Celebrating student engagement - full reports now published 13 Nov 2013
Over the past two years sparqs has been undertaking major research into how student engagement in quality has developed in both Scotland’s university and college sectors and we are pleased to announce the publication of the full celebration reports for… Read More
Annual Report 2013 published 13 Nov 2013
We are pleased to publish our Annual Report for 2013. 2012-13 was an eventful year, with the development of our new strategic plan and sector celebration reports, as well as publication of the sector-owned Student Engagement Framework for Scotland. All of… Read More
Launch of Student Partnership Agreement Guidance 13 Nov 2013
As part of sparqs' 10th anniversary celebrations, we are pleased to launch our Guidance for the development and implementation of a Student Partnership Agreement in universities. Student Partnership Agreements were first outlined in the Scottish Government’s paper, Putting Learners at the Centre,… Read More
sparqs Resource Library 13 Nov 2013
We are delighted to announce that the sparqs Resource Library is now live on our website. The Resource Library provides an ever-evolving database of examples of practice, from reports on introducing sabbatical student officer posts, to case studies of course rep… Read More
Course Rep Training for supported education students 02 Oct 2013
In an exciting development, sparqs has entered into partnership with ENABLE Scotland to deliver Course Rep Training to students in supported education. ENABLE has received funding from the Scottish Funding Council to support transition into employment for students in supported education… Read More
Welcome to our new website! 20 Sep 2013
….and the new format for our news articles! We’ll no longer be publishing a quarterly newsletter – instead, news will appear more regularly in the News Articles section and if you’re on our mailing list you’ll receive the articles direct… Read More
Resource Library 10 Jul 2013
As part of our new website, we are creating a library of good practice examples from across the sector. If you, your students' asssociation, your institution or your department has any examples you feel are suitable then please send them… Read More
Partnerships for Change: How Far We've Come 12 Jun 2013
We look at some of the amazing things students’ associations have achieved during the first year of Partnerships for Change – and we look forward to next year’s challenges, and the support that Partnerships for Change will be offering. With the Partnerships for Change… Read More
sparqs work in Enhancement Themes 11 Jun 2013
This article highlights the main activities that sparqs, in partnership with QAA, are doing to support student involvement in Enhancement Themes. sparqs presented an exciting workshop on the newly launched Student Engagement Framework for Scotland, at the 10th International Enhancement… Read More
Course Rep Training Bookings for 2013-14: now open! 11 Jun 2013
sparqs are happy to announce that Course Rep Training can be booked from Monday 24th June 2013 for the 2013-14 academic year. Training sessions can be scheduled from Monday 9th September 2013 onwards. Please visit www.sparqs.ac.uk/reps from the 24th for more… Read More
SPOTLIGHT ON...Glasgow Clyde College 11 Jun 2013
Find out more about Glasgow Clyde College and their new Students’ Association. Anniesland, Langside and Cardonald Colleges are looking forward to becoming Glasgow Clyde College on the 1st of August 2013. The new college is proud to be providing learning opportunities… Read More
Creating the Future: Students' Associations and College Partnerships 11 Jun 2013
NUS Scotland and sparqs hosted a conference for all those within the college sector with an interest and investment in the future of student engagement and College Students’ Associations in Scotland The conference was held in Glasgow on 21st August 2013 to… Read More
sparqs workshop at HEA Annual Conference 11 Jun 2013
sparqs presented a workshop on Student Partnership Agreements to the Higher Education Academy’s Annual Conference in Coventry on 3rd/4th July 2013. The conference focuses on the theme of ‘Powerful Partnerships: defining the learning experience’. Our work with the sector on Student… Read More
sparqs new website 11 Jun 2013
Over the last few months, we have been redeveloping our website to make it more dynamic and easier to navigate. We began consultations with our stakeholders last year regarding their needs from the sparqs website and it became apparent a re-development… Read More
Course Rep Trainiong Update 28 Feb 2013
So far in the 2012-13 academic year sparqs’ team of Associate Trainers have delivered 141 Course Rep Training sessions across Scotland. We are pleased to say that 97% of participants rated the training useful or very useful. Due to constraints in… Read More
Student Engagement in Enhancement Themes 28 Feb 2013
Supporting students’ associations to participate in sector enhancement initiatives, like Enhancement Themes has always been challenging. However, in the last few months we’ve made tremendous progress. Over the summer, sparqs and QAA Scotland produced a new leaflet for students related to… Read More
Michael Russell Leads Celebration of Student Enhancement in Scotland 28 Feb 2013
A fantastic turnout of students and staff from Scotland’s colleges, universities and sector agencies, as well as a selection of MSP’s, joined the sparqs team for a hugely successful event in the Scottish Parliament on 11th December 2012. The event featured… Read More
A Student Engagement Framework for Scotland 28 Feb 2013
The nationally agreed Student Engagement Framework for Scotland draws together the vast range of activities, views and approaches across the country to outline five key elements of activity and six features of effective student engagement. It does not present one definition… Read More
Celebrating Student Engagement 28 Feb 2013
Student engagement has become an ever more important part of the quality landscape in Scotland’s universities and colleges in recent years – forming a major pillar of the Quality Enhancement Framework, being a crucial element of internal and external review,… Read More
Student Partnership Agreement - Update 28 Feb 2013
Student Partnership Agreements (SPAs) were briefly outlined in the Post-16 review as a tool to raise the profile of student engagement and to better define the role of students within their institution. Various stakeholders have shown an interest in developing… Read More
SPOTLIGHT ON... Best Practice in Learning and Teaching at the University of Strathclyde 28 Feb 2013
Now in its third year, the University of Strathclyde’s Teaching Excellence Awards is proving successful for both staff and students with 515 nominations this year. The Students’ Association considered all the nominations this year and has produced a ‘Best Practice Report’… Read More
Partnerships for Change 28 Feb 2013
All regional Shadow or Partnership Boards which are currently meeting to direct their region’s regionalisation now have at least one (most have two) student members. So the student voice is being heard at the very highest level of the change. But… Read More
sparqs on tour - our work in Europe 28 Feb 2013
Over the past months, sparqs has worked with partners across Europe, in a variety of forums. sparqs delivered a workshop at the European Quality Assurance Forum (EQAF) conference in Tallinn, Estonia, worked with the University of Maribor in Slovenia to… Read More
Supporting College Student Governors - Autumn Feedback 28 Feb 2013
sparqs, in conjunction with NUS Scotland, ran Supporting College Student Governors Autumn Course from the 12th to the 14th October 2012. The event was a success with over 40 officers attending over the three days. 85% rated the event positively… Read More
