Page 19 - Eclipse - RVC Alumni Magazine - Autumn 2020

GENERAL NEWS
Mark of Excellence for the RVC
The Association of University Administrators (AUA) has given the RVC a Mark of Excellence at full institutional level.
The Mark of Excellence is an award
for higher education institutions that have demonstrated a commitment to the AUA professional values and who have successfully embedded the AUA CPD Framework into their professional services staff development provision.
This achievement is the result of the dedication and efforts of many people, which commenced in 2011 when
the RVC first started to work with the AUA CPD Framework as part of a
pilot project. Since then, the RVC has successfully embedded the Framework into all aspects of the employee lifecycle for staff across the whole College, applying not only to professional service staff but also to academic colleagues.
There were several aspects of the RVC’s application that the assessment
panel found especially impressive.
They commended the comprehensive and joined up approach to embedding the Framework in all development processes, including appraisal. The panel also commended the inclusion of the Mark of Excellence in the Strategic Plan, demonstrating senior support and commitment to achieving the Mark. They found the RVC’s aspirations to potentially apply the Framework to students in the future very exciting.
Stuart Reid commented: “Seeking and attaining appropriate endorsements
of this kind is an important part of the way we have taken the RVC forward in recent years. The Mark of Excellence is every bit as central to saying who we are as the discipline or profession specific accreditations, standards and affiliations we proudly own.”
Ian Darker, Chief Operating Officer and Secretary to Council said: “We’re both delighted and honoured to be awarded the Mark of Excellence. It is something
we have been working towards for some time and to receive this recognition of our efforts is all the more poignant coming
at such a challenging time for the sector and the whole country. I can honestly say that I have seen evidence, almost every day since the crisis hit, of the value of the Framework and the positive impact it can have on an institution. For that reason,
I would also say just how proud and grateful we are to have been part of such a worthwhile initiative.”
The Award of the Mark of Excellence is for three years in the first instance, running from April 2020 to April 2023.
Animal Academy: supporting young people from disadvantaged backgrounds
The RVC’s Outreach team usually have a suite of face to face events delivered every year, including our well-known public engagement evening, Night at the Vet College. Due to COVID-19, this year’s events weren’t going to be able to go ahead as planned and we had to adapt.
The Outreach team is dedicated to creating meaningful, enjoyable and informative events for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, to give them the opportunity to learn more about the careers within veterinary or animal science. With a need to still be able to offer support to young people, this year more than ever, we needed to come up with a solution to enable us to provide that support.
Our solution was to work with our Academic and Marketing teams to create Animal Academy, a new log-in area of the RVC website, accessible only to young people who meet a number of
our widening participation criteria. This area enables us to explain the courses offered by the RVC and the careers that follow. We give specific advice regarding work experience – something that first generation and low-income families may struggle with considerably.
We have also included amazing resources created by the academic
staff, including clinical skills videos, animal handling, taster lectures, interactive specimen slides, and behaviour presentations. There are
even independent research projects all about endangered species, top tips for studying, reflection documents, and a live chat function to help the user’s sense of all the new information. We had nearly 200 sign ups in the first three months. We have also developed a programme of virtual events and student Q&As.
We hope that this new website area encourages self-led learning, a skill which is invaluable in times of distance teaching.
Our aim is to empower disadvantaged young people by equipping them with the knowledge to make informed choices and achieve their goals.
If you are interested in creating content, such as videos, blog posts, day-in-the- life vlogs, worksheets, or anything else for the Animal Academy website, email alumni@rvc.ac.uk
This is just one of the many ways that
the RVC has adapted during these unprecedented times, more of which can be read throughout this edition of Eclipse.
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