ALTC citations recognise leading academics and programs

The team behind UTS's Peer Assisted Study Success program (U:PASS) will receive one of the six Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning being awarded to UTS this year by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC).

The team of Georgina Barratt-See, Manager of Peer Learning Programs, and Mathew Appleyard is being honoured for "sustained commitment to the U:PASS program, which improves academic outcomes for students and develops leadership skills of student facilitators."

U:PASS is a program run by the Student Services Unit designed to assist students studying subjects perceived as difficult or which have a high failure rate. U:PASS leaders are trained senior students who have previously completed the subjects.

Students who attend U:PASS regularly perform significantly better than students who do not and they report that U:PASS assists them in building networks and in becoming more independent learners.

Student leaders develop increased confidence and leadership skills and a capacity to motivate and support other students.

The other UTS citation recipients are:

Dr Rob Bower, School of Management, UTS Business School
For developing and fostering experiential learning to enhance student engagement in the field of sports science

Dr Paul Burke, School of Marketing, UTS Business School
For exemplary delivery and support of learning that addresses student challenges in the context of a large undergraduate class in introductory business statistics

Associate Professor Aaron Coutts, School of Management, UTS Business School
For developing unique and innovative approaches that enhance independent learning and facilitate the development of practice-oriented skills in the sport and exercise sciences

Dr Brian Farrell, School of Accounting, UTS Business School
For sustained promotion of learning engagement for culturally and linguistically diverse business students, using collaborative learning and other support strategies

Associate Professor Hadi Khabbaz, School, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and IT
For an innovative and sustained contribution to improving geotechnical engineering education in our transforming world, preparing motivated and responsible soil engineers for the future

The citations, worth $10,000 each, will be presented at the 2011 Australian Awards for University Teaching at the Sydney Opera House on 16 August.