learning - Academic Conferences Limited

Alice Bird
Directors, for their general interest in teaching, learning and assessment, were not necessarily
advocates for e-submission. An initial challenge was defining the project brief and initiation document.
There was no explicit articulation from senior management of the rationale for e-submission policy
and practice, other than fulfilling the recommendation within the student experience review. However,
the general consensus of the project board was that the scope of the feasibility study should not be
limited to exploring administrative benefits but should also cover pedagogical benefits. In particular, it
was considered essential to explore potential improvements in the timeliness and relevance of
feedback to students on assessment, in the light of the sector-wide dissatisfaction expressed in the
2007 and 2008 National Student Surveys.
The project objectives included, as a starting point, outlining the activities associated with the overall
coursework management process. Defining the process was vital to gaining a better understanding of
the potential role for technological support, as a preliminary stage in specifying technical and
functional requirements. The project also sought to assess the needs and perceptions of key
stakeholders, in particular academic staff and students. A final objective was to estimate the resource
implications in moving from paper-based to electronic submission. A project reporting deadline was
set for March 2009, in order to make recommendations for implementation in the academic year
2009/10. Figure 1 provides the final version of the outline process map, agreed after frequent
iterations.
Figure 1: Outline process map
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