Excellence in education
An education at The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC) is distinguished by being internationally excellent, research-led and innovative in its provision, building on the unique opportunities offered by The University of Nottingham’s international campus network. We actively recruit leading lecturers and researchers from across the world, and encourage interaction and mobility of students and staff between all our campuses. Our research is internationally excellent, a feature that distinguishes UNMC from competitors; it enriches the learning experience and enhances the study environment.
Our principles
The following principles help us maintain our focus on educational excellence.
- We value relevance, innovation and creativity in the development, management and delivery of our curriculum.
- We listen carefully to our students and work in partnership with the student body.
- We maintain relevance by monitoring and analysing national and international trends in student choice and industry needs and by engaging employers in developing our portfolio.
- We extend learning beyond the classroom. We provide students with a wide range of opportunities for personal and career development.
- We value diversity, because it is important for a vibrant scholarly community and for its own sake. People with a range of experiences and perspectives, whether in the laboratory or seminar room, enrich the learning environment and help us produce graduates better able to contribute to a diverse and global society.
We welcome collaboration with other educators. The University is committed to sharing its excellence in education through a number of open access initiatives and strategic partnerships that allow university educators around the world to make use of our teaching materials.
Our purpose
Our purpose is to develop highly educated individuals who will be socially and environmentally aware, who will be responsible global citizens and who will be prepared to make valuable contributions to meet the challenges facing global society now and in the future.
Background
UNMC has developed rapidly since the move to the Semenyih Campus in September 2005, both in terms of student numbers and infrastructure. There are currently (2013) approximately 4,800 students registered on courses in some 20 schools/departments. At present 64% of the student population are Malaysian nationals and the remaining 36% are international students. In 2010, UNMC was awarded self-accrediting status by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) and has consistently obtained Tier 5 status in SETARA’09 and SETARA’11. Employability data continually places UNMC at the top end of graduate destination tables (2011 – 96% employed within six months of graduation).
Challenges
We see the following as some of our key challenges.
- The provision of transnational education in an environment where regulatory and accrediting processes are nationally determined.
- Significant growth in public sector provision of HE over recent years – new regional universities have been developed throughout the various states in Malaysia.
- Growing strength in the Malaysian private sector with private universities focusing on expanding their research and more university colleges offering UK degrees wholly or predominantly in Malaysia.
- Significant expansion in international private sector provision, with indications of increased activity by other UK providers including the Universities of Newcastle, Southampton, Reading and Heriot-Watt.
- Emerging competition from universities worldwide who recognise the attractions of operating in Malaysia.
- Competition for and availability of high quality academic staff within the Malaysian system and across the region.
- Unclear and shifting policy and regulatory environment which could pose significant challenges (competitive and reputational) to UNMC.
Aims and objectives
Below are our major aims. Beneath each are the main objectives and activities we will focus on to ensure we achieve our aims by 2020.
- Grow the student population in a sustainable way by increasing numbers on existing programmes and by adding new programmes, particularly at postgraduate level:
- Expand student numbers on undergraduate courses particularly in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and the Faculty of Science.
- Expand the range of master’s courses offered, building on strengths in undergraduate provision, with a particular focus on more flexible delivery modes.
- Increasing the number of international students, in line with the growth in the overall student population.
- Successfully encouraging a greater proportion of existing Nottingham students to continue their education at UNMC.
- Establish UNMC as a leading institution within the region, in terms of teaching quality, student experience and graduate employability:
- Enhance the student experience for foundation students and increase the proportion continuing to undergraduate study.
- Maintain and further develop support for students particularly in academic literacy, social awareness and employability skills to ensure that UNMC graduates are recognisably “global citizens”.
- Adopt a comprehensive approach to academic support and guidance to develop the personal tutoring system, so we can ensure every student is supported in their academic and personal development.
- Enhancing the employability of our graduates through curricular and extracurricular developments, including real-world work experience and gearing our postgraduate taught programmes towards employer and professional requirements and market demand.
- Enhance teaching quality through training and development of academic staff and through encouraging teaching innovation. Enhance the overall student experience by ensuring a student-centric approach to all aspects of provision across campus.
Responsibility
Lead
Professor Stephen Doughty, Vice-Provost for Teaching and Learning, UNMC
Support
Mr Patrick Joseph, Director, Academic Services, UNMC
UNMC Faculty Deans
Professor Alan Ford, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Teaching and Learning
Professor Hai-Sui Yu, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Internationalisation
Professor Wyn Morgan, Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Teaching and Learning
UNMC Management Board Owner
Professor Stephen Doughty, Vice-Provost for Teaching and Learning, UNMC
Measuring success
Performance targets
