Dear Jo
Sounds familiar! The PGCert is compulsory here for most probationers, and in its original form (before my time) was assessed by a single portfolio handed in at the end of the two-year period of registration. Consequently, if there were any time management (or indeed quality, but that's another story.....) issues they could lie undetected for the whole of that period. This led to a worrying level of non-completion so, at the same time as a major curriculum review, we decided to tighten up on submission processes.
We have now restructured the curriculum so that there are assessments for each module and the workflow is spread over time. If participants request an extension they are asked to base the case on something which could not reasonably have been foreseen when they began the module, so it covers illness or unexpected increases in workload, for example. The case has to be supported by their tutor on the programme and include a series of negotiated deadlines for each phase: outline, first draft, final version. Our programme administrator is also brilliant about sending chasing emails.
To give the change teeth we had to harden our hearts to the first few cases who just said 'I'm too busy to do this stuff'. Painful but effective. It also helped to ask participants what they say to their own students when faced with similar requests.
Good luck.
Fran
Fran Beaton
Senior Lecturer in Higher Education and Academic Practice
PGCHE Programme Director and Chief Examiner
Academic Practice Team
Unit for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching
University of Kent
Canterbury CT2 7NQ
Tel 01227 824167
Fax 01227 827169
http://www.kent.ac.uk/uelt/academic-practice/staff/profiles/fbeaton.html
For details of Academic Practice Team news and events:
http://www.kent.ac.uk/uelt/academic-practice/index.html
-----Original Message-----
From: Online forum for SEDA, the Staff & Educational Development Association [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jo Peat
Sent: 11 May 2010 14:41
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: PG Cert HE and deferrals
I'm very sorry if this question has already been asked and answered many times before, but being quite new to educational development and, in particular PG Certs, I'd be very grateful for any information at all on what other institutions do where staff on a compulsory PG Cert HE ask to defer their coursework. Our PG Cert HE is running for the first time as a compulsory course for new staff and is a stand-alone, accredited certificate, but is not tied to probation or appraisal. Participants are supposed to complete in one year, having been given 200 hours for the course on their workload. At present, several participants are asking to defer their coursework as deadlines are looming. We can foresee this being an on-going problem, in that they defer, then do not prioritise the work, as it's on a back-burner, then defer again and again and ... our non-completion rates go through the roof!
Thank you for your help!
Jo
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