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Mrs Nicola McDowell

Profile summary

  • Regional Academic Staff
  • Lecturer and Student Experience Manager
  • The Faculty of Business & Law
  • The Open University Business School
  • Undergraduate & Professional Development
  • nicola.mcdowell

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Professional biography

Nicola McDowell is a Lecturer and Student Experience Manager (SEM) in the Open University Business School, and the Lead SEM for the Masters in Human Resource Management (HRM). She originally joined the OU as an Associate Lecturer in 2008 and continues to teach modules on both the Masters in HRM and the MBA. In her role as SEM, Nicola has contributed to several pan-university committees and working groups as a representative of the Faculty of Business and Law. She is the Business School Lead for a Predictive Learning Analytics tool used to support students.

Nicola is fully acccredited as a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (MCIPD), recognised as a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) and holds a BSc(hons) in Management Science with Marketing and an MSc in HRM.

Research interests

Nicola's current research interests are in the use of Predictive Learning Analytics by tutors in distance learning Higher Education to support students at risk of drop out and developing robust support strategies. She has published in Computers and Education and is active in writing a thesis.  Nicola is also involved in scholarship around reducing barriers to, and creating enablers of, greater Regional Academic participation in Scholarship and disseminates her work through reports, blogs and presentations.

Teaching interests

Nicola currently teaches mainly in the areas of research methods, coaching and mentoring. As a SEM, she works on various modules within the Business School and is the Lead SEM on the Masters in HRM. Previously, as an AL, she worked on many wide ranging modules across the Business School such as HRM, marketing and leadership.

Publications

The engagement of university teachers with predictive learning analytics (2021-11)
Herodotou, Christothea; Maguire, Claire; McDowell, Nicola D.; Hlosta, Martin and Boroowa, Avinash
Computers & Education, 173, Article 104285