Introduction
1. This is the report of an Enhancement-led institutional review (ELIR) of Bell College of Technology, Hamilton (the College) undertaken by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (the Agency). The Agency is grateful to the College for the willing cooperation provided to the ELIR team.
2. The review followed a method agreed with Universities Scotland, student bodies and the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC), and informed by consultation with the Scottish higher education (HE) sector. The ELIR method embraces a focus on the strategic management of enhancement; the effectiveness of student learning; and the use of a range of reference points. These reference points include: the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF), the Code of practice for the assurance of academic quality and standards in higher education (Code of practice), published by the Agency, subject benchmark information, and student, employer and international perspectives. Full detail on the method is set out in the Handbook for enhancement-led institutional review: Scotland, which is available on the Agency's web site.
Method of review
3. The College submitted a Reflective Analysis (RA) which set out the College's strategy for quality enhancement, its approach to the management of quality and standards and its view of the effectiveness of its approach. Other documents available to the ELIR team included the Institutional Profile, as at 6 April 2004, and the 2004-05 Prospectus. Further documents, such as the Institutional Strategic Plan, the Quality Enhancement Strategy and the Quality Procedures Manual (QPM) were made available on a CD-ROM. The RA provided the focus for the review and was used to develop a programme of activities by the team, to provide a representative illustration of the way that the College approaches the management of quality, enhancement and academic standards.
4. The RA was developed by an ad hoc ELIR working group formed from the College Degree Awarding Powers Group; the working group included the Student President. The RA was approved by the College's Academic Council (AC) following consideration by the heads of school, the Teaching and Learning Committee (TLC), and the Academic Standards Committee (ASC). The self-critical, evidence-based nature of the RA greatly assisted the ELIR team.
5. The ELIR team visited the College on two occasions: the Part 1 visit took place on 28 and 29 April 2004 and the Part 2 visit between 8 and 11 June 2004.
6. During the Part 1 visit, senior staff of the College gave a presentation to the ELIR team on a number of aspects of the College. These presentations included the College mission, evolution and scenarios for future development; academic organisation and development; the development of institutional quality; and student services. These presentations provided a useful foundation to the team's discussions. Following the presentations, the team met a group of senior staff with responsibility for managing quality and enhancement activity across the College, and staff who had been involved in reviews at the subject level. This latter group included staff from subjects that had undergone Agency academic review recently, and staff who had been involved in College validation events. The team also met a group of student representatives including an officer of the Students' Union (SU), student representatives on the TLC, class representatives and students who participated in activities such as a validation event and an external Agency academic review.
7. During the Part 1 visit, in addition to its discussions with these groups of staff and students, the ELIR team was able to consider a focused set of documentation which had been identified within the RA. This enabled the team to develop a programme of meetings, and to identify a set of documentation for the Part 2 visit, in order to produce a representative view of the College's approach to managing quality and maintaining the standards of the awards it delivers.
8. The College appended a case-study to its RA as an example of enhancement of the student learning experience. The case-study detailed how the portfolio of practice undertaken by all students on pre-registration programmes in the School of Health Studies had been revised, following feedback and reflection by both staff and students on the effectiveness of the portfolios; it had also been revised to address the quality standards for practice placements published by NHS Education for Scotland (NES) in 2002.
9. The ELIR team comprised Professor H Colley, Professor D Kirk, Professor M Shaw, Mr D Rosie, reviewers, and Ms L Potter, review secretary. During the Part 1 visit and on the final day of the Part 2 visit, the team was accompanied by an independent observer, Professor D Swinfen. The review was coordinated on behalf of the Agency by Dr J H Ross, Assistant Director in the Agency's Scottish Office.
Background information about the institution
10. The College was established by Lanarkshire County Council in 1972 to offer further education (FE). Prior to 1 April 1993, the College operated under the control of Lanarkshire County Council and, subsequently, Strathclyde Regional Council. The College was incorporated in April 1993 and in 1997 sought [re]designation as a HE institution from the [then] Secretary of State for Scotland. As part of the process to establish the College's designation, the Agency was commissioned by the [then] Scottish Office Education and Industry Department to undertake an institutional audit in June 1999, and following the successful outcome of that audit, the College became a HE institution in 2001.
11. The College's mission is to 'provide high quality education, training and advice at higher education level by a variety of modes and in a range of disciplines to cater for local, regional, national and international needs and in support of the economic development of Lanarkshire, South West Scotland and beyond'.
12. As the College does not have degree awarding powers, it collaborates with a number of validating bodies: the Open University (OU), the University of Strathclyde, the University of Paisley, the University of Hertfordshire (ending in 2003-04) and the NES to offer degree-level education within the College. The College's preferred validating partner for degree and postgraduate qualifications is the Open University Validation Service (OUVS), and the majority of the College's provision in this respect is validated by the OUVS. In August 2002, the College was granted delegated powers for validation and review by the OUVS (see below, paragraph 19). In addition, the College has the powers to award certificates and diplomas of HE (CertHE and DipHE). The College also offers a number of HNC/D awards and Professional Development Awards for which the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) is the awarding body. Since 1994, the College has had devolved authority for the validation and approval of SQA awards although, at present, the College offers only four awards using its delegated authority, and the majority of HNC/D awards are developed by the SQA.
13. In 1999 the College revised its structure from 14 academic units to four Schools: Science and Technology; Social Studies; Health Studies; and Business.
14. The most senior institutional-level academic committee within the College is the AC. Following a review undertaken by the AC during academic year 1998-99, a new committee structure was adopted for academic year 1999-2000. There are six college-wide committees reporting to the AC: Academic Development Committee (ADC); Teaching and Learning Committee (TLC); Research Committee (RC); Academic Standards Committee (ASC); Academic Appeals Committee; and Student Discipline Committee. The ASC is the key formal body within the College's academic management structure for monitoring standards and the quality of the student experience. The Planning and Resources Committee (PARC) is the most senior executive committee led by the Principal and responsible for setting and monitoring strategy and for corresponding major resource decisions. In 2003-04, in order to give schools a formal role in programme monitoring, the college established school academic quality committees (SAQCs). The SAQCs report to the ASC. Below the level of SAQC, there are course boards, and these report to the AC via the relevant SAQC, and the ASC. At the programme level, there are staff-student liaison committees (SSLCs) which report to the relevant course boards.
Institution's strategy for quality enhancement
15. In the RA, the College stated that the main aim of its quality enhancement strategy is to '...bring about a significant increase in the success rates of students (particularly first year students) on their chosen programme of study'. The College indicated that this strategy involves a bringing together of all the systems, processes and activities which operate within the College, and which are concerned with improving the effectiveness of the learning experience of students. The enhancement strategy applies at four levels: with individual members of staff; course boards; schools; and at institutional level.
16. In its RA, the College expressed its view that effective student learning depends both upon high-quality teaching and high-quality support services. The College believes that high-quality teaching and support services will motivate and inspire students, encourage them to become independent learners and will further develop a learning culture within the institution.
Internal monitoring and review of quality and standards and public information
Overview of the institution's internal arrangements for assuring the quality of programmes and maintaining the standards of its academic awards and credit
Introduction
17. In its RA the College referred to a set of policies and procedures to assure the quality of its programmes and to maintain the standard of academic awards. These include the validation and review of programmes, annual monitoring of programmes, external examining and internal audit. Information and guidance regarding policies, procedures and regulation are contained within the QPM which is available to staff and students through the intranet. At present, the College does not have its own procedures for periodic review and is still undertaking a programme of Agency academic review (see below, paragraph 22). The College also works with a number of validating partners, and each of these retains ultimate responsibility for the standards of its awards offered by Bell College.
18. The ELIR team considered the key policies and procedures set out in the QPM and explored how these were implemented within the College by reviewing relevant documentation including external examiners reports, internal annual monitoring reports, annual reports from validating partners, internal audit reports and minutes of the ASC and the SAQCs. Matters relating to quality and standards were also explored in a number of meetings with senior managers, academic and support staff, and students.
Internal approval, monitoring and review
Validation
19. The RA indicated that the validation procedures have three major stages. At the first stage, course boards or teams within schools prepare an initial proposal. This proposal is presented to the ADC and includes a demonstration by the course team of the ways in which the programme links to the school's academic plan, its viability, impact on existing provision, and resource needs, as well as the proposed marketing strategies. In order to consider the need for exceptional resource requirements the ADC may refer the proposal to the PARC. With ADC approval the course team will prepare more detailed documentation for the pre-validation stage. At this point the College guidelines recommend that the course team should seek employer participation. In the second stage, a subgroup of ASC forms a pre-validation panel and provides guidance to the course team over preparation of the validation documentation. To promote consistency in the validation process across the College, the Director of Quality will become involved either through membership of the pre-validation panel or by working with the course team. On the recommendation of the pre-validation panel the proposal proceeds to the final stage, a formal validation event. As a further measure to promote college-wide consistency, the chairs of formal validation events for Bell College awards attend a training workshop facilitated by the Director of Quality. Chairs of OUVS panels attend similar workshops run by the OUVS. The approval report of the validation panel is considered by ASC which has responsibility for ensuring that conditions and recommendations arising from validation are addressed by the course team. In exceptional cases, where a team cannot meet a recommendation, ASC requires a report from the course team on the reasons for this. For Bell College awards, the chair of the validation panel signs off the documentation when all conditions and recommendations have been met and this is reported to the ASC. The final validation report is sent to the partner institution or body. In the case of OU awards, if all panel members consider the response from the course team to be appropriate, this decision is passed to the OUVS, who will arrange for a formal letter of approval to be issued to the College.
20. The College regards its validation procedures as rigorous and effective and reported in the RA that this view was confirmed by its partners. Since August 2002, the OUVS has given the College delegated powers to operate its own validation events. These powers mean that the College is responsible for the conduct of all validation and review events, and for appointing, subject to OUVS approval, panel members to carry out validation and review of its programmes. Under delegated powers, two members of College staff serve on each panel. After studying validation reports and minutes of the ASC and SAQCs, and from discussions with staff, the ELIR team supported the College view that the procedures for validation were rigorous and followed with due care and attention.
Periodic review
21. At present, the College has not developed procedures for internal periodic review. The ELIR team learned that there had been plans to develop internal periodic review processes in 2003-04, but that this planning had been deferred until 2004-05 due to, the College argued, the resource pressure placed on a very small quality assurance unit arising from continuing external subject review activity. The team further learned that, from 2005-06, the College intends to introduce periodic review procedures which take into account the SHEFC guidelines for internal subject review. While noting the College's argument concerning resource constraints, the team were nevertheless concerned about the reduced timescale for introducing a process for periodic review, particularly as the external review of subject areas was scheduled to end by the completion of 2004-05.
External subject review
22. The ELIR team considered the Agency academic review reports for the period 2001 to 2004. Concerns and issues arising from subject review, particularly feedback to students and the external examining process, were discussed with senior management, staff and students. From these meetings, the team learned that staff viewed external reviews as an encouragement to reflect on the design and delivery of their programmes, leading to development and enhancement. Overall, the results of subject review have been mixed and, while there have been a number of satisfactory review outcomes, law (BA Legal Studies) received a 'no confidence' judgement in 2001-02 and sociology and anthropology (BA Applied Social Sciences) received a 'limited confidence' judgement in 2003-04. A follow-up review for law in 2002-03 expressed satisfaction that actions taken by the course team gave confidence in the academic standards of the College's law provision. The subject reviews have recognised strength in the aims and learning outcomes of courses, the quality of small group teaching and individual student support. Areas for improvement identified in the Agency review reports include monitoring of student progression; attention to the dissemination of good practice; communication to students of assessment criteria and feedback on assessed work; and effective management of the external examining process. In the RA, the College attests that it has benefited greatly from the process of external review and that it has helped many staff to better understand the quality assurance processes and expectations of HE. The RA stated that progress had been made in implementing a number of the recommendations arising from the review reports, including assessment feedback guidelines in the Assessment Policy, the use of focus groups and the introduction of module review forms (MRFs). In addition, the team noted that the arrangements for monitoring how a course team addresses validation recommendations have been strengthened since the Agency review of law provision in 2001-02, indicating one aspect of how the College is learning from external subject review.
Internal audit
23. The College has had a system of internal audit since 1996-97. Internal audit has three purposes: to check for compliance with College policies and procedures; to determine the effectiveness of these policies and procedures; and to identify and promote best practice throughout the College. Internal audit uses a thematic approach, with the schedule of audits for each academic year determined by ASC at the start of that session. Internal audit is undertaken by a team of four internal auditors and, since 2002-03, each of the schools provides an auditor on a 0.25 full-time equivalent secondment. During the internal audit process, auditors work under the direction of the Director of Quality; all four schools are sampled and the audit team will study relevant documentation submitted by the schools and undertake interviews with staff. A report is provided for each audit and is considered by ASC then passed to SAQCs. The College's internal audit process was commended by the Agency audit of 1999, and a recent ASC review concluded that the process was working well. The ELIR team reviewed a selection of internal audit reports and documentation and these illustrated actions arising from audit recommendations.
24. From scrutiny of this documentation, the ELIR team came to the view that the audits had a sufficient degree of rigour to achieve their purpose, and that the resulting reports were carefully considered by ASC. The team noted in particular that one audit had identified shortcomings with the implementation of MRFs and, further to this, ASC had debated the future development of MRFs at an away day event held in 2003. However, the team did have a concern that audit recommendations, for example, on unit management procedures, were largely directed to operational 'front-line' staff. While recognising the value of focusing recommendations at this level, the team did see the need for senior managers to take a proactive role in ensuring that recommendations are properly progressed. The team could envisage the potential for the internal audit process developing into a significant enhancement tool, provided that the College prepares action plans resulting from audit activity which assign responsibilities to individuals or groups with sufficient seniority to ensure delivery of the desired outcomes.
Annual programme monitoring
25. The College operates a system of annual programme monitoring, carried out by the course boards. The RA stated that this course board responsibility is seen by the College to be central to the maintenance of standards and the evaluation of the quality of the student learning experience. The responsibilities and activities of course boards have been the subject of internal audit in 1999, 2000 and 2004. From 2003-04, there has been a revision to programme monitoring procedures to incorporate the SAQCs which receive course boards' annual reports.
26. The annual monitoring report for a programme is prepared by the course leader and takes into account items arising from course board meetings, student performance and external examiners' reports. The template provided in the QPM for the annual monitoring report is comprehensive and gives clear guidance on requirements to course leaders. The QPM also contains guidance notes for annual monitoring of academic provision. Course board reports are considered by the SAQCs which provide feedback to course teams. To ensure consistency of approach in reporting to the SAQCs, the Director of Quality is a member of each SAQC. The SAQCs produce annual monitoring reports for the ASC which, in turn, produces a summary report for the AC. The ASC provides feedback to the SAQCs on issues arising from the monitoring reports. The RA noted a number of weaknesses that ASC scrutiny had identified in recent years, for example, a lack of evaluation in reports, lack of ownership of the process by staff, and insufficient promotion of quality improvement. The College asserted that these weaknesses have been addressed by the introduction of MRFs to promote ownership of the quality agenda by teaching staff, and by the establishment of SAQCs to increase the rigour of evaluation and dissemination of good practice. The RA acknowledged that these modifications have not fully achieved the desired outcomes at course board level and, in particular, SAQCs have identified a lack of critical evaluation of student performance, variable reference to MRFs, little evaluation of previous actions, and lack of actions arising from analysis of student feedback. However, the RA did note that the use of MRFs has only been in place for one academic cycle and that the rigorous evaluation by the SAQCs suggests that, in time, enhancement of academic provision will follow (see below, paragraph 28). The ELIR team additionally identified evidence of the detailed consideration of course board reports in most schools and that work is being undertaken by SAQCs to enhance staff understanding of the purpose of MRFs.
27. The ELIR team reviewed annual monitoring reports from across the College, sample trails demonstrated the communication of items arising in MRFs to course boards. In addition, significant items noted by course boards were trailed through the appropriate SAQC to the ASC and on to the AC. Annual monitoring was also a topic for discussion in meetings with College staff, and in particular in this context the role of the SAQCs, in meetings with course leaders, school administrators, heads of school and senior managers.
28. The ELIR team recognised that the College had improved its annual monitoring procedures with the introduction of a standard course board report template and MRFs, and the establishment of the SAQCs. Since their inception in September 2004 the SAQCs have met on a number of occasions and minutes of meetings show careful scrutiny of course board reports. In one School, incomplete reports had been returned to the course team for further work. The minutes also revealed that course leaders were receiving feedback from SAQCs, and one SAQC had also highlighted good practice, for example, a 'model' MRF, and disseminated this to other course leaders. The team considered that there was evidence of the annual monitoring process being strengthened; this was demonstrated, in particular, by the good practice of the School of Science and Technology. There remain some weaknesses that the team would recommend the College should address. Action points are commonly noted in SAQCs and the ASC, however, these are usually not expressed as plans with timescales and responsibilities clearly delineated. As items from annual monitoring were reported from course, to school, to College level there was an inevitable filtering out of some issues. Generally, the team considered that this filtering was appropriate.
29. The RA stated that the College's validating partners undertake their own annual monitoring of programmes to allow them to satisfy the precepts of the section of the Code of practice, Section 2: Collaborative provision.
30. For programmes of study which have been validated by the University of Strathclyde, monitoring is undertaken by a joint course board (JCB) for each programme. JCBs receive minutes of course board meetings and the annual course board reports, and in turn report to the Academic Administration Committee of the appropriate faculty of the University.
31. The nursing and midwifery programmes are also subject to annual monitoring by NES, and its representatives regularly attend course board meetings. In addition, the Scottish Executive Health Department meets annually with the College to monitor and review the pre-registration nursing and midwifery programmes using input from both the NES and the NHS Trusts.
32. The RA stated that the College is required to produce an annual report for OUVS, and this includes copies of the relevant annual course board reports; feedback on this annual report is received from OUVS. Given that the annual monitoring at the College is not completed until December, and then a report is submitted to OUVS, it is inevitable that OUVS feedback on this report does not arrive until late in the academic year. Nevertheless, the College acknowledges the value of this feedback. The team reviewed the most recent feedback report (2002-03) from the OUVS on annual monitoring at the College. The annual report for 2002-03 from the OUVS was thorough and generally positive, although it did note, in this pre-SAQC time, a wide variability in the quality of course board reports, particularly with regard to the identification of strengths and weaknesses.
External examining
33. The College stated in the RA that its procedures for external examining are consistent with the Code of practice. For College awards (CertHE and DipHE) external examiner appointments are approved by the AC. For Strathclyde awards, a nomination by the JCB must adhere to criteria set out by the University with the appointment being made by the University. Similarly, the OUVS sets out criteria for the nomination of external examiners in its handbook, and appointments are made by the validating committee of the OU. For programmes jointly validated by the College and the NES, the NES must approve external examiner appointments.
34. Responses to annual reports from external examiners are made by course boards and summarised in the annual monitoring reports. In addition, for reports up to those for session 2002-03 a subgroup of ASC reviewed the external examiner reports and the course board responses, and made a report to ASC. The RA acknowledged some weaknesses in this system. It noted that some external examiners submit a poor report or no report; in addition, the report of the subgroup of the ASC notes that some course boards do not respond sufficiently to external examiner concerns and in future the SAQCs will take a more active role in monitoring responses from course teams (see above, paragraph 28).
35. The ELIR team studied external examiner reports for all courses for 2002-03, comments regarding external examining in subject review reports and the OUVS annual report for 2002-03. External examining procedures were also explored in a number of the team's discussions with course leaders, heads of school and senior managers. The team noted the generally positive tone of external examiners' reports with regard to the quality of courses and student experience. While supporting this positive reporting of course quality the team did have serious reservations about the implementation of the procedures for external examining. Subject reviews for law (2002), engineering (2003), and sociology and anthropology (2004) identified weaknesses in the College's management of external examining. This concern was a contributing factor to the 'no confidence' and 'limited confidence' judgements for academic standards in law (2002) and sociology and anthropology (2004) respectively. The OUVS report for 2002-03 identified a missing report from an external examiner for one programme as a matter for the College's urgent attention. Following a response from the College, the OUVS did accept that the College had done all it could to get this report from the examiner. The examiner's term of office concluded at the end of 2002-03, and they were replaced for session 2003-04. The team also noted that some external examiner reports, most notably in the School of Science and Technology, were very short and offered little assistance to the course team in terms of enhancement, since they did not identify areas of good practice or scope for improvement. Senior managers and staff also spoke of difficulties in ensuring the timely receipt of reports. As yet, the College has not taken firm action over this and indeed, the annual course monitoring guidance notes (see above, paragraph 26) may offer a disincentive for College staff to persuade external examiners to submit a report in the appropriate time frame. The guidance allows the course leader to make a report on behalf of the external examiner based on a discussion, without being written down. In the School of Health Studies, the team noted that a number of external examiners had been appointed from the same institution. While this practice is not outside the precepts of the Code of practice, the team would, nevertheless, suggest the College should consider nominating external examiners from a wider range of institutions.
36. In the RA, the College recognised the need to have a more effective process for monitoring responses to external examiners' reports and in discussions with the ELIR team, College staff acknowledged that there had been a weakness in the procedures for ensuring that course teams responded to serious issues raised by external examiners. The RA also outlined proposed revisions to the arrangements for dealing with external examiners' reports. Senior managers were confident that this was being addressed through passing responsibility for the monitoring of course board responses from the ASC subgroup to the SAQCs. However, the team learned that in 2003-04, a decision had been taken by senior managers that the review of external examiners' reports for 2002-03 should remain with the ASC subgroup. SAQCs had seen the annual reports for course boards, with responses to external examiner reports, but there had been no requirement for the SAQCs to review the actual external examiner reports. Given this, the team could not see how the SAQCs could, in the current year, adequately monitor the response of course boards to external examiner reports. The team did not accept the College's view that there had been a difficulty resulting from the timing of the receipt of external examiners' reports. The team noted that the reports had generally been received in the summer of 2003, and the SAQCs had met on a number of occasions in the 2003-04 session. The team was informed that it is the clear intention of the College, through the use of the SAQCs, to provide a more reliable appraisal of external examiner reports, however, at the time of the review, the team could not be provided with evidence to support this intention. Further the team was of the opinion that a more proactive and assertive role is required of the College to ensure that it receives satisfactory and timely external examiner reports.
Research degree programmes
37. The College does not offer research degree programmes. In session 2003-04, there were three postgraduate research students in the School of Science and Technology. The students are registered with either the University of Strathclyde or the University of Glasgow, with joint supervision by staff of the College and the University in question. Some academic staff are registered as research students at other HE institutions, and the College does have a research strategy, a Research Committee and a Research Grants Committee to support staff development in this respect.
The use made of the external reference points for assuring quality and standards
Use of the Academic Infrastructure
SCQF
38. The RA stated that the College has welcomed the introduction of the SCQF and for all its non-SQA provision adherence is ensured through the validation process as panel members are all briefed on SCQF requirements. The SQA is currently undertaking work to revalidate all their awards, using new design principles, to ensure SCQF compliance. The College acknowledges that the Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip) in Broadcast Journalism does not adhere to the SCQF owing to difficulties in aligning professional accreditation requirements with the framework. The ELIR team reviewed validation documentation and discussed the extent to which provision related to the SCQF with senior managers and teaching staff.
39. The ELIR team was satisfied that the College did ensure that its provision adhered with the SCQF and was continuing to address the difficulties of retaining professional accreditation if the PgDip in Broadcast Journalism was redesignated as a graduate diploma. The team noted that the full validation process had been used to convert the PgDip in Environmental Management to a graduate diploma in adherence with the SCQF.
Subject benchmarks and programme specifications
40. Most of the College provision is at sub-honours level so staff have had to adapt the honours-level subject benchmarks to an appropriate level. The RA indicated that staff have found the statements particularly useful in determining aims and learning outcomes for programmes and that Agency subject review panels have noted that programmes are consistent with subject benchmark statements. No mapping of SQA provision had been undertaken, as the College was awaiting the publication of the SQA's own design principles. The College expects all programmes to have a programme specification based on a template derived from an Agency's exemplar. The programme specification has become a key validation document and training has been provided for staff on the uses of programme specifications. The RA stated that programme specifications appear to be of limited use to students because the information is provided in other forms in the student handbooks.
41. The ELIR team reviewed a selection of programme specifications and discussed the application of SCQF and the SQA requirements with teaching staff and senior managers. The team supported the College view that subject benchmarking had been appropriately applied in the development of programme specifications.
Progress files
42. The RA acknowledged slow development in introducing progress files and an Implementation Group to look at meeting transcript requirements had only been established recently. At present, the College does not produce a transcript matching the recommendations of the Agency. Personal development planning (PDP) is well established in the School of Health Studies, where PDP activity is a competency requirement of the Nursing and Midwifery Council. For other parts of the College, the TLC is currently considering running a pilot scheme for PDP in the 2004-05 session.
43. Given that the College is only just beginning to take action on progress files, and in the absence of any relevant documentation, the ELIR team did not pursue this matter other than through limited discussion with staff. The team would urge the College to advance its work on progress files, in preparation for the anticipated sector-wide implementation date of September 2005.
Code of practice
44. The RA stated that the College is aware of the Code of practice. Alignment with the Code is largely achieved through modification of policies and practices. The ELIR team discussed alignment with the Code in a number of meetings with senior managers and staff, and reviewed the QPM for reference to the Code. In discussions, the team learned that responsibility for ensuring alignment of College procedures with the Code rested with the Director of Quality, so that that College staff were generally not aware of the requirements of the Code. The exceptions to this are in Student Services, where the Code has been used in the development of a five-year plan and, (in relation to the Code, Section 3: Students with disabilities), a learning support and guidance adviser works with academic staff to improve access to the curriculum for students with a disability. Within the QPM there was specific reference to alignment of assessment policy with the Code but there was no such specific reference elsewhere in the manual. However, with the exception of internal periodic review, the College procedures are compatible with relevant sections of the Code. Notwithstanding the workload falling to a small quality unit, the team formed the view that, through inaction, the College was missing an opportunity to use the Code with staff as a quality enhancement tool. Indeed, with the well-established internal audit procedures the College had a mechanism well suited to mapping College processes to the Code and identifying ways of enhancing practice. The College recognises that it has not undertaken an audit of the extent to which it adheres with the Code but acknowledged that the OUVS requires this to have been carried out by December 2004.
Professional and statutory bodies and employers' concerns
45. The RA outlined the College's requirements for employer representation in the validation process. College policy stipulates that an employer representative must be a member of all validation panels. More recently, this policy has been extended to include the same employer representative on the pre-validation panel. In addition, course teams are expected to consult with employer representatives in preparing course proposals through, for example, employer advisory groups. Engagement with professional and statutory bodies (PSBs) is limited to the PgDip in Broadcast Journalism, accredited by the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC) and pre-registration and postgraduate nursing provision (NES).
46. The ELIR team explored PSB requirements with staff and reviewed a selection of validation documents. The team was able to confirm that employers are actively involved in validation proceedings. The NES monitoring reports in health studies indicate careful attention to NES requirements, and the College is consulting with the BJTC over the difficult issue of reconciling accreditation with re-titling to a graduate diploma (see above, paragraph 39).
Commentary on the ability of the institution's internal review systems to monitor and maintain quality and standards
47. In its RA, the College referred to 'a set of well-developed policies and procedures to assure the quality of its programmes and maintain the standard of academic awards offered'. A critical self-evaluation of the policies and procedures was presented in the RA with the College acknowledging both strengths and weaknesses. The College has an effective structure for the management of quality assurance, although the ELIR team would suggest that the ASC should ensure the 'filtering' of items arising from subordinate groups does not inhibit the recognition of cross-institutional issues that require action planning and monitoring by the ASC.
48. The ELIR team noted that the College has sound internal arrangements for programme validation and annual monitoring. Recognition of the rigorous approach to validation is evidenced by the OUVS granting the College powers to undertake its own validation events. Documentation seen by the team confirmed that validation is carried out in accordance with the College's policies and procedures. In recent times the College has strengthened its annual monitoring and evaluation procedures with the establishment of SAQCs, an improved reporting template and the introduction of MRFs. Although, only in the first full cycle of operation, the team did note a more thorough evaluation of annual monitoring through the SAQCs. The College has recognised that effective use of MRFs has not been established across all schools; however, the team noted that SAQCs were working to enhance the effectiveness of MRFs.
49. At present, the College has not developed procedures for internal periodic review, with the College expressing the view that Agency academic review of subjects fulfils many of its requirements. In addition, the College argued the resource pressure placed on a very small quality assurance unit arising from external academic and institutional review had led to the postponement of preparation of a College periodic review process. The ELIR team learned that the College intends to introduce periodic review procedures, from 2005-06, which take into account the guidelines set out by SHEFC. While noting the College's view concerning resource constraints, the team would strongly encourage the College to take early action to develop a system of internal periodic review.
50. The College has a robust internal audit process which the ELIR team considered could develop into a significant enhancement tool provided that the College prepares action plans resulting from audit activity that assign responsibilities to individuals or groups with sufficient seniority to ensure delivery of the desired outcomes.
51. Overall, the ELIR team's study of the implementation and effectiveness of the College's internal review systems suggests that broad confidence can be placed in the College's procedures for the present and likely future management of the quality of its provision.
52. The College acknowledges that there has been weakness in ensuring that course teams respond to serious issues raised by external examiners. Weaknesses have been highlighted in Agency academic review reports and in the OUVS annual report, and had been identified by the College itself in the RA. The ELIR team was concerned that the opportunity to strengthen the process through full involvement of the SAQCs for 2003-04 session had been missed. The team recognised that it is the clear intention of the College, through the use of the SAQCs, to provide a more reliable appraisal of external examiner reports; however, at the time of the review the team could not be provided with evidence to support the effectiveness of this intention. Furthermore, the team was of the opinion that a more proactive and assertive role is required of the College to ensure that it receives satisfactory and timely external examiner reports. The team was also concerned that, within the School of Health Studies, external examiners were commonly appointed from the same institution. While this is not outside the precepts of the Code of practice, the team would suggest that College should consider nominating external examiners from a wider range of institutions.
53. In view of all the available information , the ELIR team has limited confidence in the College's procedures for the present and likely future management of the academic standards of its provision. The team recognised the progress the College is making in addressing the weaknesses in its external examining procedures, and is of the opinion that the academic standards of awards can be secured within a short time frame if the College addresses all of the matters raised in the relevant section of the report.
The institution's approach to ensuring that the information it publishes about the quality of provision is complete, accurate and fair
54. The College provides information to students and other stakeholders through three main sources: prospectuses, its web site and course leaflets. Information in the prospectuses concerning the schools and their provision is signed off by the appropriate heads of school or department. At an institutional level, the College Marketing Unit canvasses opinion on the prospectuses through a questionnaire sent to all UK enquirers. The prospectus relating to part-time provision is sent to all major local employers who have employees on programmes at the College. The College has a number of procedures in place to assure the accuracy of its published information. Accuracy of web site information is the responsibility of school administrators, and for cross-College entries responsibility lies with the Publicity and Publications Officer. School administrators and course leaders take responsibility for the accuracy of course leaflets, and currently the College is considering ways of achieving a more professional presentation of this information. Given that the College recruits a substantial number of students from families where there is no history of entry into HE, the College wider access co-ordinator produces a guide for parents.
55. The ELIR team reviewed prospectuses, the web site and a range of publicity material. In addition, the team discussed published information with students and staff. The team was able to verify that published information is accurate and fair. The team did note, however, that the College may wish to review its arrangements for assuring the sufficiency of information for students who enrol late (see below, paragraph 82).
56. The College will be subject to the broader information requirements set out in the SHEFC guidelines and, at the time of the review, was awaiting clarification of these guidelines by the funding council. Notwithstanding this awaited clarification, the ELIR team was concerned that the College had made little progress towards addressing this public information set. At meetings with staff, the team ascertained that senior managers appeared uncertain as to where responsibility for action was located, and school administrators and senior teaching staff seemed to be completely unaware of the requirements.
Commentary on the institution's arrangements for ensuring that the information it publishes about the quality of its provision is complete, accurate and fair
57. The College has effective procedures in place to assure the accuracy of the information it publishes in both hardcopy and electronically. The ELIR team noted a limited awareness among College staff, including senior management, of the probable requirements arising from the SHEFC guidelines on public information and would encourage the College to take early action to prepare for these national requirements.
The student experience
Overview of the institution's approach to engaging students in the assurance and enhancement of the quality of teaching and learning
The College's approach to engaging students in the assurance and enhancement of the quality of learning and teaching
Student representation
58. In its RA the College indicated that its approach is to involve student representatives on College committees at all levels within the organisation. At the highest level within the College, the president of the SU is an ex-officio member of the Board of Governors and the Joint Management Group. The SU President, together with another member of the Student Executive, sits on the AC. In its RA, the College asserted that representation operates effectively at this level. Students are also represented on the TLC and the RC. In 2002-03, representation was extended so that the President of the SU became a member of the ELIR group; the RA asserted that this new arrangement has been effective in keeping the SU Executive and Students' Representative Council (SRC) up to date with all aspects of the new quality enhancement framework.
59. The ELIR team considered the College's approach to engaging students through the role of students at all levels, from representation on senior committees through to representation at course level. The team did this through discussion with groups of students and through the scrutiny of committee minutes.
60. The ELIR team noted that, currently, students are not represented on the ASC, although this committee has in its remit matters concerning the quality of the student learning experience. The College explained that these arrangements reflect the confidential nature of part of the committee agenda, for example, individual student cases. The team was sympathetic to the College's concerns, but would encourage the College to consider means of including student representation on ASC because of the Committee's central role in quality processes.
61. The SU has a SRC, consisting of student representatives from all sections of the College. Issues raised by students at the SRC are conveyed through their representatives on the senior College committees. The College acknowledges some practical difficulties in achieving its desired outcome for student representation. For example, the SU had great difficulty in recruiting students to serve on the SRC in the early stages of the 2003-04 session. However, the College reported in its RA that the support provided through the student participation in quality and standards Scotland initiative (SPARQS) has made some difference.
62. Similarly, the College acknowledged that student representation on the TLC and the RC was affected by poor attendance, although there had been a valuable contribution to discussions from those students who did attend. In its RA, the College identified two possible solutions to the issues of representation, the first involving a greater reliance on SPARQS and the second to make meetings more student friendly (see below, paragraph 63).
63. The College indicates that at the course level, students are represented on both the SSLC and course boards, although the former is easier for the students to engage with, as they are more informal, there is more immediate feedback and the timing of meetings is more appropriate for students. The College acknowledges that the timing of several course boards is problematic for students in that they fall outwith term-time, and student attendance at these boards is often poor. In the RA, the College identified the need for more advance notice of course board meetings and student training by SPARQS as potential solutions to low student engagement at this level. The College has audited the operation of course boards, which indicated that student presence is valued by staff and students alike. In order to support students, the SU has developed a student representatives' manual.
64. The students who met the ELIR team indicated that they were involved in representative roles at the course level. They also confirmed the College's view that course boards can be daunting and that the SSLCs are more student friendly. While most students who met the team (including part-time students) indicated that they were aware of SSLCs and of their role, some students stated that these were not currently in operation for their course. The part-time students who met the team indicated that they were also included on SSLCs for some programmes. Students also confirmed the view of staff that the informal meetings between students and their tutors provided an effective means for resolving issues and problems. Students were able to give an example of action taken as a result of student input to SSLC.
Student feedback
65. In its RA, the College indicated that it used a number of different mechanisms to gather feedback from students, including an annual student satisfaction survey, focus-group meetings with students and module evaluation questionnaires.
66. In its RA, the College acknowledged that the response rate to its annual student satisfaction survey has been poor (23 per cent) and also that, although the data as a whole is considered by ASC, little use has been made of it. The College recognised that the action based on the student satisfaction questionnaire was not effective, but indicated that there are plans to make more strategic use of this information.
67. The student focus groups are facilitated by an internal auditor and a report of the student views on current learning experience, good practice and scope for improvement is prepared for the ASC. The RA identified that students have reported that they have found these groups to be of value. Students who met the ELIR team were aware of the use of focus groups, but none had been involved, so could not comment on their effectiveness.
68. The College indicated that it did not use a standardised module evaluation questionnaire to gather student feedback because of the risk of student questionnaire fatigue, although it recognised that one may be essential as the use of MRFs becomes standard practice. The RA identified that the School of Health Studies has used the College's virtual learning environment (VLE) to gather module evaluation data and that a high student participation rate was secured using this approach. The ASC has recommended to the AC that this practice should be disseminated as good practice to all schools.
69. In addition to these formal mechanisms, the College claims that small class sizes and good staff-student relationships allow rapid informal feedback to be obtained from students, and allows action to be taken much more rapidly than is possible through the SSLC and course boards.
70. The evidence gathered by the ELIR team through its consideration of a wide range of committee documentation and its discussions with staff and students confirmed that many courses use evaluation questionnaires at the end of each module. The information collected through these MRFs is included in module evaluation questionnaires which are then considered by the schools, when consideration is given to the annual course board reports. Feedback from part-time students is sought for some courses, but the team learned that the pattern was less consistent than for full-time students.
71. The full-time students who met the ELIR team were familiar with module questionnaires but confirmed the view of staff that the best route for feedback was direct to the lecturer in conversation. Part-time students agreed that, because many part-time programmes have low numbers of students, spoken feedback was effective. It was clear to the team that systems are in place to capture the views of students and these systems are effective at the programme level. However, there is the risk that strong reliance on spoken feedback will not identify potential systemic issues that may need to be addressed at a strategic level.
72. The ELIR team came to the view that the College demonstrates some good practice in gathering data on the student view, but is less successful in making use, at institutional level, of the data to improve the student experience. For example, the team noted that the focus groups were a rich source of information and could be used more effectively to look at cross-institutional issues, but that these issues are progressively filtered out as reports are progressed through ASC and the AC.
Overview of the institution's approach to the promotion of effective student learning and to providing an appropriate learning experience for all students
Learning and teaching strategy
73. The RA states that the College has had a learning and teaching strategy (LTS) for some years, but a revised LTS was developed by the TLC during academic year 2003-04 and approved by the AC in June 2004. This revised strategy was designed to both increase the engagement of staff with the strategy, and to develop the new strategy as the cornerstone of the College's quality enhancement strategy.
74. The original strategy, which was approved by the AC in 2001, was designed to improve the quality of teaching, curriculum design and the overall student experience. While the College internal audit process has demonstrated that a large number of targets have been met, there has been no evaluation of the overall effect of the strategy on the learning experience of students. For this reason, the strategy was reviewed in 2003-04 and a revised strategy was disseminated to staff during academic year 2003-04 in order to fully engage staff in the development and implementation of the new strategy.
75. The revised LTS, approved by the AC in June 2004, provides clear targets for:
- enhancing the quality of learning and teaching through staff development;
- meeting student needs and enhancing their learning experience;
- steps to ensure the quality of teaching and learning;
- curriculum design;
- evaluation and monitoring.
76. Within these general targets, the College has developed specific targets, including developing flexible modes of attendance to meet the needs of part-time students, adult returners and work-based learners; the development of PDPs; improved bridging arrangements from FE to HE; the evaluation of study-skills courses; and the dissemination of good teaching practice. Other activities encompassed by the strategy include developing a central repository of teaching materials; the integration of new technology (such as videoconferencing and on-line discussions) into teaching; the development of active learning through the use of information and communications technology (ICT) to provide students with high-quality learning materials; the development of a managed learning environment to ensure that students have the necessary materials for independent study; increase awareness by students of the expectations on them; and more consistent collection and action on student feedback. It was clear to the ELIR team that staff had been made fully aware of the new learning and teaching strategy and have been involved in its development.
Learning resources
77. The RA states that the College recognises the importance of providing the appropriate learning resources to its students, within the budgetary constraints which necessarily prevail. All major decisions on resources are taken by the PARC.
78. Library and information technology (IT) resource allocation is made centrally, following consultation with the heads of school and heads of department. Since redesignation as a HE institution, the College has focused its funding of resources on new areas of degree development and considerable investment has been made in IT laboratories and open-access in the library. Planned new developments for 2004-05 include an email address for every student, a single 'logon' and secure internet access. The College indicated that evidence to support the improved resources could be found in the Agency subject review reports, library usage statistics, annual course board reports and through student feedback. The RA also indicated that there has been the noticeable uptake in the use of a VLE.
79. Students who met the ELIR team spoke positively about the resources made available to them; they also reported that they had received high-quality teaching including the use of varied teaching strategies. All students, but particularly part-time students, indicated that they viewed the small class sizes as wholly positive. Library and ICT facilities, including the VLE, were regarded as highly satisfactory. In particular, students valued the ready access to support materials on the intranet for some of their courses and expressed a desire to see this made more widely available. Part-time students indicated that they could access the VLE remotely, which they regarded as a very useful support tool.
Support for learners
80. The RA indicated that the College recognises students' success rates as a primary indicator of the effectiveness of its approach to promoting an effective learning environment for students. The College also recognised that many of its students enrol with a shortage of some of the necessary skills to be able to benefit fully from study at HE level. The College recognises low student success rates and progression rates on some HNC programmes in particular. For example, the College has identified progression rates for session 2002-03 (on a school basis) to be as follows: Business, 69 per cent; Health Studies, 90 per cent; Science and Technology, 61 per cent; and Social Studies, 48 per cent. The RA highlighted the significantly higher progression rate in the School of Health Studies and identified that the challenge for the College is to identify the good practice contributing to the progression in the School of Health Studies and to promote this in the other three Schools. However, the College also expressed the view that students in the School of Health Studies are sufficiently different from others to make this sharing of general practice less than straightforward. In order to address these low progression rates, the improvement of first-year performance has been designed as the central focus of the Quality Enhancement Strategy.
81. In recognising the poor progression rates of first year full-time students, the College has undertaken a telephone survey of 106 students who withdrew from their programmes of study, and has held an ASC away day in June 2004 to consider student progression. The outcomes of these investigations suggests a variety of reasons for student withdrawal, including a mismatch of student expectations with the reality of the course; a higher than expected assessment burden; and work or family commitments. In meetings, the ELIR team learned that staff have given careful consideration to matters of retention and identified the importance of students' experience in the early weeks of their programmes. There is evidence of some good practice at school and programme level for addressing student retention issues. However, evidence of strategic oversight of these issues across the College is less apparent, and a systematic analysis of the causes of poor student retention, to inform retention strategies, has not yet been undertaken.
82. In the RA, the College asserted that the low success rates of first-year students may be partly a consequence of the College's strategy to widen participation and that if the widening of participation is to succeed then it must provide all students with appropriate support. The College has introduced a new post of wider access co-ordinator to encourage students from under-represented groups to enrol on college programmes, in support of the widening access and participation agenda. Student induction is the responsibility of the school. The Student Satisfaction Survey indicates that students are, on the whole, happy with the College's induction arrangements. Students who met the ELIR team clearly indicated that the induction process had been noticeably enhanced over the past two years. The team learned that some students enrol late in the academic year and, in discussion with the team, students suggested that this could be a contributing factor to poor retention, in that late enrolling students may not fully appreciate the nature of their intended course. Staff confirmed this view and informed the team that they were considering ways of supplementing the information provided in the prospectus. The team would encourage the College to consider incorporating into its broader retention strategy, a commitment to supplementing information for late enrolling students.
83. The College has put in place bridging programmes to facilitate students making the transfer from Higher National courses to degree programmes. While there has been no formal evaluation, the College reported in the RA that anecdotal evidence from students indicates that students value these arrangements. Student services provide study skills, essay-writing, language and numeracy support and schools deliver part of the study-skills programme. Evaluation by the College of these support activities has shown that they are effective. However, the College recognises that more support could be provided for full-time HNC students.
84. All students receive a study handbook, a student handbook and diary and a course handbook. However, the ELIR team noted that there is quite a lot of variation in the content of these handbooks. In particular, a number do not contain material on the role or structure of academic guidance tutorials. However, the Bell College Student Handbook and Diary does describe, in general terms, the role of the guidance tutor, and sets out the College arrangements for academic appeals, assessment, complaints and discipline.
85. Procedures for academic guidance are delegated to the schools. In Business, Science and Technology and Social Studies, students have two individual progress reviews per year. Health Studies uses a personal tutor arrangement. It was claimed by the College in its RA that informal systems provide support for students, evidenced through Agency subject reviews and validation events. The College's QPM refers to the use of guidance interviews as a key tool for the support of students. From discussions with students, it is clear that guidance interviews are offered to some full-time students at the end of each semester. However, there is inconsistency in practice. Some part-time students informed the ELIR team that they do not have guidance interviews, but were aware that they could request such a meeting with their course leader. For many students, the developmental value of guidance interviews has not been adequately explained and, therefore, the students do not fully appreciate their value. While the practice in some courses of placing the responsibility on students to be proactive in seeking guidance may be appropriate for those students who have successfully progressed to later stages of their course, the team considered that it may not be appropriate for those in the early stages. A first guidance interview at the end of semester one may be too late to resolve issues for students who have concerns about their choice of course in the first six weeks.
86. The RA informed that the College appointed a Director of Registry and Student Services in 2000. The RA explained that Student Services provide for students learning support, careers and education guidance, counselling and an effective learning service. Annual feedback questionnaires are used to evaluate Student Services and are reported annually to ASC and the AC. These indicate that students have a high level of awareness of the availability of these services and that they see the services as being of high quality. For example, students who met the ELIR team indicated that the College is very supportive in terms of meeting the needs of students with childcare requirements.
87. In meetings with the ELIR team, staff expressed their view that responsibility for retention is best delegated to schools, because each is responding to a different set of circumstances. For example, it was argued that even if raw data from the Schools of Social Science and Science and Technology were similar, the underlying causes were likely to be different. However, there has been some sharing of experiences and initiatives across the College and some potentially useful strategies have been identified, such as a 'traffic light' system for warning students of their poor attendance record by successive letters from the course leader. The team considered that the lack of institution-wide cohort analysis made it difficult to compare progression data systematically across the College, and that more sharing of information across the schools through, for example, the SAQCs, might lead to a more effective institution-wide response.
88. Meetings with staff and students indicated that the College is seeking to improve feedback to students on assessment. Full-time students who met the ELIR team reported some bunching of assessments, although they conceded that assessment schedules are provided to them sufficiently in advance of the coursework submission deadlines. The College regards the introduction of MRFs as a means of seeking, and responding to, students' views on assessment feedback. Students who met the team indicated that there was an inconsistent approach in the extent to which written feedback on assessments was made available. Some students indicated that they received timely and formative feedback from tutors, through the use of a pro forma, while others indicated that the onus was on the students to seek feedback, and that the feedback was oral rather than written. The team noted that the latter practice was inconsistent with the College's Assessment Policy which states that written feedback should be given to all students on coursework assignments within three weeks of the assignment being submitted, and which also provides guidelines for the drafting of written feedback. The team also noted that a number of external examiners' reports for 2002-03 had commented on the need to improve feedback to students on their assessment performance. While noting general student satisfaction, the team considered that more effective feedback to students would require a more proactive approach by senior staff and closer monitoring of the implementation of the College's Assessment Policy.
Overview of the institution's approach to the promotion of employability of its students
89. The vocational nature of the College's portfolio of courses, and the high proportion of part-time students, means that employability has a high priority at the College. For example, the College works closely with local employers (such as Strathclyde Police) to provide developmental opportunities for its students from such organisations. In the case of full-time students, the primary focus for employability is achieved through a careers service, which is provided by Student Services, and is accredited by the Association of Graduates Careers Advisory Service (AGCAS). In the RA, the College indicated that evaluations of the service demonstrated that students were very satisfied with it.
90. A number of programmes include credit bearing work placements and the College has aspirations to increase the number of programmes which have a workplace-based component. College staff prepare students for placement and support them while on placement. The RA stated that students report their placements as providing a valuable experience.
91. Because of the vocational nature of programmes and also because of the high proportion of part-time students, students who met the ELIR team indicated that they are effectively prepared for employment and career development. In particular many part-time students reported the close links between the College and employers. In discussion with the team, students indicated their appreciation of the vocational nature of the College's programmes which they considered, reflected the mission of the institution. The ELIR team recognised the commitment of the College in enhancing the employability of students by meeting employers needs, through curriculum design and by the setting of institutional targets (see above, paragraph 90).
Commentary on the effectiveness of the institution's approach to promoting an effective learning experience for students
92. A number of formal mechanisms are in place for gathering the student view, including a student satisfaction survey, module evaluation forms, SSLCs and student representation on course boards and some College committees. However, staff and students indicated that for some courses, informal mechanisms produce a faster resolution to an issue than the formal committee mechanisms. The ELIR team came to the view that there are effective and responsive systems in place to capture the student views at the programme level, and would encourage the College to continue to explore means of encouraging greater student representation at more strategic levels.
93. The ELIR team noted that the College regards student progression as the key measure of effective learning . With the exception of courses in the School of Health Studies, this is an area where the College identifies it has had a long-term problem and, for this reason, has made improvement in student progression the key goal of its quality enhancement strategy. The team would strongly encourage the College to further develop its strategy for improving retention rates, underpinned by an enhanced analysis of the reasons for student withdrawal or failure. In doing so, the College may wish to develop a more holistic approach to enhancing the student experience throughout the learner lifecycle.
94. The College has a clearly articulated Assessment Policy which states that students should receive written feedback on their coursework. In practice, there is inconsistency in practice across the College, with some students receiving well-structured and timely feedback while others receive oral feedback only. The ELIR team would strongly encourage the College to address the inconsistency between its Assessment Policy and practice in schools.
95. The ELIR team recognised the strong commitment of the College to maximise the employability of its students and to meet the needs of employers, through a combination of curricular design and the setting of institutional targets. The vocational nature of the majority of full-time programmes, and the high proportion of part-time students, leads to a student body that is effectively prepared for employment and career development. In particular, part-time students who met the team reported close links between the College and their employers.
96. The ELIR team formed the view that the student experience could be improved upon if there was a greater level of sharing of good practice across the College. The team recognised that the College is striving to strengthen the schools by devolving aspects of the ownership and management of quality to SAQCs. The team would encourage the College to further develop its institutional-level approach to promoting a dialogue between the schools through better institutional use of information for SAQCs.
Effectiveness of the institutions strategy for quality enhancement
Overview of the institution's approach to managing improvement in the quality of teaching and learning
97. In its RA the College outlined the principal elements of its approach to managing improvement, identifying: its quality enhancement strategy, including the levels of responsibility for implementation of the strategy within a devolved approach; its LTS; the enhancement focus within its quality assurance processes; and its polices for staff development, review and advancement.
Quality enhancement strategy
98. The College's enhancement strategy was designed to bring together all of the systems, processes and activities which the College had put in place to improve the effectiveness of the learning experience of students, by making explicit the contributions expected of the individual, the course board, the School and the College towards continuous improvement. The RA explained that the main aim of the College's strategy for quality enhancement was to bring about a significant increase in the success rates of students, particularly those on the first year of HNC-level programmes.
99. The RA recognised the importance of the LTS, then under review, at the time of writing the RA as a cornerstone of the quality enhancement strategy. Arising from the current review of the LTS, the AC has agreed to the renaming of the TLC to the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning Committee, now to be chaired by the Assistant Principal (Academic).
100. The College expressed the view that it had put in place 'a structure which will allow enhancement to take place' and that 'crucial to its implementation' are the actions of individual staff working within the College systems and their engagement with the LTS. The recent decision to change the name and constitution of the TLC was intended to address the College's concern that 'that there had been little or no strategic management' of the developments it had put in place to achieve enhancement in this area.
101. During the Part 1 visit, the ELIR team consulted documents relating to the College's strategies for quality enhancement and learning and teaching. Further clarification on the context of the strategies was provided in the senior staff presentations. In the part 2 visit, the team examined the College ELIR Group minutes and documentary evidence of the College's approach to retention. In their meetings with staff and students, the team further explored progress on implementing the enhancement strategy; the College's approach to student retention; the status and potential of the revised learning and teaching strategy; and leadership of the College's enhancement strategy.
102. The ELIR team found a lack of clarity among staff about the College quality enhancement strategy and its purpose as distinct from the LTS and retention strategy. However, the heads of school were clear that it operated as a meta strategy which encompassed the LTS and had as it first focus the important issue for the College of retention. It became apparent during the review that the enhancement strategy had retention as only one of its aims, albeit one given urgent priority at school and College levels. The revised LTS provides clear objectives and targets for the enhancement of the student experience more broadly conceived, and the College has increasingly invested in central student support (see above, paragraphs 83 and 86).
103. The ELIR team considered that the College's revised LTS, once it is embedded, has considerable potential as a vehicle for enhancing the student experience. It has identified as one of its components effective evaluation and monitoring with devolved responsibility to the schools, and a monitoring role for the internal audit process. However, the strategy will be at risk if not appropriately resourced, and if not strongly led from the top of the institution. The team found that the senior management were reluctant to guarantee the additional future resources needed, for example, to ensure that the Education Development Unit (EDU), would meet its targets to support the development of the use of new learning technologies in delivering the curriculum. The steps to ensure the quality of teaching and learning in the strategy depend very largely on the targets set for the EDU and underpin the College's aspirations to enliven the curriculum, make it more accessible and encourage student independent learning and thereby to improve retention. The College is urged to properly resource its learning and teaching strategy.
104. The ELIR team found that staff at all levels looked to committees for leadership and management of the LTS and, thereafter, to line management within schools. The reconstitution of the TLC to the Enhancement Committee will not, in itself, strengthen the strategic management of enhancement. The team appreciated the wish of senior management to adopt a democratic approach to managing the institution and their recognition of the tension between democratic and management structures. However, a visibly strong role for deliberative committees will not ensure implementation of strategies. The College is urged to ensure that the strategy is effectively implemented and supported through its management structures by the implementation of robust and clearly defined roles and responsibilities for its senior managers.
Overview of the linkage between the institution's arrangements for internal quality assurance and its enhancement activity
The links between quality assurance processes and enhancement
105. In the RA, the College expressed its view that its quality assurance procedures, with their emphasis on self-reflection and the identification of action points, provide the basis for its enhancement activity. This was exemplified by reference to recent changes in the College's system of programme monitoring (see above, paragraph 24). Other areas where the College recognised that quality assurance and enhancement were closely related were their internal audit processes, focus groups and the dissemination of good practice, and the action taken in respect of Agency academic review reports and external examiner reports.
Quality assurance and enhancement
106. The RA explained that changes to the College's quality assurance processes and structures followed a review conducted by ASC during 2002-03, the results of which showed that the system was 'not promoting quality improvement'. In order to develop from a 'compliance' approach to one of enhancement, the College put in place a number of developments. Ensuing actions included: the introduction of the MRF so as to involve all staff in the enhancement of the student learning experience; amendments to the pro forma and guidance notes for course board reports to encourage evaluation and to identify good practice; the establishment of SAQCs and the more formally defined role of the heads of school to secure ownership of quality enhancement and the dissemination of good practice across the schools; and ASC feedback to schools on their annual reports. An early review of the new system indicated that the SAQCs appeared to be welcomed but their first annual reports showed weaknesses in annual course board reports with regard to analysis and action agendas. Not all course boards had made use of MRFs. However, three of the schools proposed workshops for staff to improve reports and the circulation of examples of best practice.
The dissemination of good practice
107. The RA outlined the process it has put in place for the identification and dissemination of good practice through the annual review system, which requires good practice to be reported up from course boards into SAQCs, whose reports are forwarded to ASC. The ASC includes good practice worthy of dissemination across the College in its annual report to the AC. Although not yet evaluated for its effectiveness, the College considered that a clearer definition of 'good practice' was required to overcome the tendency of course boards to quote examples of standard practice. It was concerned to promote good practice across schools, for example, the attainment of high success rates for students in health studies (see above, paragraph 80).
Focus groups
108. The College's system of gathering independent feedback from students about their experience of their courses informs improvements to the student experience at programme level. Summative reports which itemise positive and negative points overall are considered by ASC on an annual basis (Director of Quality's paper on Focus Groups, ASC, May 2003 and the report, May 2004). The RA acknowledged that it was unclear that any particular college-wide action has resulted from focus group reports (see above, paragraph 67).
External inputs to enhancing the student experience
109. The College considers Agency academic reviews and external examiner reports as important in identifying potential areas requiring enhancement. A recent ASC review of the actions taken by subject areas to address the recommendations of the Agency academic review reports concluded that significant progress has been made in addressing the specific recommendations made in the reports. A recent change has been made to the consideration of external examiner reports to respond to the views expressed by some external examiners that action has not always followed their recommendations. In future, the SAQCs will exercise a more formal role in considering and acting upon external examiner reports (see above, paragraph 34).
110. The RA considered that the College's 'well-developed quality assurance procedures have been amended to encourage self-evaluation and planning' in an ethos of continuous improvement. It expressed the view that staff at all levels 'are comfortable with and recognise, the value of, self-evaluation'. Nevertheless, the College recognised that 'enhancement is not yet fully embedded within its culture'. For this reason, the RA indicated the College had taken deliberate steps to make changes to its quality assurance procedures and structures so as to 'ensure enhancement is an explicit driver of the improvement process'. Among the changes made, the College placed considerable importance on the establishment of the SAQCs as a focus for enhancement activity and the means to improve the student experience.
111. During the Part 1 visit, the ELIR team examined a range of documents relating to quality assurance and enhancement including, internal audit reports and ASC minutes; and in Part 2, documentary evidence of the flow of issues upwards to ASC and action trails, such as a sample of ASC and SAQC minutes, action resulting from internal audit reports and the Director of Quality's paper to ASC on student focus groups. In meetings, the team explored whether the changes made to the structures and processes for quality assurance were leading to progress in enhancement.
112. The ELIR team found that staff were still in the process of learning about recently developed requirements for a more evaluative approach to modules and courses, and that the SAQCs were assuming responsibility for this. The team confirmed the College's assessment that, while its new processes and structures were not fully embedded, they showed the potential to significantly improve programme monitoring and to enhance the student experience. The module review system has begun to be a useful reflective vehicle for teaching staff (see above, paragraphs 26 to 28). Its value has yet to be fully realised in course board reports which are not yet as evaluative as the College requires (see above, paragraphs 26 to 28). The action taken by the SAQCs to address these matters demonstrates the important role they are beginning to play in securing greater reflection by staff and line managers. There are encouraging signs that they will provide the locus for the sharing of good practice across courses within the schools. As yet the main means for achieving good practice across the College is through the annual programme monitoring review system and through internal audit and focus group reports to the ASC. However, it is not clear how good practice will be adopted and who is responsible for ensuring that it is. The team would encourage the College to take a more systematic approach to ensuring that good practice is shared across the schools.
113. The ELIR team found evidence for the view expressed to them by some members of staff that the College collected a considerable amount of evaluative information about itself but failed to make full use of it at institutional level. The practice of using the information from student focus groups and internal audits exemplified this tendency. The focus groups operate to enhance programmes through direct feedback to programme leaders. However, the overall list of positive and negative points arising from the focus groups which are provided in the annual report to ASC is not specific enough to facilitate a clear institutional action plan or to enable the schools to derive development priorities for improving the student experience across programmes. The internal audit reports are considered at ASC but this process generates recommendations which, although reported to the schools, are not specifically targeted. If the College is to maximise the value of its self-evaluation processes and to learn collective lessons from them so as to engender improvements across the College, the data requires more systematic analysis and effective action planning.
114. The ELIR team noted that the College has recognised the enhancement potential of external examiner reports but the team was unable to determine the effectiveness of the new system for considering and acting upon external examiners' reports since it had not yet been implemented. If the College is to benefit from the enhancement potential of external examiner reports it will need to embed these new reporting arrangements and systematically address the weaknesses in the external examiner arrangements (see above, paragraph 35).
Overview of the institution's approach to recognising, rewarding and implementing good practice in the context of its strategy for quality enhancement
115. The RA placed particular emphasis upon the importance of high-quality teaching and high-quality support services as the means to motivating students and further developing 'a learning culture' within the College. It considered that individual members of staff and their development were key to the delivery of the College's enhancement strategy and the achievement of its aims and objectives as a whole.
116. The ELIR team explored the College's human resources (HR) policy. Presentations from senior staff clarified the value placed upon staff development and the emphasis on the development of learning and teaching skills. The team also considered the College's HR strategy document and data on the staff profile. In meetings the team sought to gather further detail about the College's approach to developing its staff and the relationship of its staffing policies to its HE ambitions. The team concurred with the College's view that its staff development policy is appropriately targeted to enhancing the learning and teaching skills of lecturers through postgraduate training, refreshment of practice and the encouragement of scholarly and research activities. Staff are encouraged by the College to attend external events, and course leaders have attended workshops in the sector-wide enhancement themes.
117. The LTS highlights the importance of staff development in enhancement of the quality of learning and teaching and a number of clear targets are identified such as a teaching skills course for new members of staff, a move towards all staff having a teaching qualification, peer observation of teaching, and participation in training provided by the EDU. However, information from the student focus groups did not appear to be used to inform staff development. Also, individual staff development plans are currently not systematically linked to career review and activity planning in some schools
118. The RA explained that the majority of staff were now on the HE 2000 contract and that it has in place appropriate related policies, including the staff development policy and a career review scheme. The College considered that its Investors in People award, first obtained in 1995 and renewed in 1998 and 2001, was recognition of the importance the College placed on staff development. The RA stated that all staff have access to appropriate staff development, including support from the EDU for staff to develop expertise in e-learning. Staff who met the ELIR team reported that adequate funding is available for staff development activities through a centrally-held budget, with expenditure approved by the Director of Quality, and this funding is available to both full and part-time staff.
119. New staff are subject to a probationary period, a formal mentoring system and participate in regular staff review meetings, in order to support the mentoring arrangements. The mentoring system has yet to be evaluated, however, the RA stated that informal feedback from the School of Health Studies, where most new appointments have been made, indicates that the scheme has value.
120. The College expressed the view that 'teaching and therefore student learning is enhanced' by all academic staff having an appropriate teaching qualification and has taken a strategic decision to commit funding to support this central feature of its staff development policy, which it considers is having a positive effect, at least as measured by staff views. The College recognises that staff teaching loads are high in comparison with the HE sector in general and staff studying for a teaching qualification are given some relief of duties.
121. Peer observation has been identified by the College as a useful developmental activity. The ELIR team noted that it was being implemented in the School of Health Studies. However, unclear implementation of this initiative and the voluntary nature of the activity has resulted in confusion among some staff about the College's expectations for staff participation in the initiative, minimising its effectiveness and its reputation with staff. The College recognises that further impetus will be required to ensure that the scheme operates at a significant level.
122. The College has clear approaches to developmental activities for lecturers, particularly in relation to the use of ICT and the development of the College's VLE and staff indicated their satisfaction with the active support from the EDU. The ELIR team would wish to confirm the significance of the EDU for the delivery of the College's LTS.
123. In 2002-03 a staff advancement scheme was introduced such that staff can apply for advancement based on a demonstration of excellence, including teaching and learning. The ELIR team found that staff recognised its enhancement potential because the scheme seeks to recognise and reward staff through an open system, with clearly-defined criteria combined with transparent procedures at institutional level. In discussion with the team, some staff indicated that the scheme benefited not only those individuals who had been rewarded but also improved the morale of the subject group as a whole. The team would encourage the College to monitor the impact of the advancement scheme on its enhancement strategy.
124. The College expressed concern that, although there is some indirect evidence that the standard of teaching is good, it has at its disposal few direct ways of measuring teaching and whether it is improving. In order to address this it has put in place a performance review scheme, which has entailed the development of lecturer competencies and benchmarks, but was too recent at the time of the review for either the College or the ELIR team to assess its effectiveness. The College believes that its performance review scheme encourages self-reflection among staff and therefore it encourages enhancement. However, it acknowledges that the scheme is in its infancy and has not yet been evaluated.
125. The ELIR team found a growing alignment over time of HR policy and strategy with the LTS aims and objectives. However, implementation of the strategies will require stronger direction and leadership. For example, If peer review of teaching is to be used to promote innovative and good practice across the schools, as is required by the LTS, it will be necessary for the College to identify senior management accountability for ensuring that this happens (see above, paragraph 121).
Commentary on the combined effect of the institution's policies and practices for ensuring improvement in the quality of teaching and learning
126. The history of the College in meeting the requirements of a number of validating institutions simultaneously and over a long period of time (see above, paragraph 12) has left a legacy of quality assurance processes which have, until recently, been mainly reactive. The College, in seeking to move forward from a compliance to an enhancement culture, has adopted a number of approaches. Revisions to the quality assurance structures and processes are still in the process of being embedded in the schools, but there are signs that these will be effective. The extensive use of focus groups to achieve independent student feedback is good practice, although requiring deeper analysis and stronger institutional action. The College has developed an HR strategy which has the potential to meet personal and professional development needs and to align them with institutional objectives and in particular, with the revised LTS. The College does not make clear where the drive for its policies and strategies will come from and how it will effectively draw upon and implement best practice at the institutional level. Without clarity on these issues, progress on moving from compliance to enhancement is likely to be impeded.
Commentary on the effectiveness of the College's implementation of its strategy for quality enhancement
127. The College has recently articulated a framework for enhancement that specifies individual and collective responsibilities for enhancing the student experience within a devolved approach, and which has the LTS as its cornerstone. The College recognises that it 'will take time for the implementation of its quality enhancement strategy to have a measurable effect on the experience of students'. In commenting openly about the steps it has taken to address weaknesses in its structures and processes, the College demonstrated its capacity for self-critical review, which is an important move towards enhancement. Staff and line managers within their schools have started on a journey of becoming more reflective and sharing good practice. The Director of Quality has played a strong role in supporting these developments, but the role is advisory only. The achievement of the enhancement strategy depends upon strong leadership and management at the senior level with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. The head of school role is becoming stronger and more authoritative but, above that level the senior management role in bringing about enhancement is not explicit, except by reference to the committee structure.
128. In the ELIR team's view there is a need for the College to provide firm direction for the implementation of its policies and strategies, to establish a clear strategic overview of the approaches being adopted to enhancement within the schools and to provide stronger institutional leadership for the development of good practice across the College.
Summary
Background to the institution and the ELIR method
129. Bell College of Technology, Hamilton (the College), was established by Lanarkshire County Council in 1972 to offer further education. Prior to 1 April 1993, the College operated under the control of Lanarkshire County Council and, subsequently, Strathclyde Regional Council. The College was incorporated in April 1993 and in 1997 sought [re]designation as a higher education (HE) institution from the [then] Secretary of State for Scotland. As part of the process to establish the College's designation, the Agency was commissioned by the [then] Scottish Office Education and Industry Department to undertake an institutional audit in June 1999, and following the successful outcome of that audit, the College became a HE institution in 2001. The College is organised into four schools: Science and Technology; Social Studies; Health Studies; and Business.
130. The College's mission is to 'provide high quality education, training and advice at higher education level by a variety of modes and in a range of disciplines to cater for local, regional, national and international needs and in support of the economic development of Lanarkshire, South West Scotland and beyond'.
131. The College's most senior institutional-level committee is the Academic Council (AC). The AC is supported by six college-wide committees including Academic Standards Committee (ASC), which is the key formal body within the College's academic management structure for monitoring standards and the quality of the student experience.
132. As the College does not have degree awarding powers, it collaborates with a number of validating bodies to offer degree-level education within the College. The College also offers a number of sub-degree awards of the Scottish Qualifications Authority. In addition, the College awards its own certificates and diplomas of HE.
133. In line with the Enhancement-led institutional review (ELIR) method, the College submitted a Reflective Analysis (RA) which set out the College's strategy for quality enhancement, its approach to the management of quality and standards and its view of the effectiveness of its approach. As part of the RA, the College included a case-study describing the use of portfolios of practice by students of nursing and midwifery, while on practice placement. This provided the ELIR team with an example of a proactive and evaluative approach to the enhancement of the student learning experience in one school. The RA provided a focus for the review, and was used to develop a programme of activities by the ELIR team to provide representative illustration of the way in which the College approaches the management of quality, enhancement and academic standards.
Overview of the matters raised by the review
134. The College has a number of arrangements in place to assure quality and maintain standards: programme validation, internal audit, programme monitoring and external examination. The College is currently undertaking, until the completion of 2004-05, external Agency subject review and has not yet put in place arrangements for internal periodic review. The College's quality enhancement strategy aims to bring together all the College's systems, processes and activities which relate to the effectiveness of the student learning experience. The main aim of the strategy is to bring about a significant increase in the success rate of students on their chosen programme of study.
135. During the review, the ELIR team explored a number of themes with the College including the embedding of quality assurance and quality enhancement, and the linkage between these processes; the management and application of information for quality assurance and enhancement; strategies to address student retention; support and development for academic staff in relation to the College's strategic objectives; and the management of strategic change.
Commentary on the ability of the institution's internal review systems to monitor and maintain quality and standards
136. In its RA, the College referred to 'a set of well-developed policies and procedures to assure the quality of its programmes and maintain the standard of academic awards offered'. A critical self-evaluation of the policies and procedures was presented in the RA with the College acknowledging both strengths and weaknesses. The College has an effective structure for the management of quality assurance, although the ELIR team would suggest that the ASC should ensure the 'filtering' of items arising from subordinate groups does not inhibit the recognition of cross-institutional issues which require action planning and monitoring by the ASC.
137. The ELIR team noted that the College has sound internal arrangements for programme validation and annual monitoring. Recognition of the rigorous approach to validation is evidenced by the Open University Validation Service (OUVS) granting the College powers to undertake its own validation events. Documentation seen by the team confirmed that validation is carried out in accordance with the College's policies and procedures. In recent times the College has strengthened its annual monitoring and evaluation procedures with the establishment of school academic quality committees (SAQCs), an improved reporting template and the introduction of module review forms (MRFs). Although only in the first full cycle of operation, the team did note a more thorough evaluation of annual monitoring through the SAQCs. The College has recognised that effective use of MRFs has not been established across all schools; however, the team noted that SAQCs were working to enhance the effectiveness of MRFs.
138. At present, the College has not developed procedures for internal periodic review, with the College expressing the view that Agency academic review of subjects fulfils many of its requirements. In addition, the College argued that the resource pressure placed on a very small quality assurance unit arising from external academic and institutional review had led to the postponement of preparation of a College periodic review process. The ELIR team learned that the College intends to introduce periodic review procedures, from 2005-06, which take into account the guidelines set out by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC). While noting the College's view concerning resource constraints, the team would strongly encourage the College to take early action to develop a system of internal periodic review.
139. The College has a robust internal audit process which the ELIR team considered could develop into a significant enhancement tool, provided that the College prepares action plans resulting from audit activity that assign responsibilities to individuals or groups with sufficient seniority to ensure delivery of the desired outcomes.
140. Overall, the ELIR team's study of the implementation and effectiveness of the College's internal review systems suggests that broad confidence can be placed in the College's procedures for the present and likely future management of the quality of its provision.
141. The College acknowledges that there has been weakness in ensuring that course teams respond to serious issues raised by external examiners. Weaknesses have been highlighted in Agency academic review reports and in the OUVS annual report, and had been identified by the College itself in the RA. The ELIR team was concerned that the opportunity to strengthen the process through full involvement of the SAQCs for 2003-04 session had been missed. The team recognised that it is the clear intention of the College, through the use of the SAQCs, to provide a more reliable appraisal of external examiner reports; however, at the time of the review, the team could not be provided with evidence to support the effectiveness of this intention. Furthermore, the team was of the opinion that a more proactive and assertive role is required of the College to ensure that it receives satisfactory and timely external examiner reports. The team was also concerned that, within the School of Health Studies, external examiners were commonly appointed from the same institution. While this is not outside the precepts of the Code of practice for the assurance of academic quality and standards in higher education, published by the Agency, the team would suggest that College should consider nominating external examiners from a wider range of institutions.
142. In view of all the available information, the ELIR team has limited confidence in the College's procedures for the present and likely future management of the academic standards of its provision. The team recognised the progress the College is making in addressing the weaknesses in its external examining procedures, and is of the opinion that the academic standards of awards can be secured within a short time frame if the College addresses all of the matters raised in the relevant section of the report.
Commentary on the institution's arrangements for ensuring that the information it publishes about the quality of its provision is complete, accurate and fair
143. The College has effective procedures in place to assure the accuracy of the information it publishes in both hardcopy and electronically. The ELIR team noted a limited awareness among College staff, including senior management, of the probable requirements arising from the SHEFC guidelines on public information and would encourage the College to take early action to prepare for these national requirements.
Commentary on the effectiveness of the institution's approach to promoting an effective learning experience for students
144. A number of formal mechanisms are in place for gathering the student view, including a student satisfaction survey, module evaluation forms, staff-student liaison committees and student representation on course boards and some College committees. However, staff and students indicated that for some courses, informal mechanisms produce a faster resolution to an issue than the formal committee mechanisms. The ELIR team came to the view that there are effective and responsive systems in place to capture the student views at the programme level, and would encourage the College to continue to explore means of encouraging greater student representation at more strategic levels.
145. The ELIR team noted that the College regards student progression as the key measure of effective learning. With the exception of courses in the School of Health Studies, this is an area where the College identifies it has had a long-term problem and, for this reason, has made improvement in student progression the key goal of its quality enhancement strategy. The team would strongly encourage the College to further develop its strategy for improving retention rates, underpinned by an enhanced analysis of the reasons for student withdrawal. In doing so, the College may wish to develop a more holistic approach to enhancing the student experience throughout the learner lifecycle.
146. The College has a clearly articulated Assessment Policy which states that students should receive written feedback on their coursework. In practice, there is inconsistency in practice across the College, with some students receiving well-structured and timely feedback, while others receive oral feedback only. The ELIR team would strongly encourage the College to address the inconsistency between its Assessment Policy and practice in schools.
147. The ELIR team recognised the strong commitment of the College to maximise the employability of its students and to meet the needs of employers, through a combination of curriculum design and the setting of institutional targets. The vocational nature of the majority of full-time programmes, and the high proportion of part-time students, leads to a student body that is effectively prepared for employment and career development. In particular, part-time students who met the team reported close links between the College and their employers.
148. The ELIR team formed the view that the student experience could be dramatically improved if there was a greater level of sharing of good practice across the College. The team recognised that the College is striving to strengthen the schools by devolving aspects of the ownership and management of quality to SAQCs. The team would encourage the College to further develop its institutional-level approach to promoting a dialogue between the schools through better institutional use of information for SAQCs.
Commentary on the combined effect of the institution's policies and practices for ensuring improvement in the quality of teaching and learning
149. The history of the College in meeting the requirements of a number of validating institutions simultaneously and over a long period of time has left a legacy of quality assurance processes which have, until recently, been mainly reactive. The College, in seeking to move forward from a compliance to an enhancement culture, has adopted a number of approaches. Revisions to the quality assurance structures and processes are still in the process of being embedded in the schools, but there are signs that these will be effective. The extensive use of focus groups to achieve independent student feedback is good practice, although requiring deeper analysis and stronger institutional action. The College has developed a human resources strategy which has the potential to meet personal and professional development needs and to align them with institutional objectives, and in particular, with the revised learning and teaching strategy (LTS). The College does not make clear where the drive for its policies and strategies will come from and how it will effectively draw upon and implement best practice at the institutional level. Without clarity on these issues, progress on moving from compliance to enhancement is likely to be impeded.
Commentary on the effectiveness of the College's implementation of its strategy for quality enhancement
150. The College has recently articulated a framework for enhancement that specifies individual and collective responsibilities for enhancing the student experience within a devolved approach, and which has the LTS as its cornerstone. The College recognises that it 'will take time for the implementation of its quality enhancement strategy to have a measurable effect on the experience of students'. In commenting openly about the steps it has taken to address weaknesses in its structures and processes, the College demonstrated its capacity for self-critical review, which is an important move towards enhancement. Staff and line managers within their schools have started on a journey of becoming more reflective and sharing good practice. The Director of Quality has played a strong role in supporting these developments but the role is advisory only. The achievement of the enhancement strategy depends upon strong leadership and management at the senior level, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. The head of school role is becoming stronger and more authoritative but, above that level, the senior management role in bringing about enhancement is not explicit, except by reference to the committee structure.
151. In the ELIR team's view there is a need for the College to provide firm direction for the implementation of its policies and strategies, to establish a clear strategic overview of the approaches being adopted to enhancement within the schools, and to provide stronger institutional leadership for the development of good practice across the College.
ISBN 1 84482 199 4
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