Institutional Statement

The University of Aberdeen recognises the importance of feedback in supporting and developing students’ learning, and is proactive in its approach to working with developments in this important area. It is also committed to working with the University’s Student Association to enhance the student learning experience, and this website is one example of collaboration of this type.

The University has consulted widely with its academic staff to produce its first Feedback Framework in 2009, which encapsulates the key elements of the process; that feedback should be timely, supportive, understandable and focussed on improvement.

The University takes part in a range of major national student-informed surveys which monitor student opinion of feedback provided to them, including the National Student Survey (NSS), the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES), Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) and the International Student Barometer (ISB). Data from these surveys are used to inform practice at the course and programme level, highlighting both effective practice and areas for further development.

The University recognises the importance of ongoing development opportunities for staff whose roles include providing feedback, and makes available a range of development sessions and supporting materials.

This website brings together materials and sources of further information to support staff in providing the best possible feedback to their students, including examples of feedback proformas from Schools within all three Colleges. The website also provides information to raise students’ awareness of their role in the feedback process and to help them to engage successfully with the feedback they receive.

If you have further ideas or examples of effective practice that you would like to share with colleagues from across the University, please forward them to clt@abdn.ac.uk.

Professor Peter McGeorge, Vice-Principal (Learning and Teaching), &
Tessa Birley, President, Aberdeen University Students' Association (2011/12)