QUALITY, ENHANCEMENT and STANDARDS COMMITTEE

QUALITY, ENHANCEMENT and STANDARDS COMMITTEE Minutes of a Meeting 2.00pm Thursday 12th November 2015 Gwynne Holford Room

Present: Mr David Crawford (DC)(Chair) Mrs Rosamund Blomfield-Smith (RBS) Mr Nick Gallagher (NG) Ms Rebecca Geldart (RG) Mr Sean Lynn (SL) Mr Russell Marchant (RM) Mr Chris Moody (CM) Mr Luke Rake (LR) Professor Ron Ritchie (RR) Mrs Rosie Scott-Ward (RSW) Dr John Selby (JS) Ms Caoimhe Sweeney (CS) Ms Claire Whitworth (CW1)

In Attendance: Mr Edward Keene (EK) Dr Chris Potter (CP) Mr Graham van der Lely (GvdL) Mr Charles Whitehouse (CW)

Apologies: Ms Lucy Dumbell Dr Beri Hare Ms Jo Midgley

Minutes: Mr Rob Lee

ACTION ACTION DATE 1. The Chair welcomed Dr J Selby, Mr N Gallagher, Ms R Geldart, Mr S Lynn and Ms C Sweeney to their first meeting.

Apologies

Apologies were received from Ms L Dumbell, Dr B Hare and Ms J Midgley.

2. Declaration of Interest Paper QES02/11/15

Minutes of the Quality and Standards Committee Page 1 of 8 ACTION ACTION DATE The Clerk advised that members’ interests would be taken as those disclosed in the Register of Members Interests. There were no declarations of members interests for agenda items. 3. Minutes of the Last Meeting Paper QES03/11/15

Minutes of the meeting held on the 23rd June 2015 were agreed to be a true and accurate record and signed by the Chair.

4. Matters Arising

4.1. (5.1) The HE Strategic Plan was approved at the July Corporation Meeting.

4.2. (5.3) The Scholarship and Pedagogical Effectiveness paper was sent to all governors on the 21st July 2015.

4.3. (5.6) The new target for Tariff on Entry will discussed at Agenda Item 6.6.

4.4. (6.1) The FE Strategic Plan was approved at the July Corporation Meeting.

4.5. (6.6) The paper on the development of Hartpury Innovation, Careers and Enterprise was presented to the July Corporation Meeting.

4.6. (6.9) There will be a target for progression from FE to HE and this will be discussed at Agenda Item 5.9.

5. FE Section

5.1. Update on Enrolments 2015/2016. Paper QES05.1/11/15

LR advised that enrolments had been down by 108 on the previous year and by 93 at the six week qualifying period. The major areas of shortfall were Animal Care, where enrolments were down by 21.1% and Outdoor Adventure down by 20.1%. LR confirmed that funding will not be affected this year but will affect 2016/2017 but this impact maybe less than feared as there is an increase in the proportion of students undertaking full programmes. LR confirmed that the predicted growth in student numbers for 2016/2017 will not be achieved. In response to GvdL LR advised that there was no clear sign that market forces were the major reason for the shortfall in recruitment although schools had been more active in trying to retain their students. In response to RBS LR advised that the Principal was co-ordinating a review of the recruitment process, which was as yet not completed, and he did not want to pre-empt any outcomes. In response to RR LR advised that we were looking at what we can do differently and retention, which is already very good, was a focus area to

Minutes of the Quality and Standards Committee Page 2 of 8 ACTION ACTION DATE try and retain more students. CW1 also confirmed that we had brought forward interview dates.

5.2. Discuss and recommend approval of the Self- Assessment Report 2014/2015. Paper QES05.2/11/15

LR advised that this was an annual report that was no longer mandatory but was seen as best practice and was an opportunity to look at ourselves critically. LR thanked CW1 for her work on this document and advised that beneath this are departmental self-assessments and suggested that link governors should look at the ones for their area. LR confirmed that the overall grades had not changed from last year where the grades had been validated by Ofsted at their inspection earlier in the year. LR advised that this document will be validated by Landex. RR believed that the document did a good job highlighting the strengths but questioned whether we had the balance right as it was page 11 before we raised concerns over A Level results. RR felt that the start of the document was perhaps over-stating the positives and should have raised the major challenge in A Levels much sooner. RM advised that the challenge with A Levels was actually mentioned on page 3 and LR advised that the document was produced for different audiences and therefore an even handed approach had to be taken to ensure an external reader appreciated the breadth of the college’s position. LR suggested that for internal use only we could easily edit the document and move page 12 to the start and place contextual information as an appendix. RBS questioned therefore whether this was an external document or a report for governors. LR advised it was both. RBS advised further that we should know why we are writing this document and link to the audience it is targeted. LR advised that the document goes to Ofsted and SFA. DC wanted to pick up on the points raised by RR and some of the large claims made in the document and gave as an example the suggestion at the top of page 6 that our high standards have helped students raise their GCSE grades at school. DC believed that we should look back through the document to see what adjustments can be made to make the report more self-critical. CM agreed that some of the statements such as outstanding residential services could be challenged and what should concern the governors is quality enhancement and he felt the document did not give this. JS did not believe it was necessary to raise a shortfall in Animal Management recruitment for 2015/2016 in a document focused on the previous year.JS also questioned the statement on page 1 whether the A Levels were linked to 2 FE areas. RR referred Members to the data on Success by Characteristic on page 52 and believed that this data should be benchmarked against national data and, whilst we have small numbers, still broken down by ethnicity. LR agreed to add this, although advised that national benchmarks are not always available for all datasets. LR 10/12/15 It was agreed the document should be edited taking into consideration the above discussion and re-presented to the next Corporation Meeting.

Minutes of the Quality and Standards Committee Page 3 of 8 ACTION ACTION DATE

5.3. Update on A Levels. Paper QES05.3/11/15

LR advised that as outlined in the 2013/14 SAR and confirmed in the Ofsted inspection in 2015, Science performance is an area for improvement for the College. More widely, this impacts on the wider A Level performance and the SAR grade for the entire A Level area of “Requires Improvement” which is how the College reports performance rather than through Sector Skills Areas. LR confirmed that this area together with English and Maths are the areas of most concern. LR outlined the actions that had taken place since the Ofsted inspection. In response to NG LR advised that Chemistry results have not been where we would like and this has led to a turnover of staff. RR questioned why we do not use HE staff as guest lecturers and LR was concerned as they would not teach for exams. RR believed that in areas such as Biology they could help motivate the students. In response to DC relating to the high number of U’s in Biology LR outlined the actions that were being taken and confirmed that we do look at the appropriateness of courses on which students are entered.

5.4. Discuss Animal Management Academic Development Proposal. Paper QES05.4/11/15

CW1 advised that as a result of the poor recruitment we had looked at how we can enhance the Animal Management provision. CW1 outlined a proposed 3 year Animal Science Programme in partnership with the RVC, whose commitment still has to be confirmed. RM advised that the proposed entry requirements will be the highest for any course. RSW believed this to be an excellent development which would enhance internal recruitment. CW1 advised the work that still had to be completed but expected the course to start in September 2016 with a target of 20 students.

5.5. Update on Maths and English 2015/2016. Paper QES05.5/11/15

CW1 advised that Maths and English success rates have presented some significant challenges for the College during the last two academic years. CW1 advised that the current focus is two-fold encompassing the action required to ensure that vocational staff are appropriately advancing maths and English within the classroom and the improvement needed to the quality and quantity of delivery in both discrete Maths and English sessions to support improved success. SL outlined the progress that was being made in communication particularly in tutorials. In response to RR CW1 confirmed that this together with A levels were the priority areas.

5.6. Discuss review of Veterinary Nursing. Paper QES05.6/11/15

CW1 outlined the current provision and outlined proposed changes that are supported by RSW. CW1 outlined the proposed programme which would be supported by the RCVS. CW1 Immediate It was agreed that we would suspend FE Veterinary Nursing recruitment for 2016/2017 and run out existing students. RSW Ready for It was agreed that we should develop HE provision for September 01/09/16 2016 including additional requirement for digital developments.

5.7. Discuss outcomes of the Enrolment and Induction Survey. Paper QES05.7/11/15

LR advised that 712 students responded to the survey and that satisfaction levels at 98% were at an all-time high. LR advised that changes to the enrolment process this year including the use of the new FE Centre appeared to be successful.

5.8. Update on Ofsted and SFA. Paper QES05.8/11/15

LR advised that Ofsted will have five headline measures of success from early 2016-Progress, Attainment, English and Maths, Retention and Destinations-success rates will no longer be used. LR also advised that the SFA will be introducing a dashboard reporting tool and this may require revision of our KPIs.

5.9. Review and agree Key Performance Indicators and Targets for 2015/2016. Paper QES05.9/11/15

LR advised that the KPI sheet has been amended to update performance last year, include the new areas previously agreed and include targets for 2015/2016. It was noted that targets for Teaching Observations and In Year Retention had not been entered. CM noted that some targets had been put up all they had been missed last year some by considerable amounts and he gave the Level 2 Success Rate as an example. After some discussion it was noted that this area now included English and Maths and it was thought that where there had been changes then this should reflect in the target. LR advised that he had been asked in the past for aspirational targets. DC felt the target should be balanced and CM thought that this was sometimes difficult with a single target and we should consider a floor target where failure to achieve would be unacceptable and a more aspirational target. In response to CW LR advised that not all KPIs had national data. LR Immediate It was agreed that we should update the missing targets. LR When It was agreed that we should review the way targets are set at Available the time the SFA Dashboard is released.

Minutes of the Quality and Standards Committee Page 5 of 8 ACTION ACTION DATE 6. HE Section

6.1. Analysis of Higher Education Recruitment 2015/2016. Paper QES06.1/11/15

RSW advised that whilst data still needed validating it is expected that overall new student targets will be met with particular increases in sport and level 2/3 entry. RSW stressed how important it was to continue to increase the number of applications we receive as conversion ratios are static. In response to DC RSW advised that it was important to maximise recruitment and outlined the initiatives being taken. RSW advised that student headcount has shown a 5% increase, recording the highest ever HE recruitment and that HE income is likely to be £300K above target. In response to RR RSW confirmed that the post graduate programmes are designed to ensure that student experience does not suffer due to small cohorts. In response to GvdL RSW confirmed that we do not offer, at this time, PhD.

6.2. Discuss the Higher Education Annual Review 2014/2015. Paper QES06.2/11/15

RSW presented the HE Annual Report for 2014/2015 and outlined the performance and actions in the three priority strategic areas. RSW advised that retention and NSS are at the highest recorded levels. RSW advised, however, that the percentage of students achieving good honours has gone down. In response to DC RSW confirmed that the timing of producing this Report is not ideal as there is currently difficulty getting data from the UWE system. RM confirmed that there was a need to look at the timing of this Annual Review and felt that it would be better for the Report to be complete and available for our key strategic event in March. RR believed therefore we would need to look at our process and the relationship between the strategic and annual review. EK cautioned that this should not delay putting practices in place.

Amendments to the Quality Cycle will go to the next Corporation RSW 10/12/15 Meeting for review and approval.

6.3. Discuss the Scholarship Annual Report and note external review. Paper QES06.3/11/15

CP presented the 2014/2015 Annual Report on Scholarship which has been scrutinised by the Associate Faculty Board. CP advised that the Report provides data on the scholarship outputs for the 2014/2015 academic year and also provides an update on the scholarship action plan and reflects upon its success during the year. CP explained that an external review of the report conducted by Prof Ian Robinson is also included and this review was commissioned to provide objective view of the progress that has been made in the area of scholarship. The Review noted that “there has been clear and commendable progress” and there is “a positive culture of scholarship exists in the staff”. In response to DC CP

Minutes of the Quality and Standards Committee Page 6 of 8 ACTION ACTION DATE confirmed that there has been a change in the attitude of staff to research which was now much higher up the agenda. RR believed we should have more data on our bids outlining total bids and total value and successful bids and value. RR advised that he was disappointed to see the drop in staff joining professional associations and attending conferences. In response to CP RR felt that as part of a research culture it was important to attend appropriate conferences and we need to think this through. DC questioned whether we might need to look at budgets in this area. In response to JS CP advised that the suggestions from the external report have been fed in to the action plan. In response to JS CP clarified the section of the part of the action plan dealing with the development of external links and knowledge exchange. RBS believed that this could be illustrated with examples of our partners.

The next Scholarship Annual Report will take into consideration CP Next the points raised above. Review

6.4. Discuss outcomes of the Enrolment and Induction Survey. Paper QES06.4/11/15

RSW outlined the initial analysis of the induction survey which indicate a continued upward trend with 24 questions out of 31 achieving the same or exceeding last year. RSW advised that the completion rate was 60%. RSW confirmed that the results are broken down to departments and programmes. RSW outlined the actions from the survey. In response to RR RSW outlined the reasons for the downward trend in the area of organisation and management and confirmed that these questions will be re-visited.

6.5. Note Associate Faculty Board Minutes. Paper QES06.5/11/15

The Minutes were noted.

RR would like the link from QuESt to the Associate Faculty Board RSW 15/03/15 and the relationship between both to be reviewed and discussed.

6.6. Review and agree Key Performance Indicators and Targets 2015/2016. Paper QES06.6/11/15

RSW advised that the KPI sheet has been amended to update performance last year, include the new KPIs and include targets for 2015/2016. RSW outlined the performance to targets last year and it was noted the Good Degree had not only missed target but dropped by 6%. RSW explained the reasons behind the new KPIs.

The new KPIs were agreed and all targets approved.

A Report on the fall in “Good Degrees” will go to the next RSW 15/03/15 meeting.

7. Cross College

7.1. Note Student Council Minutes.

There are no minutes available as there has been no meeting so far this academic year.

7.2. Discuss analysis of complaints 2014/2015. Paper QES07.2/11/15

RSW advised that this analysis does not currently contain academic complaints.

The paper was noted.

8. Any Other Business

There was no other business.

9. Dates of future meetings-all commence at 2.00pm (New dates in red)

Tuesday 15th March 2016 Tuesday 28th June 2016 Thursday 10th November 2016

Tuesday 14th March 2017 Wednesday 28th June 2017 Tuesday 14th November 2017

Mr David Crawford 15th March 2016 Chair Quality and Standards Committee

Minutes of the Quality and Standards Committee Page 8 of 8