Out from the shadows - My first year in HE
I remember the moment as if it was yesterday. Sitting in a makeshift boardroom, the bombshell was dropped. Due to continuing and growing financial challenges to the FE sector there would be another batch of redundancies but on an unprecedented scale. Millions needed to be saved if the newly formed group of colleges were to have a sustainable future. Fortunately, I had avoided previous cutbacks having established myself as an essential employer. Leading on institution-wide projects, strategy design and staff CPD, I’d worked through the ranks from a Library-based Information Advisor, Learning Technologist and for a considerable time, acting Learning Centre Manager, to become a Quality Lead and seconded Computing lecturer. There was a positive start for me in the immediate aftermath of the first merge, leading on the implementation of a Blended Learning strategy and transition to an aligned VLE. I proposed the development of a digital induction and investigated how the student jou...