Annual Review of
Research Degree
Programmes
Annual Report Form
Year: 13/14
NB Please complete this form with reference to the Guidelines provided at:
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/ltds/assets/documents/qsh-rdp-pol-qaef.pdf and in conjunction
with the action plan.
Name of School or Institute
Programme(s) covered by this report
Please list the programme(s) covered by this report.
REF 2014
Please provide the overall quality profile for each unit of assessment (i.e., the
proportions of research activity judged to have met each of the quality levels from 4*
to unclassified) and the full-time equivalent number of Category A staff included in the
submission. For each unit, you should also include the sub-profiles for each of the
three elements of the assessment (i.e. the proportions of 4* to unclassified outputs,
impact, and environment).
Review of last year’s Action Plan
Highlight the main issues identified in last year’s report, indicating the actions that
have been taken to resolve the issues.
Performance Statistics
PGR Applications during 2013/14 for intake in 2014
Number of
Number of
Number of
Conversion
Application Offers
offers
ratio of
received
made
accepted
appl. to reg.
Registrations 1 Dec 14
Target
No. of Newly
Number Registered
students
1
No of new 13/14
CoP students
No. of 13/14
PGR students
in Annual
Progression
Learning Agreements
Number
Percentage
received
received
Progress Panel
Reports/Progression
Number
Percentage
received
received
No. in 13/14 First-Year
PGR Cohort
Doctoral Examination
Outcomes
Key Performance Indicators
Submission
Rate
No. of first-year
students who have 10
completed interactions
on ePortfolio
a(i)
Research Masters
Exam Outcomes
Pass
a(ii)
a(iii)
Merit
Formal Complaints
DHLE
Destination
Data
Project approvals
Number
Percentage
received
received
Percentage
in Work
b(i)
Dist.
Completion Rate
Percentage of first-year
students with 10
completed interactions
on ePortfolio
b(ii)
b(iii)
other
other
Fail
Total
Total
Formal Appeals
Percentage
in Further
Study (Full
or Part
Time)
Percentage
in Work
and Study
Percentage
Unemployed
Other
Average
Salary
2012/13
Sections A and B should be completed to focus upon those areas where change has
occurred over the past year, areas of evident good practice and areas where the
need for improvement has been identified.
Within Section A, where no substantial change has taken place since completion of
the previous year’s report, please indicate this and where appropriate you may copy
and paste the text from that report.
Section B should be completed with reference to the appropriate annually available
information, e.g. performance statistics, student feedback, examiner reports.
Section C should be completed in response both to the most recent PRES data and
also to trends over time.
Sections D, E and F should only be completed for those Research Degree
Programmes that have taught elements (for Section D), CDT/DTP/CTs (for Section
E), and Educational Partnerships provision (for Section F).
2
Section A
Selection, admission and induction
Research Environment
Student Support and Guidance
Research Training and Skills
Employability
3
Section B
Performance Analysis
Student Feedback and Representation
Complaints and Appeals
Examiner and other Stakeholder Feedback
Future Developments
Comment upon any future developments which impact upon the research degree
programme environment.
4
Section C: Response to PRES Data
Briefly comment on the progress that has been made in implementing actions from the PRES
action plan. Indicate the mechanisms used to inform students of any such actions taken as a
result of their PRES feedback and attach an updated PRES action plan.
Section D: Taught Elements of Research Degree Provision (if relevant)
1. Areas of practice which have gone well
Briefly outline areas which have gone well/successes over the past year. Boards of Studies
should exercise their judgement in highlighting issues that are of particular relevance to the
programmes covered by this report.
Draw particular attention to positive features highlighted through survey responses (both
internal and external) and via other forms of feedback.
2. Areas where improvement is required
Briefly outline areas which have not gone well/where the need for improvement has been
identified to improve the student experience.
Please draw particular attention to those areas which have been highlighted through survey
responses and other forms of feedback.
5
Section E: Doctoral Training Provision (if relevant)
Briefly comment on the operation of DTP/DTCs at School-level, including the provision of
necessary facilities and the implementation of any additional researcher development
training. Comment on any specific challenges that have been posed or successes in provision,
and on any challenges in providing equitable support for students.
Section F: Educational Partnerships (if relevant)
Briefly comment on any educational partnerships with other institutions (e.g., joint and dual
awards with other HEIs), including comments on marketing/recruitment processes, the
relationship with the partner(s), and supervisory and researcher training arrangements.
Director of Postgraduate Studies/Postgraduate Research Student
Coordinator
Signed
Dated
Name
6
Annual Review of Research Degree Programmes
School / Institute:
ACTION PLAN
Date:
Issue
Source of issue
Action
By whom
By when
Outcome
Completion
date
7