Go back to the main page for the Strategic plan 2021-2026.
Teaching and learning that transforms people’s lives and society
Overview
Led by our research, and exploiting digital technologies, we will integrate the themes of employability, internationalisation, sustainability and inclusivity within our teaching activities. Research-led and employer-informed, we will deliver a distinctive Lancaster curriculum that places students at the heart of our work to enhance the learning experience. Our priority for teaching and learning is to innovate as we continue to deliver an excellent and transformative student experience. This will equip our graduates with the necessary skills, confidence, knowledge and entrepreneurial outlook to lead responsible, intellectually curious, productive and fulfilling lives and to act as agents for positive change in a complex global society. In keeping with our tradition of combining excellence with equity, we will continue to deliver social mobility, welcoming those traditionally less likely to participate in higher education at a research-led University and supporting them to achieve their full potential.
We will be ambitious in taking forward curriculum reform that will prepare students for their first graduate role and equip them to grow and develop throughout their career. Working with partners and employers as co-creators, we will adopt an approach that focuses on the overall programme to enhance the student experience and underpin future innovation. In particular, this work will facilitate delivery at multiple sites and our global campuses, via online and blended delivery and through the development of a more inclusive curriculum that promotes social mobility. In progressing this work, we will maintain an attractive student offer that delivers value and positive outcomes to students. We will also develop new programmes and awards in order to reach new groups of learners, via qualifications based around fewer credits, particularly at postgraduate taught level.
With recent events enabling exploration of hybrid models for teaching delivery, there are opportunities to reimagine the learning experience and continue Lancaster’s proud history of teaching innovation, with our overseas campus partners and at our UK partner sites. Involving students as co-creators and seeking input from our partners and from employers into our qualifications, our alumni will be encouraged to develop a ‘Lancaster for Life’ relationship with the institution. We are keen to build on the established loyalty within the Lancaster alumni community and to see our graduates re-engage with the University throughout their lives to refresh and re-equip and extend their skills as their careers develop. This will lead to the development of a variety of routes to access modular and stand-alone online learning opportunities to support professional development and lifelong learning. To underpin this, we will explore partnerships to develop our digital infrastructure. In support of developing all staff involved in learning and teaching, the Institute for Curriculum Enhancement will lie at the heart of our community of best practice, providing a focus for curriculum and educational enhancement across its four primary themes of employability, internationalisation, sustainability and inclusivity.
Priorities for Teaching
In advancing this strategic priority we will retain undergraduate degree flexibility as a distinctive feature of Lancaster, but do so in a way that is scalable, efficient and sustainable. We will:
Develop and enhance our undergraduate and postgraduate taught curricula
Consulting with the academy, and with students and employers as co-creators, we will explore an innovative signature Lancaster University curriculum which is more streamlined, simplified, spans subject boundaries, and exploits synergies with our partners in the UK and overseas. This will create the opportunity to grow our provision at taught postgraduate level, develop our programme-level design approach and explore embedding generic themes – such as employability, entrepreneurship, digital, sustainability, global working and inclusivity.
Develop proposals to support sustainable online and lifelong learning
We will develop opportunities for ongoing relationships with learners, based on the concepts of 'ladders of opportunity'. These opportunities will be developed with our partners and the 'Lancaster for life' learning relationship with our alumni. These will include a range of interlocking shorter qualifications.
Embrace the opportunities that extended digital and blended provision present
Working with partners and employers we will develop the principles, professional development and inclusive delivery models necessary to support our staff and students to participate to their fullest potential in online and hybrid modes of learning and knowledge transfer. We will also examine the opportunities that digital technology provides to build personalised learning, support learners using analytics, offer asynchronous delivery and connect more effectively with our global campus network and our alumni around the world.
Supporting initiatives
In support of this strategic priority we will:
- Continue to develop our teaching practice as 'inclusive by design' and work with students and employers as co-creators of all aspects of the teaching and learning experience, to enhance our response to all aspects of curriculum development including work to decolonise the curriculum.
- Seek to further enhance feedback and develop assessment practice by exploring more holistic, inclusive and sustainable approaches to all forms of assessment.
- Work with employers and practitioners to create curricula that are research-led and employer informed and equip students with the entrepreneurial attributes to navigate their career, in addition to the skills necessary to secure their first graduate role.
- Work with our regional and global campus teaching partner communities to maximise opportunities for greater synergies and learning at, across and from our partners.