Robert Gordon University’s (RGU) Study Skills and Access Unit has picked up a national education award in recognition of its work with students.
The team was named as the Academic Support Team of the Year in The Herald’s Higher Education Awards for Scotland.
The awards, which were held at the Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow on Thursday, July 16, recognise the high standard of education that is offered across Scotland.
Organised in association with the University of the West of Scotland, the event aims to highlight innovative teaching methods whilst sharing good practice.
The Study Skills and Access Unit helps students by providing support for essential skills which will allow them to succeed independently at university and in the workplace.
These include: academic writing; critical thinking; maths, statistics and numeracy; English for academic purposes; and IT skills.
The unit also offers services through a variety of methods so all students can access help, including: one-to-one appointments, drop-ins, standalone workshops, embedded sessions, tailored programmes, and bespoke online resources.
James Dunphy, Study Skills and Access Unit Co-ordinator at RGU, said: “We are delighted to have won the Academic Support Team of the Year title at The Herald Higher Education Awards for Scotland.
“The award highlights the dedication of the service to enhance and expand the support it provides to students and it is fantastic that the hard work of the team has been recognised.”
He added: “The launch of a Writing Clinic and re-development of our online support channels are two key innovations this year which have increased the number of students who access and benefit from the support we provide.”
In 2013/14, more than 750 students accessed one-to-one support through approximately 1,500 appointments. This represents a 113% increase in student numbers and 170% increase in appointments since 2010/11.
In 2014/15 numbers have increased even further with the team supporting more than 1000 students over the year so far.
The growth of students accessing support can be linked to the introduction of weekly drop in writing clinic sessions at the Georgina Scott Sutherland Learning Centre.