directed learning, student feedback and dissertation supervision. With the exception of certain online-specific programmes, asynchronous content does not contribute to direct contact hours.

Timetabled exams on campus should only be used where there is a strong pedagogic rationale (e.g. to meet specific learning outcomes) and/or a Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies (PSRBs) accreditation requirement.

We always encourage students to provide both positive and negative feedback on their course to their Class Rep in the first instance, so they can establish how the course can be improved and these issues can be raised through the Student/Staff Consultative Group (SSCG). There are lots of other academic reps who support your Class Reps, should as Department of PGT Reps. In addition, every student can outline feedback on their course through their Module Evaluation Questionnaires.

Laiba Tareen
Student President 2022/23
 

Glossary

Asynchronous learning is when students can access learning materials at their own time, such as through GCU Learn.

Blended Learning is a blend of in-person and online learning.

Contact hours is the time during which a student receives active instruction as part of a course of study.

Hybrid Flexible, or HyFlex, is defined as a teaching activity where some students are simultaneously attending online and some are attending in-person.

Synchronous learning refers to all types of learning in which students and lecturers are in the same place, at the same time, in order for learning to take place.