Appendix to 21602 Subject Outline with details of all Assessments
Overview
You are a member of a team of 4-6 strategy consultants appointed by UTS to develop some new insights and strategies or strategic recommendations as input to the overall UTS2027 Strategy.
As you can see from the above, the strategy process is now in the refinement phase and your role as a team of strategy consultants is to review UTS’s current strategic position and the themes and ideas already shortlisted in relation to the five major strategic challenges.
As part of the UTS2027 strategy development process, each strategic challenge advisory board identified a number of themes coming through the submissions, including collaboration, career development, volunteering, engagement and technology. These strategic challenges for UTS are listed below:
Lifetime of learning and the changing nature of work
An excellent student experience
Good to do business with
Transformational research platforms
An excellent environment for staff
Documents outlining the themes and some of the ideas already under consideration in these strategic areas along with Presentation Slides used by the UTS Vice Chancellor (CEO) to outline the UTS2027 Strategy Process in June 2018 along with some Strategic Projects are included in the Other Resources folder on UTS Online.
There are also 3 reports outlining possible Scenarios for Australian Universities to 2036 also uploaded to the Other Resources folder on UTS Online. These will give you some ideas of the major uncertainties that UTS and other Australian Universities are likely to face over the next 20 years.
Assessment 1: Team Project – UTS2027 Recommended Strategies or Strategic Recommendations (builds on Assessment 2 – Individual Project)
– 30% – due to be submitted at the final Tutorial on Thursday 18th October
Each team of 4-6 students is to develop a Strategy Recommendation Report for UTS
Recommended length – 10 pages, excluding Executive Summary (1-2 pages) and relevant appendices.
This report can build on the existing work being done on the UTS 2027 strategy development, much of which is already included in the Other Resources folder in 21602 on UTS Online or propose a new, innovative strategy or strategic recommendation for UTS to consider implementing.
Key focus:
What Strategic Issue(s) for UTS is the strategy, strategic recommendation seeking to address? (see UTS’s 6 Strategic Challenge areas above – may address one or more of these or another strategic issues that your team identifies as important to UTS’s future)
How is it seeking to address this Strategic Issue? (why are you recommending this strategy, making this strategic recommendation, what do you expect UTS to achieve by implementing it)
What strategic outcome do you envisage if UTS implemented the strategy? (How would you know that it had been successful?)
Team Project Mark – possible adjustment for PEER Assessed contribution
An overall mark for the Team Project will be awarded; however, individual marks for the Assessment will be adjusted using SPARK.
Assessment Criteria for the Group Report will be on ReView – https://uts.review-edu.com/uts
The assessment of the Group Project will be made using ReView but with Self and Peer Assessment Adjustment of Group Mark.
Students will be required to undertake a Self and Peer Assessment of their and the other group members’ contribution to the group report. Overall mark may be adjusted upwards to reflect a significantly above average contribution to the group project and downwards to reflect a well below average contribution to the group research project using SPARK (Self and Peer Assessment Review Kit).
Students who are rated using SPARK as contributing 5% less than the average team member, a rating of 0.95 or below will have the team’s overall mark for the project out of 30 downgraded by multiply the Team Mark by the Rating (eg SPARK rating 0.9 x 20 (team mark out of 30) – Student mark will be 18 – 20 x 0.9.
Students who rated as contributing 5% or more above average will have their team mark scaled up by the SPARK factor to a maximum of 30 out 30. For example, a SPARK rating of 1.15 and a team mark of 20 would give that student a mark for the group project of 23 (1.15 x 20 = 23).
Students who do not submit SPARK ratings can be penalised even if their contribution was well rated by their other group members as we require all students to submit SPARK ratings.
Assessment 2: Individual Project – two components – report (50%) and video presentation (20%) of your strategic analysis
The focus of the Individual Project is to provide appropriate input to your Team’s Strategy Project.
Each member of the team should review a different major strategic element, conduct a significant strategic analysis (external environment, industry environment, competitive environment, evaluating industry scenarios, internal resources and capabilities (dynamic capabilities), stakeholder analysis etc).
These will help provide the basis for your team to complete Assessment 1 – Recommended Strategies or Strategic Recommendations to be included in the UTS2027 overall strategy.
Report Format and Assessment Criteria (50% of overall marks)
Report to be submitted in the Tutorial on Thursday 6th September
1 (maximum 2 pages) – Executive Summary
Report: Up to 10 page report (absolute maximum 11 pages) in at least 11 point font – Times New Roman preferred. (No specific word limit – but useful charts, diagrams, other visual elements and well-presented tables encouraged as part of high quality report. Report page limit does NOT include Executive Summary, Table of Contents and any relevant appendices to the report (no specific word limit – just a page limit! And a minimum font size).
Assessment Criteria for the Individual Report will be on ReView – https://uts.review-edu.com/uts
The assessment will be made using ReView and I will encourage but do not require Self-Assessment via ReView.
Individual Presentation Video and Assessment Criteria (20% of overall marks).
A brief video presentation (up to 5 minutes) needs to be uploaded. This should provide a brief overview of your report; the strategic element(s) reviewed, your findings and/or its importance to UTS2027 Strategy and presenting them in an engaging and interesting way needs to be uploaded by midnight – Friday 21st September.
You can be creative in your video presentation as long as it communicates your Strategy Review/ Analysis effectively and is not longer than 5 minutes!
Assessment Criteria for the Individual Video Presentation will be on ReView – https://uts.review-edu.com/uts
The assessment will be made using ReView and I will encourage but do not require Self Assessment via ReView.