Two projects at Newcastle College University Centre (NCUC) have been awarded grant funding to support excellence and innovation.
Advance HE’s 2024-25 Innovative Practice Grant provides £500 grants to projects within small, specialist, independent and college-based higher education institutions across the UK, to create case studies of meaningful and impactful initiatives that fall under one of four key themes:
- Securing Student Outcomes
- Designing Education for the Future
- Protecting Inclusion in Times of Change
- Leading and Governing Transformation
20 projects have received the funding, including two at NCUC that have been developed by colleagues to support higher education students:
Academic Coaching and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) (Securing Student Outcomes)
Laura Massey, an Academic Coach at NCUC has been piloting a Social Emotional Learning (SEL) coaching programme for Digital Arts students. The approach helps individuals acquire skills to develop healthy identities, manage emotions, achieve goals, empathise with others, maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible decisions.
She said: “In Higher Education, SEL improves students' academic resilience and overall experience while reducing disengagement. It was developed following a workshop on academic stress for students who were struggling to adapt to university level work and deadlines.
“This led to the coaching programme, working one-to-one with students to help develop the pillars of SEL (self-management, growth mindset, responsible decision-making, self-awareness, social skills, and relationship skills) and improve their academic resilience. This is done through tailored tasks that target the specific needs of individual students and helps alleviate academic stress.
“We’ve seen a real difference in increased confidence from those who have taken part, and a better understanding of the support on offer, so it will be made available to students across all HE courses at NCUC in the new academic year.”
Time for Change: Adapting the Art and Design Curriculum Towards Industry-Relevant Assessment Methods (Designing Education for the Future)
In response to the evolving educational landscape and a growing focus within HE on industry relevant skills, some Art and Design programmes at NCUC have moved away from the traditional academic dissertation and introduced new assessment tools that link directly to the creative industries.
Elaine Robertson, HE Curriculum Lead for Art and Design, explained: “We’ve introduced three new assessment methods in recent years, including two for our Level 6 students and one for our Level 7 students. All of them have enabled students to develop the critical and technical skills that are expected of them in a professional setting.
“We have introduced a visual essay, which combines traditional academic research and dissemination with the use of industry-standard design software, allowing students to communicate findings through visually compelling design and layout.
“A critical review encourages deep self-reflection and contextual understanding, enabling fine art students to articulate their creative identity within the broader field of contemporary fine art practice.
“Finally, the video essay offers an alternative medium for academic research through the development of a considered argument which emphasises storytelling and digital production skills.
“All of these changes reflect a progressive shift in HE, acknowledging the diverse ways students engage with and express knowledge, and aligning with industry expectations. Importantly, they’ve enabled critical conversations about the real-world application of skills and students have benefitted by developing more easily transferrable skills that support them in their professional practice.”
Karen Taylor, Head of Membership & Development at Advance HE, said, "We're delighted to announce the recipients of this year's Innovative Practice Grants.
"As we mark the second year of this important initiative for small, specialist, independent and college-based higher education institutions in Advance HE membership across the UK, we've ensured the themes align directly with our 2024-25 global member benefits - developed through extensive member consultation to address the pressing challenges facing higher education today.
"These grants reflect our unwavering commitment to supporting excellence and innovation while facilitating the vital sharing of good practice among our members. By publishing case studies from the funded projects later this year, we're creating opportunities for institutions worldwide to apply these valuable insights within their own unique contexts."