Renewal IN EDUCATION POLICY
Education Policy
Vice Dean Ramses Wessel is responsible for the Faculty's education policy. In that capacity he is a member of the Faculty's Management Team and he chairs the meetings of the Program Directors. The education portfolio includes: integral education policy for SMG; the representation of the Faculty at a managerial level in the central education committees; directing the content and policy direction for the education manager; and, leadership of the Program Directors. In 2010 Ramses Wessel was asked to join a special group which has as its task the reform of the university's undergraduate programs. In the Spring of 2011 this group will present an innovative model for the new undergraduate programs.
Learning to Learn is Fun
Students receive a great deal of individual attention at the University of Twente. Making the transition to a university can be a time of great anxiety for some. At the UT, this step is not made alone. As an example, students in the programmes of Public Administration, Industrial Engineering and Management and Health Care Sciences learn what it means to study at university with the 'Learning to Learn' course. The programme matches first-year students with existing students studying the same subject. Under the guidance of the more experienced student and with others in their year, first-year students learn how to manage their study time, how to find information more quickly, what speed-reading is, and how to prepare for examinations. 'Learning to Learn' provides ample opportunity for first-year students to share their experiences with others and senior students can give new students tips about student life in Enschede.
Professionalisation of Study Counselling
Since 2006 study counseling has been the focus of increased attention at the School of Management and Governance. The School has four study counselors, each responsible for one or more programme(s). This offers transparency for the students and maximum involvement in 'their' programme(s) for the counselors. This intensive counseling also stimulates professionalisation among the counselors, both individually and among the study counselors of the University as a group.
The focus of study counseling is on informing students, identifying problems timely, answering questions effectively, referring to other professionals when appropriate and challenging good and excellent students. This requires ongoing adjustments and improvements in guidance methods. Moreover, regular monitoring of students aids in the effort to provide active guidance, in terms of form and content. This new approach taken together with the new administrative system (OSIRIS) provides new opportunities in study guidance. An important facet of the tracking system, for example, will be that students must outline their study planning before the beginning of the semester.
Projects in Business, Trade and Industry
A project coordinator has been in post at the School of Management and Governance since December 2008. Organisations can approach the project coordinator with potential research topics in management, governance, IT, logistics, health sciences or marketing (as an example, there may be final-year students available for the investigation of processes). In addition to being good communicators, our students are capable, creative and entrepreneurial. Both degree levels are rounded off with research projects for commercial or semi-governmental organisations. The duration of such projects can vary from three to six months and may be carried out in either Dutch or in English. School of Management and Governance has a strongly international profile. Dutch students are encouraged to expand their vision beyond borders with English-language programmes in which they sit alongside not only their Dutch peers, but also with students from across the world. For more information, please contact Sietie Zuidema (project coordinator: s.zuidema@utwente.nl of 053- 489 3514).
Blackboard in Brief
From the beginning of the 2009-2010 academic year, the University of Twente has supported its educational programmes with a new Electronic Learning Environment called "Blackboard". Within this Blackboard system every course has its own website, students who like to take a course need to enroll into it first.
Blackboard offers opportunities for:
- communication and collaboration (synchronous and asynchronous);
- instruction and guidance for students;
- diagnostic testing;
- archiving of important teaching material.
Blackboard has a large user group within academic circles which helps facilitate exchanges among universities. The development of new functionality for the system is also easier and cheaper. In June 2011 Blackboard will be connected with OSIRIS which is the Universities student information system, and further linking with Syllabus Plus is planned later on. At the moment, we have separate programmes for class schedules and examination enrolment and scoring. Bringing the different programmes together into one system is less confusing for students and will improve oversight.
Contact information Blackboard Support MB
J.A. (Johnny) Lammers van Toorenburg
Telelearning Office MB
Capitool, Room 2408
Telephone 053 - 489 (1159)
E-mail address: teleleren@mb.utwente.nl
Website: www.mb.utwente.nl/teleleren/