About

The Office of Learning and Teaching in Economics and Business (OLTEB) was established in the Faculty of Economics and Business in October 2003 with the appointment of the director, Associate Professor Mark Freeman.

The Office of Learning and Teaching in Economics and Business supports the Faculty to achieve its mission to be the leading learning community through a combination of strategic and ad hoc support to students, staff and management. The University's learning and teaching principles and values and Learning and Teaching Plan and the Faculty's strategic Learning and Teaching Plan provide overall guidance.

The Office of Learning and Teaching in Economics and Business is committed to providing leadership and support in learning and teaching that complements support available from other University centres (e.g., the Institute of Teaching and Learning; the Learning Centre) and that reflects the Faculty's size and culturally-diverse and dynamic context. In promoting improvement, the Office of Learning and Teaching in Economics and Business values a commitment to excellence, collegiality and an evidence-based approach to decisions, giving particular regard to scholarship and research in learning and teaching in the Faculty's context.

The team consists of academic and administrative staff that provide leadership and support in learning and teaching to students, staff and the Faculty. Our research complements these activities.

Support for Students

The Office of Learning and Teaching in Economics and Business provides a combination of short-term and strategic support, and develops sustainable support programs:

• Workshops and transition sessions (e.g., assignment planning, analytical writing)
• An Orientation Handbook for all new students
• Peer leaders who assist with welcome and orientation of new students
• Online self-diagnostic (e.g. maths) and development tools (e.g. academic writing)
• Academic honesty, groupwork and research skills self-paced online resources
• Literacy diagnostic tools and support within units of study
• Self-support pamphlets and an information display at Merewether Building reception
• Student Peer Mentoring Programs
• Peer-Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) within units of study
• A students-at-risk support program
• One-to-one learning support from Senior Learning Adviser
  

Support for Academics

The Office of Learning and Teaching in Economics and Business provides academic development and support via consultation, workshops and programs:

• Self-paced online resources for designing a unit of study (e.g., Unit of Study Outline), specific learning strategies (e.g., Groupwork) and learning and teaching technologies (e.g., Blackboard)
• Resources and support for evidence-based or scholarly teaching, teaching-related research (also known as scholarship of teaching), teaching research and development grant applications and teaching excellence awards
• Tutor orientation, training and development
• eLearning Helpdesk (supporting both pedagogical and technical aspects of the Faculty's learning management system, Blackboard)
• Blackboard Application to Activate process (improving the student online learning experience and assisting compliance with policy)
• Academic mentoring program
• Learning and Teaching Associates (discipline-based leadership and localised expertise)
• One-to-one academic support (e.g., Senior Academic Adviser Lesley Treleaven)

Support for the Faculty

In supporting the Faculty to achieve its mission, the Office of Learning and Teaching in Economics and Business provides representation and advice within the Faculty and University. The Office supports Faculty planning, accreditation, quality assurance and improvement processes for learning and teaching. This includes:

• providing information for rewarding quality (e.g., data collection for the Scholarship Index),
• representing Faculty interests at various University learning and teaching forums (e.g., Learning and Teaching Committee),
• aligning Faculty policies with Academic Board policies (e.g., plagiarism; assessment),
• coordinating student feedback mechanisms (e.g., Unit of Study Evaluation benchmarking data),
• developing the Learning and Teaching section of the Faculty website and supporting the work of the Faculty's Learning and Teaching Committee.