Background Information

Queen’s is committed to enhancing the student experience and ensuring that satisfaction rates among its students are high. Key to achieving this is increasing the level of engagement students have with the University and the strength of their identification with their programme/School.

For many Queen’s students, their academic interactions are their only interactions with University life, and, in these circumstances, the teaching timetable largely determines their entire student experience. In many cases, students are only required to be in attendance a few days a week and the proximity of ‘home’ appears to be a significant factor in lack of engagement and failure to take advantage of wider opportunities available to them.

What is the Student Centred Timetabling Project?

In order to increase student interaction with the University and ensure students experience a five-day academic week, the University has approved a student centred approach to timetabling and room allocation. In order to achieve this, a staged implementation plan, overseen by the Student Centred Timetabling Project Board, has been approved by the University Operating Board.

What are the benefits of Student Centred Timetabling?

• It will ensure that students are taught ‘close to home’, increasing student interaction and creating a stronger sense of identification with their School.
• It will increase the use of teaching accommodation within Schools which will help to promote a sense of community among students.
• It will match accommodation better to activity type to improve the learning and teaching experience for both staff and students.
• It will help to ensure better use of the Estate and will result in opportunities to convert less well used rooms for other purposes, such as group study.
• It will ensure improved quality of accommodation across the University.

How will this be done?

The Project is following a staged implementation plan. Phase 1 of the Project was undertaken in 2011 and Phase 2 will be completed by September 2012.

More details about Phase 1 of the Project can be found here.

More details about Phase 2 of the Project can be found here.

What are the main changes?

The Academic Timetable for 2012-13 will be written to ensure students are taught ‘close to home’. In order to achieve this, a designated set of teaching rooms, previously under School management, will be moved to central management from September 2012. Although priority will be given to ‘home’ Schools, these rooms will be available for use by other local Schools.

A number of rooms will be prioritised for upgrade during summer 2012. The works vary in scope from new furniture and AV to major refurbishment and will continue to ensure a minimum standard across all teaching rooms.