The University of Nottingham's case study

SAPARs (Study Abroad PARs) for undergraduates in American and Canadian Studies

Rationale

Numbers participating

Timescale of the case study exercise

Diagnostic evaluation of adequacy of existing PAR provision for case study student group

1. Evaluation process
• Pre SAPAR
• meeting with Yr2 students who had been away
• meeting with staff responsible for Study Abroad
• meeting with Yr1 students and Study Abroad tutors two months before their departure in August
• After the period of study abroad (97/98 cohort)
• questionnaire completed by all Yr2 students
• discussion with 9 volunteers
• Evidence from the above contributed to an interim evaluation, June 1998, by the Department of American & Canadian Studies and formed part of the evaluation report presented to the Steering Committee
• After the period of Study Abroad (98/99 cohort)
• discussion with 4 students, together with SA tutor and administrator (February 1999)
• questionnaire completed by all Yr2 students (April 1999)
2. Key findings.

• Student responses to a kind of writing which they perceived as quite different from the academic varied: some found it a waste of time, others thoroughly enjoyed it.
• The IT based format was valued by students who had not previously investigated email.
• The format (email) felt like writing a letter. This raised expectations that the SAPAR reports were being read and would be responded to by someone in the department. This aspect of the process needed further clarification, with students and with personal tutors
• Staff obligations need to be agreed by the whole department.
• More structure/guidance/prompts would help students to write reports which would be useful to them, both at the time of writing and in the future.
• The number of communications needed to be reduced by one (this happened in 1998/99).
• Most students, including those who were used to a PAR in the English department, failed to perceive any links between the SAPAR process and the personal tutoring system.
• Many students saw the main value of the SAPAR as being a source of information and reassurance for future Study Abroad cohorts.

Pointers gained from relevant experience in other institutuins inside or outside PADSHE

FDTL projects based in departments of Modern Foreign Languages (eg RAPPORT) are a fruitful source of ideas for a) encouraging "long-distance" reflection, and b) considering how the SAPAR might be more successfully integrated into the department's system of personal tutoring.

Main modifications/innovations in PAR processes/documentation agreed in relation to staff roles, student roles, staff-student interactions

• Development of full PAR to incorporate SAPAR.
• Redefine roles of Study Abroad tutor and personal tutors.
• Further consideration of audience/purpose for writing emails.
• Greater involvement of Careers Service with Yr2 and Yr4 when Yr3 is to be spent abroad.

Potential for transfer/dissemination to other courses/disciplines/ institutions

• Modern Foreign Language departments at Nottingham.
• Departments at Nottingham where the degree involves work/study off campus eg Animal Production.
• Erasmus students.
• Vocational courses eg PGCE, Physiotherapy, Medicine.
• Participation at FDTL national dissemination day, February 1999
• case study to be on website
• Case study to be sent to departments in other institutions who have already expressed an interest eg American Studies at Aberystwyth.
• Article in PADSHE newsletter.