Awful programme review meeting

[Lackademic]

Had our annual review meeting with faculty Head. We've had a terrible 2 years of really high staff turnover and reliance on sessional staff for some core modules. Finally got a full team established then someone left at the end of S2, so now we're understaffed again. We have LOADS of students. We're all so overworked and try so hard to support our students, most of whom are first gen uni students who don't have sparkling exam results behind them from school. Many have emotional / other difficulties.

Faculty Head basically just sat and ripped us apart for 2 hours. Had absolutely nothing positive to say, though there are areas of significant improvement that could have been mentioned - we've improved in NSS, our attrition rate has fallen between first and second year (this was previously a real issue), staff have been nominated for awards for pastoral care. We've done this during a turbulent period where we've had no fewer than 3 different programme heads and months with no direct management whatsoever.

We all just felt like crying at the end of it. It just seems so pointless when the only feedback we ever get is to tell us how shit we are.

Is this sort of thing specific to my uni only? I've never worked anywhere else. Or does this happen elsewhere? Literally this meeting is the only time in the entire year we ever see our Faculty Head, and he's always foul to us. Just feel like giving up.

Sounds like you're going through the same constraints we have on our programmes. In my experience this kind of dressing down is purely to support a predetermined decision though, they use it as an excuse to do what they wanted anyway e.g. restructure degree programmes

They expect the impossible. Not enough staff and a perfect 'student experience' aka bum wiping and awarding out firsts like sweets. No proper mental health support for students are need it so staff, especially female staff, have to try and deal with something they aren't trained to.

Culture of it is you can't win as if you don't appease the students you get marked down in the national snowflake survey. Cue grump grump from HODS.

We suffer from lower NSS scores due to the workplace experience of our students which shouldn't but does reflect on us. However the culture of the department is positive and our HOD takes flack but does not pass it on. Thankfully. It's hard enough running programmes without putting up with having to listen to that crap.

The most infuriating thing about these kinds of meetings is that the senior managers who deliver the bollocking have often gone into that role to escape teaching and students. I one congratulated someone on her new role as a PVC and her response was, “thank you, I’m so glad I won’t have to teach any more. I’ve really tried but it’s just getting worse and I can’t take it any more”.