Learner Support Services

Last, but not lest, my Directorate - Learner Support Services.

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My role

My job is to not only act as Personal Secretary to the Director but also to undertake a multitude of administrative duties. I can be one minute dealing with personnel/staffing information and the next dealing with the Directorate of Estates and Facilities on various buildings and facilities management matters. I work in a public building which is open 24 hours per day so you can imagine there can be many issues with the fabric and facilities in the building. LSS Administration, of whom I am a part, deals with everything administrative and financial. It’s a wide-ranging role.

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Background

In 2000, the University decreed that its Library and Computer Centre (including Voice Communications) should merge into one Directorate and become Learning Support Services. Its first Director was Dr Stanley Houghton (formerly Director of the Computer Centre). Within a couple of years, Career Development Services joined the Directorate and a couple of years later Management Information Services became the last department to join the LSS “family”.

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Today

In 2006, Dr Houghton, known to everyone as Stan, retired. The Directorate went through another transition and merged with Corporate and Central Services. Colleagues in People Development Unit, The Graduate School, Teaching Quality Enhancement Group and Student Engagement joined the LSS fold and the Directorate was renamed, Learner Support Services. The new Director, Sara Marsh, joined the University in July 2007 from the University of Swansea. Under Sara’s direction, the Directorate has been reorganised into four new divisions:

1. Centre for Academic Progression (includes The Graduate School, People Development Unit and TQEG);
2. Division of Progression and Support (Career Development Services, Counselling Service, Disabilities Office, and Learner Development Unit);
3. IT Services (Computer Centre, Management Information Services and Voice Communications); and, finally,
4. Library (includes all the library services based at J B Priestley Library on main campus, Health Studies Library based at the School of Health Studies, and Management Library based at the School of Management).

The Directorate has certainly changed to match ever-increasing demands on its services and activities and continues to evolve.

What more can I say? I must finish with pointing you to all the facilities and services offered by my Directorate on our recently-revamped LSS web pages http://www.brad.ac.uk/lss. The pages are great and packed full of useful information.

Happy reading!

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