Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies / PwyllgorCyswllt Staff a Myfyrwyr
Staff Student Consultative Committee
Cofnodion: 7-3-2012
Minutes: 7-3-2012
YnBresennol - Present
Year 1/Blwyddyn 1
Drama and Theatre Studies
Hope Dowsett ()
Film and Television Studies
Joe Williams () (Apologies/Ymddiheuriadau)
Performance Studies
Amanda Edwards ()
Scenography and Theatre Design
Briony Hopkins ()
Curriculum Group (Theatre)
Leigh-Anne Beattie ()
Curriculum Group (Film and Media)
Peter Gosiewski ()
Drama ac AstudiaethauTheatr
Bethan Walkling ()
AstudiaethauFfilm a Theledu
Catrin Herbert ()
Year 2/Blwyddyn 2
Drama and Theatre Studies (Single and Joint Honours)
Rebecca Ormrod ()
Film and Television Studies (Single and Joint Honours)
Tamara Doncic ()
Scenography and Theatre Design
Abigail Wright ()
Media and Communication Studies
Rhiannon Morris ()
Welsh Medium/CyfrwngCymraeg:
Sian Owens () (Apologies/Ymddiheuriadau)
Year 3/Blwyddyn 3
Drama and Theatre Studies (Single and Joint Honours)
Rachel Fisher ()
Film and Television Studies (Single and Joint Honours)
Davy Evans ()
Performance Studies
Will Pritchard ()
Media and Communication Studies
William Rees-Crockford ()
Staff Representatives/Cynrychiolwyr Staff
Mr Richard Cheshire (Chair)
Dr Merris Griffiths (Curriculum Leader, Film and Media)
Ms Kathleen Williams (Departmental Manager)
1.1 / Confirmed / minutes of the meeting dated 23 November 2012
2.0 / Matters Arising
2.1 / Noted / that there were no matters arising not covered elsewhere on the agenda.
3.0 / Matters from Year 1 Representatives
3.1 / Drama and Theatre Studies (Year 1)
3.1.1 / Noted / that TP10220 Studying Theatre 2 was both engaging and enjoyable. It was noted that students would welcome a mixed mode session – similar to that offered for Text Workshop and that this would be of particular value to Joint Honours students whose had nothing by way of creative practice experience during Semester 2.
3.1.2 / that some students engaged in the Theatre Production Project had been unclear about the requirements of the written assignments. It was noted that some variation should be expected and that the written work would be guided by the specifics of each project. It was agreed, nonetheless, to request that additional guidance be forwarded.
Action: Dept Manager to forward a request
3.1.3 / that students would welcome more standardisation with regard to communication methods. It was agreed that colleagues would be reminded about the importance of using and the usefulness of Blackboard.
3.2 / Performance Studies (Year 1)
3.2.1 / Noted / some positive feedback regarding the Theatre Production Project.
3.2.2 / some concerns regarding the profile of the SSCC. It was noted that not all students were aware that they had representatives. It was noted in response that there was a dedicated space on the Departmental website; that students were informed about SSCC and opportunities to serve on SSCC during the induction week and that a number of emails were sent throughout the early part of the first semester. It was agreed that other strategies would be considered to raise the profile further.
3.3 / Scenography and Theatre Design (Year 1)
3.3.1 / Noted / that students studying Scenography and Theatre Design struggled to find relevance to their subject area in Studying Theatre 2. It was also noted that many of the students engaged in Scenography and Theatre Design did not want to perform and that the choices available to them were, therefore, limited. It was agreed that this point should be referred to the Theatre Curriculum Group.
Action: Dept Manager to refer
3.4 / Theatre Curriculum Group (Year 1)
3.4.1 / Noted / that a student had reported having made contact with her Personal Tutor but had not received a response to date. It was agreed that all Tutors would be reminded of the need to make contact with their tutees and to respond to queries as necessary.
Action: Dept Manager to circulate a reminder
3.5 / Film and Media Curriculum Group (Year 1)
3.5.1 / Noted / a positive response to FM10220 Studying Television. Students had noted in particular effective use of Blackboard for this module.
3.5.2 / a query regarding the Faculty late submission policy. It was reported that the Guild had requested feedback regarding the proposed adjustment to the current sliding penalty arrangement. It was agreed that all students would be invited to stay behind to have a discussion.
3.6 / AstudiaethauFfilm a Theledu (Year 1)
3.6.1 / Noted / that the continued use of the Old College for sessions delivered by the Welsh Department was creating difficulty for this group of students. It was noted in response that this issue would persist while the Welsh Department were located in the Old College. It was also noted that there was a high number of modules available to students of Welsh and that this also mitigated against effective timetabling since the number of clashing slots was also, therefore, very high thus limiting suitable and convenient slots.
3.6.2 / with regard to the scheme structure that Drama students enrolled on Film and Media modules and vice versa led so a lack of engagement during taught sessions.
3.6.3 / positive comments regarding module TC10220 Ffilm a ChyfryngauCymru in particular the use of resources and Blackboard.
3.7 / Drama ac AstudiaethauTheatr (Year 1)
3.7.1 / Noted / that students doing joint honours schemes with Welsh would welcome the opportunity to register for the Production Project but were not able to do so because of the credit weighting. It was agreed that this would be referred back to the Curriculum Group.
Action: Dept Manager
4.0 / Matters Arising from Year 2 Representatives
4.1 / Drama and Theatre Studies (Year 2)
4.1.1 / Noted / concerns regarding the Theatre ‘must pass’ modules. It was agreed that the issues raised would be referred to the Module Co-ordinators concerned and Curriculum Group. A request was made for an explanation regarding the degree structure. It was agreed that a link to the Programme Specification document would be forwarded.
Action: Dept Manager
4.2 / Film and Television Studies (Year 2)
4.2.1 / Noted / some issues regarding the TV Production module which had previously been discussed with the Department. It was noted in response that proposals had come forward as a result of student feedback to re-structure the module in order to give it more clarity without detracting from the diversity of the content.
4.3 / Scenography and Theatre Design (Year 2)
4.3.1 / Noted / a similar point to that raised by the Year 1 Representative regarding the relevance of Must Pass modules to students registered for the Scenography and Theatre design scheme. It was agreed that this should be referred to Curriculum Group.
Action: Dept Manager
4.3.2 / a comment regarding the method of delivery for one module. It was agreed that the matter would be referred to the Module Co-ordinator.
4.4 / Media and Communication Studies (Year 2)
4.4.1 / Noted / positive response to FM21920 Advertising.
4.4.2 / with regard to FM30220 Key Film and Media Practices, it was noted that it would be more useful to have the viewing before the lecture. It was agreed that this would be referred to the Module Co-ordinator.
Action: Dept Manager
4.4.3 / that students did not want to purchase course readers but wanted access to them through Blackboard. It was noted in response that the Department had been moving over the past few years towards retaining all module resources on Blackboard and that full engagement by next session should be a realistic expectation.
5.0 / Matters Arising from Year 3 Representatives
5.1 / Drama and Theatre Studies (Year 3)
5.1.1 / Noted / that the deadline for Place, Space and Landscape clashed with the Applied Theatre project week. It was agreed that this would be moved until after Easter.
Action: Dept Manager
5.1.2 / some issues regarding TP33940 which were addressed by the Module Co-ordinator at the meeting.
5.1.3 / that students were confused about the way in which the cascade calculated their classification. It was agreed that a short explanation would be circulated.
Action: Dept Manager
5.1.4 / an issue regarding the Dissertation and Applied/Independent deadlines. It was agreed that this would be considered further.
5.1.5 / that some of the facilitators working on the Applied projects gave more time than others. It was agreed that there was a set time and that this should be adhered to. It was reported by one student group that they did not feel the tutor was needed allthe time particularly earlier in the process.
5.1.6 / that the rehearsal spaces needed to be allocated more systematically for the Independent and Applied groups.
Action: Technical Manager and Curriculum Leader
5.1.7 / a suggestion was made by students that a module on ‘Acting for Screen’ would be well received particularly given the number of media production projects on-going at any time. It was agreed that this would be taken to the Learning and Teaching Committee for further discussion.
Action: Dept Manager
6.0 / Matters Arising from Year 3 representatives
6.1 / Year 3: Film and Television Studies and Media and Communication Studies
6.1.1 / Noted / that there was a perception that communication between teaching and technical colleagues could be improved. It was agreed that this issue would be discussed in principle with colleagues concerned and further detail requested if necessary.
Action: Dept Manager
7.0 / Any other business
7.1 / Noted / that the Department welcomed the initiative taken by students involved in Launch 2012.
8.0 / The Next Meeting
8.1 / Noted / that the next meeting was scheduled for 2 May 2012