Academic Enhancement Model

What is the AEM?

A group of students smiling and looking through course materials on a table.
Improving student experience

In short, AEM creates spaces for open, collaborative discussion to deliver a range of teaching and learning initiatives. The AEM team support the implementation of necessary change to curriculum and teaching practice to improve student experience.

AEM is a cross-college approach providing support to courses that fall below benchmarked thresholds for student satisfaction, attainment and continuation. An example ‘benchmark’ is the awarding gap, which is the difference in the number of Home White students being awarded a First class degree or 2:1 class in their final year in comparison to Home students of other ethnicities. 

Students continue to inform this work and participate at the course level usually through the student reps or they may participate in creating resources like the zines and Creative Mindsets projects.

Background:

The Academic Enhancement Model was established in January 2018, developing a package of approaches to support course teams’ enhancement work. Since then, the AEM and Attainment team have worked in partnership with over 420 members of staff and 74 course teams across the University. Collectively this represents 12,107 students, or 82% of the undergraduate population in 2019/20.

Our approach:

Our CSM cycle of activity involves the following stages:

  • Evidence – review NSS and Attainment data
  • Dialogue – strategic discussion with teams to identify priorities
  • Collaboration – plan and co-design workshops, events and training
  • Action – signpost staff development, joining up with attainment initiatives
  • Reflection – review actions at termly course committees and with the Quality team through the annual continuous monitoring process

The strands:

For more information about each of the strands, click on the links below:

Diagram
Workshop plan for Fostering Belonging and Compassionate Pedagogy

Find out more

Check out the ‘Decolonising the Arts Curriculum’ zines or visit the AEM webpage.

If you’d like to know more about your course or subject area, take a look at the CSM data dashboard.

Alternatively, contact Cath Caldwell (AEM lead for CSM) for more information.