Academic Partnerships Digital Strategy 2013-20
Overarching Aim:
Our vision is to support and enable flexible provision through embedding innovative and
stimulating technologies appropriately within all aspects of partnership through delivering
excellence in teaching and learning. We will develop our agility and resilience to become a
university that extends its reputation and presence beyond its physical campus into an ‘edgeless
digital’ institution.
Purpose:
This digital strategy has a multi targeted audience and has been developed to promote a united
understanding between the university and its partners (existing and new).
Academic Partnerships (AP) encompasses over 15,000+ Plymouth University students across the
region, nationally and internationally. Academic Partnerships support the creation, development and
sustainability of high quality partnerships with organisations that serve to advance the reputation of
Plymouth University and deliver of academic excellence (Academic Partnerships Strategy 2013). This
strategy aims to support students and staff to engage, embed and accelerate the digitally literate
use of technologies within their provision across academic partnerships worldwide.
Within an ever changing world of rapid radical technological ever changing environment, a coherent
digital presence is imperative to communicating the Plymouth student voice along with the
commitment to ensure an outstanding student experience. It draws on the principles outlines from
the Plymouth University 2020 Strategy, Plymouth University Digital Strategy (2012-2020) and the
more recent Teaching, Learning and the Student Experience Strategy (2013 – 2020). It is our vision to
offer support underpinned by appropriate pedagogies enabling student’s exposure to and
development of digital skills. Key to this the use of device independent technologies within teaching
and learning and the wider student experience in order that our students can thrive within a global
environment.
This strategy aims to unite the significant themes drawn from both University and Academic
Partnerships strategy to communicate the importance and raise awareness of technology within our
teaching and learning and the wider student experience.
Academic Partnerships seeks to develop, deploy and advocate appropriate systems which further
align student services from the complete student life cycle adopting a more seamless approach to
information systems infrastructures.
Julie Swain – QA Partnerships Co-ordinator, Academic Partnerships April 2013
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For Partners
This strategy emphasises the commitment given by the University to the importance and use of
digital literacies/skills within teaching and learning to support, inspire and enable wider learning
opportunities – advancing knowledge and transforming lives through education and research. We
aim to work collaboratively with all partners to embed the Plymouth University strategy 2020
through KPI’s (identified below) providing freedom and flexibility in supporting the nature of
partnership working.

To offer support and communications to all students studying through Academic
Partnerships and to raise awareness and access to digital tools through embedding digital
learning opportunities seamlessly throughout the curriculum. Through supporting a further
collaborative approach to enhance communication channels and strategies to enable
students to engage fully with the Plymouth Learning experience.

To embed digital thinking throughout all partnership working from the approval process
through to graduation and beyond to ensure a seamless thread throughout the entirety of
the student learning journey.

To encourage and enable staff to develop their digital practices and adopt the skills needed
to deploy innovation and enhancement through their teaching and learning.

To provide an excellent learning and stimulating student experience, where students are at
the heart of all our considerations.
For Academic Partnerships Staff

To raise awareness, importance and commitment to digital working throughout Academic
Partnerships, for both existing and new partners.

To work with colleagues both internally and externally to ensure systems are fit for the ever
changing business of Academic Partnerships with particular focus on aligning all systems to
meet new business needs. Academic Partnerships will be working closely with Technology
Information Services (TIS) to review current systems and work collaboratively to plan for
future systems which must be developed to meet the needs and demands of Academic
Partnerships.

To develop appropriate systems to support mobile working and community development to
manage and quality assure the provision offered by Academic Partnerships. To include tools
that support diverse remote working for planning and managing process effectively across
geographic and institutional boundaries.

To support Academic Partnerships staff with the appropriate staff development and
supported technologies for mobile working to respond and react to partnership working
more efficiently.
Julie Swain – QA Partnerships Co-ordinator, Academic Partnerships April 2013
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
To encourage and engage staff to develop digital skills to enable innovation in partnership
working.
Flexible Learning and Digital Literacy
Academic Partnerships will promote flexible delivery and methods of learning that reflect the
requirements of the programme, to support all our students in Plymouth and around the world to
become effective global citizens. We will:

support students to appropriately choose, use and personalise technologies and digital
content to suit their own needs, to be skilled users of digital information, able to act
ethically, responsibility and securely in a fast-moving digital environment;

develop inclusive learning and assessment opportunities that meet the needs of diverse
learners through flexible module learning and assessment options;

broaden support for learning through tutoring, peer support initiatives, learning
development opportunities;

to equip students to manage their own learning and develop their understanding of life-long
learning;

informed by the University Digital Strategy, and aligned with national initiatives will
continue to support all staff to develop their digital literacy to ensure they can confidently
and appropriately use new technologies in their teaching.
(Teaching, Learning & Student Experience Strategy 2013)


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enhance the student experience by embedding digital technologies into our teaching and
learning approaches and the supporting communication and administrative frameworks;
provide a digital environment that is underpinned by modern joined up systems and userfriendly services which enables collaboration , efficient working and effective management
of the University
Support student and staff innovation through digital technologies that enable the creation
and development of new ideas for education and research;
Develop an outstanding online presence that promotes the work and reputation of our
university and enable opportunities to enhance collaboration with our partners.
(Plymouth University Strategy 2020)
Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) to support and guide our progress:Aim 1– To support staff through collaborative and shared communication systems to
support the student learning experience.
o
o
o
KPI 1.0: Raise awareness and forward planning the appropriate use of technologies in
teaching and learning to ensure the technology is an integral part of the student experience.
KPI 1.1: Support staff through regular communications, staff development and enhancement
to ensure they have the skills to embed within their teaching and learning, utilising the
Academic partnerships external and internal web presence.
KPI1.2: Foster and encourage innovation in teaching and learning through using digital
technologies including the development of collaborative projects to unite particular
Julie Swain – QA Partnerships Co-ordinator, Academic Partnerships April 2013
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communities of practice to enable the creation and development of new ideas for epedagogic research in collaboration with the Academic Partnerships Research and
scholarly activity strategy.
KPI 1.3: Develop new awards (at all levels) through addressing both curriculum design and
delivery (identified within the revised approval process) in particular focusing on flexible
delivery options
Aim 2 – To ensure students are aware of all Plymouth technologies and wider learning
opportunities
o
o
o
KPI 2.0: Ensure all students are offered appropriate guidance and support on university
technologies to support and enhance their studies through their choice of technology in
particular Plymouth email and specific e-resources designed to enhance the student learning
journey and communications strategy.
KPI2.1: Recognise and support its populations with appropriate digital skills for study and
beyond within the workforce or further higher level study.
KPI2.2: Encourage the use of technologies to enhance the student journey from induction to
outduction including a specific focus on student voice.
Aim 3 – To encourage and enable collaborative working to develop appropriate systems to
meet the business function of Academic Partnerships and its partners
o
o
KPI 3.0: Aspire to develop and embed effective joined –up systems adopting quality
assurance practices to enable partnership working to operate within robust, secure and
instant frameworks including e-assessment.
KPI 3.1: Ensure all partners and students are aligned with University digital strategy goals
through clear communication channels ensuring all are able to engage with current and
emerging technologies.
Indicative First Steps:


Pilot the use of new technologies to plan and organise the Academic Partnerships academic
operation to align with TIS strategic planning.
To support and enhance the student experience through further understanding the position
of the use of technology across partnerships in line with UK and International developments
in particular access to online resources.

Keeping abreast of the technological developments of our partners and competitors
ensuring Academic Partnerships is well informed and positioned appropriately.
Models to embed Digital Technologies in Teaching and Learning - 3E Framework
Academic Partnerships supports and advocates the 3E framework as a benchmark for the use of
technology in modules, developed by JISC and Edinburgh University.
This framework is built on three key principles: Enhance, Extend and Empower. It is assumed to
support and assist in the enhancement with both staff and students. The framework acts as a
benchmark of which development can be seen measured and feedback into the student experience
life – cycle. It demonstrates a way of uniting both staff and students including peer to peer, to work
collaboratively to fully embed digital technologies appropriately within their learning journeys with
the continuum which is always supporting advancement and forward thinking. In part is does place
Julie Swain – QA Partnerships Co-ordinator, Academic Partnerships April 2013
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resilience on joint ownership from both staff and students in extending the programmes to enable
empowerment.
Enhance
Extend
Empower
Enhance
Adopting technology in simple and effective ways to actively support student and increase their
activity and self-responsibility.
Extend
Further use of technology that facilitates key aspects of student’s individual and collaborative
learning and assessment through increasing their choice and control.
Empower
Developed use of technology that requires higher order individual and collaborative learning that
reflects how knowledge is created and used in the professional environment.
For more information and details including illustrative examples of embedding within different
learning activities follow the link:
http://staff.napier.ac.uk/services/academicdevelopment/TechBenchmark/Documents/3E_Framewo
rk_Nov_2011.pdf
References:
Edinburgh University & JISC (2011) 3E Framework [online] available from:
http://staff.napier.ac.uk/services/academicdevelopment/TechBenchmark/Documents/3E_Framework_Nov_2011.pdf
Plymouth University (2013) Academic Partnerships Strategy (2013) [online] available from:
http://www1.plymouth.ac.uk/academicpartnerships/Documents/AP%20Strategy.pdf
Plymouth University (2013) Teaching, Learning and the Student Experience Strategy (2013 – 2020) [online] available from:
http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/files/extranet/docs/QAL/Teaching%20Learning%20and%20Student%20Experience%20Strateg
y%20Final%20with%20logo.pdf
Plymouth University 2020 Strategy [online] available from:
http://www1.plymouth.ac.uk/ouruniversity/strategy/Documents/Plymouth%20University%20Strategy%202020%20FINAL
%20@%2018.01.13.pdf
Plymouth University Digital Strategy (2012-2020) available from:
http://ilsselfhelp.plymouth.ac.uk/default.asp?id=1114&SID=&Lang=1
Julie Swain – QA Partnerships Co-ordinator, Academic Partnerships April 2013
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