HEA Economics Network Project: Students Magazine on Current Economic Affairs 2009 Willem Spanjers School of Economics Kingston University

HEA Economics Network Headline Investigate potential for developing a teaching / learning / assessment vehicle which models aspects of the production of a current affairs magazine, e.g. The Economist.

Context Some of KUs existing UG and PG Economics programmes are designed : (i) to be less technically ambitious and (ii) to give greater attention to the application of concepts and techniques; Their aim is also to develop skills in the writing of economic analysis and in the presentation and communication of its conclusions. HEA Economics Network

Broad Purpose devising a student centered production of a small magazine of economic analysis / commentary. enhancing students engagement with their course. where possible accommodating aspects of assessment. addressing employers opinion that Economics graduates are under-prepared in communication skills. HEA Economics Network

Scoping The developmental project will address, inter alia: practical production issues (material expense, space needs, staff time required) skills and time required of staff and students feasibility of attaching assessment elements existence of similar projects and potential for sharing good practice potential for collaboration with our Facultys Journalism courses. HEA Economics Network

Main activity of the project Internal benchmarking against the requirements of the project of: Resource availability; Students skills; Staffs skills and availability; Management capacity; Course delivery; Potential for cooperation with Journalism. HEA Economics Network

Main issue: Disappointing enrolment in BA Applied Economics This was the group of students on which the project was to be focussed. Numbers in the MA courses in Economics could not compensate for this. The disappointing student numbers required a re- think of the original approach to the project. It soon emerged, that the skills as taught to the students in our other UG courses fail to provide a sufficient basis for the project. HEA Economics Network

An alternative approach: 1.Put more emphasis on improving the writing skills of students in our BSc courses in Economics - In part, this may run against the purpose of the BSc courses to emphasise technical aspects of theoretical and empirical Economics HEA Economics Network

2.Reducing the scope of the magazine to be a newsletter. - Such newsletter could be based on short summaries of essays, reports and dissertations, to appear 2 or 3 times per year. -It would depend on students willingness to submit the necessary material. HEA Economics Network

3.Create incentives for students to submit material. - Both a magazine and a newsletter crucially depend on students willingness to submit the necessary material. -Creating appropriate incentive requires making such contributions part of the assessment regime of modules. -For BA and MA students this would be fine, but for BSc and MSc students less so. HEA Economics Network

Results of the Benchmarking: Practical production issues, such as material expense, space needs, staff time required for maintaining such an exercise; -The magazine can be provided in an electronic format using standard software, which minimizes material expense. -The requirements regarding space needs and staff time are expected to be within reasonable limits, depending on the specifics of the project. HEA Economics Network

Skills and time required of staff and students; -Students would need to be offered more opportunity to develop their writing and communication skills to enable a sufficiently large number of students to participate in the project. -Current strains on management capacity restrict the available time of appropriately qualified staff. HEA Economics Network

Feasibility of attaching assessment elements to the exercise; It is possible to attach assessment elements, but this would require significant changes in the assessment strategy of a number of modules. Existence (or not) of similar innovations in other Economics programmes and potential for sharing good practice; Communication skills are currently obtaining a stronger emphasis, creating opportunities for future sharing of good practice. HEA Economics Network

Potential for collaborative working with our Facultys Journalism courses. Staff at the Facultys Journalism courses are open for cooperation on developing an economics magazine in one form or another. HEA Economics Network

Conclusions: The envisioned project is desirable and would fit the aims and ambitions of the School of Economics. But given the disappointing recruitment numbers for the BA Applied Economics, the project would require a more substantial input of managerial capacity than the School can currently spare. HEA Economics Network