sigma's focus is to develop and enhance existing heavily-used provision so that all students in the Loughborough and Coventry Universities who need to use mathematical and statistical techniques will have access to excellent, innovative and imaginative support.
sigma is building upon Loughborough and Coventry's extensive experience and reputations in the support of thousands of undergraduate and postgraduate students, from across the full breadth of these universities, who require some knowledge of mathematical and/or statistical methods to fully engage with their programme of study.
sigma is making substantial investment to enhance existing provision and address proactively the needs of those who can benefit from the support available. sigma is strengthening the capacity to support students with disabilities and those from non-traditional backgrounds. A test bed for innovative approaches to learning is being established, and all activities will be underpinned with a substantial programme of pedagogic research.
sigma is also outward looking and seeks to influence positively other parts of the higher education sector, providing cross-disciplinary and sector-wide dissemination.
At both Universities, existing drop-in centres are open daily for students to access a comprehensive range of resources, including one-to-one help from experienced staff. Whilst there is evidence that drop-in centres provide a valuable, much needed and much used resource, they alone cannot solve problems associated with ill-preparedness for higher education, weak motivation and curriculum mismatch. Whilst drop-in centres can deal with problems on an individual basis they are in this respect reactive rather than proactive.
A key element of sigma is to move the balance from reactive to proactive activities in order to start to address the problems for the mass of students in need. Staff from Loughborough and Coventry Universities have collaborated to develop a vision for a single CETL that will achieve this. The strategy is to develop a portfolio of activities, some of which are low risk and for which we can be fairly confident in the outcomes, and others that are high risk and for which outcomes are not certain but which will be subject to detailed evaluation.