Building a supportive environment for teaching and learning : a reflective commentary

Universities are increasingly caught in the transition between college institutions of independant academics to become managed businesses of research and teaching and learning. This is introducing substantial issues with the work, approach and personal development needs of individual academics. It is causing even greater concerns for managers within universities. The developments in University Management have increasingly become driven towards issues of finance, quality and marketing. Organizational development in teaching and learning practices has been less commonly a point of focus. This paper outlines developments of this nature at the University of Salford. Through its combination of authors it does so at whole University, Faculty and School levels. It outlines the variety of ways in which teaching and learning developments can be supported within an organisation.