Mr Paul Broster
School of Arts, Media and Creative Technologies
Current positions
Associate Dean Student Experience
Biography
July 2020 – present: Associate Dean Academic (Student Experience), School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology, University of Salford
• Strategic lead for student experience and employability in a School of 5,000 students
• Led and implemented the School’s first student Employability Strategy, including a new Graduate Outcomes campaign
• School lead for other key areas including National Student Survey (NSS), induction, module review, mentoring, academic support, personal tutoring, personal mitigating circumstances and engagement monitoring
• Chair for University’s Programme Approval and Review Panel (PARP) and alternate chair for School Teaching and Learning Committee
• Worked with Deputy Dean to produce the School’s first Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and Race Equality Charter (REC) strategies, acting as lead for consultation with staff and students
• Acted as interim School EDI Lead for nine months until permanent appointment
• School representative on University committees including teaching and learning, education and employability, induction and engagement monitoring
• Oversee all student procedures in School including misconduct, complaints, emergency response, health-related support, withdrawals, interruptions and appeals
• School lead for partnership with the UK Asian Media Awards, which aims to promote greater diversity and inclusion in the creative industries
• External examiner at Leeds Beckett University
September 2019 – July 2020: Academic Director, Media City Directorate, University of Salford
• Managed a cross-campus team of 70 full-time academic staff and 2,000 UG/PGT students across 11 subject areas including Media, Film, Journalism, Games, Animation, TV, Radio, Public Relations, Politics, History and International Relations
• Role initially involved leading a change management project to merge three directorates into one at the University’s MediaCityUK campus, including a new operational structure and department name
• Oversaw line management, department budget, academic portfolio review and development
• Member of School Executive team with accountability for KPIs including Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), Research Excellence Framework (REF), Graduate Outcomes and Proceed
• External examiner at Leeds Beckett University
• Lead for the School’s partnership with the UK Asian Media Awards
August 2017 – August 2019: Director of Journalism, Politics and Contemporary History, University of Salford
• Strategic and budget responsibility as head of cross-campus department, managing 25 staff, 18 UG/PGT programmes and 750 students
• Programmes included journalism, public relations, digital communication, politics, international relations, security, intelligence, terrorism and contemporary history.
• Improved NSS scores in journalism year over six-year period: Overall satisfaction: 2014 - 35% 2015 - 79% 2016 - 80% 2017 - 89% 2018 - 90% 2019 – 92%
• Oversaw significant improvement in NSS outcomes for politics and 100% overall satisfaction in history (2019)
• Established public relations as a new School discipline through validation of new UG and PGT programmes
• Oversaw revisions to politics and history curriculum to include work-based learning and new assessment strategies
• Oversaw professional accreditation of UG journalism suite by Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC)
• Agreed Semester Study Abroad partnership with Volda University College, Norway
• External examiner at Kingston University in London
• Lead for the School’s partnership with the UK Asian Media Awards
• Judge for Royal Television Society (RTS) and The Society of Editors (SoE) awards.
August 2015 – August 2017: Director of Journalism, University of Salford
• Strategic and budget responsibility as head of department, managing 15 staff, 10 UG/PGT programmes and 450 students at the University's MediaCityUK campus
• Recruited the highest number of journalism students (450 across levels) in the UK, sector lead for recruitment
• Best departmental outcomes in School for staff Best Companies survey
• School lead for developing interdisciplinary student opportunities with industry partners including Lancashire Cricket Club, Thomas Cook Sport and Telegraph Media
• Assessor and member of National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) reporting sub-committee
• Represented University through interviews on BBC Breakfast TV, BBC News Channel, BBC Radio5live, ITV and newspapers including profile in The Manchester Evening News here
• External examiner at Kingston University in London
• Lead for the School’s partnership with the UK Asian Media Awards
• Judge for O2 Media Awards and Asian Media Awards
January 2014 – July 2015: Associate Director: Journalism, University of Salford
• This post involved managing budget and colleagues, developing programmes and supporting/deputising for the Director of English, Journalism, Politics, History and Film as a subject lead
• Assessor and member of NCTJ reporting sub-committee
• External examiner at Southampton Solent University
September 2012 – July 2015: Programme Leader and Admissions Tutor for MA Journalism, University of Salford
• This role involved managing, leading, organising and developing the university’s accredited postgraduate journalism programme and overseeing the admissions process
• Re-designed programme to reflect industry practice and changes in audio-visual content, mobile journalism and social media output
• Ensured all students undertook placements linked to curriculum and assessment through partnerships with industry network including BBC, ITV, Reach, Newsquest, Bauer Media and Manchester United Football Club
• Assessor and member of NCTJ reporting sub-committee
• Oversaw professional accreditation of programme through validation by NCTJ
• External examiner at Southampton Solent University
March 2009 – April 2013: Programme Leader and Admissions Tutor for BA Journalism at the University of Salford
• This role involved managing, organising and developing the university’s single honours journalism programme and overseeing the admissions process
• Re-designed programme to reflect developments in digital technologies and output ahead of move to the University’s new MediaCityUK building
• Ensured all students undertook placements linked to curriculum and assessment
• Worked as guest trainer for BBC College of Journalism
• Assessor and member of NCTJ reporting sub-committee
September 2011-2013: Programme Leader and Admissions Tutor for BA Journalism and English at the University of Salford
• This role involved managing, organising and developing a joint honours programme and overseeing the admissions process
January 2009-July 2015: Lecturer in Journalism at the University of Salford.
• This role involved the preparation and delivery of teaching (see below)
• My research, including industry observation, focused on how newspaper organisations can survive and thrive in the digital age
• Remained in practice in newsrooms and writing for organisations including The Conversation
Teaching modules: 2011-2015: News and Ethics (level 7) 2009-2019: Major Journalism Projects (Level 7 – supervising postgraduate students) 2009-2019: Major Journalism Projects (Level 6 – supervising undergraduate students) 2009-2014: Print Journalism (Level 5) 2009-2012: Print and Online Journalism (level 4). 2009-2016: Journalism Practice (level 6) 2013-2015: Professional Practice (level 7)
June 2003 - December 2008: North West News Editor, Daily Express, Manchester.
• Managed an editorial team as chief correspondent for North West England. Major stories covered included the murder of schoolboy Rhys Jones in Liverpool and the Morecambe Bay cockling disaster.
December 2001 - June 2003: News Reporter and Assistant News Editor, Daily Express, London.
• Managed an editorial team and covered major stories, including the Soham murders
December 1998 - December 2001: News Reporter, Assistant News Editor and Leader Writer, Manchester Evening News
• Managed a team of reporters and covered major stories including the Harold Shipman murders and interviews with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and United States President Bill Clinton.
December 1997 - December 1998: Staff news reporter, Bolton Evening News.
• Worked as a reporter and covered major stories including an interview with Conservative Party Leader William Hague.
July 1994 - December 1997: Staff reporter (promoted to Chief Reporter in 1995), Sports Editor and Acting Editor, Knutsford Guardian.
• Regularly edited a 72-page local newspaper, with full responsibility for editorial content, from the age of 24.
• Managed an editorial team and covered major stories, including Martin Bell’s 1997 General Election victory over Conservative MP Neil Hamilton.
Membership of Professional Organisations: Fellow of Higher Education Academy (HEA) since 2011. Member of Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) since 2021, Member of Association of MBAs (AMBA) since 2019, Member of Association of Journalism Education (AJE) since 2009. Member of the Editorial Board, The Conversation 2016-17. Member of National Council for the Training of Journalists’ (NCTJ) Reporting sub-committee 2011-2016.
Qualifications
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Senior Leader's Master's Degree
2019 - 2021 -
MBA
2019 - 2021 -
Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Practice and Research
2010 - 2011 -
National Certificate in Newspaper Journalism (NCTJ)
1993 - 1996 -
BA (Hons) History
1990 - 1993
Publications
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University of Salford - Inclusive structures driving transformational change
Power, E., West, M., Broster, P., Dermo, J., Etherington, M., Hookham, C., …Withnell, N. (2022). University of Salford - Inclusive structures driving transformational change