Our People – Katie Akerman
Katie Akerman is Director of Quality and Standards at the University of Chichester.
Tell us about your role at the university.
I’m the Director of Quality and Standards, leading both the quality and standards team and the apprenticeship team.
My role is broad and includes apprenticeships, academic partnerships, approvals and our external examining system for assuring standards of assessed student work. Also supporting colleagues with accreditation (such as for the British Council), working groups (such as for the Access and Participation Plan), committees (such as Education Committee). I deal with appeals, complaints; Fitness to Practice and other student disciplinary mechanisms (I am point of contact for the Office of the Independent Adjudicator – the ombudsman service for higher education).
Other parts of my role include offering workshops on carbon literacy or for the PgCert in Learning and Teaching in higher education, writing papers on education policy and practice, ad hoc projects such as a replacement for the module assessment and feedback system and anything else I am asked to do, really.
When did you join and what brought you here?
I joined the University in April 2012, having previously been Head of Quality Management at Bath Spa University. I had been working as an external adviser for the University of Chichester on programme and partner approvals and I’m also Chichester born (I attended Bishop Luffa C of E and what-was “Chi Tech”) and bred (my son was born at St Richard’s) so ‘coming home’ was a no-brainer, especially as I’d got to know the best University ever through my work as an external adviser!
What’s an average day at work like for you?
I receive lots of emails – from staff, asking for advice on structuring programmes of study or something esoteric in the academic regulations – and from students, asking about appeals or complaints.
I attend lots of meetings – say with the local hospital trust on work with them or with academic colleagues on reviewing and revising policies or in committee meetings.
Or I could be heading off an airplane to set up a new partnership overseas.
I’m also a parish councillor for Oving Parish Council, and an international reviewer for QAA (Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education), as well as an external examiner for other universities.
‘Coming home’ was a no-brainer.
What is your greatest achievement in your job?
Gaining a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA) – I am still ridiculously proud of gaining this in 2016 as one of the country’s first 500 people to do so – and unusual for an academic administrator!
What do you love most about working at the University of Chichester?
My work on academic partnerships. This is where students undertake a Chichester award but it’s taught and assessed elsewhere – we are the third largest provider of transnational education in Italy. It’s the most challenging but engaging element of my role.
And, of course, my work mates – they’re best bunch of people to work with – as well as making a difference for students and for staff.
