The role of the Semester Coordinator

Each semester is characterized by a number of resources that frame the planning work. These are:

• Curriculum plan: A document from the chair of the study board outlining the semester's deadlines (submission, group disbanding, etc.) and rules.
  Requisition: The document that defines the number of hours the study board wants to allocate for teaching, guidance, and exams for each semester.
• The requisition is prepared around New Year's and defines the teaching for the entire academic year (September to June).
  Staffing plan: Provides an estimate of the hours each instructor/guidance provider will be expected to deliver (the plan is usually not final and needs to be negotiated/adjusted with the designated instructors). The staffing plan is created based on the requisition.
• Study program: The legal foundation with general descriptions of courses, exam formats, assignment requirements (such as defining normal page counts), etc. The study program is defined as a level 1 description. Level 2 descriptions are the study board-approved implementations of the study program and are created to ensure consistency and coherence across the semesters. These descriptions must be followed when individual instructors develop their course plans (Level 3).
• Semester description (collection of the semester's module descriptions): A document that compiles the thematic framework for the semester, individual module descriptions, and exams. The semester coordinator prepares this document based on input from module leaders. The semester description must be submitted to the study board for approval before the semester starts, i.e., by the August/January meeting.

The semester description must be made available to all students and instructors (including advisors) in Moodle to provide an overview of the semester.
Semester time accounting: Created after the semester is completed, this accounting details how many hours the various instructors have taught/guided/graded across the semester's courses. The time accounting is used for payment. The previous year's accounting can also provide insights into how the semester can be managed. Note: Hours for external staff must be reported regularly to the study coordinator, as they will not be paid otherwise. That is, deviations in course allocation or guidance assignment should be reported immediately Eva Bengaard.

Semester evaluations: A comprehensive evaluation of the activities conducted during the semester. A form from the study board should be used for this purpose (sent by the study board). The semester evaluation is prepared based on an oral evaluation within the group (typically held in conjunction with project submission). Additionally, feedback from the written evaluation (SurveyXact) can be utilized. Evaluations from the previous semester provide insights into the strengths and areas for improvement, including focus areas, and are important to incorporate into the planning of the next semester.

Clarification of Staffing Plan. Check that the assigned teachers agree with their hours, including clarification of module leaders, and filling in any gaps. Teachers are responsible for not taking on more hours than they can handle in terms of their tasks across the different semesters, etc. When using external lecturers, any changes in their hours must be reported to Eva Bengaard to ensure correct payment!

Reading the Staffing Plans. A number of hours per module is specified – these should cover the various courses/activities that the module includes. It’s recommended to reserve a few hours for unforeseen events!

Maximum Teaching Hours is the number of hours that can be used for lectures (these hours can also be used for other activities such as workshops, etc.). Hours per student (0.8 per student) are for learning-promoting activities, e.g., co-teachers, exercise sessions in clusters, workshops, and more. Hours are also specified for grading assignments/internal exam grading.

Lecture Norm 4 (1 hour of confrontation – 3 hours preparation).
Workshops and Clusters 3.5 (1 hour of confrontation – 2.5 hours preparation).
Student instructors are paid 2.5 hours (1 hour of confrontation – 1.5 hours preparation).

Grading (for subjects with pass/fail grading): 20 minutes for active participation.
Internal Exam Grading: 30 minutes for 10 pages with grading (voting) for both the examiner and the censor.

The Guidance Rate is 12 hours per student – this includes the supervisor’s preparation time, guidance meetings, meetings for supervisors at the request of the anchor teacher, and exam preparation and execution (a general rule is that for each student, 3-4 hours are used for the exam, additional meetings, etc., and 8-9 hours for guidance and preparation).

Semester Design – Course Content and Execution
It is the teachers themselves (in collaboration with the anchor teacher) who develop their courses based on the level 1 and 2 descriptions. The anchor teacher calls for course descriptions, including information about the use of course literature from the various module leaders.

Simultaneously, teachers are informed about practicalities and deadlines regarding, for example, compendiums, book orders, etc. It is the individual teacher who orders the course literature – send out the order form. For the use of compendiums, the deadline for submitting the compiled material with cover, table of contents, and more should generally be submitted for printing about 3 weeks before the semester starts. Remember especially that external course providers and supervisors may need communication about the course and requirements.

Information about Teaching and Teachers is Used for:

The first welcome to students (June/December). Presentation of the semester in broad terms. Distribution of the theme framework (description of the semester's theme, the purpose of the different courses and their interrelation). Specify core books or other fixed materials. Briefly present the teachers, and especially the anchor teacher(s), and provide contact information.
To prepare the schedule in cooperation with the secretaries. Remember to include hours for semester introduction, group formation (formation of groups for project work), semester evaluation, and possibly a project seminar (seminar with student-to-student guidance) and other activities.
Agree with the study secretaries on how they want this information (Lone and Karen require filling out the semester planning form, which can be found on Moodle, along with an example).

A draft of the semester schedule should be sent for review/approval to the semester’s teachers before it is published to students.

Submission of the semester description (compilation of the final course descriptions, exam formats, and ideas for semester projects) to the study board (SN) at least one week before the SN meeting before the start of the semester (around August 15/January 15).
A second welcome to students. No later than the 15th of the month before the semester begins, containing the semester description, information about the semester start, and the schedule. This should be sent via Moodle.
The 15th of the month before the semester begins is also the date when the courses must be uploaded on Moodle with a brief description and the individual course sessions listed in sequence. It is the responsibility of the teachers to upload this (remember to inform them). If there are issues with Moodle access, navigation, uploading, or other matters, help can be obtained from Moodle support by sending an email to moodle-support@elsa.aau.dk. Ongoing Moodle courses are offered, and individual consultations can be booked when Lisbeth from Elsa is in Copenhagen. Ask the study secretaries for information.

The Semester Coordinator is responsible for the first lessons of the semester, where an overview of the semester is provided, including its context and meaning — that is, thematic frameworks, courses, instructors, deadlines, exams, and more. It is customary for the instructors who are available to attend and introduce themselves and briefly talk about their subjects.

Semester Council – This is a group of students who represent the students in the semester. If there are general issues during the semester, such as with teaching, they are typically the ones who gather feedback and approach the anchor teacher. It is customary to hold meetings during the semester to ensure good quality and solve small problems, including aligning expectations. The students have many requests, some of which can and should be fulfilled, while others cannot and should not be fulfilled. The Semester Council should be involved in the group formation and semester evaluations.

Group Formation – Forming groups for the completion of the semester project. Group formation typically takes place over a day or two, where the students develop relatively specific topics for their semester projects and use these topics to form groups.

Group formation should occur after or almost after the courses in the project module have been completed. The balance is to ensure there is enough time for the project, but that the students are well-prepared to develop project topics.

Groups are typically formed based on topics, but ambitions and personal preferences for working methods can also be considered (this cannot be avoided). This process can be carried out in many different ways, and the students can be actively involved in the process, the rules of the game, etc.

It is beneficial to discuss project topics during the semester — get the various instructors/advisors to suggest topics. Instructors can propose project topics during or at the end of their teaching. Likewise, the anchor teacher should already during the semester introduction and in the semester description provide suggestions on possible topics (examples from the last time the semester was held).

See Tem Frank Andersen’s Steps in Group Formation from the day of the lesson. See Tem Frank Andersen’s Steps in Group Formation from the day of the lesson.

As a general rule, project groups should consist of 4-5 people; however, groups with fewer than 4 members are acceptable, though not ideal. Groups of 6 must seek exemption from the study coordinator or the head of the study board.

Once all groups are formed, group forms should be filled out — they are available on Moodle under the secretariat section. The completed group forms (NOTE! The students must provide their official study.aau.dk email addresses!) should be sent to the semester's study secretary and the semester coordinator. Requests for advisors can be included, but it is important to inform the students that the chance of fulfilling such requests for many is low. We use many advisors that the students do not know, and experience shows that it is more important that the advisors receive topics they are interested in. It is also customary that we do not accept the designation of advisors that are not wanted!

The semester coordinator uses the forms to assign advisors. Remember to check how many hours/groups the assigned advisors have available or have been promised — advising often serves as a buffer, especially for internal advisors, so there may be some adjustments needed. If additional advisors need to be recruited, have a discussion with the study coordinator. Advisor assignments are based on the topics and the advisors’ expertise and availability for advising. The students cannot claim an advisor who is already familiar with the specific topic being written about, but of course, professional guidance will be provided.

Experience shows that especially external advisors need a forum to discuss the practices of advising, including values, rules, expectations, and more. It is a very good idea to hold about 2 meetings with the advisors. The first meeting is an opportunity to introduce the advising process at our institution, the advisor contract, and more. It is especially important to inform them that, in our case, there are generally more hours allocated for advising, and that advising is seen as a type of teaching. Advisors should help with both academic and social challenges within the groups. The groups should be able to receive advising throughout the process and ideally once in the final week, even if the advisor has many groups.

The semester coordinator should be involved in cases where groups have conflicts with their advisor.

Project Seminar - A synopsis seminar, mid-term seminar, or by any other name. It is recommended to conduct a project seminar, as it sharpens the students' critical thinking skills. The project seminar can advantageously be held in split groups during a transition period. It could involve 4 groups and their advisors giving feedback to each other based on short oral or written presentations. This can be based on the problem formulation or later in the process with a focus on, for example, methodology/analysis. The possibilities are many. It could also be set up as a carousel with 2 groups at a time, giving and receiving feedback along with an advisor. Or in larger forums where groups take turns being the first opponent. The students typically appreciate it when the groups match in terms of themes, theory, or other aspects, making it easier for them to relate. Advisors should be involved so that it is integrated into the advising process, and the students may be uncertain about what the seminar is, what is required, and what to expect.

Project Submission is in December/May. Extensions are a rare exception and require serious circumstances. No exceptions are granted for submitting more pages than the specified page count unless there are very special circumstances to justify it. The definition of normal pages is outlined in the study regulations in the introduction. All projects must be submitted with a standard cover page (available on Moodle under the secretariat section).

Semester Evaluation can be conveniently scheduled immediately after the submission. It is the semester coordinator's responsibility to review the various elements from the semester. This includes the introduction, teaching, advising, group formation, communication, IT, social aspects, etc. This is done in plenary, so all students have an opportunity to voice their opinions. You might let the students have an hour to discuss matters with the Semester Council as facilitators and go over things with them (NB: This is not a forum for discussing individuals, whether students, teachers, or advisors).

The outcomes of the semester evaluation, along with the SurveyXact, should be reported to the study board – there is a form for this. For each activity, write what worked well, what could be improved, and suggestions for changes. Any confidential input should be sent directly to the study board.

Exams are held in June and January (sometimes in August/December). It is the chairman of the external examiners who assigns external examiners. We recruit the internal examiners ourselves. It is a good idea to have mutual internal examination between instructors teaching the same courses in Aalborg and Copenhagen (this facilitates implicit exchange of experiences).

For written assignments, there are 4 weeks for grading and reporting of grades.

The study secretaries organize the exam based on the submitted group forms (from group formation) and also collect information about the dates when each advisor/examiner is available to conduct the exam. It is also the study secretaries who communicate to the students/advisors/examiners when the exam will take place, as well as handle the reporting of grades.

In addition to the semester evaluation, it is the responsibility of the anchor teacher to report the final time usage. Use the staffing plan for the relevant semester, adjust names and hours so that it is clear which instructors have taught the individual courses / provided supervision, and how many hours they have spent. If there is internal censorship, this must also be reported.

An overview of our exam hours for assignment setting, censorship, etc., is also placed in the "Room for Instructors."

The time accounting is sent to the study board secretary, Eva Bengaard.