Staffordshire University Personal Development Planning Policy

1. Introduction to the Policy Personal Development Planning (PDP) is defined as: A structured and supported process undertaken by an individual to reflect upon their own learning, performance and/or achievement and to plan for their personal, educational and career development.1 1.1. Background and National Context The Dearing Report (1997) recommended the introduction of Progress Files, consisting of two elements: a transcript recording student achievement and “a means by which students can monitor, build and reflect upon their personal development.”2 In 2000 a policy statement and associated guidelines were agreed by Universities UK (then CVCP), ScoP, Universities Scotland (then CoSHEP) and QAA. ‘Guidelines for HE Progress Files’3 stipulates that the PDP element of the policy objectives should be operational across the whole HE system and for all HE awards by 2005/6. The recent White Paper, ‘The Future of Higher Education’ (2003), also supports the use of Progress Files: We want them [transcripts and personal development portfolios] to be used to enable learners to understand and reflect on their achievements, and to present those achievements to employers, institutions and other stakeholders.4 1.2. Key Drivers •

Enhancing employability: PDP-related activities such as self analysis, reflection and action planning enhance students’ employability as, through engagement with PDP, students become more self-aware, more able to articulate their skills to potential employers and more likely to be able to take responsibility for their own personal and career development in the longer term.

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Guidelines for HE Progress Files, QAA 2000 National Committee of Inquiry in Higher Education (Recommendation 20), 1997 3 Guidelines for HE Progress Files, QAA 2000 4 White Paper: The Future of Higher Education (2003), p52 2

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Improving retention: A common reason for students to leave university early is that they feel they lack the skills or support they need to complete their course or that they feel disengaged from the academic experience. PDP, through its focus on the personal development needs of the individual (especially with the support of academic tutors), can help to remedy this.

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Promoting student recruitment: As employability performance indicators are increasingly a factor in students’ choice of university, a university with an excellent record for the employability of its graduates is likely to attract more new students.

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Supporting widening participation: With the increasingly diversity of students now studying at the University the opportunity to tailor a student’s learning experience to their individual development needs through PDP (instead of adopting a “one-size fits all” approach to teaching and learning) is likely to result in greater engagement in the learning process by students from diverse backgrounds.

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Deepening learning: Facilitating a learning cycle of doing, reflecting, theorising and planning through PDP-related activities can lead to deeper learning as students become familiar with the process of reflecting on their learning experiences and using this to enhance their personal development.

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Bringing cohesion: The modular framework can, at times, lead to a fragmented academic experience for students in which teaching and learning is delivered by different people in discrete chunks, with few connecting threads or opportunities for synoptic work. PDP can be regarded as the “glue” which holds an academic experience together in a way which is meaningful for an individual student, as students focus on their learning, their personal goals and their holistic development over time, drawing on their work-related and extra-curricular (as well as their academic) learning experiences.

2. Stakeholders This policy is for all students, full time, part time, undergraduate and postgraduate, on-campus and distance learners, and SURF. The policy will also assist all University staff in their support of student learning, guidance and progression and their own personal development. The overall PDP policy implementation and leadership is the responsibility of the Academic Development Institute who, particularly during the implementation phase for PDP in the University from September 2004 to September 2007, will facilitate the undertaking of appropriate review and evaluation of this policy, its use and development.

3. Benefits to Stakeholders 3.1. Students PDP will help students: •

Integrate their personal and academic development and improve their capacity to plan their own academic programmes.

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Be more effective in monitoring and reviewing their own progress.

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Be more aware of how they are learning and what different teaching and learning strategies are trying to achieve.

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Recognise and discuss their own strengths and weaknesses.

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Identify opportunities for learning and personal development outside the curriculum. Staffordshire University Personal Development Planning Policy PDP Steering & Implementation Group December 2004 Page 2 of 5

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Be better prepared for seeking employment or self-employment and be more able to relate what they have learnt to the requirements of employers.

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Be better prepared for the demands of continuing professional or vocational development when they enter employment.

3.2. Academic Staff PDP will help academic staff: •

Improve the quality of experience for tutors and tutees when it is linked to personal tutoring systems.

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Make more effective use of off-campus opportunities for learning, such as work placements.

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By helping students to be more independent/autonomous learners.

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By creating a mechanism through which career-related skills and capabilities can be recorded.

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By improving their understanding of the development of individual students and their ability to provide more meaningful employment references on their behalf.

3.3. The University and Academic Faculties PDP will help the University and the Faculties: •

Facilitate more effective monitoring of student progress.

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Develop more effective academic support and guidance systems, thus resulting in better retention and support of students from increasingly diverse backgrounds.

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Enhance their capacity to demonstrate the quality of support they are giving to students in external review processes.

4. University Commitments As articulated in the University Employability Policy (2004), the University’s stated aim is to provide all its students with “the opportunity to engage in a Personal Development Planning programme5 while at the University, as well as having access to tailored support and relevant opportunities.”6 While a student’s learning and development through PDP will not be explicitly assessed, in some cases specific PDP-related activities (such as reflective pieces work or skills analysis work) may be formatively or summatively assessed or constitute a focus for peer- or self-assessment within appropriate modules. This policy is in accordance with the QAA’s ‘Guidelines on HE Progress Files’ (2000) and the University’s Commitment to Equality and Diversity (2003). 4.1. QAA Minimum Expectations The minimum expectations for PDP are as follows: •

At the start of a programme, students will be introduced to the opportunities for PDP.

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Students will be provided with opportunities for PDP at each stage of their programme.

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The term ‘programme’ here refers to a structured learning experience which continues throughout a student’s time at the University, in which PDP-related learning opportunities (either embedded within the curriculum or supported by personal tutorials) are linked together in an explicit and coherent way. 6 Staffordshire University Employability Policy, 2004 Staffordshire University Personal Development Planning Policy PDP Steering & Implementation Group December 2004 Page 3 of 5

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The rationale for PDP at different stages of a programme will be explained for the benefit of students (for example, in course handbooks and programme specifications/module descriptors).

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Students will have the opportunity to participate in a range of learning contexts at each stage or level of their programme.

4.2. PDP Opportunities: Key elements PDP opportunities will be embedded throughout every academic programme and will contain the following key elements as a minimum, in line with QAA expectations and a consensus regarding the nature of effective PDP practice. At the start of the programme this will include: •

An introduction to the ideas underpinning PDP, its purpose and long-term benefits.

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An outline of the PDP programme (both the curriculum-embedded and the tutorialbased elements).

Throughout the course of the programme this will include: •

Opportunities for the analysis of transferable skills and professional skills related to the subject discipline and an identification of skills development needs.

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Opportunities to work on skills students have identified as areas for development.

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Opportunities to identify and set appropriate goals and make longer-term plans for personal, educational and career development.

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The opportunity to consider personal development in a holistic sense, encompassing all areas of a student’s experience (academic, work-related, social and personal).

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Opportunities for continuous reflection on learning, skills and personal development, and to review plans in the light of progress over time.

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Making links with the development of career-planning and -management skills (see University Employability Policy).

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Signposting to employability enhancing activities and opportunities available at the University and referrals to appropriate support staff across the institution (for example, the Careers and Employability Service, Counselling, the Library).

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The opportunity to develop a PDR (Personal Development Record) or a learning portfolio containing information on a student’s personal, educational and career development, which can then be drawn upon in job or further study applications.

4.3. Access to PDP Opportunities The above key elements of PDP can be made available to students by means of: •

Personal tutoring.

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Elements embedded in the curriculum (in modules/pathways).

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Use of a PDP e-learning resource.

Students should have the opportunity to engage in PDP through all of the above where appropriate; however, the balance between personal tutoring-facilitated PDP and PDP embedded in the curriculum may vary according to the Faculty/subject discipline. All awards will make explicit the rationale for how PDP is made available to students on the award.

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4.4. Faculty Responsibilities Academic Faculties will: •

Ensure that all academic programmes incorporate opportunities for students to engage in PDP activity in accordance with this policy.

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Ensure that academic and support staff are fully aware of their responsibilities in relation to PDP.

4.5. Responsibilities of Academic Staff Academic staff will: •

Provide advice and guidance to students engaged in PDP processes, signposting where necessary to support services such as Counselling and the Careers and Employability Service.

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