Academic review of UK higher education
Introduction
A Subject provision and overall aims
B Academic standards Intended learning outcomes
Intended learning outcomes
Curricula
Assessment
Student achievementC Quality of learning opportunities
Teaching and learning
Student progression
Learning resourcesD Maintenance and enhancement of quality and standards
Summary of the main reviewoutcomes
Subject provision and the overall aims
The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (the QAA) helps to provide public assurance that the quality and standards of higher education are being safeguarded and enhanced by conducting academic reviews of higher education provision.
In developing its method for academic review, the QAA has published a wide range of materials designed to provide a background against which the reviews can take place. These are:
The QAA carries out reviews of individual subjects through service level agreements with the main higher education funding bodies. It also carries out institutional reviews of higher education institutions. The judgements made by the subject reviewers can contribute substantially to institutional review.
Subject review is a peer review process. It starts when institutions evaluate their provision in a subject in a self-evaluation document. This document is submitted to the QAA for use by a team of reviewers who gather evidence to enable them to report their judgements on the academic standards and the quality of learning opportunities. Review activities include meeting staff and students, scrutinising students' assessed work, reading relevant documents, and examining learning resources. Full details of the process of subject review can be found in the Handbook for academic review, QAA, 2000.
The range of judgements that reviewers may utilise when they have completed a subject review are summarised below.
To reach this judgement, reviewers look at:
Reviewers make one of the following judgements for each of three aspects of learning opportunities:
The three aspects of quality of learning opportunities are:
Reviewers also report the degree of confidence they have in the institution's ability to maintain and enhance quality and standards in the subject under review.
1. This report presents the findings of a review of the academic standards achieved, and the quality of the learning opportunities provided, in accountancy and law programmes at Bradford College. The review was completed in the academic year 2002-03.
2. Accountancy and law are currently offered on the following programmes:
The undergraduate programmes lead to awards of the University of Bradford, and the HNC/D in Law is validated by Edexcel. The College's provision in accountancy and law also includes a number of professional courses accredited by such professional bodies as the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the Institute of Legal Executives. All the programmes are offered by the Department of Business Studies.
3. The courses under review all have a strong vocational bias and seek to prepare students to follow a range of professional career paths. This is in line with the College's mission statement 'to promote and underpin the local and national economy and the social fabric of Bradford by providing comprehensive education and training of recognised quality'. The mission of the Department is 'to provide a comprehensive portfolio of vocational business training and education programmes of recognised quality to support the local and national economy and to respond to the needs of individual career development'. Again, the programmes under review are fully reflective of these aims in terms of their learning outcomes and curricular underpinning.
4. The course outcomes are clearly stated in the programme specifications and are appropriately designed to meet the requirements of the Subject benchmark statements for accounting and law, and the relevant professional bodies. The documentation produced by the Department delineates in a clear fashion the intended learning outcomes of its courses and these are made available in a variety of ways to staff, students and external examiners. The information is also available on the Department's web pages.
5. Of the two disciplines in the review, the dominant discipline is legal studies. Accounting, European business and marketing may be studied as a joint subject with law. The learning outcomes of the BA (Hons) Accounting and Law have a strong vocational bias, which meets the College's mission. However, care must be taken to ensure that the vocational aims do not dominate the academic aims and that graduates, as well as being able to 'work immediately and effectively in accountancy', also have the academic base, potential and ability to master new accounting techniques as they emerge, and therefore be in a sound position to maintain the value of their qualifications.
6. The learning outcomes for the BA (Hons) Marketing and Law are modest and the Department may wish to take the opportunity to develop more challenging ones at the next internal review.
7. Curricula generally underpin the intended learning outcomes and general aims and enable these to be attained across the two subject areas. The LLB is recognised as a qualifying law degree for exemption purposes by the Law Society and the Bar Council. The accounting courses are not designed to achieve professional exemptions, but graduates have obtained them on a subject-by-subject basis.
8. The HND Law fits in well with the overall mission statement of the Department and the College in that it provides an opportunity to students whose academic results would not qualify them for a higher education (HE) course in this subject. The large number of students who go on from the HND Law to the LLB degree, either first or second year, is a credit to the Department and the tutors. To permit progression into the LLB programme with advanced standing it has been necessary to ensure that the Law Society's core subjects are studied within the LLB stages. Therefore, although there is student choice within the two years of the HND Law, out of necessity the second stage of the LLB is more tightly structured. The Department has been informed that this 2+2 structure will be recognised for the academic stage of legal training by the Law Society if certain conditions are met.
9. The Department maintains close contact with the relevant professional bodies and has made adjustments to the structure and content of its courses to meet the changing demands of these bodies.
10. The Department has, quite appropriately, a strong vocational aim and this is reflected in the content and reading lists of individual modules in accountancy. In general, modules are structured to include practical accounting skills as well as a critical perspective on the discipline, particularly at the final level. This has been achieved, for example, in the level 3 module Auditing and its Environment, and is being developed in the level 2 module Computerised Financial Accounting. However, the level 3 module Financial Accounting consists of basic accounting skills and, while this might achieve accreditation from professional accountancy bodies, it lacks the critical approach seen in other modules.
11. The assessment framework for the undergraduate programmes is in line with the College's guidelines on assessment, and the reviewers were advised that it is being further reviewed in the light of the Code of practice, student feedback and review by staff. In the case of the HND programmes, Edexcel guidelines on assessment are applied with appropriate rigour.
12. The College's comprehensive and commendably clear assessment strategy for its HE programmes is incorporated into two definitive documents, the College's Credit Accumulation Transfer Scheme and the Assessment Practice Guidelines. These documents cover such areas of the provision as assessment guidelines, level descriptors, mitigating circumstances policy and assessment regulations.
13. There is good evidence in accountancy and law of equity and fairness in terms of the presentation of assessment tasks and feedback details. There is also clear evidence of internal verification, external verification of the HND Law programmes, and external examination in the context of the undergraduate programmes. Clear assessment schedules operate to enable students to plan their workload.
14. Concerns have been raised in the College about the possible 'over-assessment' of degree students, and these concerns have been addressed internally by the use of tariffs. The College has also enhanced its administration of the assessment process by introducing peer review and by consolidating internal moderation, double-marking and anonymous marking in the context of examinations. Students indicated to the reviewers that they would welcome the extension of anonymous marking to coursework, and the reviewers suggest that the College should consider this where applicable.
15. The comments of external examiners for the undergraduate programmes are generally positive. They confirm that the assessments are appropriate for the modules and learning outcomes, and that the marking and standards achieved by students are comparable with those at other HE institutions.
16. There is clear evidence that the assessment process effectively and explicitly tests the students' achievement of the key knowledge and skills-based learning outcomes. A wide range of assessment methods is used, including examinations, essays, presentations and legal debating assemblies (moots), and these allow students to evidence achievement of both knowledge and skills. Vocational skills are developed further for some programmes through the use of placements. Employers have commented on the effectiveness of the work placement assessment opportunities provided for the students. There has also been a move to enable students to link practice to theory by the use of placement assessment forms.
17. Currently, the College uses generic assessment criteria on its degree programmes, and Edexcel criteria for the HND programmes, as evidenced from the review of a sample of students' work. A new College Learning Teaching and Assessment Strategy is in the process of being developed and is to be implemented progressively from 2003. This will require the development and incorporation of specific assessment criteria on all unit assignments. Any development in this context is planned to cover the inclusion of percentage weighting to each of the assessment criteria, linked to levels and intellectual progression.
18. There is evidence of ongoing formative assessment and feedback. In the context of summative assessments, assignment front sheets identify key transferable and research skills. Ticks against the appropriate skill on the feedback form evidence feedback on the achievement of such skills. However, the work reviewed showed that there were no detailed comments on how the students have approached the higher-order academic skills, especially those of critical thinking, analysis, evaluation and currency. Where there was unsatisfactory performance in this context, there was no explicit feedback to the students as to why it was unsatisfactory. Feedback to students on assessment and the timeliness of returned work were identified as areas for improvement on many of the student evaluation forms reviewed.
19. In general, it is recommended that the course team should review both the challenges to students provided by the assessment process, and the nature and timeliness of feedback, by the adoption of a more consistent, comprehensive and explicit strategy for the assessment of higher-order academic skills.
20. Recent degree classification profiles show that the majority of students gain Lower Second class honours awards, with a slightly lower proportion of First and Upper Second class awards than Third class and Pass degrees. Given the College's widening participation strategy, most degree students are admitted with relatively modest formal qualifications, and this represents considerable and commendable added-value in terms of outcomes for those students who graduate.
21. The flexibility of the regulations for undergraduate awards is to be applauded. These regulations provide for students originally registered for an honours award to progress to an ordinary degree where their stage 1 performance would indicate that they might otherwise be unsuccessful on an honours programme, and subsequently to rejoin the honours course by taking additional credits.
22. However, despite this flexibility and the extensive guidance given at the recruitment stage, there are significant numbers of non-progressing students, particularly in year one and on the HND programme: approximately one-third of students overall fail to complete satisfactorily within the standard time period. While not all students who fail to progress do so for academic reasons, and some return to join subsequent cohorts, the Department should explore further the reasons for non-completion and seek positive mechanisms by which to achieve its stated strategy to continuously improve completion and achievement rates.
23. Approximately one-half the recent graduates have progressed directly to further full-time study, mainly to vocational law courses. Most of the remainder enter permanent employment, usually in an area relevant to their course of study, which confirms the vocational relevance of the programmes.
24. External examiners' reports comment positively about the standards achieved. However, the reviewers found evidence that not all the module assessments set provide adequate scope for students to display the skills of critical analysis and evaluation normally expected at honours level. Degree-level student work presented for review did not explicitly evidence detailed research into such material as academic journal articles and, therefore, lacked expression of academic voice and graduate-level standard in some cases. Some of the work reviewed cited outdated bibliographic referencing; impacting on the currency of assignments, and this was not always highlighted in the feedback process. The sample reviewed also confirmed that in general there is more vocational-based emphasis in the assessment process and less emphasis on the assessment of intellectual skills and critical thinking. This was reflected, for example, in the comments from the external examiner for accountancy modules, who advised the team to extend the choice of questions in financial accounting to involve the testing of concepts and critical thinking. To some extent this issue was being addressed at the time of the review visit by the use of more theory-based questions for the relevant examination paper for January 2003.
25. With respect to academic standards, the reviewers conclude that:
Overall, the reviewers have confidence in the academic standards achieved by the programmes in accountancy and law at Bradford College.
26. Teaching and learning policies and practices in accountancy and law are in line with the Bradford Model of Excellence in Classroom Practice, which advocates a gradual shift from a teaching focus to a learning focus. The teaching and learning methods used involve mainly lectures and seminars, although some programmes also use placements, work-based learning or mooting. This has been specifically highlighted by the external examiner for accountancy and law who commented on the 'excellent innovative methods of teaching and learning'.
27. Teaching and learning are underpinned by a series of standard module information packs for most modules, which provide structured teaching and learning plans. The Department has a minimum specification for teaching materials and this incorporates a unit specification, weekly breakdown and reading list, class-based handouts, articles and use of overhead projectors. Evidence from the sample reviewed for law showed that the approach was predominantly based on traditional lectures, workshops involving question and answer sessions, and in some instances case-studies and legal problem-solving. In general, the approach is vocational and practically based, with less emphasis on critical thinking and conceptualisation. However, in discussions with the teaching team it emerged that good practice exists within some modules, such as consumer law, where academic journals are used as the basis for discussion in seminars. The reviewers suggest that this approach should be more explicitly included in all modules and units in both programme areas.
28. The considerable vocational expertise is clearly reflected in guidance, which facilitates student success in mooting competitions at a national level. The module information, from the sample seen, clearly shows that tasks require students to discuss the relevant legal provisions or, in the case-studies, to engage in skills of application. However, there is little evidence of staff being able to draw upon their research scholarship or professional updating to reflect currency and innovation within the disciplines taught. This is evidenced in some cases by the breadth of subject specialisation required to be covered by individual staff.
29. In their comments to the reviewers, students indicated that they rated the teaching of some staff as excellent, but that in a limited number of other cases the teaching was judged to be less than satisfactory. This may have its roots in the relative weighting of full to part-time staff in some areas, and in discussions with staff it was apparent that there had in the past been some difficulties caused by staff shortages at particular times.
30. The College's current learning and teaching development programme covers both formal and informal staff development at institutional and departmental levels. This includes opportunities for three-day placements in industry. Staff development opportunities and needs are formalised from discussions at departmental level, classroom observations and collaborative meetings at college level. Despite the existence of this mechanism, there is less evidence of subject-specific staff development that can, in turn, directly inform the teaching and learning process.
31. The College is currently reviewing its learning and teaching strategy and a draft policy is being drawn up at college level. This envisages a further enhancement of such strategies at departmental, programme and unit level, based on the four pillars: progression from learning to teaching; quality assurance to meet individual and social needs; widening participation; and staff development.
32. In general, the reviewers recommend that there be an explicit recognition within all modules of the need for a teaching and learning strategy which explicitly engages students in acquiring and using higher-order academic and intellectual skills, while maintaining their acquisition of professional knowledge and other transferable and vocational skills.
33. The provision enables the intended outcomes to be achieved, but improvement is needed to overcome weaknesses.
The quality of teaching and learning is approved, but
there needs to be an explicit recognition within all modules of the need for a teaching and learning strategy which explicitly engages students in acquiring and using higher-order academic and intellectual skills, while maintaining their acquisition of professional knowledge and other transferable and vocational skills.
34. The student entry profile is consistent with the overall aim of the subject provision to widen access through the recruitment of students from traditionally under-represented backgrounds. Over 60 per cent of the students recruited in 2001 are local, from socially-deprived areas and from the South Asian ethnic community.
35. The recruitment process is supportive of the nature of the entry cohort and offers informal guidance interviews to all applicants, as well as formal recruitment interviews, throughout the recruitment cycle. However, there is evidence that these procedures operate less systematically in the case of the accountancy and marketing joint degrees than for the law programmes.
36. There are comprehensive course-based student induction arrangements for both new and continuing students. The initial induction process includes dedicated study-skills sessions and diagnostic testing in communications and numeracy, thereby providing a solid basis for subsequent skills development and/or remedial support.
37. The College has a well-resourced learning support department, which provides additional support for students with physical and/or learning disabilities. A full range of support services, including counselling, financial advice and careers guidance, is provided by central student services.
38. Formative and summative feedback provided to students through a standard form is supplemented by interviews with personal and/or course tutors. There is, however, evidence that the personal tutor system has not always operated consistently across all courses. The progress file system introduced from 2002-03 has the potential to provide additional support for students' personal development and to ensure a more focused and consistent approach to the discussion of student progress within the context of the personal tutor system.
39. For those students undertaking a work placement in their fourth semester there is a placement preparation programme, as well as a system of visiting placement tutors. Feedback from employers indicates the success of the placement process and commends the students' ability to operate in a practical environment.
40. The provision enables the intended outcomes to be achieved, but improvement is needed to overcome weaknesses.
The quality of student progression is approved, but
the best practice achieved in terms of entry guidance on the law programmes should be adopted on a consistent basis by the other joint degrees;
the progress file system needs to be effectively embedded and consistently operated across all courses and levels.
41. The academic staff of the Department are well qualified for the courses on which they teach. The emphasis of the qualifications of tutors is of a professional nature, and this complements the aims of the main courses offered by the Department. There is the opportunity for tutors to take higher degrees so that they can help to meet the course development opportunities of the Department. The Department is also seeking to expand its research activities.
42. Staff development opportunities are made available to tutors on topics related to the delivery, structure and assessment of courses. Staff within the Department can also attend the staff development seminars and courses offered by the University of Bradford.
43. A system of induction and mentoring for new members of staff operates within the Department as part of college policy and this seems to be effective. The College has also introduced an annual Staff Development Discussion in order to enable staff to review the past year and plan for the forthcoming year. It is also college policy to support staff seeking membership of the Institute for Learning and Teaching in HE.
44. The record of staff development activities reflects the domination of college-identified generic vocational training. There appears to be a lack of staff attending subject-based conferences and seminars outside of Bradford and, therefore, tutors may be lacking opportunities to make contacts with their peers and opportunities for general networking. The Department is heavily involved in overseas activities. Visits to various institutions abroad provide an opportunity for staff development, but the subject expertise of the individual tutor may not be the main benefit.
45. The law library has benefited from the departmental topping up of its library allocation by £10,000 in each of the last two years. This has helped both the book stock and the provision of other resources. Given the number of students registered on its current courses, the library resources are adequate but will need to be reviewed as new courses are developed. The environment of the law library is congenial and students benefit from the energy and enthusiasm of the law librarian. Special research-skill sessions are organised, and informative guides on law resources, including the internet, have been developed to support students. Individual support is available for dissertation students. The liaison between the Department and the library is very effective and responses to students' comments or needs are quickly dealt with.
46. Although in the recent past, students have criticised the information technology facilities available on the courses involved in this review, much has been done to update the equipment and to provide a special room for postgraduate and final-year students. The facilities available to the students are not confined to the Westbrook Building, although generally the students do not use the facilities available in other college buildings. Although there are peak pressure points, the facilities are adequate. All full-time tutors have their own PC linked to the College's intranet and to the internet, while part-time tutors generally have shared access.
47. The Department has given priority to improving its learning resources. Much money and effort have gone into making sure that Floor D of the Westbrook Building provides a learning environment appropriate for HE courses. This has been successful to date and the Department plans to extend and enhance it further. The students still occasionally comment about the poor state of certain rooms and the overcrowding experienced on some modules, but the Department is aware of this and is taking action to improve the situation. Students have also encountered a problem in using rooms for ad hoc meetings, but the Department is seeking to alleviate this problem. The administrative staff of the Department provide a professional atmosphere in which the students can approach them with their questions and seek assistance.
48. The provision enables the intended outcomes to be achieved, but improvement is needed to overcome weaknesses.
The quality of learning resources is approved, but
the Department should keep under review and enhance the subject dimension of staff development and continue to monitor the pressure on the book stock.
49. The reviewers welcome the constructive approach of staff with regard to quality and standards and their obvious commitment to enhancing quality. The College has a well-developed quality assurance system that is implemented by the Department of Business Studies. There is a clear hierarchy for the system that extends from the College's Academic Planning Committee, through the Academic Standards Unit and into the Department's programmes and modules. These systems and committees are working well and give the reviewers confidence in the ability of the College to maintain and enhance standards in the subjects under review.
50. There are a number of good features in the system. The Bradford Business School Advisory Committee, which includes employers and those offering placements, makes a valuable external contribution to the enhancement of quality. The paper-based Student Perspective On Course questionnaire has been converted into an on-line document and this will enhance the usefulness of this quality tool. There are also good links between the University of Bradford and the College with regard to legal studies, though this is less apparent for accounting studies. There are good links with professional bodies, including the Law Society and CIMA who provide an important role in ensuring and advising on quality issues.
51. There are a number of areas where the College is encouraged to review the workings of their system. One external examiner made the same comments for two consecutive years about an accounting module. While action is now being implemented, the College could have addressed this issue earlier or at least responded to the external examiner's comments. Staff development is concentrated on internal educational training with very little external discipline-related development, which is necessary if the College is to deliver HE, particularly at final level. The management information system produces data to inform staff decisions on quality issues, but these data need to be refined if they are to be effective; for example, the monitoring of the minority of students who withdraw but subsequently return is not captured.
Accountancy and law programmes at Bradford College were reviewed in the academic year 2002-03. Judgements were made about the academic standards achieved and the quality of the learning opportunities provided.
The review covered the following programmes:
Academic standards
Overall, the reviewers have confidence in the academic standards achieved by the programmes in accountancy and law at Bradford College.
Strengths include:
Issues include:
Quality of learning opportunities
Teaching and learning
The quality of teaching and learning is approved, but:
Student progression
The quality of student progression is approved, but:
Learning resources
The quality of learning resources is approved, but:
Maintenance and enhancement of quality and standards
The reviewers welcome the constructive approach of staff with regard to quality and standards and their obvious commitment to enhancing quality. The College has a well-developed quality assurance system, which is implemented by the Department of Business Studies. There is a clear hierarchy for the system that extends from the College's Academic Planning Committee, through the Academic Standards Unit and into the Department's programmes and modules. These systems and committees are working well and give the reviewers confidence in the ability of the College to maintain and enhance standards in the subjects under review.