On Wednesday 11 December, programme leaders, subject leads and Associate Deans from across the university gathered to celebrate our NSS Teaching Leadership Stars.
In all 37 out of 77 subject areas achieved in excess of 85% in the NSS Teaching category. This is more than double the number of courses two years ago, when just 17 subjects achieved this. This is a fantastic achievement, and the Stars event provided an opportunity to celebrate this at the Salford Museum and Art Gallery café!
Upon arrival, colleagues were treated to a networking game of bingo, which allowed colleagues from across the university to get to know each other. This was followed by introductions from Prof Jess Power and Prof Vish Maheshwari, where they highlighted the important work which is done across the institution and how far we have come in the past two years.
Following on from this, colleagues were treated to afternoon tea as a token of appreciation for their efforts in relation to the NSS.
This also provided an opportunity for sharing best practice so tables, facilitated by individual members of the LTEC team, reflected on their Learning and Teaching approach, and how they make teaching accessible. Through these discussions, a number of themes emerged, which are central to teaching across the university: relevance of content beyond the classroom and for employability; ensuring that material is student focused; providing an authentic learning experience; appropriate delivery for content and cohort; and offering pastoral support.
“It’s really important to celebrate the achievement of staff who’ve worked so hard throughout the year to make the student experience such an important and accessible experience across the whole of the university.” – Prof Jess Power, APVC Learning & Teaching Enhancement.
“Programme Leaders work incredibly hard to ensure their students get the best teaching and learning experience during their time at Salford. Students don’t always recognise that hard work and dedication. But when they do, and the NSS results reflect that appreciation, we all know how great that feels! And when the University celebrates that success and recognises the effort, the reward feels even better. The Stars event offered a fantastic opportunity to meet and greet colleagues across the schools and to – yes – bathe in a little bit of glory too.” – Debra Prinselaar, Director of Creative Technology, Film and Broadcast Media (SAMCT).