Careers education case study (4): Embedding work-related learning in the HE curriculum at a university in north-east England
Newcastle University Careers Service has developed a careers module with a focus on enhancing student employability and benefiting the local community. It evolved from a student tutoring programme and has now been extended to include students engaged in volunteering and part-time term time work.
Key features
- Students work within the Newcastle University Graduate Skills Framework and undertake reflective self-improvement that introduces them to learning cycles applied to a work-based context.
- Students use structured learning logs, learning materials available on Blackboard and attend workshops, tutorials and seminars to learn how to become more effective learners and how to apply their learning in practice.
- Ten and 20-credit modules are available to second and final year students. All students attend an assessed, competence-based interview and receive a placement supervisor evaluation of their placement performance. Students on 20-credit modules undertake an additional assessed task (formal presentation or action research report).
Outcomes and benefits
Student feedback indicates that they find the module challenging, enjoyable, valuable and good preparation for when they apply for jobs. Future development includes linking more explicitly with electronic PDP systems and liaising with academic schools interested in extending access to this type of module.
For further information on this case study, please contact Jim Wood, Assistant Director (Curriculum) at Newcastle University Careers Service.
What are careers education case studies?
These case studies have been compiled by members of the AGCAS Careers Education Task Group, building on the good practice developed in the Careers Education Benchmark Statement. They aim to show the diversity of practice and how careers education is developing as a discipline within HE. We hope they will inspire other practitioners to share their experience by drafting case studies that we can publish during 2009. If you have any comments about this section, or would like to submit a short case study summarising your own experience, please contact Iwan Griffiths.
Read all case studies in the series.
Tags: careers education case studies employability student tutoring
Created on: 22 December 2008
Last updated: 13 January 2009