During the course of their studies, students may encounter unforeseen problems. In cases when students find it hard to study, need support with studying skills or drawing up a study plan, or perhaps need to suspend their studies for a while due to changes in their lives, the Coordinator of Studies can support and provide necessary advice.
Furthermore, MACTTās administration is available to assist students during office hours, and the trainers are available for further questions by the students outside of the scheduled classroom hours. Where possible, questions brought up by students directly to the trainer will also be addressed during the course. The administrative staff at MACTT interacts frequently with both the trainers and students to ensure that the students have the required support.
Administrative and logistic support provided by MACTT staff is periodically monitored on the basis of the feedback collected through the satisfaction questionnaires filled in by participating students at the end of each course.
Funding for Learning & Teaching Activities
Funds for learning and teaching activities are included in the yearly budget plans prepared by the Treasurer together with the Education Board. During this exercise the below are taken into consideration amongst other things:
- Laptops required;
- Notes and stationary required;
- Rental of venues;
- Cost of trainers;
- Cost of coffee breaks;
- Cost of courses for trainers;
- Cost of a virtual learning
Other requirements that may arise throughout the year are discussed with Head of Academy and Treasurer in order to allocate the necessary funds.
There are a number of resources to assist students commensurate to the type and level of the course. Each training programme that the Academy provides includes: journals; custom-made learning materials such as case-studies; exercise sheets; articles and presentations. More specifically, upon payment of the tuition fee, all students will receive from the Coordinator of Studies updated communication by e-mail and/or web platform about the course, including the presentations for each module and the related training material as prepared for by the trainer. Additional documents and useful printouts are distributed as a hardcopy by the trainer directly during the training sessions, at his/her discretion. A Virtual Learning Environment may also be set up by MACTT and made available on the website. In this case, all students will receive individual credentials to access the system and download additional material as well as to be in contact with trainers and MACTT staff.
As outlined in Section 10.3 Studentsā Diverse Needs, MACTT caters for resources for persons with disability as well as those requiring special needs. Such requests need to be communicated to the management upon registration, so as to ensure that all materials and resources are adequate for each individual so as to ensure that all students receive the resources required for course completion and success.
MACTT courses also build the framework for the students to continue to learn independently after the course, should they desire to do so. Our staff and office are easily accessible to students, providing them with an easy way to request further guidance both from an administrative and educational point of view. This is done through one-to-one discussions with the Coordinator of Studies and the Legal Representative or other staff members. In such cases, staff members can provide students with:
- On the job coaching and mentoring;
- Further professional development advice;
- Career development and employability advice;
- CV and application writing assistance;
- Preparation for interviews
Administrative staff is also encouraged to develop their competences through Continuous Professional Development (CPD) courses, and provided they meet the entry/admission requirements, they may participate in MACTT training programmes at no additional cost.
Meanwhile, all trainers engaged by MACTT will meet the recruitment criteria set out for each training programme as defined in this handbook (refer to Section 9.7 Quality of Teaching Staff).
Once engaged, all trainers go through a thorough induction process during which assessment criteria and teaching methods are discussed (for more information vide Section 9.7 Quality of Teaching Staff). They are also informed of all the policies of the Academy to ensure adherence. Although all tutors engaged by the company are competent in their training areas, the Academy still supports their development through CPD courses that will enhance their teaching performance. Further to this, all tutors and the Director of Studies and/or Coordinator of Studies meet on a regular basis to discuss topics in relation to assessments and teaching methods as well as studentsā feedback to continue improving the studentsā learning experience. These meeting can be done also via web. In this context, MACTT has developed two main arrangements to observe teaching activities:
- Organising a trial run of the course, especially for courses requiring technical knowledge: the trainer is invited to deliver the training or its most complex modules to MACTT staff members in order to test his/her preparation and training style as well as to assess the level of clarity of the delivered contents and material. The trial run could be done also via web, using IT channels.
Feedback related to the teaching observation is communicated regularly informally and bi- annually by means of a performance appraisal session, whereby student evaluation forms are analysed at the end of the course and feedback is provided to the trainer. Feedback to the trainer is based on the following criteria: effective communication, control of the audience, presentation skills, knowledge of the topic and specific expertise, use of supporting tools (PPT presentations, flipcharts, using videos, etc), organisation and management of group exercises and discussions, ability to engage student participation and Active Learning. The Director of Studies and/or the Coordinator of Studies also engages with the students and receives informal feedback about the trainerās performance and course programme, is asking learners to carefully fill in the satisfaction questionnaire at the end of the course.
MACTT also promotes innovation in teaching methods, and continuous professional development.
MACTT also encourages scholarly activity to strengthen the link between education and research, where possible, research papers and scholarly articles may also be published on the Academy website.
In the case of part-time teaching staff that provide limited and ad hoc services, particularly in training delivery, is supported in their role by the Coordinator of Studies, who administers the office and oversees the training implementation, therefore having an overview of what is going on and being able to provide the required information and support. Moreover, MACTT makes gender equality one of its values and its management is based on the recognition and promotion of the potential of all employees irrespective of their gender and caring responsibilities. Therefore, being compliant to its principles, the Academy allows part-time staff to organise their time and tasks in the most suitable way for the individual as long as the results are accomplished and training delivered. MACTT also ensures that such staff is constantly au courant with developments in their fields and with the methodological requirements of their programmes, the knowledge library is also available for their perusal.
