Professor Jill Webb
BSc (Econ), MSc, ACA, PFHEA

Profile

Biography

Jill Webb joined the University of York in September 2012 and is currently Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education and Students and Chair of the Standing Committee on Assessment. As a first-generation student with a Doctorate in Education focused on social justice, she brings a personal and professional commitment to educational inclusion and has led institutional work on inclusion and the Access and Participation Plan (APP). During her time at York, she has held senior leadership positions including Associate Dean for Education and Students in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Director of Teaching and Learning in the School for Business and Society. Prior to joining York, she spent 17 years at Leeds Beckett University in a variety of leadership positions, including Accountancy Subject Group Leader.

Jill has co-authored national sector publications including publishing work on assessment optionality with the QAA and co-editing the Handbook of Inclusive Learning and Teaching in Business and Management. Jill co-founded the Centre for the Advanced Study of Management Education and founded the Russell Group Student Success Network, both bodies support staff to share practice and draw on scholarship with a view to improving the student experience and enhancing inclusion. Jill is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA) and was awarded two Advance HE Collaborative Awards for Teaching Excellence (CATE)

Research

Overview

Jill’s scholarship focuses on inclusion and skills development. Her Doctoral thesis draws on the capabilities approach and examines class differences in the process of aspiration development. More recent work has examined optionality in assessment, extra-curricular inclusion and the design of institutional projects to enhance inclusion.

Publications

Selected publications

Webb, J., Ball-Smith, J and Penn, J. (2024) Mind the (ethnicity degree awarding) gap: supporting academic departments to proactively evaluate and enhance their practice. Transforming Access and Student Outcomes in Higher Education.  Accessed 7^th June 2024.

Anderson, K., Chaffer, C., Elkhashen, E., and Webb, J. (2023) Student Managed Investment Funds: Experiences of a Fund at a UK University. Journal of International Business Education, 18, pp. 279-300. Available at: White Rose Research Online Accessed 7^th June 2024.

Firth, M., Ball-Smith, J., Burgess, T., Chaffer, C., Finn, G., Guy, M., Hansen, J., Havemann, L., Glover, N., Kingsbury, M., Pazio, M., Penn, J., Trzeciak, F., Shackleford-Cesare, K., Walker, S., Webb, J., (2023) Optionality in Assessment: A cross institutional exploration of the feasibility, practicality & utility of student choices in assessment in UK higher education, 26 pages, published by the Quality Assurance Agency Available at: Quality Assurance Agency . Accessed 7^th June 2024.

Chaffer, C. and Webb, J. (2017) An evaluation of competency development in accounting trainees. Accounting Education, 26, 5-6, pp.431-458.

Webb, J. and Chaffer, C. (2016) The expectation performance gap in accounting education: a review of generic skills development in UK accounting degrees. Accounting Education, 25, 4, 349-367. 

Teaching

Other teaching

Jill’s teaching draws on her professional background as a Chartered Accountant and she has taught across a broad range of specialist and non-specialist undergraduate and postgraduate modules. She is particularly interested in inclusive education and fostering a sense of belonging in academic student communities.

Jill was part of the team who introduced the first online programmes to UYMS. She worked with a broad range of colleagues and an external partner to develop pedagogical principles and associated tools for the development of online provision and to project manage the production of content for UYMS.