Laura Forrest – Reflections on a Year in the Business School
As part of my second year on the University’s Graduate Management Scheme I have spent the past 11 months working in the School’s Quality Assurance, Accreditations and Rankings Team as the Quality & Continuous Improvement Project Officer. Although it doesn’t seem like long ago that I was writing an introductory newsletter article, I’m only here for a few more weeks so I wanted to mention what I’ve been up to!
My first project was managing the logistics for the EQUIS visit, which included forecasting the budget, working with the School Hub to ensure all aspects of the visit were arranged, coordinating the design and print of the self-assessment reports and building a base room of information (which was online and accessible to all School staff for the first time). After a large amount of preparation from across the School, the visit went smoothly and we have successfully been reaccredited.
My second project was to develop and implement a process improvement plan to ensure that we routinely collect information required by our accreditors. The largest process change that I have made is to the Annual Module Review, which is now run completely online through our new QA SharePoint site. This has had the highest response rate to date at 85%, and the majority of reviews are of a much higher quality than in previous years.
Alongside my work in the Business School, I was the Project Manager for the 2016 Birmingham Awards for Tremendous Achievement (BUAFTAs), have attended multiple training courses and assisted at events including careers fairs, School recruitment visits, graduations and clearing. I’ve also been part of the lunchtime Knit and Natter club where, with a large amount of help, I have learnt how to knit a hat!
Overall, it’s been a busy year and I hope that I have made some meaningful contributions to the School. I have really enjoyed my time over here, have learnt a lot, and have been able to work with loads of great people. I will still be at the University next year, so I’m sure I’ll see many of you around Campus.
Laura Forrest
Quality & Continuous Improvement Project Officer