University of St Andrews

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SALTIRE Mission and Purpose

The University's activities and purpose are embodied in its Mission, Mission Statement and Long Term Strategic Plans. These statements in turn are more broadly used to set objectives and targets against which the performance of the institution can be measured. Ongoing consultation and review of achievements against defined goals allows the University to monitor its activities and make adjustments in a dynamic environment. Accordingly, extracts of the University's Mission have been reproduced here and have been used to clarify more fully the purpose of SALTIRE as a Central Support Unit within the University of St Andrews.

University Mission

1. The University of St Andrews' mission is to deliver high quality education and research in a distinctive range of subjects in Arts, Sciences and Divinity.
2. It seeks to achieve this through:
3. Maintaining and improving academic performance in a particular range of subjects in which it can match the resources of similar subjects in larger institutions.
4. Attracting high quality students from a variety of social and cultural backgrounds.
5. Re-invigorating its educational offerings through the introduction and refinement of a modular approach to teaching, learning and assessment.
6. Attracting increased levels of research support by an active policy of recruiting academics who are gifted both as researchers and teachers; seeking to do so because of the belief that the intellectual quality of an undergraduate curriculum flows from an active body of researchers who are working at the forefront of their subjects areas.
7. Backing all this up with an effective system of central support.

SALTIRE

Encouraging excellence and innovation in learning and teaching by providing support and guidance for students and staff.

Mission

SALTIRE's mission is to promote excellence in learning and teaching at the University of St. Andrews. It attempts this by assisting students and staff to explore new approaches to learning and teaching and by helping both individuals and the institution as a whole to monitor and evaluate progress through innovation, review and enhancement.

SALTIRE Aims

In order to achieve this SALTIRE aims to develop its activities in 6 main areas: communication, learning and learning materials, teaching, innovation, review and enhancement.

Communication

1. Build networks with Faculties, Schools, Support Services (especially Staff Development, IT Services and Library) and external agencies (eg the Institute for Learning and Teaching (ILT), the Learning and Teaching Support Network (LTSN) subject centres, Universities Scotland Learning and Teaching Committee) to disseminate widely good practice in learning and teaching.
2. Provide advice and guidance on learning, teaching and assessment issues to key University committees (eg Teaching, Learning and Assessment, TLA committee).
3. Provide a forum for debate of learning and teaching activities.

Learning & Learning Materials

1. Support the delivery of study skills (and other key skills) both online and via traditional routes including individual consultations, small group tutorials, and large group seminars for students who refer themselves or are referred to the Unit for study skills advice.
2. Collect, collate, catalogue and make accessible a range of generic and subject specific self-access learning materials (from both within and outwith the University) for students and staff.
3. Seek external funding, individually or through partnerships, to develop or disseminate shared resources to enhance generic and subject-specific learning and teaching activities.
4. Assist Schools to create and maintain learning and teaching materials in order to enhance teaching via both traditional and innovative methods, including online approaches using a virtual or managed learning environment (VLE or MLE).

Teaching

1. Support staff (including part-time tutors) in developing their academic or teaching roles for traditional delivery and for approaches involving use of Communication and Information Technology (C&IT) such as Web CT and CAL as part of a VLE or MLE. Advise and support staff to achieve accreditation by the ILT.
2. Assist in the development and promotion of approaches for recognising and rewarding excellence and innovation in teaching.
3. Create and maintain a web-site to act as a portal for information, links to resources and for virtual student-staff interactivity (via Web CT) to support learning and as a route to seek feedback and suggestions about learning and teaching issues, including the SALTIRE web-site.

Innovation

1. Administer and promote initiatives (small grant funding and teaching prizes) for the enhancement of learning and teaching.
2. Provide at least an annual conference or seminar programme for dissemination of good practice and outcomes of individual or School teaching developments or funded teaching initiatives by recipients of development grants or teaching prizes awarded by SALTIRE.

Review

1. Provide a major service for gathering information and data used for academic audit by the University.
2. Conduct Teaching Reviews, to assure quality and standards, in accordance with a five year cycle. Act as the University's main channel of communication with the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA).
3. Evaluate the provision of services provided by SALTIRE through staff and student surveys.

Enhancement

1. Seek external funding to support infrastructure, hardware and software purchase or development for learning and teaching initiatives.
2. Publicise the annual incremental improvements in learning and teaching practice through collaboration and consultancy with individuals and Schools; and contributions in learned articles, books, electronic media, workshops, seminars and conferences.
3. Collaborate with individuals, Schools and with other institutions to produce learning resources that may be commercialised through exploitation of intellectual property rights (IPR).

SALTIRE Consultancy

What can SALTIRE offer Schools/Units as internal consultancy?

We are a new service to the University, with responsibility, primarily for:

• Supporting students who have study skills needs.
• Advising and supporting academic staff on subject-related study skills provision.
• Advising and supporting staff in developing their teaching role.
• Advising and supporting academic staff to develop learning materials including for use within Web CT, the University's chosen VLE/MLE.
• Advising and supporting academic staff with the transfer of materials from 'paper-based' to electronic / digital format.
• Supporting academic staff who may wish to become involved in supporting colleagues to develop and enhance their own teaching.
• Conducting academic Audit and subject review evaluations.