EMPLOYABILITY IN THE CURRICULUM – A NO-FUSS APPROACHDr Errietta Bissa

School of Classics

University of Wales Trinity St David

A bit of history…• The Classics Employability Project started in 2009/10.• The School of Classics in UWTSD has about 210 FTE

UGs, and some 20 FTE PGs.• We teach Greek and Roman history, culture and literature,

as well as Greek and Latin.• The idea was to embed employability in the curriculum

within existing subject-specific modules, rather than add a bolt-on module.

Aims of the Project

1. Provide students with a set of skills that make them more employable in the long-run.

2. Make these skills part of the curriculum.

3. Preserve (and increase) student satisfaction rates.

Method

1. Identify key skills wanted by employers but not as yet covered in the curriculum

2. Embed these are part of assessment in existing subject-specific modules.

3. Pilot the idea in 2009/10.

4. Keep on, if successful, in later years.

Skills and Assessment• Skills-training can and is part of modules, often as part of

formative assessment: Ex. group work in seminars, presentations in tutorials, reflection over feedback

• HOWEVER• Such skills-related activities are not obvious to employers• There is no way for students to show/prove their competence at

them if part of formative assessment• Often students do not recognise them as part of skills training and

thus fail to articulate them in their quest for employment

Main Hurdles

1. Possible effect on student satisfaction

2. Possibility of students not realising that they are becoming more employable

3. Staff workload increase

4. Some staff do not want to consider changing assessments

Assessment Types tried• Portfolios – using formative portfolio to inform summative

portfolio• Reply to scholarly article – to encourage formal discussion

and reporting• Oral presentation – individual and group• Group essay/wiki• Reflective reports on group work, presentation (own and

peer)• Webpage creation• Take-home examination (Students received the examination

paper at 9.15am and had to return a completed essay of 3000-words by 3pm on the same day. Aim: Recreate work-place pressure to complete assignment within a business day)

Life of Assessment typesAssessment Type How long did it last? Any Problems?

Formative Portfolios 1 year Workload increased to an unbearable extent

Oral Presentations 4 years (still going) Availability to external examiner, making arrangements for assessment

Group Essay 4 years (still going) Students find it difficult

Reflective Reports 3 years (but expected to return in 2013/4)

Explaining requirements of assessment

Web-page Creation 1 year Lack of administrative support

Take-home examination 4 years (still going) Some administrative issues in the first year

Reply to Scholarly Article 3 years (still going) Explaining requirements of assessment

Student Satisfaction in modules with employability-specific assessments

2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/130

20

40

60

80

100

120

SatisfiedNot Satisfied

Students’ Recognition of Employability Enhancement

2009/10 2012/13

91%

9%

The skills I got from the assessment for

this module make me more employable

Workload considerationsAssessment Type Workload issues

Formative Portfolios 100% increase of workload

Oral Presentations Takes longer for moderator

Group Essay None

Reflective Reports None

Web-page Creation Severe problems in supporting students for assessment

Take-home examination None

Reply to Scholarly Article None

Results

1. Student satisfaction remains excellent.

2. Students recognise the importance of acquiring new skills and that these enhance their employability.

3. Some assessment types are too workload-intensive.

4. Employability-specific assessments have been adopted by diverse members of staff, but this cascading can be slow.

5. Staff have become more flexible as to types of assessments used in modules, and types considered for new modules.

Some issues for managers• Validation or re-validation of modules due to change of

assessments• Providing training for staff, particularly new staff, regarding

marking and moderating these types of assessments.• The first time staff use a different assessment method,

there will be some workload increase.• It is imperative that administrative support is available for

some types of assessment (take-home examination, webpages).

The future• We are still trying to find a way to help students with their

NUMERACY skills. • Considering very carefully providing more take-home

exam opportunities• Still looking for a more satisfying method of group

assessment.

Applicability across subjects• Classics is a very traditional subject, like many of the

Humanities.• Employability is a less prominent feature of student

thinking than in more hands-on subjects.• Embedding via assessment types has worked.• It is essential to identify the skills that are not covered by

traditional assessments.• There is a limit as to how far one can take this approach –

see the issue re numeracy.

THANK YOUErrietta Bissa

e.bissa@tsd.ac.uk