Q127/94

Quality Assessment Report by the HEFCE for

University of Northumbria at Newcastle

Business and Management Studies

February-March 1994

Contents

• Introduction
• Aims and Objectives
• Student Learning Experience
• Student Achievement
• Conclusions and Recommendations

Introduction

1. This Report presents the findings of an assessment in February/March 1994 of the quality of education in business and management provided by the University of Northumbria at Newcastle.
2. The following courses formed the basis of the assessment:

   BTEC HNC and HND Business and Finance

   BA/BA (Hons) Business Administration

   BA/BA (Hons) Business Studies

   BA (Hons) International Business Studies

   BA (Hons) Secretarial and Business Administration

   BA Secretarial Administration

   BTEC Certificates in Management and Management Studies

   BTEC NVQ Level Three in Supervisory Management and Level Five in Management

   Certificate of Achievement in Education and Training

   Diploma in Production and Inventory Control (BPICS)

   PG Diploma in Management Studies

   PG Diploma in Secretarial and Business Administration/Bilingual Secretarial Administration

   PG Diploma and MA in Total Quality Management

   MBA

   MA in European Business Administration.

3. The University of Northumbria at Newcastle was vested with university status on 1 September 1992. Previously the institution was known as Newcastle Polytechnic, established in 1969 by an amalgamation of colleges of commerce, art and design, and science and technology. The provision assessed was all located within the Newcastle Business School, which has the status of a Faculty of the University, both on its central campus and at the prestigious regional campuses at Carlisle and Longhirst Hall at Morpeth. The total number of students in the University is approximately 16,000 in 1993-94. In the courses assessed within the portfolio of the Newcastle Business School there are 1,502 full-time and sandwich students and 1,255 part-time students.
   
   

   Aims and Objectives

4. The University has a clearly-articulated mission which identifies a leading role for itself at regional, national and international levels. The Newcastle Business School self-assessment states that, within the University's mission, its aim is `to strive for excellence in all of its activities and to improve continuously the quality of its educational provision for the benefit of all recipients'. The claim for excellence is based on the quality of student learning delivered, and the standards of teaching and academic guidance facilitating it.
5. The assessors concluded that the aims of the individual courses reflected both the institutional and the faculty objectives and that the staff at Newcastle Business School were indeed striving continuously to improve. The School has developed a consistent practice of listening to its customers and responding to their needs with speed and skill, bearing out the claim that a culture of quality assurance has succeeded in making staff attentive to a definition of educational quality which guides their teaching practices.
6. As well as striving for academic rigour, the Newcastle Business School seeks to provide educational experiences which help the students to develop transferable skills. The curricula include activities designed to assist students in learning how to study, communication, interpersonal relationships, and presentation. The evidence confirms that these aims are achieved by the School, whose students are described by employers as adaptive and effective, although it is rather less successful at achieving academic rigour.
   
   

   Student Learning Experience

7. The Newcastle Business School bases its claim for the excellence of its courses `on the quality of student learning delivered, and the standards of teaching and academic guidance which facilitate it'. The class observations carried out by assessors identified much good practice which staff had consciously adopted. In most of the classes observed student participation was encouraged.
8. Of the classes observed, slightly under one-third were considered excellent and the remainder satisfactory. No classes were considered unsatisfactory. There was considerable evidence of effectively structured lectures and participative learning where students were given the opportunity to practise group working and communication skills. A sound variety of assessment methods were in use and assessment criteria were clear to both staff and students.
9. Information technology (IT) facilities for students and staff constitute an area of excellence at Newcastle Business School, with approximately 500 PCs dedicated to the School on the main campus alone. There is ready access to the PCs and the network for students at any time during opening hours. All staff work-rooms contain at least one networked PC. Similar standards apply at the Carlisle and Longhirst campuses.
10. An extensive stock of texts for business occupies one floor of the library together with approximately 70 journals and a CD/ROM facility available for student use. Plans are currently in hand to network this facility. Library stock is, however, coming under increasing pressure due to increases in student numbers.
11. At the Newcastle campus some of the teaching rooms are not completely adequate. They are equipped with the necessary teaching resources but the general fabric is in need of refurbishment. This problem is currently being actively addressed. There are no comparable problems with rooms at Carlisle and Longhirst, where the accommodation is furnished and arranged to a high specification.
12. Links with employers are well organised by staff, with an excellent record of placements for sandwich and other students being maintained. The range and quality of the transferable skills possessed by students contributes notably to this achievement.
13. All first-year students are given an induction course, which is joined by students from the locally franchised courses. Staff, especially year and personal tutors in the School, are generally a student's first recourse for academic or personal problems. The University also offers a comprehensive array of support systems, including a counselling service. Students normally receive swift and effective help. Issues of concern raised by students with their tutors and in the process of course review are taken seriously and are the subject of prompt action.
14. There are 200 staff at Newcastle Business School (including the Carlisle and Longhirst Hall campuses). Of the 178 full-time staff, five are research fellows and 11 research assistants. There are 22 part-time lecturers, who are provided with facilities for their work comparable in every way to those enjoyed by their full-time colleagues, and are enabled to participate fully in the corporate life of the School. The School has a high level of support staff, with 15 IT technicians and 50 administration personnel in post.
15. There is a wide age distribution among staff, with slightly more staff below 40 years of age than above. The gender division for full-time staff is 71 per cent male and 29 per cent female: it is 50:50 for part-time staff. Staff qualifications, scholarly and professional activities are apposite to the needs of the educational provision at Newcastle Business School. The majority of the staff have a higher degree (49 per cent) or relevant professional qualifications (16 per cent) in addition to their first degree; some 7 per cent have two or more higher degrees. All new staff without a teaching qualification undertake the in-service PG Certificate in Educational Development in their first year, and there is a range of other appropriate induction arrangements for new staff in addition to this specified programme of training. There is also a staff mentoring system.
16. Newcastle Business School has identified a number of development needs in the area of research and has indicated its strategies for change. Staff are also involved in industrial and commercial consultancy through the Newcastle Business School centres. The majority have membership of relevant external professional bodies and several are office-holders. There are funds both within Newcastle Business School and centrally to support staff development and there is a published method of application linked to staff appraisal.
17. The institution has a long history of quality assurance processes and this culture is built into the operation of the School at all levels. All key staff in the School have undertaken training in quality management.
18. The assessors concluded that the control and assurance processes are working well and are having a positive impact on the quality of student learning.
19. The School operates an appropriate and flexible structure for the academic management of the School. Assistant Directors are responsible for a combination of departmental and cross-school functions, with centre heads and course leaders reporting to them. Subject provision and associated staffing are based on divisions led by division leaders who also report to designated Assistant Directors.
    
    

    Student Achievement

20. Assessors found that the statements in the self-assessment relating to student achievement in their courses were borne out by their scrutiny of the School's work. Student progression and completion rates have been generally satisfactory with, for example, the rates not falling below 95 per cent for the first year of the undergraduate programmes in 1992-93.
21. Newcastle Business School continues to enjoy high numbers of applications per place. This enables the selection of high-calibre, well-motivated entrants. Within the intake, the genders are evenly balanced. About half the School's total intake comprises mature students.
22. Arrangements for regional outreach are setting significant goals for the institution and the School itself. Assessors concluded that in terms of the University's mission and the School's aims and objectives, Newcastle Business School is effectively fulfilling its interpretation of the extension of access through its range of courses, electives, modes and locations, and is producing a harmonious environment, supportive of student learning and progress.
23. In general, the assessors are satisfied that, within the course provision at Newcastle Business School, well-qualified students are diligently and successfully completing a wide range of programmes. Overall, they found that the standards reached were fully in keeping with the level and type of courses provided. The distribution of First and Upper Second class degrees in the main degree courses was marginally better than the average for business and management. Similarly, across the BTEC programme as a whole, almost 90 per cent of students are in receipt of a final award.
24. Academic staff generally maintain an `open door' to their students and are widely characterised by the latter as being highly approachable, supportive and responsive. Students and alumni provided positive feedback, stressing in particular their confidence that they would be, or already were, well prepared to move into and progress in employment.
25. Evidence from a first destination survey indicates progression to employment significantly higher than the national average. A high proportion of the employment destinations is related to the work of the placement unit and the effective links established with placement companies.
    
    

    Conclusions and Recommendations

26. The University of Northumbria at Newcastle claims to provide an excellent education in business and management. The assessors come to the overall conclusion, based upon the assessment visit and an analysis of the self-assessment together with the statistical indicators, that the quality of education in business and management provided by the University of Northumbria at Newcastle is excellent.
27. The assessors consider that education in business and management at Northumbria displays a number of positive and distinctive characteristics:
    • The University provides a clearly articulated and systematic approach to quality which is reflected in both the practices and the culture of the Newcastle Business School and in the evident striving for improvement of the Business School staff.
    • There is a comprehensive system of support for students in both academic and personal terms.
    • There is an appropriate emphasis on the acquisition of transferable skills by students.
    • There are clear and functional policies for open access to courses, particularly marked in terms of the School's presence in the Northumbria region as a whole, and for flexible arrangements to ensure smooth progression.
    • There is fully appropriate provision and organisation of IT facilities for staff and students working in the School, good library facilities and staff support therein for the subject area, and high-quality teaching materials to assist directed and independent student learning.
    • A significant investment has been made in the establishment of an appropriate research and professional enhancement dimension to the work of the School, with appropriate structural arrangements to ensure increased staff participation and professional development.
28. The Newcastle Business School can build upon these positive qualities by considering the following recommendations:
    • Upgrading of teaching accommodation, furniture and equipment is desirable. Rooms and seating arrangements are sometimes not of appropriate standard for a university learning environment.
    • A significant enhancement of the research experience and scholarly achievements of a larger proportion of teaching staff should be a staff development priority.
    • Further attention to increasing significantly the proportion of teaching which may be classified as excellent, to augmenting the standards of delivery of independent learning by students, and to applying universally an academic rigour in the content of courses.
    • Significant improvement in library stock, particularly at the Carlisle campus, should be a priority, as well as enhancement of access to CD-ROM facilities within the library.