Can you tell us a little bit about what you do at Kaplan and what sort of responsibilities you have?
I work in Kaplan Publishing as a ‘Content Manager’. This means I manage a team of eleven content specialists who write the material for all of the ‘management’ subjects (financial management, management accounting, business strategy, performance management, business management, risk management, economics and mathematics) across papers for CIMA, ACCA, and AAT.
As well as managing the team I also write material for the CIMA operational case study and still teach a range of subjects.
What was your background before joining Kaplan?
I read mathematics at St. John’s College, Cambridge before working as an auditor for KPMG in London and becoming ICAEW-qualified in 1989. I joined what was then called Financial Training in Liverpool as a tutor in 1991.
How have you used your previous experience to help students?
While working for KPMG and doing my accountancy exams, I realised how difficult it is to balance all the demands on your time and what a huge difference good tutors and focussed material can make to your overall success.
Since then, whether lecturing or writing, I always try to be as exam-focussed and student-aware as possible to make the learning process as time and energy efficient as it can be.
About the experts:
We wanted to give you an insight into some of the work that goes on behind the scenes, so you can see how everything comes together to make sure that our courses give you the exam confidence you need.
How does Kaplan help students feel as confident as possible for their exams?
We do this by ensuring that tutors and authors become experts in their chosen disciplines and papers. This ensures that students can be confident that the material they receive is pitched at the right level, is explained in context and as simply as possible, and is both relevant and sufficient to the exam they plan to sit.
How does the work you do impact our students and improve their overall experience of studying with Kaplan?
The published content we produce, whether in printed form such as study texts, or online tests and videos, forms the essential foundation on which students can build their own study journey.
How do you work with CIMA to ensure that our study materials meet the standards of the syllabus and are of the very highest standard?
As approved publishers, we work with CIMA examiners and faculty members throughout the whole material update process, from discussing the syllabus and proposed changes before updates start, through ongoing dialogue as changes are made, to final review and sign off.
What has been the biggest development or improvement that you’ve seen since joining Kaplan?
Students have a much greater range of resources available to them, particularly in terms of online content.