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New Degrees on Offer as BGU Expands Portfolio
Students at Bishop Grosseteste University will be able to take degrees in Health and Social Care, Sociology, Psychology, Counselling and Entrepreneurship from September 2015 thanks to a major expansion of courses announced today (Wednesday). In response to demand from students and employers BGU has reviewed its academic portfolio and will introduce a suite of new degree courses in a range of new and existing subject areas. BGU will introduce a new Health and Social Care degree as well as other courses for professionals working in this area. There will also be new degree courses in Psychology and Counselling. In Business and Enterprise, BGU will have an innovative programme promoting entrepreneurship that will focus on students working in teams to start and run new businesses in dedicated business units. The university will enhance its already strong Education programmes with the introduction of a new single honours degree in Education Studies, and there will also be new degree courses in Sociology as part of suite of Social Science subjects. “Developing BGU’s academic portfolio through a range of new and exciting courses is a key part of our growth strategy,” said The Reverend Professor Peter Neil, Vice Chancellor of Bishop Grosseteste University. “Like all universities we have to respond to what students and employers want, and these new courses will ensure that we can continue to provide students and businesses with the skills that they require to be successful in the future.” As part of the ongoing management of the courses it offers Bishop Grosseteste University will no longer teach Music or Visual Art at undergraduate level once current students have completed their studies. PGCE courses in Music will continue to be offered as part of the university’s postgraduate portfolio. BGU intends to continue its musical tradition through the University Choir and to maintain engagement with the local community through the work of the Community Music Development Co-ordinator. -
Survey Shows Student Satisfaction Rising at BGU
Figures released today from the National Student Survey show that 88% of BGU students are satisfied with their university experience - that's higher than the national average of 86% and three percentage points up on BGU's score last year. BGU's Foundation Degree in Applied Studies (Early Childhood) achieved 100% satisfaction while three other courses - Primary Education with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), Education Studies & English and Education Studies & Mathematics - recorded satisfaction levels of 95%. The proportion of BGU students completing the survey has also increased significantly; from 64% in 2010 to 72% in 2013 and 87% this year. The Reverend Professor Peter Neil, Vice Chancellor of Bishop Grosseteste University, welcomed today's data published by HEFCE, the Higher Education Funding Council for England. "This is an excellent result for BGU," he said. "We are always keen to hear what our students are telling us about their experiences here and the message is clear from these findings - we are doing better and better. "The most significant change this year is that the number of students completing the survey increased by 15 percentage points on last year; this means that the feedback from students is much more robust. The staff are committed to giving the students an excellent experience and will be looking at the areas the students are highlighting as things which they perceive needing improvement. But all in all this is a very good result for BGU." The latest figures come hot on the heels of a survey published last month which showed that BGU is one of the top five universities in England for the proportion of graduates who are employed or in further study six months after graduating. According to the DLHE survey (Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education) published by HESA, the Higher Education Statistics Agency, on 3rd July 2014, 96.5% of Bishop Grosseteste University graduates had found a job or were continuing their studies six months after graduating in 2012/13. The Which? University Guide currently ranks BGU fifth in England for graduate prospects and lists BGU as having the highest average graduate salary in the East Midlands. -
Busy Mum Juggles Work and Study to Achieve Degree
A teaching assistant who juggled studying with two jobs and caring for her elderly mum will graduate with a degree in Children and Youth Work from Bishop Grosseteste University next week. Mum-of-two Nolene Tear (53) from Bracebridge in Lincoln completed her degree in three years while working as a special educational needs teaching assistant at a Lincoln primary school. She also works as a family support worker for the Penderels Trust, mostly in the evenings and at weekends, and she's the primary carer for her 83-year-old mother, who recently had quadruple heart bypass surgery and had to have a lung removed. Nolene was also diagnosed with dyslexia during her course but with help from staff at BGU she was able to complete her degree. She will graduate at 7.15pm on Wednesday 23rd July at a ceremony at Lincoln Cathedral. "I enrolled on the degree course to enhance my career, and I'm delighted to be graduating next week," said Nolene. "It's been hard work with all my other commitments but it's definitely been worth it." Nolene, who initially studied for a foundation degree before converting it into an honours degree, said she was shocked to be diagnosed with dyslexia. "I was having trouble processing my thoughts and transferring them from my head onto paper," she said. "Once the problem was identified the BGU staff were brilliant and really supportive." Rachael Fell Chambers, Senior Lecturer in Applied Studies at BGU, said: "Nolene was diagnosed with dyslexia during year two of her foundation degree and she has worked extremely hard to overcome her difficulties since diagnosis. "She is a very determined student who has worked with some of the most vulnerable people across Lincolnshire while successfully completing her degree and maintaining family life." -
Two Generations, One Graduation Day
A mother and her daughter will be awarded their degrees on the same day when they graduate from Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln on Wednesday 23rd July. Athena Pears (21) will be graduating with an honours degree in Education Studies and English, and a few hours later her mother Gillian Bush (44) will be awarded a master's degree in Education. Athena, from Revesby near Boston but currently living in Horncastle, was inspired by her parents who both have careers in education. Thanks to her passion for working with people with special needs she has also ventured into a career within education. Athena currently works as a support worker at Linkage College in Toynton near Spilsby, which is part of the Linkage Community Trust. She managed to secure her job before graduating. "I've had a fantastic learning experience at BGU and I'm so happy to see my hard work - and my mum's - pay off. Not many people get to say they graduated with their parents. I am so proud of my mum and her achievement; I keep showing her master's thesis to everyone. I'm now considering following in her footsteps and doing a master's in Education at BGU in the future myself!" Gillian, also from Revesby, studied for her master's degree part-time for three years while working at Boston College as Programme Area Manager and Higher Education Co-ordinator. "I decided to study at BGU because of its excellent reputation and quality of education. I was given the option to tailor my modules to facilitate my career development and lifestyle. As much as it was a struggle having to juggle my career and education the staff at BGU were helpful and supportive, which I am very grateful for. "It is a great privilege to graduate on the same day as my daughter. I am so proud of Athena and I'm excited to celebrate with her. I am now focused on putting the knowledge I've received into practice." Athena Pears will graduate at 2.30pm and Gillian Bush will graduate at 7.15pm at Lincoln Cathedral on Wednesday 23rd July 2014. -
BGU Investigates the Effects of Student Boredom
A professor at Bishop Grosseteste University has been researching the reasons why university students become bored and whether or not it affects their final degree outcome. Research carried out by John Sharp, Professor of Education at BGU, suggests that the final year grades of certain university students can be affected by their proneness to boredom. Boredom manifests itself in two forms: ‘trait boredom’ or the predisposition of an individual to becoming bored, and ‘state boredom’ or the actual experience of boredom in the moment. Professor Sharp’s study is mainly looking at trait boredom in the first instance. “So far the findings of the study suggest that students identified as having a lower predisposition to boredom tend to perform better in their academic work, resulting in higher final degree grades in comparison to those for whom the opposite is the case,” said Professor Sharp. To measure academic boredom and other related-factors, a sample of 324 final-year undergraduate students taking education-based courses and aged between 21 and 40 completed a series of questionnaires including a new boredom proneness scale. They were also asked to rate and comment on which modes of course delivery interested them the most or left them cold. Further interviews with a smaller sample were undertaken to enrich and shed light on the questionnaire data. Professor Sharp is hopeful that the findings from his study will enable tutors to better evaluate and inform their teaching methods and to find strategies to keep their students who are prone to boredom engaged as well as to help students recognise and better understand the signs and symptoms of boredom to become more effective learners. “Lecturers can use the information to minimise the number of students becoming bored during on-campus learning periods and ways to stay engaged during private learning,” said Professor Sharp. “The fact that we’re able to measure boredom and spot trends in outcomes is extremely useful, because it now gives us the opportunity to act and do something about it.” A similar study in Australia is being co-ordinated by Dr Brian Hemmings at Charles Strut University in Australia. Professor Sharp and Dr Hemmings have collaborated on this and other projects over several years. It is expected that Professor Sharp’s study will be published in four parts with the first currently under review at the Journal of Further and Higher Education. The full study will be completed in the next 18 months. -
New Head of Teacher Development Takes Up Post at BGU
Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln has appointed Dr Nick Gee from the University of East Anglia to lead its School of Teacher Development. The university has now made three appointments to take charge of its new Schools of Teacher Development, Humanities and Social Sciences. Under the new academic structure Dr Graham Basten is Head of the School of Social Sciences while Dr Andrew Jackson is Head of the School of Humanities. BGU has been a pioneer and a leader in teacher education since its creation in 1862 and Dr Gee says he is looking forward to building on its strong reputation in the field of teacher training. "Speaking as someone who’s been involved with teacher education for over 11 years, BGU has a great reputation and heritage and I’m delighted to be joining an institution that has such strong traditions,” he said. “I’m excited about the fact that as an institution we’re at the start of a process of change; our new Five-Year Strategy was launched recently and I’m pleased to be arriving at a time when there’s an ambition to move forward and develop both the international and the research agendas.” Dr Gee joins BGU from the University of East Anglia, where he held the positions of Associate Dean in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Senior Lecturer in the School of Education and Lifelong Learning. He graduated from the University of Oxford with a BA (Hons) in Geography and holds a PGCE and EdD from the University of East Anglia. His primary research interest is outdoor education, and he is also a higher education representative in national consultations on assessment reform. “I am really looking forward to working with with partnership colleagues and strengthening our links throughout the region,” he said. The university’s Five-Year Strategy was announced in October 2014. -
BGU Goes Global as Conference Celebrates Internationalism
Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln celebrated the breadth of its international activity by staging a BG Global conference on campus yesterday (22nd April). The keynote speaker was Vivienne Stern, Director of the UK Higher Education International Unit, who spoke about issues affecting the higher education sector in internationalisation and attracting international students to the UK. The conference also provided an opportunity for BGU to launch its Internationalisation Strategy, which has been developed by the university’s new International Manager Wayne Dyble and a group of colleagues from across the institution. Dr Ruth Sayers, Executive Dean for Learning Teaching and International at BGU, welcomed the delegates, some of whom were the university’s students. She described the range of activities represented at the conference as impressive, including presentations on international research activity, mobility programmes overseas, institutional partnerships and special projects. BGU has a long history of working with partners in many international settings, including China, Nepal, Thailand, the Gambia, Norway, Uganda, Brazil, Tanzania and India. The conference also offered academic staff an opportunity to discuss how they are internationalising the curricula in innovative ways, supported by a project led by the Higher Education Academy. “The conference represents a sea change in our international work,” said Dr Sayers. “We celebrate the many activities that have gone before, but we look forward to a much more strategic future, in which internationalisation will permeate all our activities and the new International Office will drive forward the strategy that was launched at the conference.” -
soundLINCS Continues Hitting all the Right Notes
It has been announced by soundLINCS that they have been awarded £776,569 - following a competitive grant application process - by the National Foundation for Youth Music (Arts Council). Bishop Grosseteste University was a partner in the bid and will participate in this exciting three year project across the East Midlands. Dr Pat Beckley, Early Years’ specialist within the School of Teacher Development, and Professor Chris Atkin, Head of Educational Development & Research are the two academic leads from our university. Our participation builds on an existing project with soundLINCS focusing on early years’ music curriculum materials. -
Pioneering Degree Course for Would-Be Entrepreneurs
Students on a pioneering new business degree course at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln won’t spend their time sitting in lectures and reading books on business theories. Instead they will call themselves team entrepreneurs, create their own start-up companies and take part in business coaching sessions in creative labs. The new Business (Team Entrepreneurship) degree course starts in September and Elinor Vettraino, the new Academic Co-ordinator for Business and Enterprise at BGU, is busy recruiting students. “Team Entrepreneurship is a very exciting opportunity because it straddles the business world and the academic world,” said Elinor. “It’s pioneering: we’re only the fourth university in the country to offer a course of this sort. We’re part of a small, select group of like-minded institutions which want to push the boundaries of business education away from traditional delivery and towards a full experiential learning experience. “Our students will be known as team entrepreneurs – that’s important because they will see themselves as being business people. Our job is to help them balance the duality of being an entrepreneur and being a full-time student. We will coach the team entrepreneurs how to run their own business; their job is to learn by doing.” BGU intends to recruit 20 first-year students of all ages and from all backgrounds to make up the first cohort in September. “We’re marketing the course not only to schools and colleges but also to more experienced people who may want to set up their own business,” said Elinor. “It would be lovely to get a mix of ages as people with a bit more experience have a better understanding of life and can contribute different things to the group.” Unlike other students, who attend lectures and tutorials, take exams and write dissertations, BGU’s team entrepreneurs will set up their own businesses in order to make real money. “The idea is that by the end of the course they will have made enough money between them to send every student on a round-the-world trip for six months. The target is 10,000 euros each.” But the Team Entrepreneurship course is not about making a profit at the expense of everything else. “The students will also need to understand the social responsibility aspect that goes along with running a business, and they’ll be working with Karen Lowthrop from the social enterprise Hill Holt Wood near Lincoln to develop that,” said Elinor. “It’s very important that the team entrepreneurs get excited about giving something back to the community. In their third year, for example, they will go overseas and support a social enterprise.” The academic discipline known as Team Academy originated in Jyväskylä in Finland in the early 1990s and now there is a global network of academics running this kind of programme. -
Three New Heads Appointed Following BGU Restructure
Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln has made three new senior academic appointments following a major restructure. Dr Graham Basten has moved to BGU to head up the new School of Social Sciences, while the new School of Humanities and the new School of Teacher Development will be led by Dr Andrew Jackson and Dr Nicholas Gee respectively. The new School of Social Sciences is launching a suite of new courses including Health and Social Care, Sociology, Psychology, and Counselling. “This is an exciting and timely phase for BGU given the recent news of devolved health and social care budgets to the Greater Manchester region, a model which could be rolled out across England, putting BGU graduates at the heart of this new initiative,” said Dr Basten. Most recently Dr Basten was Acting Head of The School of Allied Health Sciences at De Montfort University in Leicester, where he was responsible for strategic leadership and management of a complex, broad, multidisciplinary and fast-growing school. He joined DMU in 2007 and has significant experience in teaching, learning, research and knowledge transfer. He secured both a Royal Society grant to look at science in primary schools and funds to deliver projects with charities, sports clubs and local government. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and the Institute of Biomedical Science, and a DMU Teacher Fellow interested in translating primary education methods to higher education and the use of technology and democracy in learning spaces. He holds a PhD in Nutritional Biochemistry from the Institute of Food Research (University of East Anglia) and a BSc in Biomedical Science from the University of Wolverhampton. He has previously worked at the Medical Schools of the University of Sheffield and the University of Nottingham. “I am absolutely delighted to be joining the team at Bishop Grosseteste University,” Dr Basten said. “It is a university with a powerful vision based on sound values, and I very much look forward to playing my part in its onward journey.” Dr Nicholas Gee will move from the University of East Anglia to BGU next month to become Head of Teacher Development. Meanwhile Dr Andrew Jackson now leads the School of Humanities and was formerly Head of the Department of Culture and Creative Arts at BGU. The university’s new academic structure has been put in place as part of BGU’s Five-Year Strategy which was announced in October 2014.
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