Section 2: Faculty and Department Education Plans

Published for 2023-24

2.1. Introduction	2.2 Faculty Education Plans
2.3 Department Education Plans

2.1 Introduction

1.	These regulations set out the requirement for Departments and Faculties to produce and maintain education plans to address areas of identified risk to quality and standards.

2.2 Faculty Education Plans

2.2.1 Purpose of the Faculty Education Plan

1.	A Faculty Education Plan (FEP) is a record of the enhancement activity that a Faculty has committed to undertake in a given academic year to improve the student education experience and/or student outcomes in specific departments or across the Faculty where they judge there is a sufficiently high risk to quality and standards that needs to be managed between the Faculty, Education Committee, and the University Management Committee.
2.	A FEP must be focused on addressing issues that the Dean believes present a high risk to quality, standards, and the student experience as informed by their review of key education and student outcomes metrics, particularly those outlined in B3 of the Office for Students conditions of registration, in discussion with their Faculty Education Team, and the relevant Heads of Departments.
3.	The FEP must be confirmed within sufficient time for conducting the activity within it, and to enable publication of the activity to students.

2.2.2 Producing and agreeing the Faculty Education Plan

	Producing the Faculty Education Plan
1.	Each Faculty will receive a set of data, agreed by the Quality and Standards Committee, each year. The data will normally be made up of a combination of student experience and student outcomes data, e.g., responses to internal and external surveys. This data will complement information already available to the Faculty, such as its External Examiner responses, feedback from its students, for example through SSPC and other student voice channels, and reports from Department committees.
2.	The Dean, advised by the Faculty Education Team, and in conversation with the HEDS Faculty Partnership Team will use this data to identify programmes, departments or areas of work that appear to present a high risk to quality and standards within the Faculty.
3.	Once agreed, the Dean will task the relevant Head of Department, or in the case of a Faculty wide issue, a relevant member of the Faculty Education Team, with developing a plan to address the specific areas of risk that have been identified. This plan must include: A clear articulation of why this area has been identified for specific focus. The actions that will be taken within the academic year to address the issue. The timeline for completion of these activities within the academic year. A clear articulation of what a successful intervention will look like. An evaluation of the anticipated risks and/or challenges to achieving success, and the mitigations that have been identified. Clarity on additional support that might be needed from within the Faculty or other areas of UCL to help achieve the desired outcomes.
4.	The Dean will review the proposed actions and, if felt appropriate, evaluate the resources that will be required to conduct the activity within it and allocate them appropriately. The HEDS Faculty Partnership Team will also identify areas that they can assist with.
	Agreeing the Faculty Education Plan with University Management Committee
5.	The Dean must submit the FEP to the Pro Vice Provost Education (Student Academic Experience) for discussion at the University Management Committee.
6.	The University Management Committee will review the FEP and advise the Dean on areas that may need to be revised, strengthened, or reprioritised.
7.	Once agreed with the University Management Committee, the Pro Vice Provost Education (Student Academic Experience) must submit the FEP for approval to the first meeting of the Quality and Standards Committee of the academic year.

2.2.3 Communicating the Faculty Education Plan

The Dean must ensure that the relevant Heads of Department and Faculty officers have a plan in place for communicating the activity that will be undertaken as part of the FEP to all staff and all students in the Faculty. The communication plan should be prepared alongside the FEP to enable rapid implementation of the plan once the FEP is approved.

2.2.4 Monitoring and reviewing the Faculty Education Plan

	Monitoring progress within the Faculty
1.	The Faculty Education Committee is responsible for monitoring the progress of the activity detailed in the FEP and, where necessary, for advising the Dean of the need to review the scope, the resourcing or the timeline associated with that activity.
2.	To support this activity, the FEP must be a standing item for discussion on each Faculty Education Committee agenda.
3.	The Dean is responsible for ensuring the successful completion of the FEP, and for reporting on progress to the University Management Committee
4.	The Dean is also responsible for ensuring that progress on the FEP is being communicated to students and staff within the Faculty.
	Reporting on progress to the Quality and Standards Committee
5.	The Quality and Standards Committee will agree a reporting schedule with each Dean.
6.	The schedule should enable the submission of reports on the progress of FEP actions to a meeting of the Quality and Standards Committee at least once per term. The format for these reports will be published each year in the annexes of Chapter 9 of the Academic Manual. At a minimum, they will require:

	a)	A commentary on any milestones that have been met.
	b)	An outline of any changes to the FEP since the last report, and the reasons for those changes, for example reflection on data sets that have been published since the last update.
	c)	An evaluation of the achievability of the FEP based on the remaining time and resource available.
	d)	Where necessary, an outline of support that the Faculty feels it needs to achieve success.

7.	The Quality and Standards Committee is responsible for monitoring the progress of the activity detailed in the FEP and advising the Education Committee of any faculties that appear to be at risk of not achieving their actions.
8.	The Education Committee is responsible for reviewing the recommendations of the Quality and Standards Committee and taking appropriate action, which may include escalation to another committee or role holder for additional scrutiny or action.

2.2.5 Supporting the completion of the Faculty Education Plan

1.	Each Faculty will be supported by its HEDS Faculty Partnership Team to complete the actions outlined in its FEP.
2.	The HEDS Faculty Partnership Team must meet with the Vice Dean Education and the Faculty Tutor at the start of each academic year to review the FEP and agree actions that the HEDS Faculty Partnership Team will undertake to support.
3.	A follow-up meeting must be held at the six-month point to discuss progress and subsequent actions as appropriate.
4.	The HEDS Faculty Partnership Team should update the Faculty Education Committee on its progress at agreed intervals.

2.2.6 Evaluating the Faculty Education Plan

1.	The Dean, supported by their Faculty Education Team, will conduct a self-evaluation of their progress against the actions listed in the FEP and submit it to the Quality and Standards Committee in Term 3.
2.	The Quality and Standards Committee will review the self-evaluations at its last meeting of the year. Based on their review, the committee may endorse the work undertaken and the progress made or take any other actions that it feels are appropriate and within its own remit. Where necessary, it may also make recommendations to other committees or role holders.

2.3 Department Education Plans

2.3.1 Purpose of the Department Education Plan

1.	A Department Education Plan (DEP) is a record of the enhancement activity that a department has committed to undertake in a given academic year to improve the student education experience and/or student outcomes in areas that present a comparatively high risk.
2.	A DEP must be informed by the review of key education and student outcomes metrics, through discussion with colleagues, both internal and external to the department, and in partnership with students.
3.	The DEP must be in place at the start of the academic year to provide sufficient time for conducting the activity within it, and to enable publication of the activity to students.

2.3.2 Producing and agreeing the Department Education Plan

	Producing the Department Education Plan
1.	Each Department will receive a set of data, agreed by the Quality and Standards Committee, each year. The data will normally be made up of a combination of student experience and student outcomes data, e.g., responses to national and local surveys. This data will complement information already available to the Department, such as its External Examiner responses, and feedback from its students.
2.	The Head of Department, advised by the Departmental Teaching Committee, will use this data to inform the development of the DEP. The DEP must include: At least one priority area that will be targeted for enhancement activity. A clear articulation of why this area has been identified for specific focus, with reference to the data. The actions that will be taken within the academic year to address the issue. The timeline for completion of these activities within the academic year. A clear articulation of what a successful intervention will look like. An evaluation of the anticipated risks and/or challenges to achieving success, and the mitigations that have been identified. Clarity on additional support that the Department needs from the Faculty or other areas of UCL to help achieve the desired outcomes.
3.	The activity within the DEP may be focused on a specific programme, an issue that affects multiple programmes, or feed into a larger project that will take multiple academic years to complete. However, it must be clear that the activity is focused on addressing a clear risk or need and is achievable within one academic year, even where it contributes to a longer-term project.
4.	Where the Department has recently been through an Internal Quality Review, the Head of Department should ensure that the review recommendations are being addressed through the activity in the DEP.
5.	Once the Head of Department has completed the DEP, they must evaluate the resources that will be required to conduct the activity within it and allocate that resource appropriately. This may include adjusting workload allocations, or budgeting for specific associated costs. Unresourced DEPs will not be successful and should not be approved.
	Agreeing the Department Education Plan with the Faculty
6.	Each Department must submit its DEP to the Dean of the Faculty, the Vice Dean Education, and the Faculty Tutor (or equivalent).
7.	The Dean, advised by their Vice Dean Education and Faculty Tutor, must review, and approve the DEP for each Department.
8.	If, following the review of a DEP, the Dean determines that the activity is not sufficient, is not achievable within the academic year, has not been properly resourced or has prioritized the wrong area, based on a review of the data, they may challenge the Head of Department to review and resubmit their DEP.
9.	Once agreed with the Dean, all DEPs must be submitted to the first Faculty Education Committee of the academic year for formal approval.

2.3.3 Communicating the Department Education Plan

1.	Heads of Departments must ensure that they have a plan in place for communicating the activity that will be undertaken as part of the DEP to all staff and all students in the Department. The communication plan should be ready in time for the start of the academic year.
2.	The communication plan must go beyond submission of the DEP to Student Staff Partnership Committees and should include plans for engaging the whole student body.

2.3.4 Monitoring and reviewing the Department Education Plan

	Monitoring progress within the Department
1.	The Departmental Teaching Committee is responsible for monitoring the progress of the activity detailed in the DEP and, where necessary, for advising the Head of Department on the need to review the scope, the resourcing or the timeline associated with that activity.
2.	To support this activity, the DEP must be a standing item for discussion on each Departmental Teaching Committee agenda.
3.	The Head of Department is responsible for ensuring the successful completion of the DEP, and for reporting on progress to the Dean.
4.	The Head of Department is also responsible for communicating progress on the DEP to students and staff within the Department. To assist this, Heads of Department should ensure that the DEP is submitted to relevant Student Staff Partnership Committee and departmental meetings throughout the year.
	Reporting on progress to the Faculty
5.	Each Dean of Faculty must agree a reporting schedule with their Heads of Departments.
6.	The schedule should enable the submission of reports on the progress of DEP actions to the Faculty Education Committee at least once per term. The Faculty should advise on the format these reports should take, but at a minimum, they should include:

	a)	A commentary on any milestones that have been met.
	b)	An outline of any changes to the DEP since the last report, and the reasons for those changes, for example reflection on data sets that have been published since the last update.
	c)	An evaluation of the achievability of the DEP based on the remaining time and resource available.
	d)	Where necessary, an outline of support that the Department feels it needs to achieve success.

7.	The Faculty Education Committee is responsible for monitoring the progress of the activity detailed in the DEP and advising the Dean of any departments that appear to be at risk of not achieving their actions
8.	The Dean is responsible for following up with Heads of Departments judged to be at risk of not achieving their DEP milestones to either agree a plan for enabling the Department to achieve its original DEP milestones, or to agree an amended plan that is achievable within the remaining time and/or resource.

2.3.5 Evaluating the Department Education Plan

1.	The Head of Department will conduct a self-evaluation of their progress against the actions listed in the DEP as part of the process of preparing the following year’s plan.
2.	Both processes are conducted in tandem to encourage the Head of Department to review with reference to the data that has been produced at the conclusion of the academic year. The Head of Department should use that data to evaluate whether the actions have achieved sufficient impact, and if not, may choose to prioritise activity in the same area in next year’s DEP.
3.	The self-evaluation should be submitted to the Dean, the Vice Dean Education, and the Faculty Tutor alongside the DEP that is being proposed for the new academic year. Each Faculty can agree the format that this evaluation should take.
4.	A Dean may, based on poor performance against a DEP, choose to include the Department in the Faculty Education Plan for the following year.