About Personal and Academic Records
The PADSHE concept centres upon academic processes and the documentation generated
by them, known as Personal and Academic Records (PARs) . This introduction defines
PARs, presents the rationale behind them and describes their benefits for staff
and students.
What are Personal and Academic Records ?
Personal and Academic Records (PARs) are dual record systems, in paper or electronic
form, used and kept by both staff and students working together. They record
the academic and personal development of individual students and the processes
by which a department provides them with support.
They are designed to fulfil three important functions at the same time:
- to support student progress and help maximise academic achievement and skills/career
development
- to streamline student-related admin for academics, by integrating disparate
activities into a system which makes the most of scarce tutorial time
- to encourage students to reflect upon and take increasing responsibility
for the management of their own learning and personal development.
The key principle of customisation
The PAR concept is intended to be customised. Customisation may take place
at any level, as appropriate: institution, faculty, school, department, individual
student. At the University of Nottingham, generally each school/department designs
its own PAR, within guidelines, by harnessing existing good practice and customising
sample PARs to meet any special requirements. There is not one single institutional
PAR for everyone to use, since disciplines vary and it is considered essential
that the PAR concept is developed in ways which suit each set of staff and students
and their specific situation. Consultation with students and staff, inviting
their thoughtful, constructive input, is part of the recommended customisation
process. Other services within the University which are involved in supporting
students are making important contributions to the ongoing development of individual
PARs -- for example, the Careers Advisory Service and the Students' Union, including
Community Action.
PARs: The rationale
- The Dearing Review of HE (July 1997) calls for a tightening up of teaching
quality, a strong focus on skills development and HE support for a new culture
of lifetime learning underpinned by the practice of recording achievement.
PARs will help meet these demands in a style defined within HE, for
HE
- PARs are valuable to departments preparing for Teaching Quality Assessment
(PARs strengthen performance in 5 of the 6 dimensions)
- PARs include an approach to personal tutoring which treats all students
in any particular cohort equally and helps maximise achievement
- PARs can help structure academic guidance for students building programmes
of study within diffuse modular degree structures
- PARs can help achieve efficient, streamlined departmental processes
Benefits for staff and students
Academic departments gain:
- efficient, equitable personal tutor systems where tutor-tutee contact time
is enriched
- better records
- QA documentation evidencing the quality and effectiveness of student support
and guidance
- a streamlining of often diffuse teaching-related tasks into a single, integrated
process, designed to meet all internal needs and all external demands
- better resources for reference writing
Students gain:
- formalised academic feedback at regular, helpful intervals
- support from a tutor in reflecting on their overall academic progress and
in planning option choices, so that opportunities for enhancing achievement
are not missed
- encouragement to plan extracurricular activities, vacation work, part-time
jobs, so as to maximise their development of life skills and enhance their
employability
- personal profile materials -- useful for writing CVs and applications for
jobs or further study
Guidelines
See the Guidelines for academic departments
for more detail on the framework for developing PARs.
