Academic Strategy - Vision and Purpose

Our Vision

We are the University of Cumbria, for and from Cumbria and our localities, rooted in and serving our communities, with people, place and partnership at our heart.

Towards 2030 articulates a clear vision for the future where the university will focus on “Transforming lives and livelihoods through learning, applied research and practice – for now and for our future generations” and through our mission we will ensure we are “Inspiring and equipping our graduates, communities, economy and environment to thrive”. This strategy encompasses the intent and direction for our future academic activity to achieve this vision and mission.

Purpose

The university was established to play a significant role in increasing higher education participation and addressing the higher-level education and skills needs of Cumbria, and in doing so to co-create and apply new knowledge. This continues to drive us, as does a new and clear objective to be recognised as sector leading for our apprenticeship provision. As we look to the future, we know our county’s employers and sectors will provide even more local, demand-led opportunities for us to pursue, enabling us to accelerate the development of expertise we can utilise nationally and internationally. These include areas such as: digital transformation, advanced manufacturing, supply chain and logistics, the low carbon economy, medicine and health and wellbeing, which in turn will generate opportunities for new skills, knowledge exchange and applied research. Through our Academic Strategy we will take a long-term view to developing the academic capability to realise these opportunities, investing in the short to medium term for longer term benefits.

The following assumptions underpin and inform our approach:

- Our student body will

- continue to grow and diversify, reflecting our role, the needs of learners, employers and the economy,

- study on our campuses, in their workplace, flexibly, remotely, online and through our educational partnerships.

- Our approach to meet their varied needs and expectations will need to reflect this, as will the ways we measure their satisfaction and outcomes.

- We must equip our graduates with the skills, confidence and attributes to realise their potential, to succeed in their workplace and careers and to be active global citizens. We will achieve this through our taught programmes, learning and teaching approach, curricula, research and practice focus, student support and wider student value proposition.

- Our strategies, policies and approaches will be integrated to ensure we are able to meet the requirements of the external higher education regulatory environment - in particular (i) the Office for Students threshold standards for student outcomes, (ii) the Office for Standards in Education inspections covering our initial teacher education and apprenticeship provision and (iii) the range of Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies which accredit aspects of our academic portfolio.

- Shifting education and skills priorities and policy areas will present both risks and opportunities and we will need to be alert to ensure we can address changing requirements and expectations.

- We need to embrace the transformational potential of digital applications and technologies and recognise, and seek to mitigate, the inequalities that this may present.

- We do not, and we should not work alone - we have a rich and worldclass asset base of people, place, and practice to draw on.

- We work in and through student, educational, employer, sector and place-based partnerships and collaborations, co-creating approaches, content and solutions which meet our student and key stakeholder needs.

This strategy is required to, and does, encompass all relevant academic activity: learning, teaching and assessment, student experience and achievement, research and knowledge exchange, the continued development of the academic portfolio and academic staff development. The strategy through its key themes outlines the intent and approach to ensure we meet the following aims:

Learning, Teaching and Assessment

- Our curricula and learning, teaching and assessment plan will engage our students (irrespective of learner and mode and programme type) and ensure our graduates are equipped with the skills, knowledge, confidence and attributes to realise their potential and succeed on their university programme, their future careers and as digitally-enabled and global citizens

- Our curricula and approach to learning and teaching will be informed and enhanced through our research and professional practice, drawing on innovative and sector-leading approaches and the contributions of employers.

Student Experience and Achievement

- The support and advice we provide to our students will be, where practical, aligned to their individual learning needs and environments, leading to improved student experiences, academic outcomes and opportunities for graduate work and further study after graduation.

Research and Knowledge Exchange

- Our research and knowledge exchange focus and priorities will reflect and reinforce our key academic strengths in our strategic areas of education and business engagement such as education, medicine and allied health, environment and sustainability, arts and participation, project management, supply chain and logistics, advanced manufacturing, computing, and engineering.

- We will capitalise on our subject strengths to grow and ensure we deliver a research-informed curriculum.

- We will be Towards 2030 strategy led and partner informed, in co-creating and applying new knowledge and practice, seeking to address regional, sector and practice requirements, and to accelerate and increase the expertise we export nationally and internationally.

- We will focus on the impact of our research to our region, economy, practice and our students.

Academic Portfolio

We will strengthen and develop further the academic core of our university by broadening and diversifying our disciplinary offer to meet regional, national and international needs and priorities. Our approach will ensure the portfolio continues to evolve to meet the needs of (i) our students - to enable entry to, and success in, their future careers and (ii) key sectors and employers - in particular addressing the workforce and sector needs of Cumbria, and from this beyond.

Academic Staff Development

We will ensure our academic staff have the relevant skills, expertise, practice, pedagogies and career pathways to deliver our short to medium term ambition and to position the University of Cumbria as a positive and progressive university to begin and develop an academic career. The skills and expectations of the “Cumbria Academic” will be a pivotal part of our academic development activities.

Links to Other Strategies and Plans

The Academic Strategy outlines the university’s key strategic direction, focus and actions to achieve the Towards 2030 academic related ambitions and goals. The following three -year rolling action plans will articulate this further and generate the associated implementation plans and any required changes to regulations, policies and guidance:

- Learning, Teaching & Assessment

- Applied Research & Knowledge Exchange

- Student Support & Wellbeing

- Portfolio and Pipeline

- Apprenticeships

In addition, the Academic Staff Development theme actions will be implemented and monitored through the Academic Strategy and Planning Committee and the Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee.