Success for All
The NTU Success for All initiative represents our institutional commitment to develop appropriate routes to access, participation and success for all students. We do this by leading and implementing what works to support all NTU students to achieve success.
Helping students from all backgrounds and identities to succeed
Within the Centre for Academic Development & Quality (CADQ), everything we do is framed by Success for All (SfA).
We actively seek to challenge and address disparities in student progression, attainment and outcomes by raising awareness of what is working across the sector, and supporting Schools and Professional Service teams in the development, and evaluation of associated interventions.
Success for All underpins NTU’s commitment to:
- active, collaborative learning (SCALE-UP and Team Based Learning)
- curriculum design that emphasises supporting diverse student characteristics
- generate research that uncovers the lived experience of students at NTU (Student 2025)
Collectively, we aim for Success for All to flow through every part of the student learning experience.
The Success for All initiative supports delivery of NTU’s Access and Participation Plan 2020/21-2024/25. This page provides useful information and resources related to selected CADQ-supported Success for All initiatives.
Curricula Decolonisation
Supporting colleagues to understand and take action towards curricula decolonisation is an important and growing part of learning and teaching professional development at NTU, where bespoke support is tailored to subject discipline contextual needs. In collaboration with NTU Libraries and Learning Resources, CADQ has designed a series of critical questions to be used alongside discipline-specific resource lists to support the process of curricula decolonisation.
Active Collaborative Learning
Research has shown that the most inclusive approach to teaching diverse cohorts of students is using active and collaborative learning pedagogies (ACL). ACL pedagogies are student-centred and focus on activities that directly engage students in the learning process.
The role of the academic is focused on the facilitation of learning, and providing timely feedback, while students engage in learning by doing through active collaboration with each other. A range of ACL approaches are encouraged, with SCALE-UP promoted as the preferred NTU pedagogy.
Since 2012, Student-Centred Active Learning Environment with Upside-down Pedagogies (SCALE-UP) has been developed and implemented as a primary learning and teaching pedagogy at NTU. SCALE-UP delivery replaces lectures and didactic learning content with enquiry-based, problem-solving learning activities within structured learning environments and student groupings. This creates space for enhanced feedback opportunities, and increased focus upon more challenging aspects of the curriculum.
NTU research evidences the benefit of SCALE-UP learning, including reduced progression gaps, reduced attainment gaps and improvements in student engagement and achievement.
As part of our commitment to develop large-scale systemic interventions to reduce disparities in progression, attainment, and engagement for all students, the Centre for Academic Development & Quality is leading a Team Based Learning (TBL) pilot to widen the use of active collaborative learning across a significant number of NTU courses.
TBL is a structured form of flipped learning that uses specific sequential learning, including individual study, group work, immediate feedback, and teacher-facilitated discussion and debate, to create a motivational framework for student learning.
Anticipated benefits of the TBL Pilot Project include:
- Enhanced student success, as TBL is associated with increased continuation, progression, and attainment.
- Reduced attainment gaps, as TBL is associated with a reduction in attainment disparities for SfA beneficiary groups, Increased student satisfaction.
- Greater use of active, collaborative learning (ACL) pedagogies, as course teams have a wider range of ACL pedagogies to select from.
The outcomes of this pilot will be shared in 2024. If you have any questions in the meantime please contact us by email.
NTU is committed to designing assessments which feel authentic, inclusive and meaningful for students. These are learning opportunities that mirror relevant real-world and/or work-like activity, including live briefs and challenges set around community, industry and global challenges.
This type of assessment design actively supports student employability, whilst encouraging students to make real-life contributions within professional contexts.
With Success for All in mind, NTU assessment design considers inclusive principles such as assessment literacy, diversity of assessment types, and the provision of constructive formative feedback throughout the learning process.
Contact us
If you would like to find out more about the work of CADQ please email cadq.enquiries@ntu.ac.uk.