Board of Management Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee Meeting of 19 July 2016 II Notice
Meeting of 19 July 2016 Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee
NOTICE OF MEETING
There will be a meeting of the Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee on Tuesday 19 July 2016 in G10, Aberdeen City Campus. The meeting will commence following the conclusion of the preceding Board Meeting.
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF MANAGEMENT Mr. D Anderson Ms. A Bell Ms. S Cormack Mr. D Duthie (Chair) Mr. J Gall Prof. J Harper Ms. C Inglis Ms. S Masson Mr. R McGregor Mr. D Russell Ms. A Simpson Mr. R Wallen Ms. K Wetherall
IN ATTENDANCE Mr. N Cowie, Vice Principal Business Services Mr. J Davidson, Vice Principal Learning & Quality Ms. E Hart, Vice Principal Human Resources Ms. P May, Secretary to the Board of Management Ms. P Kesson, Minute Secretary
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Meeting of 19 July 2016 Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee
Agenda Meeting of 19 July 2016
1. Apologies for Absence
2. Minute of the Previous Meeting 2.1 Meeting of 17 May 2016 (paper enclosed)
3. Matters Arising from the Minute of the Previous Meeting (paper enclosed)
4. Report by the Principal (paper enclosed)
5. Matters for Decision 5.1. Fees for Full-time Students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland (paper enclosed) 5.2. Suggested Business of the Committee for 2016-17 (paper enclosed)
6. Matters for Discussion 6.1. Apprenticeship Levy (paper enclosed) 6.2. Full-time Student Applications for 2016-17 Update (paper enclosed) 6.3. University Progression and Articulation Links (paper enclosed) 6.4. School/College Links Activity (paper enclosed) 6.5. Students’ Association Audit Outcome (paper enclosed) 6.6. Students’ Association – Review and Budget (paper enclosed) 6.7. Report from the Students’ Association (paper enclosed)
7. Papers for Information 7.1. Student Activity 2015-16 (paper enclosed) 7.2. Key Quality Performance Indicators (paper enclosed) 7.3. Student Support Funds (paper enclosed)
8. Summation of Business and Date and Time of Next Meeting
Reserved Item of Business
9. Matter for Discussion 9.1 Outreach Centres Update
10. Summation of Reserved Item of Business
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Draft Minute of Meeting of 17 May 2016
The meeting commenced at 1400 hours.
PRESENT – K Anderson, D Anderson, S Cormack, D Duthie (Chair), J Harper, C Inglis, S Masson, R McGregor, D Russell, R Wallen, K Wetherall IN ATTENDANCE – K Milroy, J Davidson, E Hart, P May, P Kesson OBSERVER – K Donnelly
Mr Duthie welcomed Ms Donnelly who was attending the meeting as an observer.
1. Apologies for Absence Apologies were received from A Bell and A Simpson.
2. Minute of previous Meeting The Minute of Meeting held on 15 March 2016 was approved, subject to the amendment of the conclusion time of the meeting to read 1545 hours and not 1445 hours.
3. Matters arising from previous Meeting 3.1 The Committee noted a report providing information on matters arising from the meeting held on 15 March 2016. Mr Wallen provided additional information on strike action taken in March 2016 and subsequent actions and outcomes. Additional information on matters relating to learner progression was also provided.
4. Report by the Principal The Committee noted a report providing information on: visit to the College by the Chief Executive of the 157 Group; lecturers’ salaries; and the Student Achievement and Community Citizenship Awards.
Mr Wallen commented that the visit by the Chief Executive of the 157 Group had been a very useful one.
Members were also provided with details of Mr Wallen’s recent successful visit to Belfast as part of the 157 Group. It was noted that the members of the ‘Celtic Fringe’ had discussed areas of commonality. Mr Wallen also highlighted that an area of discussion had been apprenticeship levies. It was agreed that a paper on apprenticeship levies, including the view of local employers if possible, would be prepared for the next meeting of the Committee.
Mr Duthie commented on the very successful recent Student Achievement and Community Citizenship Awards and encouraged Members to attend future events.
5. Matters for Decision 5.1 Student Code of Conduct and Student Disciplinary Policy & Procedure The Committee considered the updated Student Code of Conduct and Student Disciplinary Policy & Procedure.
Members noted the information provided on the changes which had been made across both documents.
After some consideration the Committee approved the Student Code of Conduct, subject to a minor amendment in terms of ordering of ‘unacceptable behaviours’, and approved the Student Disciplinary Policy & Procedure as presented.
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6. Matters for Discussion 6.1 Quality Assurance Arrangements The Committee considered a paper providing an update on the Quality Improvement and Assurance arrangements.
Information was provided on the work of the Quality Improvement and Assurance Committee (QIAC); and the outcome of Quality Improve and Assurance Arrangements.
The Committee was pleased to note the increased embodiment of quality into the curriculum, and the increased retention rate of students.
6.2 Regional Skills Strategy The Committee considered a paper providing information on the Regional Skills Strategy.
Members noted information provided on the background to the Strategy, and the current position, including uncertainty about the ownership of the Stratgey.
Mr Wallen advised Members of further changes to be made to the Strategy following a recent meeting of the Steering Group. Members agreed with Mr Milroy that the Strategy needs to be relevant, consistent, and reflect the Region’s current economic environment.
Mr Wallen advised that he and Mr Brodie, SDS, would meet with the Chief Executive of ONE to ensure the organisation is aware of the new Strategy.
6.3 Opportunity North East (ONE) The Committee considered a paper providing information about Opportunity North East (ONE).
Members noted the information provided by Mr Wallen and by Ms Craw, Chief Executive of ONE.
6.4 Commission on Widening Access The Committee considered the final report on the Commission on Widening Access.
Members noted that the Scottish Government are looking to appoint a Commissioner for Widening Access.
Mr Wallen commented that the region’s ‘2+2’ arrangements have been very successful and it is a pity that this has not been emphasised in the report as an effective mechanism for widening access.
Members noted that the College already significantly contributes to the widening access agenda.
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6.5 Fees for Full-time Students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland The Committee considered the issue of setting an appropriate fee rate for full-time students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It was noted that this matter had also been considered by the Finance and General Purposes Committee at its meeting held earlier in the day.
Mr Wallen informed Members that, following discussion, the Finance and General Purposes Committee had decided that the fee rate for non-advanced full-time Rest of UK (RUK) students will be in the range of £3,968 to £5,168 and the fee rate for advanced full-time RUK students will be in the range of £4,060 to £5,185.
It was recognised that the fee relating to OPITO students from the RUK would be dealt with as a separate commercial decision.
The Committee endorsed the decision made by the Finance and General Purposes Committee.
6.6 Students’ Association Update The Committee considered and noted a report from the two Presidents of the Students’ Association.
Members were informed of the outcome of the recent election process and Ms Hart confirmed that the structure for the Association in 2016-17 will consist of a Regional President and Depute President.
Mr Duthie congratulated Ms Wetherall on her recent re-election to the position of President. Ms Anderson was also thanked for her contribution to the Committee over the last year, and wished well in her new job.
7. Papers for Information 7.1 Student Activity AY2015-16 The Committee considered a paper providing information on the current status of student activity for the academic year 2015-16.
Members noted the current position in that the College activity level is sitting slightly ahead of the SFC planned activity target, with further credits planned to be generated through Business Community Development (BCD). Mr Wallen advised that BCD activity would continue to be monitored and if possible some BCD courses will be spanned into 2016-17 to enable the College to claim the related credits against next year’s activity target.
In noting a recent Public Audit Committee Report highlighting issues with the claiming of additionality at another college, Mr Wallen advised Members that clarification had been sought from the SFC regarding NESCol’s approach to additionality this year and advised that a response had yet to be received.
7.2 Key Quality Performance Indicators The Committee noted a paper providing information on key performance indicators relating to the Quality function.
Information was provided on: lesson observation; external verification visits; student engagement; complaints; and compliments and thanks.
Members were pleased to see a reduction in the number of complaints and asked that staff be encouraged to forward compliments and thanks for central recording purposes.
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7.3 Student Support Funds The Committee noted a paper providing information on amounts allocated for various support funds and comparative spend of AY2015-16 and AY2014-15.
Information was provided on general rules for Bursary Funds; general rules for Discretionary and Childcare Funds; Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) Programme; Disbursement of Funds in AY2015-16; SFC Allocation 2015-16; and current position for AY2016-17.
Members noted that the allocation for the current year had been reduced by £400,000 and the current overspend on support funds is £250,000, with the biggest overspend relating to childcare. Members acknowledged the increasing challenge for the College to continue to support an increasing number of students in light of current and future funding cuts.
Mr Milroy commented that it would be very useful if the Students’ Association were to highlight issues regarding student support funding cuts at a national level.
In response to a comment by Ms Anderson, Mr Wallen said that he would ensure that a key message regarding availability of student discretionary funds is displayed online (e.g. BlackBoard).
Ms Inglis left the meeting during discussion of the above item.
7.4 North East Scotland College Students’ Association – Conditions of Grant The Committee considered updated information on the Conditions of Grant for the Students’ Association.
Members noted that a requested addition to the Conditions of Grant regarding the production of quarterly financial statements had been inserted.
It was agreed that the Association’s Financial Statements would require to be signed off by the Students’ Association Trustee Board prior to their consideration by the Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee.
The amended Conditions of Grant were approved.
8. Summation of Business and date and time of next Meeting The Secretary gave a summation of the business conducted. The next meeting of the Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee is scheduled to take place on Tuesday19 July 2016 at 1400 hours.
Reserved Items of Business 9. Matters for Discussion 9.1 Update on College Provision in North Aberdeenshire
9.2 SCQF Level 7
10. Summation of Reserved Items of Business The Secretary gave a summation of the reserved items of business.
The meeting concluded at 1520 hours.
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Matters Arising from the Minute of the Previous Meeting
1 Introduction 1.1 This paper is to update the Committee on matters arising from the minute of the meeting of 17 May 2016.
2 Matters Arising 2.1 The following provide an update on matters discussed at the last meeting of the Committee:
5.1 Student Code of Conduct and Student Disciplinary Policy & Procedure The Code and Policy & Procedure have been finalised as agreed.
6.2 Regional Skills Strategy The meeting between the Principal, Mr Brodie, SDS, and the Chief Executive of ONE remains to be scheduled as the Regional Skills Strategy has yet to be finalised.
6.5 Fees for Full-time Students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland The Committee is asked to consider this matter further under Agenda Item 5.1.
6.6 Students’ Association Update The new Students’ Association Depute President, Josh Gall, will attend his first Board Meeting on 19 July 2016. Josh will serve on the Human Resources and Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committees and will also attend his first Committee meetings on 19 July.
7.2 Key Quality Performance Indicators Following the issuing of a reminder to all staff to forward compliments received, the number of compliments centrally recorded has increased from 12 to 26.
7.3 Student Support Funds As agreed, a message regarding availability of student discretionary funds was posted on BlackBoard.
9.1 Update on College Provision in North Aberdeenshire A further update on this matter is provided under Agenda Item 9.1.
3 Recommendation 3.1 It is recommended that the Committee note the contents of this paper.
Rob Wallen Pauline May Principal Secretary to the Board of Management
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Report by the Principal 1. Introduction 1.1. The purpose of this report is to provide information to the Committee. 2. Audit 2.1. The Audit and Risk Committee meets on 19 July 2016. The Committee will consider: reports on the internal audit reviews undertaken in May 2016; reclassification; North East Scotland College Students’ Association and College policies. A report on the findings of the internal audit review of payroll appears on this agenda as a matter for discussion. 3. Site of the Former Balgownie Centre 3.1. The bargain for the sale of the site has fallen because the prospective purchaser has withdrawn from negotiations. The site has reverted to its previous status of being ‘held for sale’.
3.2. Advice has been received from Burness Paull and J&E Shepherd, chartered surveyors, that the market for housing development sites is at a low point and that the Balgownie site should be held for the present. The property market had shown some signs of recovery prior to the referendum on continued membership of the European Union. Advisors suggest that the position is next reviewed in September 2016, by which time there is expected to be more evidence of the recovery’s strength. 4. Estates Development Strategy 4.1. In April 2016, the Board of Management adopted an estates development strategy for the College. Design development of the preferred options set out in the strategy is almost complete at the time of writing. The designs will be presented to the Board of Management at a meeting that will take place on 19 July 2016. 5. Engineering Technologies, Fraserburgh Campus 5.1. The project to refurbish and extend facilities at the Fraserburgh Campus is progressing on schedule and within budget. The project team, construction contractor and College staff continue to have effective working relationships and good progress is being made. Phases 2 and 3 of the programme of works have begun on schedule. 6. College Energy Efficiency Pathfinder (CEEP) 6.1. Information on this programme was presented to the Committee at its last meeting. In June 2016, the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) decided to defer further work on this programme pending the outcome of the Scottish Government’s spending review. The SFC expects that this initiative will be put ‘on hold’ until the end of the calendar year. 7. Support Services 7.1. The three SFC funded institutions in the North East (North East Scotland College, the Robert Gordon University and the University of Aberdeen) continue work to review professional and support services activities currently being undertaken at each institution, so that good practice might be identified and shared and that duplication might be avoided.
7.2. The Leadership Foundation, the organisation appointed to facilitate this work, now expects that the outputs of the exercise will be available in September 2016. These will take the form of a series of reports outlining findings and recommendations on the options available in relation to the future structure and delivery of shared professional services support across the three institutions. 8. Recommendation 8.1. It is recommended that the Committee note the contents of this report.
Rob Wallen Principal
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Fees for Full-time Students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland
1 Introduction 1.1 The purpose of this paper is to provide the Committee with information about fee rates for full-time students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This paper will also be considered by the Finance and General Purposes Committee at its meeting on 19 July 2016.
2 Background 2.1 At its meeting on 17 May 2016 this Committee considered a paper on fees for full-time students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland – for the purposes of this paper referred to as Rest of the UK (RUK).
2.2 At the meeting, the principle was adopted that the total income derived from an RUK student should be the same as that derived from a ‘home’ student for the same course – albeit derived from different sources.
2.3 In the paper considered at the meeting, tables were included that indicated the total income derived from different categories of students.
2.4 These tables were based on information from SFC.
2.5 Based on these tables, the Committee agreed that the fee rates for RUK students should be calculated on the basis of the credit-based funding and the fee paid (from whatever source) in relation to a ‘home’ student. This was:
• Non-advanced: £2,960-£4,160 (depending on price band) plus £1,008 = £3,968-£5,168 • Advanced: £2,775-£3,900 (depending on price band) plus £1,285 = £4,060-£5,185.
3 Further Consideration 3.1 However, SFC has now provided further guidance.
3.2 They now indicate that, in the complexities of the SFC funding formulae, there is a provision that a deduction is made from the credit-based funding on the basis of the assumed fee income. In other words the effect is such that the credit-based funding is inclusive of the fee income.
3.3 As such if the RUK fee is to generate the same income as is obtained for each ‘home’ student, the fee rates should be:
• Non-advanced: £2,960-£4,160 (depending on price band) • Advanced: £2,775-£3,900 (depending on price band).
3.4 Adopting these rates would ensure that there was consistency that could be defended in terms of treatment of students from all parts of the UK.
3.5 It is also the case that these slightly lower figures would be less of a barrier to RUK students undertaking a College course and therefore are less likely to reduce the number of RUK students undertaking College courses: that said the numbers involved are very low and as such it is unlikely to have much impact on College enrolment or College income whatever decision is taken.
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4 Recommendation 4.1 It is recommended that the Committee note the changed position regarding fees for RUK students on full-time advanced level College courses.
Rob Wallen Principal
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Suggested Business of the Committee for 2016-17
1. Introduction 1.1 The purpose of this paper is to suggest matters to be considered by the Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee of the Board of Management at its six scheduled meetings in academic year 2016-17.
2. Rationale 2.1. The proposals for the business of the Committee take account of the Board of Management’s obligation to:
• Ensure that the College operates ethically, responsibly and with respect for the environment and for society at large and will ensure that the College provides public benefit in Scotland and elsewhere through the advancement of education and training; and the advancement of citizenship or community development.
2.2. These suggested matters for decision and discussion also take full account of the Committee’s responsibility for monitoring the direction and performance of learning and teaching and the quality of learners’ experience at College.
2.3. The specific duties of the Committee are as follows:
• To maintain a strategic overview of the curriculum and the educational direction of the College • To monitor quality improvement and assurance and enhancement including Key Performance Indicators and actions arising therefrom • To approve and monitor the effectiveness of the Learning and Teaching Strategy • To approve and monitor the effectiveness of the Student Support Strategy • To approve and monitor the effectiveness of the Quality Improvement and Assurance Strategy • To monitor the use of student support funds • To receive reports on the work of the Academic Board and its sub-committees • To receive reports on student activity levels • To advise the Board of Management on matters relating to the student experience, including equality issues • To ensure that the Board’s legal responsibilities with regard to the Students’ Association, as outlined in statute, are addressed and complied with. • To oversee the relationship with the Students’ Association and to act as a communication link between the Association and the Board, in order to promote the student voice • To approve the annual financial plans of the Students’ Association.
2.4. The proposed business of the Committee is designed to cover the breadth of these issues.
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3. Proposals for the Business of the Committee 3.1. It is proposed that the Committee will receive regular progress reports relating to the Curriculum of North East Scotland College in 2016-17.
3.2. It is proposed that the Committee will receive regular progress reports on the impact of the quality improvement and assurance systems for North East Scotland College.
3.3. It is proposed that the Committee is provided with information on progress towards meeting the targets set for curriculum, quality and student services as set out in the Regional Outcome Agreement for the College.
3.4. It is proposed that the Committee will receive regular progress reports relating to Equality Outcomes for North East Scotland College.
3.5. The above information, together with detailed regular reports on key curriculum, quality and student services priorities for the College, will provide the Committee with information and data to support its monitoring role in relation to the delivery of a high quality regional curriculum, underpinned by high quality support services.
3.6. Attached as Appendix 1 to this paper is a proposed schedule for reporting to the Committee throughout the year, while recognising that other priorities and issues requiring the attention of the Committee will be addressed as they emerge.
4. Recommendation 4.1. It is recommended that the Committee consider the proposals provided in this paper and advise of any further information that would be helpful to Members in fulfilling their role and function.
Rob Wallen John Davidson Principal Vice Principal - Learning and Quality
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Agenda Item 5.2 Appendix 1 Proposed Schedule for Reporting
13 September 2016 For decision
For discussion Student Applications for 2016-17 JD Foundation Apprenticeships JD The North East Scotland College Curriculum for 2017-18 JD Learner Progression – First Destination 2014-15 JD Students’ Association KW Modern Apprenticeships – 2016-17 Recruitment NC
For information Student Activity for 2015-16 – Final Count JD Performance Indicators JD Student Support Funds NC
15 November 2016 For decision
For discussion Report on the Work of the Academic Board and its Sub-committees JD Quality Assurance Arrangements for NESCol JD Curriculum and Student Services Review JD Report on Non-SFC Funded Activity NC Equality Outcomes EH Students’ Association KW
For information Student Activity for 2016-17 JD Student Survey – First Impression JD Student Support Funds NC
24 January 2017 For decision Course Fee Policy NC
For discussion Student Retention Update for 2016-17 JD Progress with Curriculum and Student Services Objectives in ROA for JD/RW 2016-17 Learner Progression – First Destination 2015-16 JD 2015/16 Enrolment by Age and Gender JD Equality Outcomes EH Students’ Association KW
For information Student Activity for 2016-17 JD Performance Indicators JD Student Support Funds NC
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14 March 2017 For decision
For discussion Promoting Enterprise and Entrepreneurship in Learning at NESCol JD Curriculum Planning Arrangements for 2017-18 JD European Projects Update RW Equality Outcomes EH Students’ Association KW
For information Student Activity for 2016-17 JD Performance Indicators JD Student Support Funds NC
16 May 2017 For decision College/Local Authority/ School Partnership Policy JD
For discussion OGAS Outcomes and Impact RW Status Report on Quality Assurance Systems JD Students’ Association KW
For information Student Activity for 2016-17 JD Student Survey – Satisfaction and Engagement JD Student Support Funds NC
18 July 2017 For decision Suggested Business of the Committee for 2017-18 JD International Links Policy JD Information, Advice, Guidance and Support Policy JD
For discussion Promotion of Good Practice in Learning and Teaching JD University Progression and Articulation Links JD Equality Outcomes EH Students’ Association KW
For information Student Activity for 2016-17 JD Performance Indicators JD Student Support Funds NC
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Meeting of 19 July 2016 Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee
Apprenticeship Levy
1. Introduction 1.1. The purpose of this report is to provide Committee members with information on the proposed Apprenticeship Levy.
2. Background 2.1. In 2015 the UK Government announced plans for a UK-wide apprenticeship levy on employer payroll bills. The Levy is seen as a means for funding an increased uptake of high quality apprenticeships.
2.2. It is anticipated that legislation will be introduced in 2016 and the Levy itself will be payable from April 2017 onwards. It will be set at 0.5% of an employer’s annual wage bill and each employer will receive an allowance of £15k per year to offset against the levy.
2.3. All employers - including North East Scotland College - with a wage bill over £3 million will pay the Levy through a system administered by HM Revenues & Customs (HMRC).
2.4. Central to the implementation of the Levy in Scotland will be Skills Development Scotland (SDS) who have been asked to engage with employers in order to establish how best the Levy can meet employer need. The creation, by SDS, of the Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board aims to strengthen the role of employers in apprenticeships.
2.5. It is estimated that the Scottish share of the revenue from the Levy will be around £200m per annum.
2.6. Unlike the UK Government the Scottish Government (SG) has not confirmed whether the revenues raised through the Levy will be ring-fenced for apprenticeships. In addition, the SG has not yet decided on the delivery mechanism for the Levy in Scotland.
2.7. There is a strong general feeling within the college sector in Scotland that there is a lack of information on this initiative.
3. Colleges Scotland – Short Life Working Group (SLWG) 3.1. In response to the Apprenticeship Levy and in light of this lack of information, Colleges Scotland has initiated a SLWG to influence the Scottish Government’s thinking in relation to the Apprenticeship Levy to maximise the benefits of the additional apprenticeships by the college sector.
3.2. The membership of the SLWG includes North East Scotland College’s (NESCol) Vice Principal – Business Services.
3.3. The remit of Colleges Scotland SLWG’s is highlighted in Appendix 1 of this paper.
3.4. In summary it has been agreed that the Group will gather relevant background material on this initiative in order to inform the wider college sector on how apprenticeships will be delivered through the Apprenticeship Levy. The SLWG is also charged with advising the various stakeholders involved with the Levy on how to improve the current process for the delivery of the anticipated additional 30,000 apprenticeships in Scotland.
3.5. The SLWG has also identified a set of specific deliverables, the full list of which is identified in Appendix 1. However, the SLWG has already prioritised the importance of certain key deliverables including identifying and promoting to key stakeholders the existing strengths, mechanisms and best practice within the college sector to secure the best possible outcomes from the Apprenticeship Levy scheme.
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3.6. To that end it is proposed that members of the SLWG seek to hold, by the end of June 2016, a meeting with Scottish Government minister Jamie Hepburn MSP to discuss the role of the college sector.
3.7. It has been agreed that action minutes and updates on progress will be provided to the College Principals’ Group by the chair of the SLWG, via Colleges Scotland.
4. The Colleges Scotland SLWG – Progress to Date 4.1. The first meeting of the SLWG took place on 10 June, 2016 and there are another four meetings scheduled during July and August 2016.
4.2. The initial meeting of the Group identified a number of areas that needed further consideration. These included:
• The risk of losing the training of staff of cross border companies to England and Wales; • The needs of employers and how colleges can meet these needs; • The need for colleges, along with other key stakeholders (e.g. Scottish Government, Skills Development Scotland and employers) to build the capacity to deliver positive outcomes in relation to the Levy; • How best to promote to key stakeholders how colleges can already offer ‘a complete package’ for meeting the requirements of the scheme; • How best to promote (or re-emphasise) the college sector’s involvement in key Scottish Government policy drivers, such as widening access, increasing attainment, DYW etc; • How best to develop college capacity as a way to build the economy, and to promote attainment (including in STEM subjects).
4.3. The SLWG has already agreed a series of ‘next steps’ which include:
• To begin discussions to identify potential common causes between the College sector and SDS; • To seek a meeting with Jamie Hepburn MSP and brief him and other MSPs; • To seek wider meetings, including with SFC, CBI, FSB, DYW groups, Chamber of Commerce etc. to seek their views; • To produce an introductory information sheet for key employers; • To produce media lines for colleges relating to the Apprenticeship Levy; • To update and keep informed the Colleges Scotland Board and College Principals’ Group.
5. The Apprenticeship Levy - Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce and Local Employers 5.1. NESCol staff have already engaged with Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC) to ensure that the College has awareness of employer needs in North East Scotland and can begin building its capacity to deliver, as well as possible, what will be required for employers in terms of the Apprenticeship Levy.
5.2. As previously mentioned there remains, at a local and national level, considerable gaps in the knowledge of many stakeholders regarding the Levy. In a recent information session hosted by AGCC, and attended by NESCol staff and local employers, the AGCC facilitated extensive discussion on the ‘gaps’ that stakeholders had in relation to understanding the Apprenticeship Levy. A note of the outcomes of this meeting is contained in Appendix 2 of this paper.
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5.3. As the work of the Colleges Scotland’s SLWG develops, and as the information relating to the implementation of the Apprenticeship Levy improves, the College will continue to work closely with key partners and stakeholders including Colleges Scotland, SDS, SG, AGCC and local employers to ensure that it is best placed to meet their needs and the requirements of the Apprenticeship Levy scheme.
5.4. Further updates on the Apprenticeship Levy-related work of Colleges Scotland’s SLWG and the College itself will be submitted to future meetings of the Committee
6. Recommendation 6.1. It is recommended that the Committee consider the information contained in this paper.
Rob Wallen Neil Cowie Principal Vice Principal – Business Services
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Agenda Item 6.1 Appendix 1
Colleges Scotland Short Life Working Group
Apprenticeship Levy – Short Life Working Group (SLWG)
Proposal
The SLWG is to develop ideas in order to take advantage of the window of opportunity to influence the Scottish Government’s thinking in relation to the development of the delivery methodology for the Apprenticeship Levy resource. These are ideas to maximise the benefits of delivery of the additional apprenticeships through the college sector.
Remit
• Gather relevant background material and the Scottish Government key contacts. • To produce viable suggestion(s) that allows the college sector to demonstrate to Scottish Government and other key stakeholders how colleges can, in relation to apprenticeships, contribute to: o Effective use of public resources o Support plans for skills development o Support the economy
Membership
See Appendix 1 to this paper.
The SLWG will choose a chair at the first meeting from amongst the members of the SLWG.
Co-option
The SLWG may co-opt additional members, subject to approval of the chair of the SLWG.
Schedule of Meetings
The SLWG will meet as and when required, but can also agree work by correspondence if deemed appropriate by the chair of the SLWG.
Specific Deliverables
• To provide background information on apprenticeships and the Apprenticeship Levy. • To provide background information and evidence which promotes the college sector as a key player in the delivery of apprenticeships funded by the Apprenticeship Levy. • To identify and promote existing strengths, mechanisms and best practice in the sector which deliver positive outcomes from funded initiatives. • To review, evaluate and identify strengths and opportunities for improvement in the current process for the delivery of the target of 30,000 apprenticeships. • To produce a document which outlines viable proposals and principles to support the SLWG remit in a format to be shared with Scottish Government, by end June 2016.
• To hold a meeting with the relevant Scottish Government minister – Jamie Hepburn MSP – by end June 2016. • To produce a document which sets out in more details the proposals to support the SLWG remit, by end July 2016. • To support any further related work as a result of on-going discussions with the Scottish Government.
Authority
This SLWG is authorised to consider any matters which fall within its Terms of Reference.
The SLWG is authorised to seek and obtain any information it requires from the college sector whilst taking account of policy, legal rights and responsibilities.
Reporting Arrangements
Action minutes will be kept of the meetings of the SLWG: See Appendix 2 to this paper – Action Item template.
Action minutes and updates on progress will be provided to the College Principals’ Group by the chair of the SLWG, supported by Colleges Scotland.
Feedback to the SLWG from the College Principals’ Group will be co-ordinated through the chair of the SLWG, supported by Colleges Scotland.
Point of Contact
Andrew Witty, Funding and Finance Policy Lead ([email protected]) 01786 892058
Colleges Scotland June 2016
Membership
Apprenticeship Levy – Short Life Working Group (SLWG) – Membership Neil Cowie Vice Principal – Business North East Scotland College [email protected] Services Colette Filippi Associative Principal and Forth Valley College [email protected] Executive Director for Business Development David Innes Director of Faculty, Glasgow Clyde College [email protected] Engineering and Built Environment Hugh Logan Principal Fife College [email protected] [email protected] Stuart Millar Director of Education Ayrshire College [email protected] Contracts and Business Development Alan Sherry Principal Glasgow Kelvin College [email protected] [email protected] Angela Regional Chair Dundee and Angus College [email protected] McCusker
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Agenda Item 6.1 Appendix 2
Apprenticeship Levy meeting – 27 May 2016 Summary note The process
Christine Currie, policy manager at OPITO, gave an overview of what is known so far regarding the levy payments.
Liz Cameron, chief executive at Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC), said that Scottish businesses are concerned because they are planning for the next 3 – 4 years in their training programmes and there has been little communication from the Scottish Government. Liz said that she has met with Scottish Government representatives who indicated that they have engaged with more than 200 businesses and they seem keen to get direction and ideas from employers at this time.
James Bream, research and policy director at Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC), explained the activities to participants - to identify gaps in information regarding the apprenticeship levy and then provide their suggestions for how the levy could be implemented.
Outcome of activities Devolution to Scotland
Gaps in knowledge Ideas and suggestions 1. What amount will be allocated to James and Liz noted that there may be differences in Scotland? wages and employment between Scotland and England, as well as between sectors (e.g. the oil and The UK Government has yet to clarify whether the allocations to gas industry pays higher-than-average wages). Scotland will be based on proportion of the levy paid or the number of employees in Scotland. The appropriate amount should be allocated based on what Scottish employers pay through PAYE, i.e. if Scotland’s (HQ’d) employers contribute 10% of funding then 10% should come back to Scotland.
2. Should there be a commitment from In principle yes, though it would not be realistic if there Government that all companies will get was insufficient employer demand for apprenticeships. back in benefits at least what they put Employers do not want the money to sit idle, it should in towards the levy? be spent appropriately. However, later in the discussion it was suggested that demand may take care of itself, due to the “new” money from the levy. There was still concern that there would be insufficient supply:
Gaps in knowledge Ideas and suggestions The Scottish Government should demonstrate that there will be enough commitments from providers to cover demand, which may increase with the availability of levy funds. If not, it may be necessary to examine the caps currently set on providers or add new spending opportunities not limited to Modern Apprenticeships. The funding MUST NOT be lost to its core purpose of developing our workforce.
3. Does the Apprenticeship Levy represent opportunities to address Yes, it potentially provides an opportunity to address gaps in Scotland’s current broader training gaps in certain areas. apprenticeship offer?
4. Who should businesses and industry Scottish Government representatives engage at government level? Education and Skills - Jamie Hepburn MSP, Minister for Employability and Training; John Swinney MSP, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills
Budget: Derek Mackay MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution
North-east MSPs, depending on constituency Oil and gas: Scottish Government Skill Industry Group Secretariat, Sarah Hart
5. Should there be a commitment from the Yes. Scottish Government that the The Scottish Government should know which apprenticeship levy is an addition to revenues are already in place. The “new” money current apprenticeship funding? (i.e. from the levy should be additional to that. The both are ring-fenced) Government must demonstrate that the funding is an uplift from historic SDS funding.
6. Can age-related funding be removed, as While the payroll levy will apply across the board, there well as the 25-year-old cap? is currently no funding available for apprentices over 25 years old.
Funding should not be limited by age groups, it should be broader.
Employers’ use of levy funds (England)
Gaps in knowledge Ideas and suggestions
1. Will there be a funding ceiling for each The model set by SDS should be followed. apprenticeship?
2. What impact, if any, has the impending The existing workforce planning is unchanged at this Levy had on your training programmes point in time. However, plans may change once more for 2017? details are published. For example, if it was known that there would be more funding for apprenticeships, it
would serve as positive reinforcement. If no detail is available at budget setting in July 2016, plans could be delayed.
Attendees agreed on the following criteria: 3. What standards are important to you - A proven track record when choosing a training provider? - Quality - Capacity - Appropriate facilities - Accreditation It was mentioned that England seems to be ahead of Scotland in the sense that some providers accredited in England are not accredited in Scotland.
Attendees said they would be reluctant to change providers and although they would prioritise quality and delivery, they want the UK and Scottish governments to accredit jointly.
4. Will the digital vouchers be transferrable SDS appear to have ruled out the use of digital across borders? vouchers in Scotland.
If digital vouchers are to be used it would be desirable for these to be available to ‘spend’ in both Scotland and England. Other preferred options to ‘spend’ budget available to companies is discussed later.
5. Are SDS funds transferrable back No across borders?
6. Will there be a different training There already exist different training programmes framework? and accreditations.
7. Will employers be able to transfer Yes, as long they are approved training providers funding to a training provider of their based on the new apprenticeship accreditation agency. choice? Gaps in knowledge Ideas and suggestions 1. Will the Scottish Government ringfence The levy funds should not be strictly limited to the Levy funding for apprenticeships apprenticeships. Ideally employers should be only? allowed to use the funds for “quality assured training” which meets their business’ growth plans but there should be an assumption toward spending on apprenticeships first. It is critical that advanced apprenticeships and foundation apprenticeships are available ASAP to meet the timelines of the levy introduction. See question 5 below.
2. Will Scottish employers be able to claim The levy objectives should be examined before the funding for apprenticeships and Scottish government raises any obstacles in this training within their supply chain? regard.
Where companies are already paying for apprenticeship programmes or accredited training, they should be able to develop their own “supply chain programme”, thus transferring the benefits of the funds raised across the country.
3. Will employers be allowed to use levy Accredited specialist training programmes are funds for additional training costs? important for businesses, especially cross-sector training. E.g.: accommodation assistance for apprentices away from home, or training The priorities of apprenticeships or what the levy opportunities such as graduate training funds are used for must be employer-led. and cross-sector retraining.
4. Can the levy be used to cover The levy funds should only be used for the training apprentices’ salary costs, or only their and not their salary with the exception of micro training? businesses.
There should be a bias in favour of micro employers where it may be harder for them to recruit as the marginal impact is greater.
Employers’ use of levy funds (Scotland) 5. Will funding be restricted to accredited training only? What would be the criteria for accrediting programmes? Some providers, though not accredited, may be appropriate to meet employers’ aims.
The guideline should be that levy-funded training must be aligned to the business’ activity and quality assured.
Attendees preferred the term “quality assured” rather than accredited, to ensure that employers maintain standards and produce good results.
The industry standards already in place should guide this criteria, as well as the standards mentioned earlier. There should be more consistency across borders to ensure that accreditation of one same provider is made equivalent between England and Scotland. However, as mentioned earlier, Scotland and England are disconnected in terms of accreditation. In Scotland employers have to apply for funding in autumn, which clashes with their yearly plans. The current accreditation process in Scotland is working against its objectives, because employers find it easier to pay for apprenticeships themselves if SDS’ offering doesn’t fit.
The Scottish Government should examine the timelines used by SDS and synchronise them to suit employers’ needs.
6. Will the apprenticeship levy scheme be The apprenticeship levy scheme should not be administered by SDS? administered by SDS. At national level, apprenticeships are already led by business and follow national standards. There may be merit in managing in some other way.
Specifically, there was a demand for a ‘training account’ to be set up which would allow clear visibility for companies (and government) on the use / accrual of funding.
7. Can existing accredited professional Payments to the CITB, for example, should cover training be covered by the levy? (e.g. the relevant portion of the levy but only if it was Motor Trade, ECITB for engineering, proven that demand for apprenticeships could not meet the funding raised by the levy. CITB for construction) Cross-border application of the levy
Gaps in knowledge Ideas and suggestions 1. What system will the Scottish One proposal is to use the same system as England. Government use to administer the Levy This would make vouchers transferrable across funds? borders, making funding and investment would be quite clear this way.
Another option is to make a similar system, but adapted to the Scottish framework and with a different name. Using HMRC’s data would be simple and allows employers to access their account. This requires further analysis.
As HMRC has already determined, employers’ “digital voucher” or “fund” contributions will depend on the 2. How can complexity be kept to a residence of their employees. minimum for cross-border application of the levy? Employers that operate across regional borders should then be able to draw on their total funds and spend them in whichever region they choose to provide training – this could use the training account method where Scottish companies could pay their digital voucher into that account. .
3. Is there an existing system which companies in Scotland could use to Scotland previously had a system for the training levy, view their Levy contributions and use which was tallied by employers themselves. Each their available funds? employer had an account, which may be preferable to vouchers that expire after 18 months. The funds were recorded and reconciled by using PAYE, which was a simple system.
The Scottish Government should clarify and discuss various options for the levy system with employers. 4. If a new system will be created, what Attendees wanted features that are common to any features would you like it to have? account system, such as:
- Direct access - Ability to view your balance - Clear expiry dates (if applicable) - Funding limits per employee (if applicable) However, attendees seemed to agree that a new system was unnecessary (see previous answers). 5. Why is England so far advanced The Scottish election was one factor which compared to Scotland? understandably delayed Scottish Government thinking on the issue.
It is now vital that the Scottish Government take prompt action to catch up to the level of detail presented by the UK Government by engaging with businesses.
6. Will the collection of the levy in Scotland Attendees generally agreed that this should be be integrated into the PAYE systems? done.
7. When will information be made available on higher level apprentices, e.g. level SDS should have that information. However, one pilot 11? is currently behind schedule, so the information is not being released.
Liz Cameron stated that she will be able to get an update on this at an upcoming Scottish Chambers’ council meeting.
Finally, attendees discussed whether the levy should be charged in Scotland at all. Scotland has the power to return any levy funds in effect by simply reimbursing payments to companies via a tax credit. This may be a more transparent use of money and ensure the cost to business is not ‘lost within Government / SDS’
Scotland is already meeting its skills targets and can acknowledge the good work being done by employers and the results of existing programmes.
Overall, it was agreed that prompt discussions with Scottish Government would be widely welcomed by businesses. They are keen to give their ideas to shape an employer-led approach to the apprenticeship levy that will meet the Scottish Government’s aims.
If you have further feedback, please contact the Chamber’s research and policy assistant Irina Bonavino at [email protected] 34 Agenda Item 6.2
Meeting of 19 July 2016 Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee
Full-Time Student Applications 2016-17
1. Introduction 1.1. The purpose of this report is to provide the Committee with information on the level of full-time student applications for the academic year 2016-17.
2. Background 2.1. Prior to the beginning of the new academic year curriculum staff have been working to finalise the range of full-time courses to be offered in 2016-17. This work is necessary to ensure that the College has appropriate resources in place and that students can apply in good time for the course they wish to undertake.
2.2. North East Scotland College operates an on-line application process for students wishing to apply for full-time courses. The application system opened in October 2015.
2.3. Detailed information on application levels against offers made and planned enrolments for the three Schools is given in Appendix 1 to this paper. At the time of its writing the College had received approximately 13,215 applications.
2.4. At this stage the total number of offers issued stands at 4,187. In addition, 2,685 applications are at full acceptance stage.
2.5. Appendix 2 provides a comparison of total applications received for 2015-16 and 2016-17.
2.6. Recruitment to the College’s full-time provision is not yet complete, with final enrolment numbers to be confirmed by end of September 2016.
2.7. The Scottish Funding Council has confirmed that the College’s target for 2016-17 is 137,153 credits [including 3,035 ESF credits].
2.8. As part of the Curriculum Planning process for 2016-17, the Directors of Curriculum and Head of Business and Community Development are projecting 137,325 of credit activity. A slight increase of 172 against the SFC target – Appendix 3.
3. Recommendation 3.1. It is recommended that the Committee note the information provided in this paper.
Rob Wallen John Davidson Principal Vice Principal – Learning & Quality
35 36 Agenda Item 6.2 Appendix 1
Student applications to be processed for full-time programmes, academic year 16-17 (as at 28 June 2016)
Sector Team Applications at Applications Applications Applications Applications Applications Applications Applications Tota l Acknowledgement at Interview at Interview at at Full Offer at High at Accept at Applications Stage Invitation Booked Conditional Stage Demand Stage Withdrawn Stage Stage Offer Stage Stage Stage CCB CREATIVE TCA ART, DESIGN, TEXTILES & PHOTOGRAPHY 12 35 26 95 88 4 171 193 625 INDUSTRIES, COMPUTING, TCC ART, DESIGN, FLORISTRY AND TOURISM 2 3 1 22 8 0 13 26 75 ESOL AND TCD MUSIC, DRAMA AND MEDIA 31 21 11 237 16 26 124 287 753 BUSINESS ENTERPRISE TCE COMPUTING AND ESOL 14 14 6 15 48 0 23 53 173 TCF ESSENTIAL AND CORE SKILLS 3 13 3 78 4 0 18 35 154 TCG ESOL 27 36 30 136 10 0 148 229 616
TCH BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND ADMINISTRATION 18 125 32 307 25 0 149 263 919
TCJ ACCOUNTING AND LAW 14 60 13 222 16 0 125 117 567 TCK TOURISM AND EVENTS 28 47 11 182 20 0 62 123 473
TCL COMPUTING APPLICATIONS & VISUAL 10 46 10 132 35 0 102 110 445 COMMUNICATION TCM COMPUTING NETWORKING 23 37 22 191 9 0 80 109 471
TCN BUSINESS 15 29 6 84 10 0 26 60 230
Total 197 466 171 1701 289 30 1041 1605 5501 EST TAA ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING 29 36 20 99 18 0 62 74 339 ENGINEERING, SCIENCE AND TAC SCIENCE 13 27 24 134 39 0 63 160 461 TECHNOLOGY TAD MECHANICAL ENGINEERING 13 43 13 54 16 0 60 75 274 TAE MATHS AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING 12 5 8 122 4 0 34 88 273 TECHNICIANS TAF CONSTRUCTION 7 18 4 25 9 25 56 111 255 TAG AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGIES 16 21 11 9 16 11 77 136 297 TAH AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING AND 10 31 16 7 13 0 66 69 212 CONSTRUCTION TAJ MECHANICAL ENGINEERING CRAFT AND 15 19 5 24 32 0 91 73 259 WELDING TAK MECHANICAL ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN AND 4 20 4 62 4 0 10 42 146 MATHS TAL ELECTRICAL, ELECTRONIC AND MEASUREMENT 12 17 2 45 7 0 27 46 157 & CONTROL TAM SCIENCE (FRASERBURGH) 2 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 9
Total 133 237 107 581 158 36 553 874 2682 Sector Team Applications at Applications Applications Applications Applications Applications Applications Applications Total Acknowledgement at Interview at Interview at at Full Offer at High at Accept at Applications Stage Invitation Booked Conditional Stage Demand Stage Withdrawn Stage Stage Offer Stage Stage Stage
SI SERVICE TDA CHILDCARE, HEALTH AND SOCIAL 10 44 14 93 11 0 56 111 339 INDUSTRIES CARE TDB CHILDCARE 17 61 14 112 20 0 88 98 410 TDC HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE 19 162 72 249 36 0 183 353 1074
TDD HAIR, BEAUTY AND COMPLEMENTARY 4 39 26 69 4 0 20 72 234 THERAPIES TDE HAIRDRESSING 6 34 29 78 7 0 52 73 279
TDF BEAUTY AND COMPLEMENTARY 12 62 29 89 23 0 106 121 442 THERAPIES TDG HOSPITALITY 5 20 6 5 22 0 93 81 232
TDH SPORT 33 80 40 237 19 0 96 158 663
TDJ HOSPITALITY, SPORT AND 4 25 6 28 15 0 52 85 215 HORTICULTURE TDL SOCIAL SCIENCES 23 116 46 126 135 0 211 183 841
TDM SOCIAL SCIENCES AND LEARNING 4 4 3 10 56 0 47 34 158 OPPORTUNITIES TDN LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES 7 1 0 1 13 0 87 27 136
Total 144 648 285 1097 361 0 1091 1396 5023
Total 483 1351 563 3379 808 66 2685 3875 13215
Agenda Item 6.2 Appendix 2
Applications received between 01/10/2014 and 28/06/2015 or Between 01/10/2015 and 28/06/2016
2015 2016 School Team Course Ref Course Title Total Applications Total Applications Variance received received CCB CREATIVE TCA ART, DESIGN, CADD-2 HND ART AND DESIGN (YEAR 1) 84 87 3 INDUSTRIES, TEXTILES & COMPUTING, PHOTOGRAPHY CADD-Y2 HND ART AND DESIGN (YEAR 2) 35 33 -2 ESOL AND BUSINESS CADP-2 HND PHOTOGRAPHY (YEAR 1) 93 108 15 ENTERPRISE
CADP-Y2 HND PHOTOGRAPHY (YEAR 2) 56 59 3
CADS-2 HND TEXTILES (YEAR 1) 49 39 -10
CADS-Y2 HND TEXTILES (YEAR 2) 15 23 8
CAOAD-1 NC IN ART AND DESIGN SCQF LEVEL 6 73 61 -12
CAODM-1 NC IN FASHION DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE SCQF 35 44 9 LEVEL 6
CAOPG-1 NC IN PHOTOGRAPHY SCQF LEVEL 6 77 98 21
CAOPR-1 ART AND DESIGN 53 0 -53 ART AND DESIGN SCQF LEVEL 4/5 0 72 72
Team Total: 570 624 54 TCC ART, DESIGN, CCCA-1 HNC ART AND DESIGN 17 17 0 FLORISTRY AND TOURISM CCGF-1 CITY AND GUILDS LEVEL 2 DIPLOMA IN FLORISTRY 0 20 20
CCGF-2 CITY AND GUILDS LEVEL 2 DIPLOMA IN FLORISTRY 20 0 -20 (YEAR 1)
CCGF-Y2 CITY AND GUILDS LEVEL 2 DIPLOMA IN FLORISTRY 9 13 4 (YEAR 2)
CCOAD-1 NC IN ART AND DESIGN SCQF LEVEL 6 17 13 -4
CCOPR-1 ART AND DESIGN 18 0 -18 ART AND DESIGN SCQF LEVEL 4/5 0 12 12
Team Total: 81 75 -6 TCD MUSIC, CDCC-1 HNC CREATIVE INDUSTRIES: RADIO 14 0 -14 DRAMA AND MEDIA CDCM-1 HNC MEDIA ANALYSIS AND PRODUCTION 0 26 26
CDDC-2 HND ACTING AND PERFORMANCE (YEAR 1) 65 89 24
CDDC-Y2 HND ACTING AND PERFORMANCE (YEAR 2) 32 34 2
CDDH-2 HND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES: TV (YEAR 1) 58 66 8
CDDH-Y2 HND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES: TV (YEAR 2) 33 43 10
CDDM-2 HND MUSIC (YEAR 1) 78 80 2
CDDM-Y2 HND MUSIC (YEAR 2) 47 44 -3
CDDP-2 HND SOUND PRODUCTION (YEAR 1) 45 63 18
CDDP-Y2 HND SOUND PRODUCTION (YEAR 2) 22 23 1
CDHMS-1 INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC 0 79 79 INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC STUDIES 61 0 -61
CDHMS-F1A INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC - FT 2016/17 YR 1 GP A 0 1 1
CDOAT-1 NC IN ACTING AND THEATRE PERFORMANCE SCQF 56 68 12 LEVEL 6
CDOCM-1 CREATIVE MEDIA 60 60 0
CDOM-1 NC IN MUSIC SCQF LEVEL 6 63 76 13
Team Total: 634 752 118 TCE COMPUTING CECC-1 HNC COMPUTING 23 26 3 AND ESOL CEGDD-1 INTRODUCTION TO IT AND CYBER SECURITY 0 19 19 INTRODUCTION TO IT AND DIGITAL MEDIA 13 0 -13
CEGTC-1 INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTING SUPPORT 8 0 -8
CELF-1 ENGLISH FOR SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES 184 101 -83 (ESOL)
CEODM-1 NC IN COMPUTING WITH DIGITAL MEDIA SCQF 26 27 1 LEVEL 5/6
Team Total: 254 173 -81 TCF ESSENTIAL CFDP-2 HND ADVERTISING & PUBLIC RELATIONS (YEAR 1) 50 49 -1 AND CORE SKILLS CFDP-Y2 HND ADVERTISING & PUBLIC RELATIONS (YEAR 2) 25 27 2
CFDT-2 HND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES MEDIA AND 51 53 2 COMMUNICATION (YEAR 1)
CFDT-Y2 HND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES MEDIA AND 28 25 -3 COMMUNICATION (YEAR 2)
Team Total: 154 154 0 TCG ESOL CGLF-1 ENGLISH FOR SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES 499 615 116 (ESOL)
Team Total: 499 615 116 TCH BUSINESS, CHCB-1 HNC BUSINESS 71 103 32 ENTERPRISE AND ADMINISTRATION CHCI-2 HNC ADMINISTRATION AND INFORMATION 84 80 -4 TECHNOLOGY
CHDA-2 HND ADMINISTRATION AND INFORMATION 48 36 -12 TECHNOLOGY (YEAR 1)
CHDA-Y2 HND ADMINISTRATION AND INFORMATION 72 63 -9 TECHNOLOGY (YEAR 2)
CHDB-2 HND BUSINESS 119 0 -119 HND BUSINESS (YEAR 1) 0 165 165
CHDB-Y2 HND BUSINESS (YEAR 2) 10 100 90
CHOAD-1 NCGA ADMINISTRATION SCQF LEVEL 5 70 80 10
CHOBN-1 NCGA BUSINESS WITH ESOL SCQF LEVEL 4 37 39 2
CHOS-1 NCGA BUSINESS SCQF LEVEL 5 96 148 52
CHOT-1 INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS AND ADMINISTRATION 111 97 -14
CHOT-F1A INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS AND ADMINISTRATION 0 1 1 - FT 2016/17 YR 1 GP A
Team Total: 718 912 194 TCJ ACCOUNTING CJCA-2 HNC ACCOUNTING 70 86 16 AND LAW CJCA-F1A HNC ACCOUNTING - FT 2016/17 YR 1 GP A 0 1 1
CJDA-2 HND ACCOUNTING (YEAR 1) 126 93 -33
CJDA-F1A HND ACCOUNTING - FT 2016/17 YR 1 GP A 0 1 1
CJDA-Y2 HND ACCOUNTING (YEAR 2) 82 105 23
CJDL-2 HND LEGAL SERVICES (YEAR 1) 137 183 46
CJDL-Y2 HND LEGAL SERVICES (YEAR 2) 77 97 20
Team Total: 492 566 74 TCK TOURISM AND CKCE-1 HNC EVENTS MANAGEMENT 31 2 -29 EVENTS CKCT-1 HNC TRAVEL & TOURISM 31 0 -31
CKDE-2 HND EVENTS MANAGEMENT (YEAR 1) 64 90 26
CKDE-Y2 HND EVENTS MANAGEMENT (YEAR 2) 54 48 -6
CKDT-2 HND TRAVEL AND TOURISM (YEAR 1) 73 111 38
CKDT-Y2 HND TRAVEL AND TOURISM (YEAR 2) 29 55 26
CKOTL-1 NC IN TRAVEL AND TOURISM WITH ESOL SCQF 53 44 -9 LEVEL 5
CKOTT-1 NC IN TRAVEL AND TOURISM SCQF LEVEL 5 82 122 40
Team Total: 417 472 55 TCL COMPUTING CLCA-1 HNC 3D COMPUTER ANIMATION 51 46 -5 APPLICATIONS & VISUAL CLDA-2 HND VISUAL COMMUNICATION (YEAR 1) 73 87 14 COMMUNICATION CLDA-Y2 HND VISUAL COMMUNICATION (YEAR 2) 51 40 -11
CLDE-Y2 HND 3D COMPUTER ANIMATION (YEAR 2) 0 19 19
CLDM-2 HND INTERACTIVE MEDIA (WEB DEVELOPMENT) 36 29 -7 (YEAR 1)
CLDM-Y2 HND INTERACTIVE MEDIA (WEB DEVELOPMENT) 24 21 -3 (YEAR 2)
CLGDD-1 INTRODUCTION TO IT AND CYBER SECURITY 0 27 27 INTRODUCTION TO IT AND DIGITAL MEDIA 34 0 -34
CLODM-1 NC IN COMPUTING WITH DIGITAL MEDIA SCQF 103 100 -3 LEVEL 5/6
CLOPD-1 NC IN COMPUTER ARTS AND ANIMATION SCQF 46 73 27 LEVEL 6
CLOTC-1 INTRODUCTION TO IT AND CYBER SECURITY (INC C 20 0 -20 & G AWARD)
Team Total: 438 442 4
TCM COMPUTING CMCC-2 HNC COMPUTING 67 99 32 NETWORKING CMDD-2 HND COMPUTING: SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT 63 69 6 (YEAR 1)
CMDD-Y2 HND COMPUTING: SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT 59 72 13 (YEAR 2)
CMDN-2 HND COMPUTING: NETWORKING (YEAR 1) 29 43 14
CMDN-Y2 HND COMPUTING: NETWORKING (YEAR 2) 40 27 -13
CMGTC-1 INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTING SUPPORT 49 80 31
CMOTT-1 NC COMPUTING TECHNICAL SUPPORT SCQF LEVEL 51 0 -51 5/6 NC COMPUTING TECHNICAL SUPPORT WITH CYBER 0 81 81 SECURITY SCQF LEVEL 5/6
Team Total: 358 471 113 TCN BUSINESS CNCA-1 HNC ADMINISTRATION AND INFORMATION 32 17 -15 TECHNOLOGY
CNCB-1 HNC BUSINESS 15 9 -6
CNCN-1 HNC ACCOUNTING 15 9 -6
CNDA-2 HND ACCOUNTING (YEAR 1) 12 17 5
CNDA-Y2 HND ACCOUNTING (YEAR 2) 16 16 0
CNDB-2 HND BUSINESS 17 0 -17 HND BUSINESS (YEAR 1) 0 19 19
CNDB-Y2 HND BUSINESS (YEAR 2) 16 20 4
CNDT-2 HND ADMINISTRATION AND INFORMATION 8 11 3 TECHNOLOGY (YEAR 1)
CNDT-Y2 HND ADMINISTRATION AND INFORMATION 5 0 -5 TECHNOLOGY (YEAR 2)
CNOA-1 NCGA ADMINISTRATION SCQF LEVEL 5 39 34 -5
CNOAT-1 INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS AND ADMINISTRATION 4 5 1
CNOS-1 NCGA BUSINESS SCQF LEVEL 5 26 19 -7
CNOT-1 INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS AND ADMINISTRATION 37 31 -6
CNOTT-1 NC IN TRAVEL AND TOURISM SCQF LEVEL 5 11 21 10
CNSR-1 SVQ ADMINISTRATION 4 0 -4
CNSS-1 SVQ ADMINISTRATION 4 0 -4
Team Total: 261 228 -33 School Total: 4876 5484 608 EST TAA ELECTRICAL AADT-2 HND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING (YEAR 1) 67 71 4 ENGINEERING, ENGINEERING SCIENCE AND AADT-Y2 HND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING (YEAR 2) 35 48 13 TECHNOLOGY AAOR-1 NC IN ELECTRICAL SCQF LEVEL 5 90 81 -9
AAOT-1 NC IN ELECTRICAL SCQF LEVEL 6 68 68 0
AASP-1 SVQ PERFORMING ENGINEERING OPS LEVEL 2 55 71 16 (ELECTRICAL OPTION)
Team Total: 315 339 24 TAC SCIENCE ACCAP-2 HNC APPLIED SCIENCES 63 88 25
ACDAP-2 HND APPLIED SCIENCES (YEAR 1) 85 79 -6
ACDAP-Y2 HND APPLIED SCIENCES (YEAR 2) 50 59 9
ACHS-1 ROUTES TO HIGHER EDUCATION (SCIENCE) 94 83 -11
ACOA-1 NC IN APPLIED SCIENCES SCQF LEVEL 5 65 71 6
ACOS-1 NC IN APPLIED SCIENCES SCQF LEVEL 6 81 77 -4
Team Total: 438 457 19 TAD MECHANICAL ADOME-1 NC IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING SCQF LEVEL 6 212 184 -28 ENGINEERING ADSME-1 N/SVQ 2 MECHANICAL ENGINEERING MODERN 4 0 -4 APPRENTICESHIP
ADSR-1 SVQ PERFORMING ENGINEERING OPS LEVEL 2 159 89 -70 (MECHANICAL)
Team Total: 375 273 -102 TAE MATHS AND AEDE-2 HND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING (YEAR 1) 271 185 -86 MECHANICAL ENGINEERING AEDE-Y2 HND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING (YEAR 2) 71 87 16 TECHNICIANS
Team Total: 342 272 -70 TAF AFCB-2 HNC BUILT ENVIRONMENT 18 50 32 CONSTRUCTION AFOBN-1 NC BUILT ENVIRONMENT 27 41 14
AFOCA-1 INTRODUCTION TO CONSTRUCTION (CRAFTS) 9 0 -9
AFOG-1 INTRODUCTION TO CONSTRUCTION (CRAFTS) 104 162 58
Team Total: 158 253 95 TAG AUTOMOTIVE AGGD-1 DIPLOMA IN ACCIDENT REPAIR (BODY) LEVEL 1 44 0 -44 TECHNOLOGIES (SCQF LEVEL 4)
AGGS-1 CERTIFICATE/DIPLOMA IN VEHICLE MAINTENANCE 102 0 -102 SCQF LEVEL 4
AGGT-1 DIPLOMA IN VEHICLE MAINTENANCE & REPAIR 69 0 -69 SCQF LEVEL 5
AGQD-1 DIPLOMA IN ACCIDENT REPAIR (BODY) LEVEL 1 0 70 70 (SCQF LEVEL 4)
AGQM-1 DIPLOMA IN LIGHT VEHICLE MAINTENANCE AND 0 8 8 REPAIR PRINCIPLES SCQF LEVEL 7
AGQS-1 CERTIFICATE/DIPLOMA IN VEHICLE MAINTENANCE 0 145 145 SCQF LEVEL 4
AGQT-1 DIPLOMA IN VEHICLE MAINTENANCE & REPAIR 0 74 74 SCQF LEVEL 5
Team Total: 215 297 82 TAH AUTOMOTIVE AHGS-1 CERTIFICATE/DIPLOMA IN VEHICLE MAINTENANCE 48 0 -48 ENGINEERING SCQF LEVEL 4 AND CONSTRUCTION AHGT-1 DIPLOMA IN VEHICLE MAINTENANCE & REPAIR 17 0 -17 SCQF LEVEL 5
AHMC-1 NPA GENERAL BUILDING 42 61 19
AHOBN-1 NC BUILT ENVIRONMENT 9 11 2
AHOF-1 INTRODUCTION TO CONSTRUCTION (CRAFTS) 31 51 20
AHQS-1 CERTIFICATE/DIPLOMA IN VEHICLE MAINTENANCE 0 64 64 SCQF LEVEL 4
AHQT-1 DIPLOMA IN VEHICLE MAINTENANCE & REPAIR 0 24 24 SCQF LEVEL 5
Team Total: 147 211 64 TAJ MECHANICAL AJCM-1 HNC ENGINEERING PRACTICE 16 27 11 ENGINEERING CRAFT AND AJOM-1 NC MANUFACTURE AND MECHANICAL 0 38 38 WELDING MAINTENANCE LEVEL 5 NC MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING LEVEL 5 29 0 -29
AJOW-1 NC FABRICATION AND WELDING 93 73 -20
AJSM-1 MAINTENANCE ENGINEERING 9 0 -9 SVQ PERFORMING ENGINEERING OPS: 0 24 24 MECHANICAL (MAINTENANCE) LEVEL 2
AJSP-1 SVQ PERFORMING ENGINEERING OPS: 110 40 -70 MECHANICAL LEVEL 2
AJSW-1 SVQ PERFORMING ENGINEERING OPS LEVEL 2 0 56 56 (FABRICATION AND WELDING) SVQ PERFORMING ENGINEERING OPS LEVEL 2 54 0 -54 (WELDING AND FABRICATION)
Team Total: 311 258 -53 TAK MECHANICAL AKDE-2 HND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING 52 0 -52 ENGINEERING HND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING (YEAR 1) 0 47 47 TECHNICIAN AND MATHS AKDE-F2A HND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING - FT 2016/17 YR 2 0 1 1 GP A
AKDE-Y2 HND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING (YEAR 2) 23 20 -3
AKOE-1 NC MECHANCIAL ENGINEERING SCQF LEVEL 6 83 78 -5
Team Total: 158 146 -12 TAL ELECTRICAL, ALCC-1 HNC ELECTRONICS 12 7 -5 ELECTRONIC AND MEASUREMENT & ALCM-1 HNC MEASUREMENT AND CONTROL 10 10 0 CONTROL ALDE-2 HND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING 20 0 -20 HND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING (YEAR 1) 0 24 24
ALDE-Y2 HND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING 5 0 -5
ALDL-2 HND ELECTRONICS 5 0 -5 HND ELECTRONICS (YEAR 1) 0 1 1
ALDL-Y2 HND ELECTRONICS 2 0 -2 HND ELECTRONICS (YEAR 2) 0 4 4
ALOE-1 NC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING SCQF LEVEL 5 54 36 -18
ALOL-1 NC ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING LEVEL 6 14 7 -7
ALOM-1 NC MEASUREMENT AND CONTROL SCQF LEVEL 6 5 14 9
ALOT-1 NC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING SCQF LEVEL 6 41 27 -14
ALSR-1 SVQ PERFORMING ENGINEERING OPS: ELECTRICAL 25 27 2 LEVEL 2
Team Total: 193 157 -36 TAM SCIENCE AMOA-1 NC IN APPLIED SCIENCES SCQF LEVEL 5 0 9 9 (FRASERBURGH) Team Total: 0 9 9 School Total: 2652 2672 20 SI SERVICE TDA CHILDCARE, DAMCC-1 CHILD, HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE SCQF LEVEL 4 6 0 -6 INDUSTRIES HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE DAMCH-1 NC IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE (HEALTHCARE 0 42 42 ROUTE) SCQF LEVEL 6 NC IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE (NURSING 28 0 -28 ROUTE) SCQF LEVEL 6
DAOCA-1 NC IN CHILD, HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE (SOCIAL 0 36 36 CARE ROUTE) SCQF LEVEL 5
DAOCC-1 NC IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE (SOCIAL CARE 0 20 20 ROUTE) SCQF LEVEL 6
DAOCD-1 CHILDCARE AND DEVELOPMENT SCQF LEVEL 5 42 58 16
DAOCD-F1A CHILDCARE AND DEVELOPMENT SCQF LEVEL 5 - FT 0 1 1 2016/17 YR 1 GP A
DAOCI-1 FIRST STEPS INTO CARE 20 0 -20
DAOCR-1 INTRODUCTION TO CHILDCARE SCQF LEVEL 4 37 45 8
DAOCS-1 NC CHILD, HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE 0 45 45 (HEALTHCARE ROUTE) SCQF LEVEL 5 NC CHILD, HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE (NURSING 52 0 -52 ROUTE) SCQF LEVEL 5
DAOEE-1 NC EARLY EDUCATION AND CHILDCARE 37 40 3
DAOHS-1 INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE 30 52 22 SCQF LEVEL 4
Team Total: 252 339 87 TDB CHILDCARE DBCC-1 HNC CHILDHOOD PRACTICE 0 122 122
HNC EARLY EDUCATION AND CHILDCARE 112 0 -112
DBOA-1 PDA IN EDUCATION SUPPORT ASSISTANCE SCQF 16 0 -16 LEVEL 6
DBOCD-1 CHILDCARE AND DEVELOPMENT SCQF LEVEL 5 67 99 32
DBOCH-1 INTRODUCTION TO CHILDCARE SCQF LEVEL 4 68 90 22
DBOE-1 NC IN EARLY EDUCATION AND CHILDCARE SCQF 102 98 -4 LEVEL 6
DBOWC-1 NC IN WORKING WITH COMMUNITIES SCQF LEVEL 6 7 0 -7
Team Total: 372 409 37 TDC HEALTH AND DCCA-1 HNC CARE AND ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICE 144 215 71 SOCIAL CARE DCCP-1 HNC CARE AND ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICE 0 42 42 (DEGREE LINK ROUTE)
DCCV-1 HNC SOCIAL SERVICES 82 114 32
DCOC-1 NC IN CHILD, HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE (SOCIAL 83 115 32 CARE ROUTE) SCQF LEVEL 5
DCOCI-1 FIRST STEPS INTO CARE 52 0 -52
DCOH-1 NC IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE (SOCIAL CARE 48 67 19 ROUTE) SCQF LEVEL 6
DCOHN-1 NC IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE (HEALTHCARE 0 222 222 ROUTE) SCQF LEVEL 6 NC IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE (NURSING 254 0 -254 ROUTE) SCQF LEVEL 6
DCOHS-1 INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE 85 128 43 SCQF LEVEL 4
DCOLN-1 NC IN CHILD, HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE 0 170 170 (HEALTHCARE ROUTE) SCQF LEVEL 5 NC IN CHILD, HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE (NURSING 204 0 -204 ROUTE) SCQF LEVEL 5
Team Total: 952 1073 121 TDD HAIR, BEAUTY DDGHB-1 VRQ LEVEL 1 DIPLOMA IN AN INTRODUCTION TO 18 0 -18 AND THE HAIR AND BEAUTY SECTOR (FAST TRACK) COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES DDQB1-1 VRQ LEVEL 1 DIPLOMA IN AN INTRODUCTION TO 51 50 -1 THE HAIR AND BEAUTY SECTOR (BEAUTY ROUTE)
DDQB2-1 VRQ LEVEL 2 DIPLOMA IN BEAUTY THERAPY 39 28 -11
DDQB3-1 VRQ LEVEL 3 DIPLOMA IN BEAUTY THERAPY 16 27 11 TECHNIQUES
DDQBF-1 VRQ LEVEL 2 DIPLOMA IN BEAUTY THERAPY 4 7 3
DDQCF-1 VRQ LEVEL 3 DIPLOMA IN COMPLEMENTARY 10 5 -5 THERAPIES
DDQH-1 VRQ LEVEL 1 DIPLOMA IN AN INTRODUCTION TO 43 51 8 THE HAIR AND BEAUTY SECTOR (HAIR ROUTE)
DDQH2-1 VRQ LEVEL 2 DIPLOMA IN HAIRDRESSING 48 47 -1
DDQH2-F1A VRQ LEVEL 2 DIPLOMA IN HAIRDRESSING - FT 0 1 1 2016/17 YR 1 GP A
DDQH3-1 VRQ LEVEL 3 DIPLOMA IN HAIRDRESSING 13 14 1
DDQLM-1 VRQ LEVEL 2 DIPLOMA IN COMPLEMENTARY 6 4 -2 THERAPIES
Team Total: 248 234 -14 TDE DEGHB-1 VRQ LEVEL 1 DIPLOMA IN AN INTRODUCTION TO 47 0 -47 HAIRDRESSING THE HAIR AND BEAUTY SECTOR: HAIR ROUTE (FAST TRACK)
DEGIH-1 VRQ LEVEL 1 DIPLOMA IN AN INTRODUCTION TO 123 146 23 THE HAIR AND BEAUTY SECTOR (HAIR ROUTE)
DEQH-2 SVQ HAIRDRESSING LEVEL 2 1 3 2
DEQHD-1 VRQ LEVEL 2 DIPLOMA IN HAIRDRESSING 83 94 11
DEQHS-1 VRQ LEVEL 3 DIPLOMA IN HAIRDRESSING 33 34 1
Team Total: 287 277 -10 TDF BEAUTY AND DFGBA-1 VRQ LEVEL 1 DIPLOMA IN AN INTRODUCTION TO 124 198 74 COMPLEMENTARY THE HAIR AND BEAUTY SECTOR (BEAUTY ROUTE) THERAPIES DFQBA-1 VRQ LEVEL 2 DIPLOMA IN BEAUTY THERAPY 113 129 16
DFQBM-1 VRQ LEVEL 3 DIPLOMA IN BODY AND SPA THERAPY 47 62 15
DFQCR-1 VRQ LEVEL 3 DIPLOMA IN COMPLEMENTARY 20 29 9 THERAPIES
DFQLM-1 VRQ LEVEL 2 DIPLOMA IN COMPLEMENTARY 13 24 11 THERAPIES
Team Total: 317 442 125 TDG HOSPITALITY DGQP3-1 PROFESSIONAL COOKERY 61 67 6
DGQP3-F1A PROFESSIONAL COOKERY FT 2016/17 YR 1 GP A 0 1 1
DGQPC-1 INTRODUCTION TO PROFESSIONAL COOKERY 103 137 34
DGQPV-1 ADVANCED PROFESSIONAL COOKERY 42 27 -15
Team Total: 206 232 26 TDH SPORT DHDF-2 HND FITNESS, HEALTH & EXERCISE (YEAR 1) 105 157 52
DHDF-F1A HND FITNESS, HEALTH & EXERCISE - FT 2016/17 YR 1 0 1 1 GP A
DHDF-Y2 HND FITNESS, HEALTH & EXERCISE (YEAR 2) 40 52 12
DHDS-2 HND COACHING AND DEVELOPING SPORT (YEAR 105 114 9 1)
DHDS-Y2 HND COACHING AND DEVELOPING SPORT (YEAR 39 51 12 2)
DHOL-1 INTRODUCTION TO SPORT, LEISURE AND FITNESS 65 126 61
DHOS-1 NC IN SPORT AND FITNESS SCQF LEVEL 5 94 161 67
Team Total: 448 662 214 TDJ HOSPITALITY, DJGHS-1 CITY AND GUILDS SVQ LEVEL 3 HOSPITALITY 4 0 -4 SPORT AND SUPERVISION 7247-30 HORTICULTURE DJNPS-1 BTEC DIPLOMA IN PUBLIC SERVICES (LEVEL 1-2) 0 55 55
DJNPT-1 BTEC DIPLOMA IN PUBLIC SERVICES (LEVEL 3) 0 14 14
DJNUF-1 LEVEL 1 CERTIFICATE FOR ENTRY TO UNIFORMED 43 0 -43 SERVICES
DJNUS-1 LEVEL 2 CERTIFICATE FOR ENTRY TO UNIFORMED 28 0 -28 SERVICES
DJOL-1 INTRODUCTION TO SPORT, LEISURE AND FITNESS 18 26 8
DJOS-1 NC IN SPORT AND FITNESS SCQF LEVEL 5 22 30 8
DJQP1-1 CITY AND GUILDS LEVEL 1 FOOD PREPARATION 0 47 47 AND COOKING
CITY AND GUILDS LEVEL 1 FOOD PREPARATION 53 0 -53 AND COOKING 7140
DJQP2-1 CITY AND GUILDS SVQ LEVEL 2 PROFESSIONAL 0 38 38 COOKERY CITY AND GUILDS SVQ LEVEL 2 PROFESSIONAL 30 0 -30 COOKERY FLEXIBLE 7140
DJQP3-1 CITY AND GUILDS LEVEL 3 PROFESSIONAL 4 0 -4 COOKERY CITY AND GUILDS SVQ LEVEL 3 PROFESSIONAL 0 3 3 COOKERY
DJQS1-1 CITY AND GUILDS NVQ LEVEL 1 FOOD AND DRINK 3 0 -3 SERVICE
DJQS2-1 CITY AND GUILDS NVQ LEVEL 2 FOOD AND DRINK 2 0 -2 SERVICE
Team Total: 207 213 6 TDK ANIMAL CARE DKDA-2 HND ANIMAL CARE (YEAR 1) 57 0 -57 AND HORTICULTURE DKDA-Y2 HND ANIMAL CARE (YEAR 2) 24 0 -24
DKGSA-2 DIPLOMA IN VETERINARY NURSING (SMALL 86 0 -86 ANIMALS) LEVEL 3 (YEAR 1)
DKGSA-Y2 DIPLOMA IN VETERINARY NURSING (SMALL 9 0 -9 ANIMALS) LEVEL 3 (YEAR 2)
DKOAC-1 NC IN ANIMAL CARE SCQF LEVEL 5 141 0 -141
DKOAN-1 INTRODUCTION TO ANIMAL CARE 135 0 -135
Team Total: 452 0 -452 TDL SOCIAL DLDS-2 HND SOCIAL SCIENCES (YEAR 1) 251 261 10 SCIENCES DLDS-Y2 HND SOCIAL SCIENCES (YEAR 2) 97 126 29
DLHA-1 ROUTES TO HIGHER EDUCATION (SOCIAL SCIENCES) 109 119 10
DLOSS-1 NC IN SOCIAL SCIENCES SCQF LEVEL 5 90 120 30
DLWH-1 NC IN SOCIAL SCIENCES SCQF LEVEL 6 144 214 70
Team Total: 691 840 149 TDM SOCIAL DMDS-2 HND SOCIAL SCIENCES 22 0 -22 SCIENCES AND HND SOCIAL SCIENCES (YEAR 1) 0 45 45
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES DMDS-Y2 HND SOCIAL SCIENCES 24 0 -24 HND SOCIAL SCIENCES (YEAR 2) 0 9 9
DMOSC-1 NC IN SOCIAL SCIENCES SCQF LEVEL 5 34 30 -4
DMOSS-1 PREPARATION FOR WORK 0 16 16 PREPARATION FOR WORK / FURTHER STUDY 24 0 -24
DMOTR-1 QUALIFICATION FOR WORK 18 16 -2
DMOZ-1 RESTART (COLLEGE STUDY AND EMPLOYMENT) 6 1 -5
DMWH-1 NC IN SOCIAL SCIENCES SCQF LEVEL 6 32 41 9
Team Total: 160 158 -2 TDN LEARNING DNOSS-1 PREPARATION FOR WORK 0 59 59 OPPORTUNITIES PREPARATION FOR WORK / FURTHER STUDY 64 0 -64
DNOTR-1 QUALIFICATION FOR WORK 45 44 -1
DNOZ-1 RESTART (COLLEGE STUDY AND EMPLOYMENT) 17 33 16
Team Total: 126 136 10 School Total: 4718 5015 297 Overall Total: 12257 13180 923
Agenda Item 6.2 Appendix 3 ACTIVITY PLANNING COMPARISON
2015-16 2016-17 Difference
Planned Full Projected Planned Full Planned Full Planned Time Credits Credits Planned Time Credits Planned Time Credits Enrolments Enrolments Targets Outturn Enrolments Enrolments Targets Enrolments Enrolments Targets
Creative Industries, Computing and Business Enterprise 3,373 2,830 44,108 46,399 3,569 2,866 46,495 196 36 2,387 Engineering, Science and Technology 4,035 1,501 37,108 38,901 3,745 1,657 37,276 -290 156 168 Service Industries 3,147 2,379 45,176 44,869 3,104 2,131 39,433 -43 -248 -5,743 Sub-total 10,555 6,710 126,392 130,169 10,418 6,654 123,204 -137 -56 -3,188
Business and Community Development 9,401 0 13,550 14,029 7,410 12 14,026 -1,991 12 476 Professional Development 85 0 75 85 86 0 95 1 0 20 Sub-total 9,486 0 13,625 14,114 7,496 12 14,121 -1,990 12 496
PLANNED OUTTURN 20,041 6,710 140,017 144,283 17,914 6,666 137,325 -2,127 -44 -2,692
SFC CREDIT TARGET 136,514 136,514 134,118
ESF CREDITS TARGET 3,035 3,035 3,035
TOTAL CREDIT TARGET 139,549 139,549 137,153
Credits above SFC Credit Target 3,503 7,769 3,207 Credits above Total Credit Target 468 4,734 172 54 Agenda Item 6.3
Meeting of 19 July 2016 Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee
University Progression and Articulation Links
1. Introduction 1.1. The purpose of this paper is to provide the Committee with information on the current status of North East Scotland College’s partnerships with Universities.
2. Background 2.1. The College’s robust and extensive links with university partners across Scotland provide students with a wide range of progression and articulation pathways on completion of their Higher National Diploma and in some cases Higher National Certificate courses at North East Scotland College.
2.2. North East Scotland College continues to be at the forefront of developing university articulation links and opportunities exist for students in the region to progress seamlessly within the College and to progress seamlessly to university (through 2+2 Degree Links).
2.3. The single North East Scotland College Prospectus for 2016-17 includes details of all the articulation routes that are available to prospective students across the region.
3. The Impact on Students of the College’s Articulation Agreements 3.1. Given the high demand for university and College places, the College continues to work closely with partner universities to meet the needs of students who seek progression routes into Degree level study.
3.2. The College currently has formal Agreements in place with 7 universities and working to renew a further 2 agreements.
3.3. Articulation Agreements between the College and each partner university describe how the links operate and these are renewed and updated regularly.
3.4. A total of 34 HNC/D programmes articulate to 226 Degree courses across Scotland, with formal articulation to Year 2 or 3 of the related degree. In addition, the College has established 39 agreed pathways to degree programmes.
3.5. In 2015-16, 515 students gained entry to a degree programme with most articulating students remaining in the region, progressing to either Robert Gordon University (RGU) or The University of Aberdeen.
3.6. The majority of Degree Link students’ progress to RGU with full articulation. At the time of writing this paper, we are awaiting confirmed numbers of those students who benefitted from these links.
3.7. For students on HNC/D programmes without a related vocational degree, the College has established an articulation link to a Business Degree through The Open University. As such, students who wish to progress to degree level study while working or establishing their own business can undertake the BA Business Enterprise Degree.
3.8. The College has entered into a Memorandum of Collaboration Agreement with the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) for the joint delivery of the BSc Audio Engineering (SCQF Level 9) and the BA Popular Music (SCQF Level 9). This will be achieved through a joint delivery basis. A breakown on the delivery of these two programmes are in Appendix 1 and Appendix 2. It is anticipated that 14 students will commence the BA Popular Music programme and 11 students will commence the BSc Audio Engineering programme.
3.9. A list of the university articulation links that are in place for 2016/17 is attached as Appendix 3.
55 Agenda Item 6.3
Meeting of 19 July 2016 Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee
4. Links with Robert Gordon University 4.1. By far the greatest number of students progress each year to RGU through the College’s strong and sector leading Degree Links with RGU.
4.2. The partnership between the College and the University involves joint curriculum planning, enhanced progression and articulation opportunities for learners, joint staff development, and shared approaches to learning and teaching and improved student support links.
4.3. Students across the College can benefit from being Associate Students of the University while at College. This gives them access to the full range of facilities available to RGU students.
4.4. Through the Degree Link Partnership, the two institutions work seamlessly together to provide a broad range of link courses with flexible study options available to students in the North East of Scotland. This working together approach helps to make the transition as easy as possible.
4.5. Students who receive an offer from RGU are invited to attend a Degree Prep Programme prior to embarking on their new course. These programmes, in conjunction with course leaders, prepare students for study at university level with valuable course information and guidance in approaching assessments. Degree Prep provides an opportunity for students to explore their new campus and meet other new students, and receive the support they need to feel comfortable with a new learning environment.
4.6. New and innovative ways of promoting articulation links between North East Scotland College and RGU are always being sought. The Additional Funded Places Scheme is an example of building further on the successful partnership between institutions. In 2015-16 different aspects of delivery in Stages 1 and 2 for three specific courses were provided by each institution. These courses are in Fashion Management, Hospitality Management and Journalism.
4.7. Course teams continue to meet on a regular basis to discuss progress.
4.8. The North East Articulation Hub is well established and provides a recognised forum for strategic discussion at regional level, to enable planning, and monitoring of activities in support of learners. The Hub Management Group is underpinned by a team of staff dedicated to developing a planned system of articulation within the North East. The final North East Articulation Hub meeting was held on the 08 June 2016 at RGU. It will be the intention of all partners to continue with meaningful communication to augment the existing articulation routes.
4.9. An Annual Report on the College’s links with RGU is produced and the 2014-15 report is attached at Appendix 4. The Report contains details of the range and extent of the links between the College and RGU.
4.10. The Scottish Funding Council have confirmed they will fund the last year of the scheme in 2016-17 and a review will be held to establish possible funding for 2017-18.
56 Agenda Item 6.3
Meeting of 19 July 2016 Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee
5. Links with The University of Aberdeen 5.1. The Principals of the College and The University of Aberdeen signed a formal Progression and Articulation Agreement in November 2014.
5.2. Course Level Agreements are in place covering a diverse range of subject areas including Accounting, Computing, Administration and IT, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, Sports Coaching, Fitness, Health and Exercise, Applied Science, Music, Working with Communities and Social Sciences. We are currently looking at the development of routes into teaching to support the local economy and address the identified shortage of teachers in Scotland.
5.3. A Joint Liaison Group, comprising senior staff of both organisations oversees the articulation and wider strategic partnership arrangements between the College and the University.
5.4. Degree links with The University of Aberdeen continue to be developed. Currently 12 of the College’s Higher National Certificates and Diplomas link to 57 degrees at The University of Aberdeen.
5.5. In 2014-15, 41 students progressed from North East Scotland College to a degree link at The University of Aberdeen, and in 2015-16 48 students progressed to the University of Aberdeen.
5.6. A joint ‘Lunch and Learn’ Event took place in 2016 which brought together curriculum staff from both organisations to share good practice in relation to learning and teaching approaches and learner support and transition.
5.7 The College is in negotiation with the University to discuss the possibility of becoming a partner on the North East Scottish Wider Access Programme (SWAP). The partnership is made up of colleges and universities and its role is to promote access to higher education to adult students with few or no formal qualifications who are returning to education after a break.
6. Recommendation 6.1 It is recommended that the Committee note the current status of the College’s links with university partners.
Rob Wallen John Davidson Principal Vice Principal – Learning and Quality
57 58 Agenda Item 6.3 Appendix 1 BSc Audio Engineering Y3
Nescol
SEM 1
9am 10am 11am 12 1pm 2pm 3pm Mon Tues Wed Audio Audio Themed Themed PAT Systems Systems Research Research Theory Theory project project Thursday Digital Digital Mix down Mix down Mix down Audio Audio Techniques Techniques Techniques Teaching Applications splits; SEM 1 Applications
Module Delivering partner Hours Digital audio Nescol 2 Applications Mix down Techniques Nescol 3 Themed research project Perth 2 Audio systems Theory Perth 2 PAT Perth 1 SEM 2 1; Nescol 5 Hours – Perth 5 Hours
9am 10am 11am 12 1pm 2pm 3pm Mon Tues Wed Entrepreneur Entrepreneur PAT Thursday Digital Digital Live Live Live event Audio Audio event event Applications Application Teaching Splits; SEM 2
Module Delivering Partner Hours Digital audio apps. Nescol 2 Live event Nescol 3 Entrepreneurship Perth 2 PAT Perth 1
SEM 2; Nescol 5 Hours – Perth 3 60 Agenda Item 6.3 Appendix 2 BA Popular Music Performance Y3 Nescol
SEM 1
9am 10am 11am 12ST 1pmST 2pmND 3pm Mon Ensemble Ensemble 1 1 STUDY 2 STUDY STUDY Tues TRP TRP PAT Songwriting Songwriting Wed Teaching Thurs splits; SEM 1
Module Delivering partner Hours Ensemble Nescol 2 Songwriting Perth 2 TRP Perth 2
Ist nd study Nescol 2 2 Study Nescol 1 PAT Perth 1
SEM 2 1; Nescol 5 Hours – Perth 5 Hours
9am 10am 11amnd 12nd 1pm 2pmST 3pmST Mon Ensemble Ens. 2 2 1 STUDY 1 study study STUDY Tues Entrepreneursp Ent. PAT Songwriting songwriting Wed Teaching Thurs Splits; SEM 2
Module Delivering Partner Hours
Ensemblend Nescol 2 2 study Nescol 2 Songwriting Perth 2 Entrepreneurship Perth 2
PATst Perth 1 1 Study Nescol 2
SEM 2; Nescol 6 Hours – Perth 5
61 62 Agenda Item 6.3 Appendix 3
Articulation Agreements and Agreed Pathways
Art & Design University Progression UHI (University of Highlands & Islands) BA Fine Art year 3 (Lews Castle College UHI, Moray College UHI, Orkney College UHI) (subject to conditions)
HND ART & DESIGN Open University
An HND can give up to 240 credits towards the 360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with
Honours or 180 credits towards the 300 credit BA/BSc Open Degree.
A reduced amount of credit transfer can be awarded against other qualifications, such as: BA/BSc (Hons) Design & Innovation, BA (Hons) Humanities Open University HND FASHION BUSINESS An HND can give up to 240 credits towards the 360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours or 180 credits towards the 300 credit BA/BSc Open Degree. University of the Highlands and Islands BSc (Hons) Contemporary Textiles year 3 (Shetland College UHI) (subject to conditions) HND TEXTILES Open University An HND can give up to 240 credits towards the 360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours or 180 credits towards the 300 credit BA/BSc Open Degree. Robert Gordon University, Grays School of Art (practical delivered by NESCol) BA Commercial Photography year 3 (subject to conditions)
HND PHOTOGRAPHY Open University An HND can give up to 240 credits towards the 360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours or 180 credits towards the 300 credit BA/BSc Open Degree.
Robert Gordon University BSc/BSc (Hons) Digital Media Design, Production & Development year 3 (subject to conditions) BSc/BSc (Hons) Multimedia Development (subject to conditions)
UHI (University of Highlands & Islands) HND VISUAL COMMUNICATION BA (Hons) Visual Communication and Design (Inverness College UHI, Perth College UHI) (subject to conditions)
Open University An HND can give up to 240 credits towards the 360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours or 180 credits towards the 300 credit BA/BSc Open Degree. Open University An HNC can give up to 120 credits towards the 300/360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree / BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours.
HNC 3D COMPUTER ANIMATION AGREED PATHWAYS * University of Abertay BA (Hons) Computer Arts year 1 (subject to conditions) BA (Hons) Game Design & Production Management year 1 (subject to conditions)
Business & Management Robert Gordon University BA/BA (Hons) Management year 3 (subject to conditions) BA/BA (Hons) Management with Human Resource Management year 3(subject to conditions) HND ADMINISTRATION & INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY University of Aberdeen MA Business Management year 3 (subject to conditions)
2
UHI (University of Highland & Islands) BA Business and Management year 3 – (Argyll College UHI, Inverness College UHI, Lews Castle College UHI, Moray College UHI, North Highland College UHI, Orkney College UHI, Perth College UHI, Shetland College UHI, West Highland College UHI) (subject to conditions)
Open University An HND can give up to 240 credits towards the 360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours or 218 credits towards the 300 credit BA/BSc Open Degree.
A reduced amount of credit transfer can be awarded against other qualifications, such as: BA (Hons) Business Management, BSc (Hons) Computing & IT and a second subject (with business, design, mathematics, applied psychology or statistics)
AGREED PATHWAYS * Abertay University BA (Hons) Business Management year 2 (subject to conditions) BA (Hons) Marketing and Business year 2 (subject to conditions) Robert Gordon University BA(Hons) Management year 3 (subject to conditions) BA (Hons) Management with Human Resource Management year 3 (subject to conditions)
HND BUSINESS University of Abertay BA (Hons) Business Management year 3 (subject to conditions)
Queen Margaret University BA (Hons) Business Management year 3 (subject to conditions)
3
Open University An HND can give up to 240 credits towards the 360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours or 180 credits towards the 300 credit BA/BSc Open Degree.
A reduced amount of credit transfer can be awarded against other qualifications, such as: BA (Hons) Business Management (standard pathways) Robert Gordon University BA/BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance (Taught Route) year 3 (subject to conditions) BA/BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance (Taught Route, Part Time) year 3 (subject to conditions)
University of Abertay BA (Hons) Accounting with Finance year 3 (subject to conditions)
UHI (University of Highland & Islands) BA (Hons) Business and Management year 3 (Argyll College UHI, Inverness College UHI, Lews Castle College UHI, Moray College HND ACCOUNTING UHI, North Highland College UHI, Orkney College UHI, Perth College UHI, Shetland College UHI, West Highand College UHI) (subject to conditions)
Open University An HND can give up to 240 credits towards the 360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours or 180 credits towards the 300 credit BA/BSc Open Degree. A reduced amount of credit transfer can be awarded against other qualifications, such as: BA (Hons) Business Management (Accounting pathway)
4
AGREED PATHWAY * University of Aberdeen MA Accountancy (N400) year 2 (subject to conditions) Robert Gordon University BA/BA (Hons) Law & Management year 3(subject to conditions)
UHI (University of Highland & Islands) BA (Hons) Business and Management Year 2 or 3 with bridging (Argyll College UHI, Inverness College UHI, Lews Castle College UHI, Moray College UHI, North Highland College UHI, Orkney College UHI, Perth College UHI, Shetland College UHI, West HND LEGAL SERVICES Highland College UHI) (subject to conditions).
Open University An HND can give up to 240 credits towards the 360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours or 180 credits towards the 300 credit BA/BSc Open Degree.
A reduced amount of credit transfer can be awarded against other qualifications, such as: BA (Hons) Business Management Robert Gordon University BA/BA (Hons) International Tourism Management (Taught Route) year 3 (subject to conditions)
UHI (University of Highlands & Islands) BA (Hons) Hospitality Management Year 3( Inverness College UHI, Moray College HND TRAVEL & TOURISM UHI, North Highland College UHI, Perth College UHI) (subject to conditions)
The Open University An HND can give up to 240 credits towards the 360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours or 180 credits towards the 300 credit BA/BSc Open Degree.
5
A reduced amount of credit transfer can be awarded against other qualifications, such as: BA (Hons) International Studies
Robert Gordon University BA/BA (Hons) Events Management year 3 (subject to conditions)
Queen Margaret University BA (Hons) Event Management year 3 (subject to conditions)
HND EVENTS MANAGEMENT UHI (University of Highlands & Islands) BA (Hons)Hospitality Management Year 3(Inverness College UHI, Moray College UHI, North Highland College UHI, Perth College UHI) (subject to conditions)
The Open University An HND can give up to 240 credits towards the 360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours or 180 credits towards the 300 credit BA/BSc Open Degree. Robert Gordon University BA/BA (Hons) Public Relations year 3 (subject to conditions)
Queen Margaret University BA (Hons) Film and Media year 3 (subject to conditions) BA (Hons) Media year 3 (subject to conditions) HND ADVERTISING & PR BA (Hons) PR and Media year 3 (subject to conditions) BA (Hons) PR Marketing and Events year 3 (subject to conditions)
UHI (University of Highland & Islands) BA (Hons) Business Management year 3(Argyll College UHI, Inverness College UHI, Lews Castle College UHI, Moray College UHI, North Highland College UHI, Orkney College UHI, Perth College UHI, Shetland College UHI, West Highland College UHI)
6
(subject to conditions)
Open University An HND can give up to 240 credits towards the 360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours or 180 credits towards the 300 credit BA/BSc Open Degree.
Music, Drama & Creative Media University of Aberdeen B.Mus (Music) year 3 (subject to conditions) B.Mus (Music and Communities) year 3 (subject to conditions)
University of Abertay BA (Hons) Sound and Music for Games year 3 (subject to conditions)
HND MUSIC UHI (University of Highlands and Islands) BA (Hons) Popular Music year 3 (North East Scotland College) (subject to conditions)
The Open University An HND can give up to 240 credits towards the 360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours or 180 credits towards the 300 credit BA/BSc Open Degree.
A reduced amount of credit transfer can be awarded against other qualifications, such as: BA (Hons)Arts and Humanities MUSIC TEACHING DIPLOMA (requires confirmation) University of Aberdeen B.Mus (Music) year 3 (subject to conditions) The HND can help gain entry to a variety of performing arts degree programmes (i.e. Royal Scottish Conservatoire – (subject to conditions). HND ACTING & PERFORMANCE Open University An HND can give up to 240 credits towards the 360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with
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Honours or 180 credits towards the 300 credit BA/BSc Open Degree. Robert Gordon University BA/BA (Hons) Media year 3 (subject to conditions)
HND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES: TV The Open University An HND can give up to 240 credit transfer points towards the 360 point BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours or 180 credit points towards the 300 point BA/BSc Open Degree Glasgow Caledonian University BSc/BSc (Hons) Audio Technology year 3 (subject to conditions)
UHI (University of Highlands and Islands) BA (Hons) Popular Music year 3 (North East Scotland College) (subject to conditions)
HND SOUND PRODUCTION University of Abertay BA (Hons) Sound and Music for Games year 3 (subject to conditions)
The Open University An HND can give up to 240 credits towards the 360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours or 180 credits towards the 300 credit BA/BSc Open Degree Robert Gordon University BA/BA (Hons) Public Relations year 3 (subject to conditions) BA/BA (Hons) Media year 3 (subject to conditions)
HND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES: MEDIA & Queen Margaret University COMMUNICATION BA (Hons) Film and Media year 3 (subject to conditions) BA (Hons) Media year 3 (subject to conditions) BA (Hons) PR and Media year 3 (subject to conditions) BA (Hons) PR Marketing and Events year 3 (subject to conditions)
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Open University An HND can give up to 240 credit transfer points towards the 360 point BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours or 180 credit points towards the 300 point BA/BSc Open Degree Computing Robert Gordon University BSc (Hons) Computing (Application Software Development) year 3 (subject to conditions) BSc (Hons) Digital Media – Design, Production & Development year 3 (subject to conditions)
University of Aberdeen MA/BSc Computing Science year (subject to conditions) MSci Computer Science with Industrial Placement year 3 (subject to conditions) MA/BSC Information Systems and Business Management year 3 (subject to conditions)
HND COMPUTING: SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT University of Abertay BSc (Hons) Computing year 3 (subject to conditions)
UHI (University of Highlands & Islands) BSc (Hons)Computing year 3 (Argyll College UHI, Inverness College UHI, Lews Castle College UHI, Moray College UHI, North Highland College UHI, Orkney College UHI, Perth College UHI, Shetland College UHI) (subject to conditions)
Open University An HND can give up to 240 credits towards the 360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours or 180 credits towards the 300 credit BA/BSc Open Degree.
A reduced amount of credit transfer can be awarded against other qualifications,
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such as: BSc (Hons) Computing & IT, Top-up BSc (Hons) Computing & IT Practice BSc (Hons) Computing & IT and a second subject (with business, design, mathematics, applied psychology or statistics)
Robert Gordon University BSc/BSc (Hons) Computer Network Management and Design year 3 (subject to conditions) BSc/BSc (Hons) Digital Media – Design, Production & Development year 3 (subject to conditions)
UHI (University of Highlands & Islands) BSc (Hons)Computing year 3 (subject to conditions) (Argyll College UHI, Inverness College UHI, Lews Castle College UHI, Moray College UHI, North Highland College UHI, Orkney College UHI, Perth College UHI)
HND COMPUTING: NETWORKING Open University An HND can give up to 240 credits towards the 360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours or 180 credits towards the 300 credit BA/BSc Open Degree.
A reduced amount of credit transfer can be awarded against other qualifications, such as: BSc (Hons) Computing & IT, BSc (Hons) Computing & IT and a second subject (with business, design, mathematics, applied psychology or statistics)
AGREED PATHWAY * University of Abertay BSc (Hons) Ethical Hacking year 2 (subject to conditions) Robert Gordon University BSc/BSc (Hons) Digital Media – Design, Production & Development year 3 (subject HND INTERACTIVE MEDIA (WEB DEVELOPMENT) to conditions)
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Open University An HND can give up to 240 credits towards the 360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours or 180 credits towards the 300 credit BA/BSc Open Degree
Construction
Edinburgh Napier University HNC BUILT ENVIRONMENT BSc/BSc (Hons) Construction & Project Management year 2 (subject to conditions) BSc/BSc (Hons) Building Surveying year 2 (subject to conditions) BSc/BSc (Hons) Real Estate Surveying year 2 (subject to conditions) BSc/BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying year 2 (subject to conditions)
Open University An HNC can give up to 120 credits towards the 300/360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours Engineering
Robert Gordon University BEng (Hons) Electronic and Electrical Engineering year 3 (subject to conditions) BSc (Eng) Electronic and Electrical Engineering year 3 (part time) (subject to conditions)
University of Aberdeen
BEng Electrical & Electronic year 3 (subject to conditions) HND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Edinburgh Napier University BEng (Hons) Electrical Engineering year 3 (subject to conditions)
UHI (University of Highland & Islands) BEng (Hons) Engineering: Electrical and Electronic Year 3 (Lews Castle College UHI, Moray College UHI, North Highland College UHI, Perth College UHI (subject to conditions)
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The Open University An HND can give up to 240 credits towards the 360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours or 180 credits towards the 300 credit BA/BSc Open Degree
A reduced amount of credit transfer can be awarded against other qualifications, such as: Bachelor of Engineering (Hons)
Robert Gordon University BSc (Eng) Electronic and Electrical Engineering (part time) year 3 (subject to conditions)
The Open University HND ELECTRONICS An HND can give up to 240 credits towards the 360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours or 180 credits towards the 300 credit BA/BSc Open Degree Robert Gordon University BEng (Hons) Mechanical and Offshore Engineering year 3 (subject to conditions) BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering year 3 (subject to conditions) BSc (Eng) Mechanical Engineering (part time)year 3 (subject to conditions)
HND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING University of Aberdeen BEng Mechanical and Electrical year 3 (subject to conditions) BEng Mechanical year 3 (subject to conditions) BEng Civil and Environmental year 3 (subject to conditions) BEng Civil and Structural year 3 (subject to conditions) BEng Civil year 3 (subject to conditions)
Edinburgh Napier University BEng/BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering year 3 (subject to conditions) BEng/BEng (Hons) Mechatronics year 3 (subject to conditions)
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BEng/BEng (Hons) Polymer Engineering year 3 (subject to conditions) BEng/BEng (Hons) Energy & Environmental Engineering year 3 (subject to conditions) BEng/BEng (Hons) Engineering with Management year 3 (subject to conditions) BEng/BEng (Hons) MEng Mechanical Engineering year 3 (subject to conditions)
UHI (University of Highlands & Islands) BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering (subject to conditions and bridging unit) (Lews Castle College UHI, Moray College UHI, North Highland College UHI, Perth College UHI) (subject to conditions) BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering Design (Inverness College UHI, Lews Castle College UHI, North Highland College UHI, Perth College UHI) (subject to conditions)
The Open University An HND can give up to 240 credits towards the 360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours or 180 credits towards the 300 credit BA/BSc Open Degree.
A reduced amount of credit transfer can be awarded against other qualifications, such as: Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) (up to 180 credits towards 360 Hons degree) Science University of Aberdeen HNC APPLIED SCIENCES BSc Physics year 2 (subject to conditions) (Chemistry/Physics Route) Robert Gordon University BSc/BSc (Hons) Bioscience with Biomedical Sciences year 3 (subject to conditions)
BSc/BSc (Hons) Forensic and Analytical Science year 3 (subject to conditions)
BSc/BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science year 3 (subject to conditions)
University of Aberdeen HND APPLIED SCIENCES BSc Biological Sciences year 3 (subject to conditions)• BSc Chemistry year 3 (subject to conditions)• BSc Environmental Science (Physical Science) year 3 (subject to
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conditions) BSc Pharmacology year 3 (subject to conditions))• BSc Physiology year 3 (subject to conditions))• BSc Sports & Exercise Science year 3 (subject to conditions)• BSc Biochemistry year 3 (subject to conditions) • BSc Biotechnology (Applied Molecular Biology) year 3 (subject to conditions) • BSc Genetics year 3 (subject to conditions) BSc Genetics (Immunology) year 3 (subject to conditions) • BSc Immunology year 3 (subject to conditions)• BSc Immunology and Pharmacology year 3 (subject to conditions)) BSc Microbiology year 3 (subject to conditions)• BSc Molecular Biology year 3 (subject to conditions)
Queen Margaret University BSc (Hons) Applied Pharmacology year 3 (subject to conditions) BSc (Hons) Human Biology year 3 (subject to conditions) BSc (Hons) Nutrition year 3 (subject to conditions) BSc (Hons) Nutrition and Food Science year 3 (subject to conditions)
University of Abertay BSc (Hons) Biomedical Sciences year 3 (subject to conditions)
UHI (University Highlands & Islands) BSc (Hons) Environmental Science year 3 (Inverness College UHI, Moray College UHI, North Highland College UHI, Perth College UHI) (subject to conditions)
The Open University The HND Applied Sciences will give 240 credit transfer towards the 360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours or 180 credits towards the 300 credit BA/BSc Open Degree
A reduced amount of credit transfer can be awarded against other qualifications, such as: • BSc (Hons) Natural Sciences • BSc (Hons) Environmental Science • BSc (Hons) Environmental Studies
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AGREED PATHWAYS * University of Aberdeen (all subject to conditions) BSc Biology year 2 BSc Biological Sciences year 2 • BSc Conservation Biology year 2 • BSc Chemistry year 2 • BSc Biochemistry year 2 BSc Genetics year • BSc Genetics (Immunology) year 2 • BSc Immunology year 2 BSc Microbiology year 2 • BSc Molecular Biology year 2 • BSc Ecology year 2 • BSc Environmental Science year 2 • BSc Marine Biology year 2 • BSc Plant & Soil Science year 2 • BSc Zoology year 2 BSc - Pharmacology year 2 • BSc Physics year 2 • BSc Physiology year 2 • BSc Sports & Exercise Science year • BSc Immunology and Pharmacology year 2 Care: Childcare HNC Early Education & Childcare can help candidates gain entry to a number of professional degree programmes including Primary School Teaching.
UHI (University of Highland & Islands) BA (Hons) Child and Youth Studies year 2 (subject to conditions) (Argyll College UHI, Inverness College UHI, Lews Castle College, Moray College UHI, North Highland College UHI, Orkney College UHI, Perth College UHI, Shetland College UHI, West Highland College UHI. All HNC entry requires 120 credit HN)
HNC CHILDHOOD PRACTICE Open University An HNC can give up to 120 credits towards the 300/360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree / BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours
A reduced amount of credit transfer can be awarded against other qualifications, such as: Dip HE Early Childhood BA (Hons) Early Childhood BA (Hons) Childhood & Youth Studies
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BA (Hons) Health & Social Care
AGREED PATHWAYS * University of Abertay BA (Hons) Criminology Studies year 1 (subject to conditions) BSc (Hons) Psychology year 1 (subject to conditions) BSc (Hons) Sociology year 1 (subject to conditions) University of Aberdeen BA (Hons) Community Learning & Development year 2 (subject to conditions)
Open University An HNC can give up to 120 credits towards the 300/360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree /BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours
A reduced amount of credit transfer can be awarded against other qualifications, HNC WORKING WITH COMMUNITIES (requires such as: confirmation) BA (Hons) Health & Social Care BA (Hons) Combined Social Sciences BA (Hons) Combined Social Sciences (Psychology) BA (Hons) Combined Social Sciences (Sociology) BA (Hons)Combined Social Sciences (Criminology)
AGREED PATHWAYS * University of Abertay BSc (Hons) Psychology year 1 (subject to conditions) BSc (Hons) Sociology year 1 (subject to conditions) BA (Hons) Criminology Studies year 1 (subject to conditions)
Care: Health & Social Care Queen Margaret University
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BSc (Hons) Psychology and Sociology year 2 (subject to conditions) BSc (Hons) Public Sociology year 2 (subject to conditions) HNC SOCIAL SERVICES Open University An HNC can give up to 120 credits towards the 300/360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree / BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours
A reduced amount of credit transfer can be awarded against other qualifications, such as: BA (Hons) Social Work (Scotland) (with employer sponsorship) BA/BSc Health and Social Care
Care: Nursing Robert Gordon University B Nursing (Adult) year 2 (subject to conditions) B Nursing (Mental Health) year 2 (subject to conditions)
Edinburgh Napier University 3 year pre-registration Nursing Programme (BN) LD nursing year 2 (subject to conditions)
Queen Margaret University HNC CARE & ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICE BSc (Hons) Nursing year 2 (subject to conditions)
Open University An HNC can give up to 120 credits towards the 300/360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree / BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours A reduced amount of credit transfer can be awarded against other qualifications, such as: Dip HE Healthcare Practice, BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing, BSc (Hons) Mental Health Nursing
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AGREED PATHWAYS * University of Abertay BSc (Hons) Nursing (Mental Health Nursing) year 1 (subject to conditions) BSc (Hons) Psychology and Counselling year 1 (subject to conditions)
Social Sciences Robert Gordon University BA/BA (Hons) Applied Social Sciences year 3 (subject to conditions)
University of Aberdeen MA Sociology year 3 (subject to conditions)
University of Abertay BA (Hons) Social Science year 3 (subject to conditions) BSc (Hons) Sociology year 3 (subject to conditions)
UHI (University of Highlands & Islands) BA (Hons) Social Sciences year 3 HND SOCIAL SCIENCES (Perth College UHI, Inverness College UHI, Moray College UHI)
The Open University The HND Social Sciences will give 240 credit transfer points towards the BA (Hons) Combined Social Sciences degree delivered at North East Scotland College in partnership with The Open University An HND can give up to 240 credits towards the 360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours or 180 credits towards the 300 credit BA/BSc Open Degree. A reduced amount of credit transfer can be awarded against other qualifications, such as BA/BSc (Hons) Psychology, BA (Hons) Combined Social Sciences (Criminology), BA (Hons) Combined Social Sciences (Sociology). BA (Hons) Environmental Studies, BA (Hons) Criminology & Psychology
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AGREED PATHWAYS * University of Aberdeen MA History year 2 (subject to conditions) MA Psychology year 2 (subject to conditions) MA Sociology year 2 (subject to conditions) MA Philosophy year 2 (subject to conditions) MA Politics and International Relations year 2 (subject to conditions)
University of Abertay BSc (Hons) Psychology year 2 (subject to conditions) BA (Hons) Criminology year 2 (subject to conditions) Sport & Fitness Robert Gordon University BSc/BSc (Hons) Applied Sport and Exercise Science year 3 (subject to conditions)
University of Abertay BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise – leading to named routes year 3 (subject to conditions)
UHI (University of Highlands & Islands) BA(Hons) Sports Management Year 3 HND COACHING & DEVELOPING SPORT (Argyll College UHI, Inverness College UHI, Lews Castle College UHI - second and third year only, Moray College UHI, North Highland College UHI - second and third year only, Orkney College UHI - second and third year only, Perth College UHI, Shetland College UHI - second and third year only, West Highland College UHI) BA (Hons) Golf Management (North Highland College UHI – Dornoch) (subject to conditions)
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The Open University An HND can give up to 240 credits towards the 360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with Honours or 180 credits towards the 300 credit BA/BSc Open Degree An HND Coaching and Development Sport will give up to 240 credits towards BSc (Hons) Sport, Fitness and Coaching
AGREED PATHWAYS * University of Aberdeen BSc Exercise & Health Science year 2 (subject to conditions) Robert Gordon University BSc/BSc (Hons) Applied Sport and Exercise Science year 3 (subject to conditions)
University of Abertay BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise – leading to named routes year 3 (subject to conditions)
Queen Margaret University BSc (Hons) Physical Activity, Health and wellbeing year 3 (subject to conditions)
HND FITNESS, HEALTH & EXCERCISE UHI (University of Highland & Islands) BA Sports Management Year 3 (Argyll College UHI, Inverness College UHI, Lews Castle College UHI - second and third year only, Moray College UHI, North Highland College UHI - second and third year only, Orkney College UHI - second and third year only, Perth College UHI, Shetland College UHI - second and third year only, West Highland College UHI) (subject to conditions)
The Open University An HND can give up to 240 credits towards the 360 credit BA/BSc Open Degree with
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Honours or 180 credits towards the 300 credit BA/BSc Open Degree. An HND Fitness, Health & Exercise will give up to 240 credits towards BSc (Hons) Sport, Fitness and Coaching
AGREED PATHWAY * University of Aberdeen BSc Exercise & Health Science year 2 (subject to conditions)
∗ The ‘Agreed Pathways’ are agreements in place between the College and the Universities but not deemed as true articulation due to the year of entry onto the degree programme.
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84
NORTH EAST ARTICULATION HUB
Annual Report – Session 2014/15
The following report outlines activities undertaken during Session 2014/15 in line with the North East Articulation Hub Operational Plan 2013–2015, and the second year of extended funding for the regional Hubs.
The report confirms that the Hub successfully met targets for Session 2014/15, and that it has continued to support efforts to enhance student achievement and retention.
Section A details activities and impact of the Hub in table format and Section B provides a narrative portrait of activity and outcomes.
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Section A
Impact of Hub Activities
Institutional Planning and Performance and Infrastructure and
commitment partnership activity student retention • The Hub continues to demonstrate a commitment to articulation with advanced standing, working in partnership to develop and support individual articulation routes with guaranteed places for learners. • The comprehensive • Sustained and • Hub partners continue • Articulation is partnership between substantial growth to provide reciprocal aligned to the RGU and NESCol is of articulation institutional input to the university’s formalised in the entrants, and Outcome Agreement strategy, A Clear Associate College achievement of process. Future for a leading Memorandum of intake targets. university in a new Agreement and the Indeed, the Hub era and the college’s Degree Link exceeded the target Strategic Plan. Memorandum of for the number of
Agreement. articulating students Progress made over the • SFC targets for with 459 last twelve months articulation are • The formal articulating students (August 2014 to July embedded in both longstanding gaining entry to the 2015) to strategically North East Scotland relationship between university with full align and embed College (NESCol) the two institutions credit in Session articulation in all partner and RGU’s Outcome continues to secure 2014/15. institutions Agreements. a planned, shared
approach to In addition, the • Following SFC articulation within recruited 75 approval of a the North East of Additional Funded revised scheme, Scotland. Places in Session partners signed a 2014/15 provided an new agreement re- • A Memorandum of overall intake of confirming their • Completion of internal Agreement also 534 articulating commitment to monitoring via the exists between the students. providing 75 Subject Level Review university and Additional Funded Meeting Process and Dundee and Angus • Articulation targets Places in the region. Hub Management College. continue to be 2
embedded within Group; including review the university’s core of key performance number planning. indicator data specific to • The Hub • Activity to promote articulating students. Management Group, greater awareness comprising of Senior and uptake of • Development of • Development of Management teams further education planned, targeted and strategic projects from both and the articulation sustainable transition including Advanced, institutions, pathways into support via DegreePrep Foundation and continues to meet higher education to improve the Modern biannually to among groups that experience of Apprenticeships; the address hub activity. are traditionally articulating students. sharing of under-represented, approaches and • A Steering Group and specifically materials which meets thrice MD20 and MD40 support the annually to oversee students through development of activities undertaken Wider Access entrepreneurship under the auspices projects. skills within of the Associate students; College Agreement Partners engagement participation in the and facilitate with hub activity and STV Aberdeen discussion on planning project; and regional coherence mechanisms to and collaborative celebrate the opportunities longstanding between institutions. articulation (Including for partnership between example; the college and articulation, staff university. development, resources, joint course delivery). • The partnership has been enriched through the provision of 75 Additional Funded Places and considerable commitment from staff of both institutions was demonstrated in developing the revised Additional Funded Places model to best suit particular courses and cohorts and develop collaborative teaching between RGU and NESCol.
Course-specific collaborations significantly benefited learners in both the 3
college and university. Benefits included opportunities to: better understand vocational aspects of industry; facilitate the transition of students into the placement experience; work collaboratively on projects; share experiences and receive informal/formal peer support; utilise specialist knowledge at the college, enhance students’ technical proficiency at an earlier stage of the course. • The Hub continues to demonstrate commitment from both institutions to work in partnership to respond to regional agenda and represent the region at national level, examples of which include:
o Responding to the outcomes of Developing the Young Workforce and the expansion into Non-Advanced and Advanced Apprenticeships. The Hub recognises of the importance of meeting regional skills needs and retaining graduates within the region.
o Participation in a number of showcase opportunities to improve awareness of the work of the partnership and the opportunities which it helps create for learners in the region. In Session 2014/15 Hub contribution to these included presenting at a SFC and Scottish Government Implementation event for Developing the regionalisation work and Young Workforce and at the SFC Regional Showcase Event. agenda o A cross-institution event to share experiences of approaches and activities which support the development of entrepreneurship skills within students. A number of opportunities were identified for partners to work collaboratively and colleagues agreed there were benefits in meeting twice annually to augment existing activity.
o Contribution to Inter-Hub meetings
o The desire to maximise regional resources.
• Institutional commitment to enhancing the student experience and satisfaction for articulating students in both institutions and is evident in the increase in overall achievement rate for all full-time Stage 3 articulating students in Session 2014/15.(Please refer: Retention and Attainment below)
Enhancement to the • The provision of planned and sustainable student support, at key points in the learner journey, remains a student experience and fundamental activity of the Hub: satisfaction for articulating students. Pre-application The DegreeLink branding concept remains the main marketing and recruitment tool for Hub pathways. Considerable work has been undertaken by the college in re-developing the Degree Link website and associated marketing materials eg. Degree Link Brochure.
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The college heavily promoted the DegreeLink brand and Associate Student Scheme to both current and prospective students and once again recruited previous articulating students to promote the Associate Student Scheme within the college via ‘pop-ups’ and presentations; to promote articulation in the region by attending school careers events etc.; and to showcase the activity of the Hub at national level. Registrations to the Associate Student Scheme increased once again during Session 2014/15, to nearly 300.
Post-application/pre-entry The package of transition support, known as DegreePrep, continues to be enhanced and aligned with course work to ensure relevant and timely support.
Planned use of social media to augment the Associate Offer and further support transition and retention. Following student feedback from the annual Transition Survey, The ‘Coming from College’ Facebook Group was launched to encourage articulating students to engage with each other and with the university, helping to address issues of socialisation as reported by some articulating students.
A number of subject areas have embedded tailored sessions for articulating cohorts as part of their core inductions, and specific Advanced Entry Tutors continue to support articulating students in certain courses.
Post enrolment All students have access to core Study Skills and Access Unit resources on an on-going basis. The Unit provides advice and guidance on a wide range of topics from managing time effectively to critical thinking and presentation skills. Tutors offer one-to-one appointments tailored to students’ individual needs, or small group sessions and in conjunction with academics deliver targeted course interventions as requested.
• The Hub has facilitated effective cross working between the support services of institutions for the benefit of learners and the academic experience:
An online enrolment process has been o developed for the Associate Student Scheme resulting in a shorter turnaround time for the application and enrolment process and immediate access to online resources following enrolment.
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o Close partnership working has allowed promotion of the Associate Student Scheme on Blackboard, the college’s VLE. Links to the Degree Link website receive high visibility on the homepage, and students identified as being on relevant courses have information about the Scheme on their personal profile page. • Uptake in a small • Hub funding is due to be number of subject- discontinued after areas is in decline Session 2015/16, and Issues/challenges going and recruitment is as such a key activity forward to AY2014-15 expected to be will be maintaining and and beyond. For challenging ie. embedding articulation example, additional Communications, work-strands within the articulation places, Tourism, Computing university approach to supply and demand and Nursing (Mental widening access. issues, successful Health). Increased student applications provision of from HN courses – articulation addressing KPI2.3 opportunities from number and percentage HEIs nationally, of successful course whilst providing applications from more choice for HNC/D, etc. learners, may result in more choosing to leave the region.
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Section B
Partnership and articulation routes
A. Please list the active partners (college/university/employer/other) of the articulation hub.
The North East Articulation Hub comprises Robert Gordon University and North East Scotland College, with the university acting as the lead institution.
Mutually, Hub institutions engage with a range of stakeholders both within the region and nationally including:
• Local authorities • NHS • Schools and the ASPIRENorth Schools for Higher Education Programme • Skills Development Scotland and Sector Skills Councils • Economic fora such as Opportunity North East and Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce • Professional, regulatory and statutory bodies and employers • SFC funded projects such as Back on Course
B. Please provide detail of the confirmed and planned guaranteed/formal routes, and any non-guaranteed/informal articulation routes within the articulation hub.
Hub partners remain committed to supporting articulation in the region and continue to forge a comprehensive partnership as formalised in the Associate College Memorandum of Agreement and the Degree Link Memorandum of Agreement. Partner institutions continue to offer guaranteed articulation to learners in the North-East region, following successful completion of a relevant HNC/D of a degree-linked course.
The establishment of the new regional college has provided the opportunity to harmonise routes so that only single agreements per HN/course exist for 2015 entry. Notwithstanding a small number of changes to courses offered, the number of routes available to Hub students was maintained at 34 thereby providing substantial continuity for learners planning to articulate.
RGU has a similar formal agreement with Dundee and Angus College which offers guaranteed articulation for a significant number of routes where Course Level Agreements have been signed, bringing the total number of routes provided by the university to 55.
In addition to the above strategic partnerships the university considers applications from all Scottish colleges.
Furthermore, a Course Entry Agreement exists for specific HN courses delivered by partner colleges of the University of Highlands and Islands, whereby advanced entry may be considered subject to places being available and any academic requirements being met.
Although the university remains the largest recipient of HN students from North East Scotland College, the college also has formalised progression arrangements with several other universities facilitating a wider range of opportunities for students within the region.
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C. Please provide detail on number of articulating students by subject area (using JACS)
Active Non- Total Active Hub Hub Non-Hub Subject Hub Active Total Routes Students Students Routes Routes B. Subjec ts allied to Medic ine 2 2 4 15 NULL 15 C. Biologic al Sc ienc es 2 2 4 11 8 19 F. Physic al Sc ienc es 1 1 2 1 1 2 H. Engineering 5 1 6 50 3 53 I. Computer Sciences 3 3 6 47 22 69 K. Architecture, Building and Planning 1 2 2 2 4 L. Soc ial studies 1 3 4 33 6 39 M. Law 1 1 2 46 NULL 46 N. Business and Administrative Studies 7 8 15 101 46 147 P. Mass Communication and Documentation 2 2 4 43 3 46 W. Creative Arts and Design 2 3 5 14 5 19 All 26 27 53 363 96 459
During the reporting period the overall number of articulating entrants from partner colleges to the university continued to increase; representing a positive endorsement of the formal routes and guaranteed places available.
The most active subject areas are Business and Administrative Studies, Engineering, Computer Science, Law and Mass Communication and Documentation. Within these areas a number of articulation routes attract substantial cohorts with twenty or more entrants annually. Notwithstanding these, remaining subject areas generally also attract sizable entrants with the exception of Biological Sciences. In this case discussion between course teams indicates that students elect to progress to courses not offered by the university rather than to articulate (e.g. Chemistry).
Performance
A. What was the target total number of articulating students entering with full credit (as per the SFC definition) in AY 2014-15?
The baseline target for Session 2014/15 entry is noted below:
Articulation Additional Funded Places Total 315 75 390
B. What was the actual total number of articulating students entering with full credit in AY 2014-15? The baseline target for Session 2014/15 entry was exceeded as noted below:
Articulation Additional Funded Places Actual 459 75 534
The Hub is pleased to report the significant overachievement of target numbers in 2014/15.
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Retention and Achievement
Please provide statistical detail on the retention and achievement records for articulating students in your hub/institution for AY 2014/15
Full analysis of retention and achievement data will be undertaken when these data are made available via the national articulation database.
On this basis the university has used internal student achievement reporting to analyse achievement rates among articulating students in 2014/15. This analysis indicates the following:
Student Achievement Rates (SARs) for all articulating students in Session 2014/15 increased from 88% to 89.9%, helping to close the attainment gap between articulating and continuing cohorts as SARs of continuing students remained stable.
The overall achievement rate for all full-time Stage 3 articulating students in Session 2014/15 increased from 82.4% to 86.5%, in line with the continuing cohort where achievement rates increased from 92.2% to 93.8%.
The achievement rate for full-time Stage 3 articulating students from Hub partner colleges increased slightly from 82.5% to 85.3%, but was slightly lower than the overall achievement rate for articulating students.
The overall achievement rate for all full-time Stage 2 articulating students in Session 2014/15 decreased from 88.1% to 80.9%, this represents a change of six students. Positively, however, the achievement rate for articulating students from Hub partner colleges increased from 77.8% to 78.9%, demonstrating the value of the Hub.
SARs of Stage 3 articulating students are particularly high across the following subject areas:
o Management (Including Fashion Management, Management with HR, Management with Marketing) o Communications (Public Relations and Events) o Creative Arts (Photography, Fashion and Textile Design, 3D Design, Painting) o Surveying o Electronic and Electrical and Engineering o Social Sciences o Biomedical Science and Bioscience with Biomedical Sciences
A small number of courses previously identified as requiring additional transition support have seen improvements in SARs following the introduction of pre-sessional DegreePrep Programmes, and work continues to ensure the content of each subject-specific programme is aligned to the needs of each cohort.
Only one subject area, Accounting and Finance, remains a concern with regards to attainment and retention. A range of targeted support has been put in place over recent years by both partner institutions, and partners continue to consider means of better preparing HN students for study at university level and ensuring a smooth transition.
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Financial report
Income: RGU / Hub Infrastructure £226,000 North East Scotland College £174,000 Total £400,000
Expenditure: RGU / Hub Infrastructure 2014/15 Staff Costs – infrastructure £103000 Staff costs – course and subject £15000 Staff costs – student support £24000 Teaching Materials £13000 Student Transition and Support £20500 Student travel and subsistence £3000 Staff travel / subsistence £2500 Shared course delivery costs £36000 Marketing £9000 TOTAL £226000
North East Scotland College Staff costs - infrastructure £55000 Staff costs – course and subject £37800 Teaching Materials £42750 Marketing / events £21800 Shared course delivery costs £14300 Staff Travel / subsistence £2100 Student Travel / Subsistence £250 TOTAL £174000
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Agenda Item 6.4
Meeting of 19 July 2016 Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee
School/College Links Activity
1. Introduction 1.1. The purpose of this paper is to advise the Committee of the status of School/College Links activity.
2. Background 2.1. School/College Links activity includes the range of programmes that support the College in meeting the objectives outlined in Scotland’s Youth Employment Strategy - Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) and implementation of Foundation Apprenticeships (FAs).
2.2. Regional activity is governed by partnership agreements in place with Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council.
2.3. A revised partnership agreement is currently being drafted and will be subject to partner consultation.
3. Current Status Report 3.1. The Regional Outcome Agreement School/College Links activity target of 4,000 credits for AY2015-16 has been achieved.
3.2. A breakdown of courses being provided to school pupils in AY2016-17 is attached as Appendix 1 to this paper.
3.3. 1,375 places have been offered on 75 courses. Anticipated uptake will be around 1,200 enrolments, which compares to 900 enrolments in AY2015-16, a 36% increase in activity overall.
3.4. Courses offered range from Supported Learning courses in preparing young people for the Full Time Preparation for Work Course, to programmes delivering SCQF Level 7 HN Units in Business.
3.5. New activity for AY2016-17 includes delivery of four Foundation Apprenticeship frameworks – Mechanical Engineering, Children and Young People, ICT Hardware and Health and Social Care – to five groups of pupils.
3.6. Mapping and development of defined progression pathways from FAs is underway. It is anticipated that agreement will be reached to recognise FAs as entry criteria for Primary Teaching and Nursing Degree programmes. The Mechanical Engineering and ICT FAs have already been confirmed as qualifying criteria for entry to relevant degree programmes at RGU. Other national pathways have been identified by SDS.
3.7. Additional new subject areas will support pathways to local employment for young people and include Laboratory Science, Maritime Skills, Business, Working in Communities, Built Environment, Creative Textiles, Photography and Computing Science.
3.8. In order to manage the increased activity levels the Online Application system has been developed to manage the School/College links applications for AY2016-17 activity.
4. Recommendation 4.1. It is recommended that the Committee note the current status of the School/College Links activity.
Rob Wallen John Davidson Principal Vice Principal - Learning & Quality
95 96 Agenda Item 6.4 Appendix 1 School Links 20 16-‐17 Activity Title Time Local Places Places Course Location Available Authority Anticipated Enrolments ICT Shire NPA Computing (Year 2) Tues 1pm - 3.20pm (Blended Learning) & Fri 8.50am - 11.35am Mintlaw Academy 20 15 Shire Higher Computing Science Wed 9.15am - 3.15pm Ellon College Campus 14 14 City Higher Computing Science Tues & Thurs 2pm - 4.30pm Aberdeen City Campus 20 23 City NPA SCQF 6 Digital Media Tues & Thurs 2pm - 4.30pm Aberdeen City Campus 16 14 City Foundation Apprenticeship ICT Hardware Two afternoons per week tbc 2pm - 5pm Aberdeen City Campus 10 TBC
Engineering City NC SCQF 6 Mechanical Engineering Mon1.45pm - 3.45pm and Thurs 11am - 1pm and 1.45pm - 2.45pm Dyce Academy 15 8 City SfW N5 Engineering Mon 10.55am - 12.55pm & Wed 8.35am - 10.35am Bucksburn Academy 15 15 City SfW N5 Engineering Tues & Thurs 2pm - 4.30pm Altens Campus 15 14 Shire SfW National 5 - Young Women into Energy Thurs and Fri 0850 - 1130 Fraserburgh Academy 14 11 Shire SfW National 5 - Young Women into Energy Mon 0840 - 1220 and Tues 1220 - 1540 Peterhead Academy 14 12 Shire SfW National 5 - Young Women into Energy Mon 1220 - 1540 and Tues 0840 - 1220 Peterhead Academy 14 13 Shire SfW National 5 - Young Women into Energy Wed 1050 - 1500 Turriff Academy 14 12 Shire SfW National 5 - Young Women into Energy Fri 0905 - 1545 Gordon Schools 14 13 Shire SfW National 5 - Young Women into Energy Fri 0910 - 1455 Banff Academy 14 15 Shire SfW National 5 - Young Women into Energy Tuesday 0850 - 1225 Mintlaw Academy 14 14 Shire SfW N5 Engineering Mon & Tue 8.50am - 11.30am Fraserburgh Campus 15 16 Shire SfW N5 Engineering Tue 9.30am – 12.20pm & Fri 12.45pm – 2.50pm Peterhead Academy 15 14 Shire SfW N5 Engineering Wed 9.15am - 3.15pm Ellon College Campus 15 16 Shire SfW N5 Engineering Friday 9.15am - 2.45pm Fraserburgh Campus 15 6 Shire SfW N5 Engineering (Shared Delivery) Fri 8.50am - 11.35am Mintlaw Academy 15 10 Shire SfW N5 Laboratory Science Friday 9.15am - 2.45pm Fraserburgh Campus 15 5 Shire NC+ Mechanical Engineering Infill On request Fraserburgh Campus 5 1 Shire FA Mechanical Engineering Wednesday 8.50am - 4pm Fraserburgh Campus 10 TBC
Science Shire SfW N5 Laboratory Science Friday 9.15am - 2.45pm Fraserburgh Campus 15 5
Creative Industries City NPA SCQF 5 Photography Mon & Wed 2pm - 4.30pm Aberdeen City Campus 20 17 Shire Higher Photography Wed 8.30am - 11.30am Ellon College Campus 15 17 City NPA SCQF 5/6 Creative Textiles and Garment Manufacture Mon & Wed 2pm - 4.30pm Aberdeen City Campus 15 11
Hair and Beauty Shire C&G Lv 1 Hairdressing Tues 1.00pm – 3.20pm & Fri 9.00am – 11.15am Phead Academy (Mintlaw Group) 16 13 Shire C&G Lv 1 Hairdressing Tue 9.30am – 12.20pm & Fri 12.45pm – 2.50pm Peterhead Academy 16 16 Shire C&G Lv 1 Hairdressing Friday 9.15am - 2.45pm Turriff Academy 12 12 Shire C&G Lv 1 Hairdressing Friday 9.15am - 2.45pm Fraserburgh Campus 16 12 City C&G Lv 1 Hairdressing Mon & Wed 2pm - 4.30pm Aberdeen City Campus 18 24 Shire C&G Lv 1 Hairdressing Wed 9.30am - 3.30pm Aberdeen City Campus 18 23 City C&G Lv 1 Beauty Therapy Tues & Thurs 2pm - 4.30pm Aberdeen City Campus 18 23 Shire C&G Lv 1 Beauty Therapy Wed 9.30am - 3.30pm Aberdeen City Campus 18 18 Shire C&G Lv 1 Beauty Therapy Friday 9.15am - 2.45pm Fraserburgh Campus 16 18
Early Education and Healthcare Shire SfW N4 EE & Childcare Friday 9.15am - 2.45pm Fraserburgh Campus 20 15 Shire SfW N5 EE & Childcare Mon & Tue 8.50am - 11.30am Fraserburgh Campus 20 16 City SfW N4 EE & Childcare Tues & Thurs 2pm - 4.30pm Aberdeen City Campus 20 22 Shire SfW N5 EE & Childcare Wed 9.30am - 3.30pm Aberdeen City Campus 20 18 City SfW N5 EE & Childcare Mon & Wed 2pm - 4.30pm Aberdeen City Campus 20 8 City SfW N4 EE & Childcare Tues & Thurs 2pm - 4.30pm Aberdeen City Campus 20 21 Shire SfW N5 Health Sector Friday 9.15am - 2.45pm Fraserburgh Campus 15 13 City SfW N5 Health Sector Mon & Wed 2pm - 4.30pm Aberdeen City Campus 15 15 City Foundation Apprenticeship Children and Young People Two afternoons per week tbc 2pm - 5pm Aberdeen City Campus 10 TBC Shire Foundation Apprenticeship Children and Young People Wednesday 8.50am - 4pm Fraserburgh Campus 10 TBC City Foundation Apprenticeship Health and Social Care Tues & Thurs 2pm - 5pm Aberdeen City Campus 10 TBC
Construction City Nat 4 SfW Construction Crafts (Construction Academy) Tues & Thurs 2pm - 4.30pm Altens Campus 15 12 City SfW National 5 Construction Crafts Mon & Wed 2pm - 4.30pm Hazlehead Academy 15 14 Shire SfW National 5 Construction Crafts Wed 9.30am - 3.30pm Altens Campus 15 10 Shire SfW National 5 Construction Crafts Friday 9.15am - 2.45pm Fraserburgh Campus 15 16 City NC SCQF 6 Units Built Environment Tues & Thurs 2pm - 4.30pm Hazlehead Academy 20 7
Automotive City IMI Intro to Vehicle Technology Mon & Wed 2pm - 4.30pm Altens Campus 15 15 Shire IMI Intro to Vehicle Technology Wed 9.30am - 3.30pm Altens Campus 15 16 Shire IMI Intro to Vehicle Technology Friday 9.15am - 2.45pm Fraserburgh Campus 14 14 Shire IMI Intro to Vehicle Technology Friday 9.15am - 2.45pm Fraserburgh Campus 14 14
Business City NPA SCQF 5 Business Tues & Thurs 2pm - 4.30pm Aberdeen Grammar School 20 11 City HNC Business Units Tues & Thurs 2pm - 4.30pm Aberdeen City Campus 16 16
Sport and Leisure City NPA SCQF 6 Exercise and Fitness Leadership Tues & Thurs 2pm - 4.30pm Aberdeen City Campus 20 20 Shire NPA SCQF 6 Exercise and Fitness Leadership Wed 9.30am - 3.30pm Aberdeen City Campus 20 21
Maritime Shire SfW N5 Maritime Friday 9.15am - 2.45pm Scottish Maritime Academy 12 6
Social Sciences and Supported Learning City Higher Psychology Mon 1.35pm - 4.35pm Bridge of Don Academy 30 21 City Higher Psychology Tues 1.35pm - 4.35pm Bucksburn Academy 30 23 Shire Higher Psychology Wed 8.30am-11.30am Ellon Academy 30 22 City Higher Psychology Wed 2pm - 5pm Aberdeen City Campus 30 25 City Higher Psychology Thurs 2pm - 5pm Aberdeen City Campus 30 35 City Higher Psychology Fri 1.15pm-4.15pm Cults Academy 30 18 City Higher Psychology Mon 2pm - 5pm Aberdeen City Campus 30 27 City Higher Psychology Tues 1.35pm - 4.35pm Oldmachar Academy 30 28 City Higher Sociology Tues 2pm - 5pm Aberdeen City Campus 30 34 Shire Higher Sociology Wed 9am - 12pm Turriff Academy 20 10 Shire SQA Units SCQF 5 Intro to Working in the Community Wed 9.30am - 3.30pm Aberdeen City Campus 20 23 Shire Preparation for Work Supported Learning School Link Thursday 10am - 3pm Fraserburgh Campus 15 15 City and Shire Preparation for Work Supported Learning School Link Fri 9.30am - 3.30pm Aberdeen City Campus 87 87 Shire Transition Link Course for ASD Learners (Jan - Mar) Tues 9am - 3.30pm Aberdeen City Campus 15 0
Total 1374 1158
Agenda Item 6.5
Meeting of 19 July 2016 Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee
Students’ Association Audit Outcome
1. Introduction 1.1 The purpose of this paper is to provide the Committee with information relating to the Audit of North East Scotland College Students’ Association for the 2014 to 2015 tax year.
2 Background and Context 2.1 At its meeting on 26 January 2016, the Committee was notified of issues that arose in relation to financial records for 2014-15. These issues have resulted in the accounts of the Students’ Association being qualified.
3 Current Position 3.1 The Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 2015 have now been signed off. These were submitted to OSCR and receipt acknowledged on 25 May 2016. These are attached as Appendix 1 to this paper.
3.2 Responses to the Management Letter have been completed and submitted to Johnson Carmichael, signed by the Trustee Chair. These are attached as Appendix 2 to this paper.
3.3 At the time of writing this paper a “Lessons Learned” report was under preparation for OSCR based on the management letter responses. This will conclude business in relation to the accounts for that period.
3.4 Johnson Carmichael will shortly begin the audit of the March 2016 Accounts. These are due for submission before December 2016. Johnson Carmichael have advised that there is still likely to a Qualification on the accounts for 2015-16 as a legacy of the issues raised in the 2014-15 audit.
4 Recommendation 4.1 It is recommended that the Committee note the information contained in this paper.
Rob Wallen Elaine Hart Principal Vice Principal – Human Resources
99 100 Agenda Item 6.5 Appendix 1
120 Agenda Item 6.5 Appendix 2
The Trustees North East Scotland College Students Association North East Scotland College Gallowgate ABERDEEN AB25 IBN Our ref: JM/KB/ABEC04
17 May 2016
Dear Sirs
REPORT TO TRUSTEES
During the course of our audit for the year ended 31 March 2015 a number of matters arose which we consider should be brought to your attention.
Accompanying this letter is a memorandum noting these points together with any recommendations we have for possible improvements which could be made.
These matters came to light during the course of our normal audit tests which are designed to assist us in forming our opinion on the financial statements. Our tests may not necessarily disclose all relevant matters and should not be relied upon to do so. However, if any matter did come to our attention during our audit tests, we would of course, inform you immediately.
The points noted in the accompanying memorandum have been prepared for the sole use of the trustees they must not be disclosed to a third party, or quoted or referred to, without our prior written consent. No responsibility is assumed by Johnston Carmichael to any other party.
We would be grateful if you could enter the charity's comments against each point under the "comments" column of the memorandum and return it to us in due course.
Finally, we would like to express our thanks to all members of the company's staff who assisted us in carrying out our work.
Yours faithfully
Johnston Carmichael LLP
NORTH EAST SCOTLAND COLLEGE STUDENTS ASSOCIATION
POINTS NOTED DURING THE COURSE OF OUR AUDIT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2015
POINTS NOTED, IMPLICATIONS COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
A EXPECTED MODIFICATIONS TO AUDITORS REPORT
With respect to the areas noted below the audit evidence available to us was limited. Owing to the nature of the charity’s records we were unable to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence on the following areas;
• the accuracy, completeness and This is recognised and action now taken in classification of non-grant income; that monthly accounts are submitted to accountant and Income checked against till receipts reconciled with bus ticket sales records/Student Card sales records /stocks sales records and sums banked. We also ensure that we are holding records of Income from NUS Extra Card sales via credit notes. Bank statements are checked on a monthly basis so that all Income is identified, recorded and evidenced.
• the authorisation, accuracy and This is acknowledged and all items of classification of certain expenditure; expenditure are now recorded on expense forms and approved by Student Association Manager. Any items of expenditure exceeding £500 are to be approved by the Trustee Board. There is now no access to petty cash for Sabbaticals or other officers. The bank card is in possession of Student Association Manager who manages all on line banking .Any contracts entered into require approval of the Trustee Board.
POINTS NOTED, IMPLICATIONS COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
• The existence of stock with a It is acknowledged that there was lack of carrying value of £3,543, as we did control over stock. No further stock has been not observe the counting of the ordered. Stock sales go through the tills and physical stock at 31 March 2015 and are then recorded monthly against the stock were not able to obtain sufficient spreadsheet on a monthly basis .It has been appropriate evidence regarding stock agreed by Trustees that no stock will be sold quantities by using other audit through the SA website. For future stock procedures; intake it has been agreed that stock will be bought on demand and payment made in advance from purchaser.
• The existence of the cash balance Income and expenditure is checked monthly with a carrying value of £2,086, as against bank statements. Items of income we did not observe the counting of and expenditure are submitted to the cash balance at 31 March 2015 accountants on monthly basis with and were not able to obtain sufficient breakdown supplied by SAM. appropriate audit evidence by using other audit procedures.
B WEAKNESSES IN ACCOUNTING AND CONTROL SYSTEM
Incoming resources In the preparation of the accounts, Gardner This is acknowledged. All sales now go CA had to make assumptions regarding through tills. Till receipts are submitted to income of £18,426 that could not be accountant on monthly basis. Credit notes identified on till reports. from sources of Income are kept in hard copy and submitted to accountant. Banking is done on at least a fortnightly basis.
POINTS NOTED, IMPLICATIONS COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
We were not able to obtain records of the This is acknowledged. Student Cards sales number of Student Cards sold during the now go through tills. Any request for Student year. Card sales paid directly into the bank account are made known to SAM and identified in monthly statements (students who cannot attend campus during opening hours) This options is used on a limited basis and card only issued when SAM acknowledges payment has been received.
There is a risk that income is not complete, Agreed that’s this was previously the case accurate or classified correctly in the Income is now recorded in several ways .In financial statements. hard copy in Income/Expenditure Folder kept by SAM , on electronic spreadsheet and on paper record form . This is also checked against bank statements and supporting evidence provided monthly to accountants.
We would recommend that all till reports are Till reports are reconciled on a monthly kept and are reconciled to the banking basis. Paper copies of till reports are stored reports on a regular basis. in file in paper copy by Sabbatical Officer. There is no till in use on Fraserburgh campus.
Expenditure
We identified instances where expense This is acknowledged. No expenses are forms were not approved in advance of the reimbursed until expense forms are reimbursement taking place. submitted.
A selection of expense forms could not be This is acknowledged. Expense forms are obtained for the year. retained in hard copy in Income and Expenditure Folder held by current and previous SAMs.( 2015/2016)
During the year £900 was paid to a staff This is acknowledged and these assets member for the purchase of two iPads and cannot be retrieved and cash no receipt was received. These assets reimbursement has not been sought as could not be traced and we could not identify liability is unable to be ascertained. In if the cash had been returned to the current situation it is clear to whom any Association. devices belong, the whereabouts of these devices and Insurance is in place for both iPads made available to current Sabbaticals.
POINTS NOTED, IMPLICATIONS COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
There is a risk that the resources of the It is acknowledged that this may have been Association may not be being used for the the case as expenditure was not recorded or correct purposes and the allocation of approved. Payment of expenses and items expenses in the accounts may be of expenditure must be approved by SAM or inaccurate. Trustee Board as appropriate and should be itemised against Income and Expenditure Categories and approved for Association purposes. Only SAM has access to bank card and to online banking. There is no petty cash available.
We would recommend that all capital All items of expenditure are currently expenditure is appropriately authorised prior authorised by SAM although procedures to the purchase being made. All expense now state that items over £100 must be forms should be authorised prior to approved by SAM, items over £500 by reimbursement and all receipts attached to Trustee Board. the form. All contracts entered into to be approved by Trustee Board.
Wages
It was noted during the audit that four This is acknowledged. One of the members members of staff who had resigned from the of staff has now paid these sums back in full. Association were paid sums totalling The other had agreed to do so but has failed £11,022 to which they were not entitled. to do so by the deadline agreed , the The majority of the balance has not been Association are now taking legal advice re recovered. recovery of this debt.
As some of the above overpayments were It is acknowledged that paid Sabbaticals are made to Trustees the Association should also trustees and therefore in receipt of pay particular attention to any payments wages. This has been identified in the made to Trustees given the responsibilities accounts submission to OSCR. All parties of Trustees and the heightened scrutiny of now involved in the payment of wages to such payments. Sabbaticals are aware of close scrutiny needed. Business Office, HR and SAM are currently overseeing wages paid and start and end dates of employment.
We recommend that the payroll is reviewed See above, this action has now been taken. monthly to ensure payments are only made A wages forecast has been provided by to staff currently employed. Also procedures Business Office to SAM and agreed and should be put in place to ensure that the recognised as accurate. College HR department are updated on a timely basis of any changes to staffing to ensure their payroll records are up to date.
POINTS NOTED, IMPLICATIONS COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Two staff members were allowed to make This has been acknowledged by HR as an payments to the pension scheme run by the oversight of pension rules and confusion College when they did not meet the correct over the status of Sabbaticals employed by criteria. the Student Association in its status as an Unincorporated Organisation with charitable status but payments made through the college wages systems. Members have now been advised of the situation. HR are taking advice from LGPS to recover payments made. Payments will be returned to employees and on costs to Association budget. Legal advice is being sought as to necessary pension provision to be made for those employed in temporary Sabbatical positions and if and when necessary an appropriate pension provider (i.e. NEST) will be sought.
We recommend that procedures are put in Student Association staff will not be entered place to ensure only those staff eligible are into the LGPS scheme. Those employed by entered into the pension scheme the college who meet LGPS criteria i.e. current Student Association Manager (SAM) will continue to be paid through LGPS.
Some sabbatical officers do not have a It is not clear which of the Sabbatical contract of employment with the College or Officers for 2014-2015 did not have a the Association. contract in place. Both current Sabbaticals do have a Contract of Employment. Contracts of Employment are to be reviewed with HR for incoming and returning Sabbaticals for 2016/2017.
We would recommend that all staff have a See above signed contract in place.
Stock
We were unable to reconcile the stock held This is acknowledged. All stock sold will go at 31 March 2015 due to no records being through tills. All till receipts are kept in hard kept of stock sales made. copy. Till receipts are also submitted to accountant on a monthly basis. A spreadsheet of stock held is kept and sales recorded monthly.
POINTS NOTED, IMPLICATIONS COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
We also noted that there may be some items This is acknowledged and any donations of of stock that were given away but not stock or spoiled stock will be recorded and removed from the stock listing. spoiled stock kept. Any donations of stock (outgoing) will be approved in advance by SAM and any incoming donations recorded by the Sabbatical receiving donations unless monetary and these will be approved by SAM/Trustee Board.
There is a risk that stock is overstated or This is acknowledged and systems in place that sales have not been recorded correctly. as described above to rectify this.
Stock should be recorded at the lower of This is acknowledged cost or net realisable value. Stock items were recorded at the sale price in the stock listings.
We would recommend that records are kept This will now be done and system are in of all stock movements in the year and that place to capture this. stock is recorded at the lower of cost or net realisable value.
Cash
Due to insufficient records in order to It is acknowledged that Income was not reconcile the cash balance a write off of sufficiently recorded. Income is now tracked £6,468 was required to arrive at the year through on line banking and sources end balance. identified and evidenced to accountants.
In order to verify the cash balance at the This is acknowledged and banking is now year end we counted cash onsite at 23 done at least fortnightly but more frequently October 2015 and attempted to reconcile during times of increased takings. this back to 31 March 2015. From this work we identified that there was significant cash balance held on the premises rather than being banked regularly.
We would recommend that procedures are Both recommendations have now been implemented to bank cash on a more taken on board – accounts submitted regular basis. monthly, till receipts and takings reconciled, We also recommend that all records are bank statements checked on monthly basis kept and are reconciled to the cash balance and narrative provided to accountant. on a regular basis. Banking is required to be done at least fortnightly.
POINTS NOTED, IMPLICATIONS COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
C QUALITATIVE ASPECTS OF ENTITY'S ACCOUNTING PRACTICES/FINANCIAL REPORTING
As noted above there are a number of areas This is acknowledged and all in which sufficient accounting records were recommendations have now been not maintained. addressed and are referred to in the comments contained in this report.
D OTHER MATTERS (INCLUDING MATTERS IN OTHER ISAs)
None.
Agenda Item 6.6
Meeting of 19 July 2016 Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee
Students’ Association – Review and Budget
1. Introduction 1.1 The purpose of this paper is to allow the Committee to consider issues relating to the NESCol Students’ Association.
2. Background 2.1 A review of the NESCol Students’ Association was carried out by NUS Scotland. A copy of the Review Report is provided at Appendix 1.
2.2 This report was considered by the NESCol Students’ Association Trustee Board on 03 June 2016, and following the meeting the Chair of the Trustee Board produced a paper which she has asked be presented to the Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee of the College Board. The paper is attached as Appendix 2.
2.3 Along with the paper, the Chair of the Trustee Board has proved a revised budget for 2016-17 which she asked be brought to the attention of the Committee. A copy of the revised budget is attached as Appendix 3.
3. Context 3.1 It will be noted that the paper from the Chair of the Trustee Board raises issues relating the financial position of the Association. The NUS Report refers to the suggestion from the Scottish Funding Council that £100k be allocated for a College Students’ Association and the paper from the Chair of the Trustee Board draws attention to this, and to the fact that the revised budget forecasts a deficit of some £6k. The budget allocated to the Students’ Association by this Committee was based on an understanding of the Association’s needs at that time, and did take into account the fact that the £20k of revenue from selling student cards that had been obtained in previous would not in future be available to the Association. The paper from the Chair of the Trustee Board provides additional information that the Committee may want to take into consideration.
3.2 It will also be noted that the paper from the Chair of the Trustee Board also raises issues about the possibility of the College providing additional support, specifically in relation to finance. Up till now the position adopted has been that the Association should be responsible for managing its own financial transactions. The Committee may wish to consider whether it is happy with the extent of support provided to the Association. In this context the Committee may wish to consider what is the appropriate balance between allowing autonomy and providing support (and therefore to some extent exercising control).
3.3 Further it will be noted that the paper from the Chair of the Trustee Board raises the issue of the charitable status of the Association. The NUS Report notes that charitable status is a “positive (albeit longer term) goal” for students associations, but questions whether it is the best arrangement for the NESCol Students’ Association at the present time. The Committee may wish to consider the status of the Association. In doing so the Committee may wish to consider the extent to which losing its separate status and being absorbed into the College may have an impact on the Association and on the College. In particular it should be noted that if the Association is no longer a distinct entity separate from the College, the officials of the Association would uniquely be employees of the College by virtue of an election process and not a selection process. 4. Recommendation 4.1 It is recommended that the Committee consider the issues raised in the attached documents and decide whether any review of existing arrangements is required.
Rob Wallen Elaine Hart Principal Vice Principal Human Resources 129 130 Agenda Item 6.6 Appendix 1
Review of North East Scotland College Students’ Association
April 2016
Mike Williamson Development Consultant NUS Scotland
Contents
Page
ac ound
Perspectives on the value of the students’ association
Purpose of the students’ association
annin
Accounta i it
Autono
undin and sustaina i it
a ita e status and t ustee oa d
Student Association ana e o e
Sa atica o es
eo a
Sa atica o in e ations i
ass e esentati es
A endi A eco endations
A endi uestions as ed o inte ie ees
Background
In February 2016 North East Scotland College Students’ Association had little institutional e or ithin its personnel he t o e ers of staff dealin ith the students’ association had little a of discernin ho ell the students’ association at ol as perfor in and approached cotland for an e ternal perspective n discussin the fra e or and self evaluation tool ith the t o e ional Presidents and ichelle ollie one of the chairs of the rustee oard and the ur ent need to find a a for the association to effectivel i ple ent the fra e or it as a reed that an appropriate startin point ould e for i e illia son evelop ent onsultant at cotland to carr out a revie of the students’ association
The purpose of this review is not to form a judgement about the students’ association ut rather to e plore difficulties hich the association has faced in recent ti es and produce reco endations for consideration the association and the colle e n readin this report one i ht assu e that a ud e ent ould e over hel in l ne ative ut that assu ption ould e incorrect e have een as ed to loo at particular areas ecause the staff and officers involved in the students’ association feel that there have een challen es in those areas and as a result uch of hat e have outlined in this report is not holl positive However the students’ association should be commended for many aspects of its activit includin its volunteer en a e ent and retention its en a e ent in national education priorities and its approacha le and elco in environ ent
he revie as structured around the ra e or for the evelop ent of tron and Effective College Students’ Associations in Scotland n consultation ith irst and arena as ell as llison a ont tudent ssociation ana er and laine art ice Principal u an esources it as decided that the revie ould focus on several areas of the ra e or
ccounta ilit overnance and e ocrac tudent ssociation ana er role ustaina le esources Perspectives on the value of the students’ association alue and pact undin ustaina le esources rustee oard overnance and e ocrac Plannin overnance and e ocrac alue and pact elationship ith colle e structures hapin the ife and or of the olle e
e part of this revie too place throu h intervie s ith several e sta eholders and participants of the students’ association on the th and th arch he revie included a visit to the ca pus in raser ur h
arch th a llison a ont tudent ssociation ana er laine art ead of u an esources senior ana er ith responsi ilit for the students’ association c ole and hris volunteer e ecutive office e ers at raser ur h d irst nderson e ional President
arch th e o allen olle e Principal f illian riffin ead of tudent ervices e er of student association’s trustee oard for erl colle e manager with responsibility for the students’ association
g avid former egional resident member of e ec at allowgate and ouise member of trustee board and volunteer in allowgate association office h arena etherall egional resident i ichelle Collie chair of trustee board Chief E ecutive at obert ordon niversity Students’ nion ivian and Ale volunteer e ecutive office members at allowgate Ale is also a member of NUS Scotland’s Scottish Executive Committee.
All were as ed similar uestions in their interviews although in some cases follow up and prompting uestions were re uired to e plore the issue fully Some interviewees were more familiar with certain aspects of the students’ association, and were better able to answer some uestions than others but all gave a valuable perspective
6 elow we have summarised responses relating to each of the ey areas covered outlined our professional perspective and where appropriate offered recommendations A few additional issues did arise and they are also outlined below
Perspectives on the value of the students’ association
ositively all interviewees responded that they themselves saw the value in the students’ association hen as ed whether they believed students saw the value of the students’ association responses were much more mi ed he volunteer members of the e ecutives that we spo e to were confident that students did see the value or at least were beginning to see the value heir confidence was in contrast to the opinion of staff within the college we spo e to However since the officers’ experiences are closer to those of an everyday student their responses may be closer to the true picture of what students thin
However as ob allen pointed out in his interview, the students’ association did not score well on the recent Student Satisfaction and Engagement Survey he Student Association Impact esearch carried out around a year ago by N S Scotland also indicated that students at North East Scotland College were more li ely to be indifferent to their students’ association than the national average
Several interviewees e pressed the opinion that students were more li ely to see or feel the benefit of having a students’ association if they were based in Fraserburgh rather than at allowgate he reasons given for this were that the students’ association office is situated in an area where students often congregate that students remain on campus during brea times that there is a much closer nit student community at Fraserburgh and that irsty is more able to be out and about tal ing to students than arena because arena is so often doing paperwor
10 hen asked their impression of the students’ association’s overall effectiveness answers were divided hilst nobody painted a wholly positive picture of the students’ association some seemed more aware of its difficulties than others Kirsty, Karena, Allison, Elaine and Michelle all said very explicitly that they didn’t believe the Students’ Association was very effective However several interviewees remar ed unprompted that they believed the sabbatical officers are doing as well as they can
11 he reasons given for this perceived lac of effectiveness were highly consistent
Several interviewees said that they felt the students’ association’s main activity was focused on ensuring its own existence, rather than adding value. A perception that there was too much oversight from various sources, and so the students’ association spent a lot of time collecting statistics about itself, and too little time actually carrying out its role. Allison in particular said that there was very little she could do without having to think about who needs to sign it off either within the college, the association, or externally. he students’ association has spent a large amount of time creating or reviewing documentation, including constitution and schedules, reports for various college committees, minutes for internal meetings, strategic plan, Student artnership Agreement, re uest forms. he students’ association’s funding model means that it needs to generate revenue in order to survive, but it is not set up with the infrastructure necessary to carry out sales, and sales take up time which could be better used. o date the students’ association has had little structure both in terms of support and process. Now that structures are beginning to solidify the association should be able to focus on its core activities, but there is still a lot of work to do in this regard.
Many of these issues are explored in more detail in the relevant sections below.
Purpose of the students’ asso at on
. Answers to these uestions on value and effectiveness also revealed a fairly stark difference of opinion about what the students’ association is for. Several members of the executives said that they thought the association was effective because it’s a friendly space that is confidential, and that’s important because if a student doesn’t feel able to go to their guidance tutor, they can come to the students’ association instead. Another suggested that events on healthy living was one of the main purposes of the students’ association. ne interviewee, when asked if the association is effective, said that it is one of the main ways in which the college promotes things to students.
. hilst none of these interpretations are strictly incorrect, they are peripheral to a students’ association’s core purpose which is the representation of students’ views and interests to the college and to other bodies in order to make things better for students.
. NUS Scotland’s Student Association Impact Report showed that this is well understood by students at North East Scotland College, as chose ‘representing the views of students to the college’ as a purpose of the association, by far the most popular response. n contrast, only of students chose ‘running awareness campaigns on health and wellbeing’ as a purpose, the 7th most popular answer out of options.
. It’s concerning that some students see the association’s main purpose as helping individual students with a problem, and from talking to student officers and from visits to the association over the past months, it does appear that the association is seen as a drop in centre. his is problematic, for a number of reasons
n terms of resource spent versus impact, individual representation is highly inefficient compared to collective representation such as lobbying, campaigns, or
representing students’ views at meetings. Individual representation will be ta ing up lots of time which could be better spent. he focus on individual representation, as well as the need for student card and bus pass sales, has created a preoccupation with keeping the students’ association office open during core hours as a drop in centre, which may detract from other activity and does not allow the association to focus on delivering strategic and long term aims. Individual representation doesn’t lend itself to creating a more engaged student membership, since it only involves a small number of people. ollective representation has the double benefit of also helping to create a more aware and active student body. Student officers are not guidance tutors and are not ualified to give advice and guidance to students and therefore there are ris s for the student, the association and the college if advice is being given by association staff or officers who do not have the appropriate ualifications. It can cause duplication of effort with student support and service departments.
. According to best practice across the sector student officers should only be ta ing up individual students’ cases in exceptional circumstances, usually at an appeals stage where there has been a failure in the process. he rest of the time they should be merely signposting. Students should not be encouraged to visit the students’ association in the first instance if they have a problem. If there is a desire amongst students for an advice and guidance service which is more independent from the college structures, this should be flagged up, and addressed by the college. The students’ association cannot run an ad hoc advice service on its core budget.
P ann n
7. As ed about how planning happens within the students’ association, over half of interviewees said that it doesn’t happen in any systematic way. Those that did mention planning referred to an informal ideas generation process, and events scheduling. hen we as ed the sabbaticals how they now what they need to do when they come in on a onday morning, they both said they have to do lists. ultiple interviewees referred to the students’ association as a reactive or ‘firefighting’ organisation. So much so, in fact, that all interviewees reported that there has been no attempt at self evaluation using the ramewor for the eve opment of trong and ffective Students’ Associations in Scotland. Such a self evaluation may have pic ed up many of the issues outlined in this report, and saved the association time and effort in the long run.
. A lack of proactive planning has also prevented the students’ association from addressing the recommendations made in the Students’ Association Impact Research report last year. Several ey areas of this review were highlighted in that research.
. he association does have a strategic plan, but it was written last year. It’s not clear to what extent participants in the association were consulted during its creation, and the association could consider revisiting that plan. It was also clear from tal ing to interviewees about the strategy that it is rarely referred to, and there is little connection between the plan and the association’s day to day activity. iven the concerns above about perceptions of the purpose of the students’ association, a clear strategy would be a useful tool for the association and college to refocus on.
. arena mentioned the existence of an operational plan, however this was written before she came into post which would indicate that it does not serve the re uired function as an operational plan, and is not regularly reviewed and updated.
. S Scotland can run sessions to help the students’ association develop a strategic plan which accurately captures its purpose and strategic ob ectives, and subse uently an operational plan with milestones, named responsibilities and progress reports. Such a document may also help to reduce oversight burden, as the same document could be given to and discussed by multiple bodies.
. The Student Association anager and the sabbaticals have recently begun scheduling monthly meetings to discuss what’s happening in the association. This is a positive development, and thought should be given as to how to make the most of those meetings. eferring to and updating an operational plan would help to make the association a more proactive organisation.
ounta t of student off ers
. ormal accountability structures for student officers do exist, but appear uite weak. hen asked how officers are held to account, most interviewees who were able to answer said it happened informally through individuals approaching the officer in uestion. hilst exec meetings do happen monthly at raserburgh and allowgate, interviews indicated that their main purpose is volunteer co ordination. The A is where students are able to hold officers to account, but last year very few students attended. nly arena made reference to the Trustee oard as a potential forum for accountability.
. Accountability by students is a common problem in even the most developed students’ associations. Often part of the problem is that communicating every decision taken and every position represented by the association is a difficult and time consuming task. eporting back from every meeting would likely take as much time as the meetings themselves. hen faced with apathy or lack of awareness amongst the student body, officers can also often find themselves in the strange position of having to encourage students to scrutinise their actions.
. eveloping an aware and active student body so that accountability happens more easily is a longer term goal, but in the meantime the students’ association should consider internal mechanisms by which they can hold themselves and each other to account. or example, a well maintained operational plan with milestones, named responsibilities, and progress reports, could be reviewed once a month by the exec teams, the trustee board and the sabbaticals and Student Association anager. The sabbaticals and Student Association anager should hold meetings to discuss what they’ve been doing since the last meeting, what they have planned for the next period, and hori on scanning for upcoming priorities. Most college students’ associations do something like this at least fortnightly. hilst the Student Association anager is not the line manager of the sabbaticals, there is a role for students’ association staff in mentoring and supporting officers, and co ordinating the SA’s main functions, which means they need to be aware of what officers are doing.
. Another aspect of accountability that was discussed during the interviews was cross campus accountability. The exec members at each main campus were
unaware of what the sabbatical at the other campus has been doing and there appear to be no accountability structures for students at campuses other than allowgate or raserburgh. iven that both sabbaticals are egional residents, with regional responsibilities, this should be addressed through structures or practices.
utono
. Autonomy was the issue which prompted most discussion from interviewees. Members of college management were aware of their responsibilities to the students’ association, and the responsibility of the oard of Management to ensure that the association is effective, and that money is spent properly. hey also clearly understood that autonomy means the college should allow the students’ association to develop and put across its own viewpoint without imposing its own.
. owever some interviewees said that autonomy was understood differently by different people within the college. our interviewees said that they felt autonomy was used as an e cuse for some parts of the college to distance themselves from the students’ association, particularly when things went wrong, and that it was sometimes a reason given for not offering re uired support. wo interviewees suggested that ‘self direction’ may be a better way of understanding how a students’ association should relate to its college.
. rom an e ternal perspective it does appear that concerns about autonomy may be impeding effective decision making in some cases. An illustrative e ample is the approach taken to the association’s recent difficulties with its accounts. The oard of Management has a duty to make sure that money is spent responsibly, and clearly had to take some action, and so attached conditions of grant to the association’s block grant asking that it presents uarterly accounts to the oard. Another solution could have been to e plore how the college’s finance department could help, perhaps even integrating the association’s accounting into the college’s finance procedures and systems. Most college students’ associations operate in this way, and don’t for example hire an accountant to prepare their accounts, or manage their own purchase order re uests or physically pay their own bills. At an association which handles a lot of cash, this is particularly difficult and time consuming, and integrating into the college’s finance processes and systems would be much more efficient.
. Presumably this option wasn’t considered because it would be seen as an infringement on the association’s autonomy, perhaps relating to the association’s charitable status, but in fact there is very little autonomy in preparing your own accounts or arranging payment of your own bills, and if time and resource could be freed up to carry out activity closer to the association’s core purpose, one could argue that would add to the association’s autonomy rather than detract from it. e would recommend the association proposes e ploring this option in more detail with college management. here may be implications for the association’s charitable status, which is discussed below.
. On the other hand the officers and e ecutive members said that sometimes they felt they did not have enough autonomy from the college, and that sometimes the college interfered in its activity. hen asked for e amples, they mentioned an event which members of college staff tried to stop happening, but which did eventually go ahead, and when they designed a new logo for the Association but
were told it was too similar to the college logo. ithout nowing the full detail, it would be difficult to determine how serious these particular examples are, but they appear to be fairly peripheral to the association’s activity, and officers don’t appear to be prevented from spea ing their minds. evertheless there is a perception that the college sometimes intrudes on the association’s autonomy.
. ne exec member said that often the college offers guidance, but this guidance comes across as very strong. ne example which emerged from the interviews is the recent decision ta en by the oard of Management to fund a particular structure of a egional President and egional epute President. hereas the Principal was very clear that the oard was expressing a preference, and that the association was free within its funding limits to decide its own structure, arena interpreted this preference for a particular structure as a directive. n any case the Trustee oard also preferred that particular structure.
und n and usta na t
. ll interviewees were as ed if they believed the association was sufficiently funded. ut of the 13 interviewees, 2 said that they didn’t know anything about the budget, ac nowledged the funding difficulties but said that the current funding level should be enough, and the remaining said that they believed the students’ association was underfunded. hilst none of the interviewees were under any illusions about the context of tight funding in the college sector, several interviewees remar ed that the bloc grant to the association from the college was not enough to fund its core activity.
. North East College Students’ Association is funded at a lower level compared to other students’ associations of its size. To compare with 2 students’ associations with similar student numbers and multiple campuses, ity of lasgow ollege Students’ Association received a block grant of at least £114,000 (this figure doesn’t account for on costs like national insurance or pension, so it’s likely to be around , higher . ife ollege Students’ Association reported a block grant of , last year, but since then has hired a new part time member of staff, which may have been funded in whole or part by the college. either of these associations have charitable status.
. The number of students is only one factor which determines how much an association’s core activity will cost. Other factors to take into account are geography, services provided by the students’ association, and differences in running costs and overheads.
. The association is also highly dependent on unstable income from sales of student cards, bus passes, and other merchandise. ithout such income, it would struggle to carry out any activity that cost money. Some college students’ associations in cotland ma e some additional income from the sale of xtra cards, but none are anywhere near as dependent on sales income as orth ast Scotland College Students’ Association. The two interviewees who said the current level of funding should be enough also said that the students’ association needs to find additional sources of revenue, and that they’ve not managed to ma e a big enough margin on sales. This indicates that they may believe sales to be a common way of funding a students’ association, which it is not.
. s the amework for the Development of Strong and Effective College Students’ Associations in Scotland makes clear, a sustainable students’ association “does
not mean the association is self funding; a students’ association reliant entirely on commercial activity would be very unsustainable as funding could never be guaranteed, and commercial efforts would leave little time for the association to deliver its representative purpose. The college will need to ensure that the students’ association has the resources and support it needs to function effectively.”
3 . This dependence on sales causes a number of problems for the association. As it is not a business, and the association personnel are not business managers, there are a lack of appropriate skills and infrastructure in place to make sure that sales are run effectively. This may have been a contributing factor to the difficulties which the association has faced with its accounts.
3 . The sabbatical officers and volunteers at allowgate seemingly spend the first month of term selling student cards, during a period of time which is very valuable in terms of setting the tone for student engagement throughout the year. There is also a preoccupation with keeping the association office open, not only as a drop in centre for students who may have problems, but also in order to ma imise sales. This, and the back office functions re uired to run a sales operation, take up a large amount of officer, staff and volunteer time, and it detracts from the ability of the association to carry out its core purpose. n the hour long interview with arena, we were interrupted 3 times by students buying bus passes. f the amount of working time taken away from the association’s core activity by sales, purchasing, handling cash, invoicing, and accounting is taken into account, we would estimate that the net benefit would be significantly reduced.
40. urthermore, a significant amount of this sales income is about to be lost. The college will soon be issuing matriculation cards to students itself, which means the association will lose around £20,000 per year from selling student cards. n addition, some interviewees informed us that the college is currently considering pairing its matriculation card with a deal from oung Scot, which whilst useful for students, would mean the association may lose further income from bus passes and N S E tra cards. The college has however increased the association’s block grant by £10,000 for 201 , relative to the funding received from the S C’s transformation fund for 201 .
41. Whilst the college’s funding difficulties are not insignificant, we recommend that the association’s block grant is reviewed and increased. The SFC’s letter to principals in ay recommended a block grant of £ ,000 to £ ,000 for a small college with a single campus and a small geographical footprint, and that colleges with multiple campuses, larger student populations, and or a disparate geographical spread would need to consider the additional resources re uired to ensure a strong association with effective representation in place.
har ta e status and trustee oard
42. The funding difficulties are particularly pronounced when you take into account the association’s charitable status. aintaining a charitable organisation takes a certain amount of resource because of the higher levels of oversight and reporting re uired. Some resource is re uired to run an effective trustee board and to ensure that accounts are properly audited, and some additional e pense occurs from having separate legal status, for e ample insurance. The only other
college students’ association with charitable status is Edinburgh College Students’ ssociation whose block grant for the last years has been er year and which has a much higher staffing com lement including a Students’ ssociation irector with res onsibility for servicing the trustee board. Whilst CS has been given by far the most generous block grant amongst college associations and North East Scotland College Students’ Association isn’t expected to match that some of that e tra funding is due to the resource needed to maintain an effective charitable organisation.
. Where interviewees brought u charitable status they were asked what they believed was the benefit of charitable status to the association. The res onses were that it rovided a degree of organisational autonomy from the college and that the trustee board gave an e ternal source of advice and oversight. S Scotland sees charitable status for college students’ associations as a ositive albeit longer term goal as we agree that it does rovide a degree of organisational autonomy if the college board of management and senior management team can have confidence that the trustee board rovides effective oversight. owever in some cases the cost benefit of charitable status is limited articularly if it increases overhead costs or discourages su ort from college departments which may be conscious of the association’s status. f overheads such as the time and cost of doing accounts insurance and auditing cannot be reduced significantly within the association’s current legal framework, we would recommend giving serious consideration to reviewing this with a view to remove charitable status whilst maintaining the trustee board in an advisory ca acity.
. The effectiveness of the trustee board itself was also a to ic of discussion. ost interviewees agreed that although its current membershi is very new and still finding its feet the trustee board was largely effective. owever some suggestions for im roving its function included
Strengthening induction rocesses so that all trustees are aware of their ur ose res onsibility and liability. Carrying out a skills audit of the board and otentially increasing its membershi . stablishing a schedule of meetings at the beginning of the year. dditional meetings can be scheduled at shorter notice if necessary. Establishing one chair for the board instead of two. The chair’s responsibilities continue outside of meetings and having two chairs may mean either that their work is du licated or that some res onsibilities fall through the ga s. nsuring that the a ro riate issues are being discussed at board level ie that all important issues are discussed in full at the board, and that the board’s time isn’t wasted with more trivial matters.
tudent sso at on ana er o e
. ll interviewees acknowledged that the turnover in the Student ssociation anager role in the ast has not worked for the association as intended however all interviewees were com limentary of each of the individuals who have held the role and said that the current Student ssociation anager llison amont was ada ting to her new role very well.
. There is a difference of opinion amongst inter iewees about what the purpose of the Student Association anager role is. hilst nobody disagreed that the role is to support the students’ association, there were some differences of opinion over what acti ity that entails in practice. ob allen and illian riffin referred to producing accounts as one of the main purposes of the manager role, howe er Allison amont and Elaine art were ery clear that the manager spends too much time producing accounts, dealing with auditors and insurance, and paying bills, and Allison said she sometimes felt like a more appropriate ob title would be ‘accounts assistant’. This was supported by statements by irsty and arena who thought the Student Association anager should play a more acti e part in supporting their representati e role.
. Asked what the Student Association anager should be doing more of which they currently don’t have time to do, answers included direct support for officers’ representati e role, olunteer co ordination, training both staff and officers , organisational de elopment and strategy, and coaching mentoring student officers.
. hen asked whether they felt that the Student Association anager is part of the students’ association, the executive officers at Gallowgate ery uickly answered that she isn’t. This was uite surprising, as it was anticipated that this would be a difficult question, as whilst the manager is clearly not a member of the students’ association, she does work towards association ob ecti es, and from an external perspecti e is a member of student association staff, although the college is her employer.
. hen prompted for more detail, it became clear that the manager is seen more as a college ad isor, and concern was expressed that if there was e er a dispute between the association and the college, the Student Association anager would be put in a difficult position because they would ha e conflicting responsibilities. The fact that the Student Association anager has been based outside the association office appears from their comments to contribute to this iew. Allison also said she would like to be able to spend more time working in the association office, but that the layout of the office and its function as a drop in centre would hinder effecti e working.
. uestions were also raised about the recruitment process for the Student Association Manager role. In Allison’s case the desire not to lea e a gap in support meant that a secondment was arranged ery uickly, and steps including the in ol ement of the officers and trustee board were missed. The trustee board and officers were only informed of Allison’s secondment after it had happened. t was acknowledged by all that this should be a oided in future if possible.
. ecruiting for students’ association staff roles is very difficult, particularly in the college students’ association sector where staff are often the only member of staff in the organisation and ha e a wide ariety of responsibilities. Strategic de elopment, olunteer and officer coaching, campaign planning, familiarity with the education sector, accounting and running a trustee board are, taken together, an unusual skills profile. As recommended abo e, the association and college could make this somewhat easier by exploring which elements of the association’s finance process could be integrated into the college’s systems. Secondment and internal recruitment processes also reduce the a ailable recruitment pool.
. tudent Association Managers seconded or recruited internally have also retained some responsibilities from their previous roles. In Allison’s case this is understandable as the secondment is quite short term, but it was also the case when tephen mith held the post. This arrangement creates more pressures on the time of the tudent Association Manager, and may also contribute to the perception highlighted above that the manager is a college member of staff with an advisory role, who may have conflicting responsibilities if there were ever a dispute between the college and association.
. e recommend that the next time the tudent Association Manager role is recruited, the officers and trustee board are involved where appropriate, and that the role is also advertised externally. cotland are also able to assist with creating a ob description and person specification, and sharing the advertisement through our networks. e would also be happy to be involved at selection stage, if that would be helpful.
a at a ro es
. The sabbatical roles were also a topic which prompted some discussion. The association is currently changing its sabbatical structure, but we focused the discussion on the structure as it currently stands, so that interviewees were able to reflect on what has already happened.
. ome discussion focused on what tasks the sabbatical officers do, and whether those tasks are appropriate. Most interviewees who expressed a view on this topic agreed that in general the sabbaticals should be doing less operational work, and should be doing more student facing work. oth sabbaticals agreed that they currently do far too much paperwork, including for example constitution and schedules, plans, internal reports, reports to various college committees, request forms, committee papers, invoices, cashing up as well as day to day emails and administration. The executive members and arena both suggested independently that paperwork takes up about of her working time, and the rest of the time is mostly events and meetings. irsty also reported a high level of paperwork, but although she didn’t put a number next to the volume, she also mentioned quite a lot of other activity so it didn’t appear to be quite as high as . This high level of operational work was also confirmed by other interviewees. obody thought that the sabbaticals should do no paperwork at all, but it was commonly felt that the current level was too high.
. An ideal students’ association would operate similarly to the civil service, where elected members are making decisions to direct the work of the association, undertaking public or student facing engagement, defending the record of the association, and being held accountable for that work, although most of the operational delivery is carried out by staff. owever such a clean division of work is rarely possible in any students’ association, and particularly in small students’ associations where resource constraints mean that student officers often do need to carry out operational work.
. As outlined above, a particular feature of North East Scotland College Students’ Association is that sales and student advice drop ins represent a large proportion of the association’s activity. irsty mentioned that she has recently had a higher number of students dropping into the office because one of the guidance tutors has been absent. e would reiterate as outlined above that we don’t consider it appropriate for student officers to be operating an ad hoc advice service. Moving
away from this ind of activity where possible, and moving away from a funding model reliant on sales, would free up a significant amount of sabbatical time to focus on activity that adds value.
eo raph
. he geographical spread of the sabbaticals was also discussed. pinions amongst interviewees were very divided about whether the association should move away from a campus based model towards a regional model. hereas the sabbaticals are regional presidents, one officer will continue to be based in the north of the region, and one in the south, and there are still campus executives rather than one student association structure. he only truly regional structures are the A and the trustee board.
. hilst there was a desire amongst many interviewees to see one regional student association structure, most interviewees didn’t think that 2 students from one part of the region would be able to adequately represent students in another part of the region. irsty and the executive members at raserburgh were particularly adamant that there is a different culture at raserburgh which is a valuable asset to the association, and which shouldn’t be wasted by moving towards a more regional model. here continues to be a feeling amongst student officers at both main campuses that the merger was a large college ‘taking over’ a smaller college, and this may have contributed to an unhealthy protectiveness which is outlined in more detail below.
. Almost all interviewees said that the officers needed to travel to other campuses more often, although some were quic to highlight practical constraints such as resource and time, which are not insignificant. irsty mentioned that she had never visited Altens, eterhead or ac uff campuses, and arena also said that she rarely goes to the north of the region, and rarely goes to Craibstone campus either. here was an ac nowledgement that they should visit other campuses more often.
. rom our professional perspective although we agree that the sabbatical officers should visit other campuses more often, simply spending a day at a campus once in a while does very little to help an officer to represent those students more effectively. hat is much more concerning is that there is no representational structure at any campus other than allowgate and raserburgh, except for one volunteer executive member from Altens campus. Implementing such structures is not easy, but it would have a much better effect on the ability of officers to represent those campuses, and on the service provision level for students at those campuses.
a at a or n re at onsh p
. Some interviewees said that the lac of hierarchy amongst the sabbaticals meant that disagreements couldn’t be resolved. Although the new structure includes a hierarchy, we would caution the students’ association that this is unlikely to resolve all problems in this area. In most students’ associations, most disagreements are not resolved through hierarchy, but by recourse to democratic structures such as executives and class reps, where this is appropriate. If disagreements are consistently resolved through hierarchy, the person who is on the ‘losing side’ of those disagreements (ie the Regional Depute President) is
likely to become resentful and disengaged, which is not conducive to effective working.
. he lack of effective regional structure or regional culture has led to a protective attitude on the part of the sabbaticals towards their campus. oth raised independently a recent disagreement where arena had travelled to raserburgh to talk to students in the atrium about a welfare issue, without consulting irsty.
. uch disagreements are relatively common amongst officers who are often elected because they have strong opinions, and it may have been e acerbated by tensions before the upcoming elections, so it should not be concluded from this e ample that there is a poor working relationship between the sabbaticals. owever the e ample does indicate a campus based protectiveness which may be unconducive to effective working. arena and irsty are both Regional Presidents, with regional remits. hilst it may have been polite for arena to consult irsty, and irsty may have been able to advise her on the best day and time to come, and provide a conte t for the activity to ensure a oined up approach, arena certainly shouldn’t need permission to travel to another campus to carry out her regional role, as appears to have been implied in conversations about this disagreement. e would recommend that the association clarifies these issues through a full and frank discussion, with the interests of the effective working of the association at the forefront of that discussion.
ass representat es
. lthough it was not included in the brief for the review, it became apparent through the interviews that there is a lack of clarity over the ownership and functioning of the class representative system. irsty mentioned in her interview that a class rep had told her that they were attending a staff student liaison meeting in their department, but Kirsty didn’t know what this meeting was for, which indicates that there is a distance between the students’ association and the class rep system. ut as an e ample of the college infringing on the autonomy of the students’ association, arena brought up the fact that the cademic oard wanted to introduce a new tier of representatives, and in that way was trying to tell the association what to do. hat would indicate that arena considers the class reps to be wholly within the students’ association. This difference may indicate a difference in practice between raserburgh and allowgate which is yet to be resolved following the merger.
. e would recommend that the function of the class representative system, and its relationship to the students’ association, is clarified through discussion with the college uality department. ince a well functioning class representative system is a core part of the college’s quality systems, and something considered during e ternal review, it is common for the class rep system to be owned by the college. The students’ association should be able to help shape the class rep system just as it would any other aspect of college life. Involving the students’ association in training class reps may also be a good idea, but since this saves the college resource it should be considered in the block grant negotiations. ost importantly and as outlined in the framework, the class rep system should also feed into the students’ association, as it is a key way in which the association can represent students’ views particularly on academic matters. The student engagement agency spar s will be able to advise and assist in this area.
ppend e o endat ons
. The funding model for the students’ association should be reassessed, and its level of funding should be increased to a minimum of , . aragraph
. The students’ association should take the summer period as an opportunity to re evaluate its purpose and its priorities, and consider any areas of work which could be scaled back, simplified or eliminated, particularly administrative burden. s part of this process it should revisit the strategic plan. aragraph
. The students’ association should develop an operational plan which outlines how it intends to achieve each of its strategic objectives, assigns responsibilities and milestones to officers and staff, and requires updates on progress throughout the year. The sabbaticals and tudent ssociation anager should meet at least monthly to discuss progress against the plan. aragraphs and
. The students’ association should address its lack of representative structures at campuses other than allowgate and raserburgh. If a class representative system e ists at those other campuses, it may be fruitful to tie those structures into the students’ association. aragraph
. The students’ association should consider how it can develop a regional democratic structure which would enable cross campus accountability, and help to promote one regional culture. aragraph
. The students’ association should consider how work is carried out across the region, and how campus based responsibilities interact with regional remit based responsibilities such as welfare, education and events. aragraph
. The students’ association should move away from serving as a drop in centre for individual students with a particular problem who should be signposted towards guidance , and move towards representing students collectively in a more proactive fashion. aragraphs and
. Depending on the result of conversations about the association’s funding, the students’ association should consider moving to a sales operation which is not labour intensive for officers and staff, such as online, or if that is not possible, consider dropping its sales operation. aragraphs to
. The association should open discussions with the college about whether any of its functions could be integrated into the college systems for greater efficiency without significant loss of autonomy. The priority for integration should be financial systems. aragraphs and
. The students’ association should consider the advantages and disadvantages of its charitable status, and whether losing its charitable status would be of longer term benefit. aragraphs and
. The students’ association and college should set up a small working group to carry out a light touch self evaluation against the ramework for the Development of Strong and Effective College Students’ Associations in Scotland. aragraph
. The students’ association should consider ways in which its trustee board can be strengthened, including paragraph
a. trengthening induction processes, so that all trustees are aware of their purpose, responsibility and liability. b. arrying out a skills audit of the board, and potentially increasing its membership. c. stablishing a schedule of meetings at the beginning of the year. dditional meetings can be scheduled at shorter notice if necessary. d. stablishing one chair for the board instead of two. The chair’s responsibilities continue outside of meetings, and having two chairs may mean either that their work is duplicated, or that some responsibilities fall through the gaps. e. nsuring that the appropriate issues are being discussed at board level, ie that all important issues are discussed in full at the board, and that the board’s time isn’t wasted with more trivial matters.
. If a decision is taken to recruit a new Students’ Association anager, we recommend that officers and the trustee board are involved where appropriate, and that the role is also advertised e ternally. cotland are also able to assist with creating a ob description and person specification, and sharing the advertisement through our networks. e would also be happy to be involved at selection stage, if that would be helpful. aragraph
. The students’ association should consider steps which could be taken to ensure that the Student Association Manager is seen as part of the students’ association by officers and volunteers, and that the role e ists to support the association achieve its ob ectives, rather than advise from a college perspective. aragraph
. The students’ association and college quality department should together consider the effectiveness of the class representative system, its coverage across all campuses, and its relationship to the students’ association. aragraph
ppend uest ons as ed of nter e ees
. What is your general opinion of the overall effectiveness of the students’ association an you think of any examples of where the students’ association has made a significant difference to the student e perience
. Student association autonomy is one of the principles within the ramework. hat does autonomy mean to you, and how does it work here at this college follow–up questions around financial procedures, representation structures, organisational autonomy .
. Do you believe the students’ association is accountable to students, and how does that accountability happen in practice
. o you believe the students’ association is funded to an appropriate level and in a sustainable way
. Do you see the value of the students’ association, and do you think students see that value
. Is the Student Association Manager role currently working well hat activity is it doing that it shouldn’t be, and what is it not doing which it could do?
. Are the sabbatical roles that are currently in place suitable a. hat do they do on a day to day basis Is that how it should be b. urrently one officer is elected from raserburgh orth, and one is elected from Aberdeen South. Is this appropriate c. urrently there are egional residents. Is a hori ontal structure like that appropriate
. hat is your impression of the effectiveness of governance and planning at the students’ association a. Is the Trustee oard effective b. How does the students’ association plan its activity, formally or informally
. Have you been involved in any meetings or activity to develop the students’ association alongside the rame or for t e Development of Strong and Effective College Students’ Associations
. Do you have anything to add, either about something we’ve discussed so far, or about anything else you think might be relevant to the review
Agenda Item 6.6 Appendix 2
Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee Meeting of 19 July 2016
North East Scotland College Students’ Association Review by the National Union of Students and Budget Paper from the Chair of the Student Association Trustee Board
1. Introduction 1.1 The purpose of this paper is for the Trustee Board of the Student’s Association (SA) to update the Committee following a Review of the Association by the National Union of Students (NUS) and also to present an update of the budget forecast for 2016/17.
2. Review of Student’s Association 2.1 Following the merger and a significant period of change for the Student Association, there was little way of discerning how well the SA was performing and there was a lack of clarity as to how best to effectively implement the Framework for the Development of Strong and Effective Students’ Associations in Scotland (previously circulated to the Committee). Therefore the Trustee Board agreed that the NUS would be approached for an external perspective.
2.2 Following discussions, the Trustee Board agreed that an appropriate starting point would be for NUS Scotland to conduct an independent review of the SA.
2.3 The purpose of the review was not to form any judgement about the SA but rather to explore the difficulties which the SA has faced in recent times and to produce recommendations for consideration by the SA and the College.
2.4 The review was structured around the Framework and it was agreed that it would focus on the following areas:
• Accountability (Governance and Democracy) • Student Association Management role (Sustainable Resources) • Perspectives on the value of the Students’ Association (Value and Impact) • Funding (Sustainable Resources) • Trustee Board (Governance and Democracy) • Planning (Governance and Democracy, Value and Impact) • Relationship with College Structures (Shaping the Life and Work of the College)
2.3 The Review has produced helpful recommendations most of which are concerned with the SA’s operational management, strategic planning and democratic structures. These will be taken forward by the Student Association Manager and the Trustee Board.
2.4 For the purposes of this report, therefore, the Trustee Board wish to bring to the attention of the Committee the following recommendations.
• “The funding model for the association should be reassessed and its level of funding should be increased to a minimum of £100,000”.
• “The SA should open discussions with the college about whether any of its functions could be integrated into college systems for greater efficiency without significant loss of autonomy.”
• “The SA should consider the advantages and disadvantages of its charitable status, and whether losing its charitable status would be of longer term benefit.”
2.4 Each recommendation will be discussed in detail below:
3. Funding Model
3.1 Firstly, it is necessary to state that whilst the NUS advises that NESCol’s SA is funded at a lower level than other SAs of its size, the Trustee Board fully appreciates the funding constraints under which the College is operating and is not requesting an increase in block grant for this year.
3.2 It is important, however, that the SA is able to utilise the funds it does have to the best advantage of the students of the college and that the Committee is fully appraised of the concerns that the Trustee Board has regarding the budget of the SA.
3.3 Attached at Appendix 1 is the current 16/17 budget forecast (Column B). From this it can be noted that there is currently a predicted deficit of -£6,006.47. This is due to the need to make adjustments to the 16/17 forecast which was presented to the Committee in January 2016 (Column A). It should also be noted that there may be further adjustments that need to be made for the reasons stated in 3.4 and 3.5 below which may mean a higher deficit.
3.4 There are significant reductions in income that need to be taken into account for 16/17, some of which were predicted eg the loss of £20,000 revenue from the sale of Student Cards, but others which the SA were unaware of, eg the introduction by the College of the NEC/Young Scot Card. This card will have other significant impacts on the income of the SA as it will reduce its sale of bus passes and NUS Extra cards due to the fact that it offers comparable discounts.
3.5 In addition, the running costs of the SA have increased. The fact that its accounts are qualified incur significant additional accounting and audit costs and there is also a need to pay for insurances which has not happened before. As an unincorporated charity the SA is ineligible to be part of the Local Government Pension Scheme. This means that it will have to provide a Stakeholder Pension. At the time of writing this paper the costs of this have not been confirmed and therefore additional costs will need to be added in to the budget. It is also likely that the forecast audit and accounting costs will increase.
3.6 It is also important to note that this budget forecast fully utilises the SA’s reserves. There may be small surplus from 15/16 which will offset some of the deficit.
3.7 The NUS Review notes that the SA is “highly dependent on unstable income from the sale of student cards, bus passes and other merchandise”. They also note that “without this income it would struggle to carry out any activity that costs money ... some College SAs make some additional income from the sale of NUS Extra cards, but none are anywhere near as dependent on sales income as NESCol SA”. It continues “… this is not a common way of funding a SA … as The Framework makes clear a sustainable SA ‘does not mean the association is self-funding; a students’ association reliant entirely on commercial activity would be very unsustainable as funding could never be guaranteed, and any commercial efforts would leave little time for the association to deliver is representative purpose. The college will need to ensure that the SA has the resources and support it needs to function effectively’”.
3.8 The Trustee Board has carefully reviewed the budget and asked the President and the SA Manager to try to identify savings. It will, however, be very difficult to find enough savings to both remove the deficit and provide enough income to run an effective SA.
3.9 The fact that the SA is set up as an unincorporated charity means that it is incurring costs that it would not incur if it were part of the College. This will be discussed in more depth later in this paper.
4. Integration with College Systems and Autonomy Issues
4.1 The Trustee Board notes, and is extremely grateful, for the significant support that the College already offers the SA without which it would not be able to operate.
4.2 Autonomy has been a key concern of both SA Officers, the Trustee Board and the College management and it was therefore very helpful to gain the NUS’s perspective on this matter.
4.3 The Framework describes an autonomous students association as “… one which enables students to articulate an independent student voice, and which can ensure that voice will be heard at the highest levels. Students determine its internal organisation and representative structures. Student representatives act according to student determined priorities and policies and engage with college leaders as equal partners to negotiate how these priorities will be implemented”. It goes on to state that “Autonomy will mean different things to different students’ associations at different stages of development; some will want to develop as separate organisations, others will be more comfortable with a greater degree of closeness with the college. As the principles outlined in this Framework are embedded, self-determination will develop and grow”.
4.4 The NUS’s view is that “from an external perspective it does appear that concerns about autonomy may be impeding effective decision making in some cases …. An illustrative example is the approach taken to the association’s recent difficulties with its accounts. The Board of Management has a duty to make sure that money is spent reasonably, and clearly had to take some action, and so attached conditions of grant to the association’s block grant … another solution could have been to explore how the College’s Finance Department could help, perhaps even integrating the association’s accounting into the college’s finance procedures and systems. Most college students associations operate in this way …. As an association which handles a lot of cash … this would be much more efficient … Presumably this option wasn’t considered because it would be seen as an infringement on the associations autonomy, perhaps relating to its charitable status, but in fact there is very little autonomy in preparing your own accounts or arranging payment of bills and if time and resource could be freed up to carry out activity closer to the association’s core purpose, one could argue that it would add to the association’s autonomy rather than detract from it”.
4.5 It is important to consider, therefore, the current stage of development of the SA. It is the view of the Trustee Board that the SA is not yet in a robust position and therefore welcomes a greater degree of closeness with the College.
4.6 The Trustee Board therefore respectfully requests that consideration is given to the College’s Finance Team providing support to the association. This would give the Trustee Board greater confidence that accounting issues are being dealt with in a professional and timely manner and will also relieve some £6,000 of accountants cost to the SA per annum.
5. Charitable Status
5.1 As mentioned in 3.8 above, the SA is an unincorporated charity and therefore as a charitable organisation requires a certain amount of resource due to the higher levels of oversight and reporting required. Some resource is required to run an effective Trustee Board and to ensure that accounts are properly audited and some additional expense occurs from having separate legal status, for example insurances and audit costs. As a separate organisation to the College the SA therefore incurs the running costs of a small business. These costs are a significant drain on a very small budget.
5.2 The NUS note that the only other College with an SA with charitable status is Edinburgh College which is set up very differently and whose block grant for the last two years has been £274,667 pa. It should be noted that Edinburgh College have a much higher staffing compliment including an SA Director with responsibility for servicing the Trustee Board. The SA is not, of course, looking to be funded to this extent or to increase its staffing.
5.3 The NUS also state that they see charitable status as a “positive (albeit longer term) goal, as we agree that it does provide a degree of organisational autonomy, if the college board of management and senior management team can have confidence that the trustee board provides effective oversight. The report continues. “However, in some cases the cost/benefit of charitable status is limited, particularly if it increases overhead costs or discourages support from college departments which may be conscious of the association’s status. If overheads such as time and cost of doing accounts, insurance and auditing cannot be reduced significantly within the associations current legal framework we would recommend giving serious consideration to reviewing this with a view to removing charitable status whilst maintaining the trustee board in an advisory capacity”.
5.4 As an unincorporated association, the SA has ambiguous legal status, it is merely a collection of individual members. This causes a number of difficulties in terms of the employment of sabbatical officers and the risks the association might face in terms of legal claims against it.
5.5 The Trustee Board has therefore requested that the implications and costs of dissolving the SA’s charitable status are explored further. Once this information is available the Trustee Board will consider and report further to the Committee as to its conclusions.
6. Conclusion
6.1 The Trustee Board therefore asks the Committee to note/consider the following:
6.2 That it has significant concerns about the 2016/17 Budget which, despite measures being taken to control costs, is currently forecasting a deficit due to factors beyond the SA’s control.
6.3 That all of the SA’s reserves will be utilised.
6.4 These financial constraints mean that there is little scope to grow the association in the coming year.
6.5 That consideration is given to providing support to the Association from the College’s Finance Team to both reduce cost and enhance the financial expertise and support available to the SA.
6.6 That the Trustee Board is taking further advice on the desirability of the SA continuing to operate as an unincorporated charity.
7. Recommendation
7.1 That the Committee note the content of this report.
Michele Collie Chairman of the Trustee Board North East Scotland College Students Association
154 Agenda Item 6.6 Appendix 3 Students' Association Budget Forecast August 2016-July 2017 and Actual 2015/16 A B C Forecast Budget Agreed by LTSCC January 2016 Based on £80K block Adjustments to 16/17 Forecast - as grant at 31.5.16 Actual 2015/16 Notes Income
Block Grant £80,000.00 £80,000.00 £70,000.00
Bus Pass Sales £1,500.00 £1,000.00 £2,336.00 Student Card Sales £0.00 £0.00 £20,380.00 NUS Extra £4,600.00 £1,500.00 £3,215.80 These figures are not yet Clothing and pen drives £500.00 £500.00 £526.00 complete Freshers Fair £2,000.00 £1,000.00 £1,350.00 Fraserburgh account-carried forward £0.00 £0.00 £1,350.00 Reserved Accounts £16,049.00 £16,052.00 £16,052.66 Total Income £104,649.00 £100,052.00 £115,210.46
Core Expenditure SA Manager £35,000.00 £42,416.47 including on-costs
Further adjustment may be needed to take account of Sabbatical Officer Salaries £41,000.00 £35,342.00 £78,567.00 stakeholder pension Affiliation £4,000.00 £2,000.00 £1,765.00 Accountancy £3,300.00 £5,000.00 £6,000.00 Insurances £1,000.00 Audit £5,400.00 £8,000.00 £11,526.00 Total Core Expenditure £88,700.00 £93,758.47 £97,858.00
Other Expenditure Student Events £1,000.00 £500.00 £615.00 Student Clubs and Societies £500.00 £0.00 Trustee Board £200.00 £200.00 £0.00 NUS Events and al trainings £4,000.00 £5,000.00 £5,160.00 Office Supplies and Stationery £1,500.00 £1,000.00 £3,526.00 Travel between campuses £2,500.00 £700.00 £669.00 Elections £300.00 £300.00 £224.00 Unforseen Costs £1,200.00 £2,000.00 £1,500.00 Bank charges £100.00 £500.00 £500.00 Printer £1,500.00 £2,000.00 £1,922.00 Marketing Costs £500.00 Catering £200.00 £100.00 £30.00 Total Other Expenditure £13,500.00 £12,300.00 £14,146.00
Total Expenditure £102,200.00 £106,058.47 £112,004.00
This surplus is not yet Total Surplus /Deficit £2,449.00 -£6,006.47 £3,206.46 confirmed 156 Agenda Item 6.7
Meeting of 19 July 2016 Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee
Report from the Students’ Association
1. Introduction 1.1. The purpose of this report is to provide the Committee with an opportunity to consider a report from the Students’ Association.
2. Report from the Presidents 2.1. Attached as Appendix 1 to this paper is a report prepared by Karena Wetherall and Kirsty Anderson regarding the North East Scotland College Students’ Association.
3. Recommendation 3.1. It is recommended that the Committee consider the contents of the report.
Rob Wallen Elaine Hart Principal Vice Principal – Human Resources
157 158
Agenda Item 6.7 Appendix 1
LEARNING AND TEACHING AND STUDENT SERVICES COMMITTEE
Meeting of 19 th July 2016
Students’ Association
1. Introduction
1.1. The purpose of this paper is to provide the committee with an update on the work of Students’ Association (SA).
2. Background
2.1. Since the last meeting the SA has been busy , with events student engagement and in obtaining student feedback in terms of Learning and Teaching.
3. Update
3.1. Student Engagement 3.1.1. We have had a range of opportunities to engage with the student body through the process of Elections, promoting voting and through student events.
3.2. Elections 3.2.1.1. Elections have taken placed and the results of the election was: • A total of 413 were votes cast with 19 abstentions.
• Round 1: • R.O.N. -‐ 3 • Jolanta Beniusyte -‐ 49 • Kieran Ellington -‐ 68 • Josh Gall -‐ 69 • Shane Hepburn -‐ 100 • Karena Wetherall – 105
• Round -‐ 2 Single Transferrable Votes: • Gallowgate • Kieran Ellington -‐ 160 • Karena Wetherall -‐ 165 • Karena Wetherall duly elected in Gallowgate.
• Fraserburgh: • RON -‐ 9 • Jolanta Beniusyte -‐ 88 • Josh Gall -‐ 110 • Shane Hepburn – 134 • Shane Hepburn duly elected in Fraserburgh.
North East Scotland College, Room EG4, Gallowgate City Campus, Aberdeen, AB25 1BN 01224 612024 | 01224 612313
• Final Round: • Karena Wetherall -‐ 179 • Shane Hepburn -‐ 157 • Karena Wetherall duly ted elec as Regional President. Shane Hepburn duly elected as Depute President.
Since these results were made known there has been a change Shane to the election outcome. Hepburn will not be taking up the position of Depute President and will be returning to college . for study Shane’s votes have been transferred between the remaining candidates and the votes read: • Josh Gall -‐ 164 • Jolanta Beniusyte -‐ 133 • RON -‐ 14
The position has been offered to Josh Gall as he the candidate elected by t student body through the democratic process and Josh has accepted this position. Josh is engaging in work shadowing during the month of June in anticipation of taking up his post 1 on July st.
3.3. Events
3.3.1. Events that have been held since report: the last
3.3.1.1. Gallowgate held a Retro Gaming Day on the 25th April 2016. This sparked interest in this particular type of event being held in again in college nd a students engaged with the SA by giving opinion on what they would like to see in the next gaming event. Some of the suggestions included holding a similar event with retro and more current games. 3.3.1.2. Fraserburgh held a Harry Potter themed event on 9th May 2016. This was the last SA event of the Academic Year, and a chance for students to have a fun day at College, as well as raise money for Bob’s Buddies. 3.3.1.3. Learning Opportunities Students on Fraserburgh Campus were rewarded for their volunteering activities within the Student Association as part of their awards day and were presented with certificates by Kirsty Anderson. 3.3.1.4. Students in Fraserburgh Campus took part in a Lecturer of the Year vote and awards were given to Curriculum and Guidance staff voted for by the students.
3.4. Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) 3.4.1. The AGM was held st on the 31 May 2016 and we are pleased to say that a quorate was reached We also had 4 motions in which 3 out of the 4 passed which were: 3.4.1.1. Wheels Please – where the students voted in favour of a motion asking the SA to approach the college to support an approach to the council to see if we could negotiate cheaper car parking for students who have to take their car to college. 3.4.1.2. Climate Mate -‐ where the students voted in favour of a motion asking the SA to work with the college to make sure that there are appropriate recycling bins in the eating and restroom areas. 3.4.1.3. Fuse to Reuse – where the motion suggested a need for student awareness raising to about recycling. This motion was not carried as it was at felt th this was not the remit of the SA but it was agreed that having the right type of recycling bins in the correct areas might be the way forward.
North East Scotland College, Room EG4, Gallowgate City Campus, Aberdeen, AB25 1BN 01224 612024 | 01224 612313
3.4.1.4. Safe Rave -‐ where the students have voted in favour of asking the SA to approach the college and its members to and the college to work with local authority and bus companies to highlight the issues disabled students face to get to the different campuses.
All this will be added to the up and coming Strategic plan. 3.4.2. The SA Constitution and Schedules were adopted for the forthcoming year along with the students voting not go for a referendum this year on staying with NUS.
3.5. Peer Led Reviews 3.5.1. The Students’ Association Sabbaticals officers engaged in a series of Peer Led reviews on Fraserburgh, Altens and City Centre campuses gaining and recording feedback from students through a series of exercises and discussions focusing on Learning and Teaching, Relationships, Resources, Learning Environment and Learner Support in Applied Science, Care, Construction, Art and Design, Engineering and Beauty. This information has been shared with the Vice Principal for the Curriculum and will be presented by the Sabbatical Officers in Evaluation Summary which is currently being looked at.
4. Recommendation 4.1. It is recommended that the consider Committee the report provided by the Students’ Association
Karena Wetherall Kirsty Anderson Regional President Regional President Education and Welfare Education and Activities
North East Scotland College, Room EG4, Gallowgate City Campus, Aberdeen, AB25 1BN 01224 612024 | 01224 612313
162 Agenda Item 7.1
Meeting of 19 July 2016 Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee
Student Activity 2015-16
1. Introduction 1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide the Committee with information on the current status of student activity for the academic year 2015-16.
2. Background 2.1 For the purposes of securing funding from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) College activity is measured in credits, with the credits arranged in 5 price bands, which provide a method of aggregating student activity on different types of course and different modes of attendance in such a way that the duration of each programme and its resource demands are approximately reflected in the aggregated totals.
2.2 Ordinarily, if a college falls short of its target the SFC would require part of grant-in-aid for the year to be repaid.
2.3 The College monitors the level of enrolments and rates of student retention throughout the year, as well as the projected level of additional activity. These data are important in allowing the College to ensure that activity will at least meet required target levels. A low level of early withdrawal enables the College to secure its SFC funding at an early stage in the year and allows for the curriculum offer to be adjusted to reduce costs in the latter part of the year.
3. Current Activity Levels AY2015-16 3.1 The figures noted below and presented in Appendix 1 should only be read asan approximation of the current position. The final calculation of credits can only be made at the end of the academic year and is dependent on: the final tally of enrolments for all types of activity across the whole year and student retention rates. As such the data below are indicative.
3.2 The Regional Outcome Agreement established with the SFC for AY2015-16 sets the College’s target for student activity at 139,549 credits.
3.3 At the time of writing this report, the College activity level is currently sitting at 144,965 credits. Data cleansing that takes place at the end of the academic year will likely reduce this down to 143,260. This will give the College a potential surplus of 3, 711 credits against the SFC target. See Appendix 1.
3.4 It is worth highlighting that the three Schools collectively are above target by 3,809 credits.
3.5 BCD target is 14,029 credits [including the Scottish Maritime Academy] and are currently sitting at 14,511 of credits that are logged in the system. This is an increase of 482 against their target.
3.6 It will be noted that if this additional activity above the target were funded, it could generate some £800,000 of additional income. However, while there is a penalty for undershooting the target, there is no reward for exceeding it.
3.7 Consideration is being given as to whether any of the excess activity can legitimately be counted towards the 2016-17 target because it “spans” into that year. This would have the effect of reducing costs of delivery in 2016-17.
163 Agenda Item 7.1
Meeting of 19 July 2016 Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee
4. Recommendation 4.1 It is recommended that the Committee note the contents of this report.
Rob Wallen John Davidson Principal Vice Principal – Learning and Quality
164 Agenda Item 7.1 Appendix 1
Full Time Enrolments:- Target Actual to-date School of Creative Industries, Computing and Business 2,830 2,884 Enterprise School of Engineering, Science and Technology 1,501 1,522
School of Service Industries 2,379 2,355
Business and Community Development 10 10 Total 6,720 6,771
Full Time Retention to-date:- Enrolled Early % withdrawal Rate School of Creative Industries, Computing and 2,884 136 95% Business Enterprise School of Engineering, Science and 1,522 89 94% Technology
School of Service Industries 2,355 155 93%
Business and Community Development 10 0 100% Total 6,771 380 95%
Part Time Retention to-date:- Enrolled Early % withdrawal Rate School of Creative Industries, Computing and 790 85 96% Business Enterprise School of Engineering, Science and 3,148 92 98% Technology
School of Service Industries 1,393 53 93%
Business and Community Development 8,036 107 91% Professional Development 85 0 100% Total 13,452 337 98%
Early retention (ALL) :- Enrolled Early % withdrawal Rate School of Creative Industries, Computing and 3,674 221 96% Business Enterprise School of Engineering, Science and 4,670 181 97% Technology
School of Service Industries 3,748 208 94%
Business and Community Development 8,046 107 91% Professional Development 85 0 100% Total 20,223 717 96%
Key Performance Indicators Students Enrolled (Actual) Early student withdrawal (withdrawn students as a % of enrolled students) 2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015
FT Enrolments 6,935 6,872 6,245 6,771 7.20% 5.59% 4.7% 4.6%
PT Enrolments 12,240 11,863 6,371 13,452 4.71% 1.74% 1.1% 2%
Credits:- Target Actual Planned Projected Credits To-date Provision Outturn School of Creative Industries, 44,108 46,446 0 46,446 Computing and Business Enterprise School of Engineering, 37,115 38,969 0 38,969 Science and Technology School of Service Industries 45,337 44,954 0 44,954
Business and Community 13,326 13,727 0 13,727 Development Scottish Maritime 703 784 0 784 Professional Development 75 85 0 85 Total 140,664 144,965 0 144,965
Projected Outturn after 143,260 “cleansing” Total SFC Target [incl. 3,035 139,549 ESF]
Over/Under Target + 3,711
• Three schools collectively are above target by 3,809 credits. Based on the average price band of £216.00 these additional credits are potentially worth £822,744
• BCD target is 14,029 credits [including SM] and currently sitting at 14,511 credits. This is 482 above target.
• Spanning [or transferring] 2,000 credits into 2016-17 is potentially worth a saving of £432.000 to the College.
• Spanning [or transferring] 3,000 credits into 2016-17 is potentially worth a saving of £648,000 to the College.
Given the current financial pressures the College is facing we should try and maximise the number of credits that could be transferred over into AY2016-17.
Agenda Item 7.2
Meeting of 19 July 2016 Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee
Key Quality Performance Indicators
1. Introduction 1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide the Committee with the final information on key performance indicators relating to the Quality function.
2. Lesson Observation 2.1 In the period 01 September 2015 to 24 June 2016 lesson observations processes were reviewed to take into account the self-evaluation requirements implied by the adoption of the Scottish Funding Council Action Learning Project.
2.2 The revised approach to lesson observation is now well progressed and a total of 77 observations took place in 2015–16.
2.3 Lesson observations were also carried out on agency teaching staff as previously and remain distinct from that of permanent staff. A total of 19 observations were carried out for Protocol visiting lecturers by the College internal observer. The external observer from Protocol National also observed 20 Protocol visiting lecturers with only 1 being graded ‘Action required’.
Protocol National Lecturers Ratings 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 Acceptable 100% (42) 96% (48) 100% (31) 100% (39) Action Required 0% 4%(2) 0% 1% (1)
3. External Verification Visits 3.1 External verification is carried out by all awarding bodies. It is an important quality assurance function, the purpose of which is to ensure the integrity of College assessment decisions and internal moderation (internal mechanism for checking integrity of assessments).
3.2 If an external verifier is not satisfied with the internal assessment and moderation in a college, he or she can recommend that the awarding body places sanctions on the College. These can range from minor recommendations for improvement through to suspension of enrolment/certification of candidates or ultimately, withdrawal of approval to run courses.
3.3 The following table shows the number of external verification visits carried out in academic year 2015-16:
Awarding Body Number of Verification Checks Number of Sanctions SQA 37 0 CILT 1 0 IMI 1 0 ASDAN 1 0 AMERC 1 0 City & Guilds 6 0 NCFE 25 0 NOCN 1 0 CIPD 1 0 VTCT 2 0 College Development Network 1 0 Total 77 0 (0%)
167 Agenda Item 7.2
Meeting of 19 July 2016 Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee
4. Student Engagement 4.1 College managers and Quality Team staff regularly meet students to discuss their learning experience with a view to identifying improvements.
4.2 Student discussion groups provide an opportunity for managers to meet groups of students in open agenda meetings to discuss their learning experience. Student focus groups are run by Quality Assurance and Improvement staff and concentrate on identified topics. 32 focus groups have been conducted as noted in 4.4 below.
4.3 Peer-led reviews are held to allow members of the Students’ Association and an associated staff member to explore quality issues with other students. At the time of writing this report six peer-led reviews were planned by the Students’ Association in June 2016.
4.4 The programme of student focus groups in 2015-16 covered the following topics:
• BYOD – 3 • Learning and Teaching – 21 • Timetabling – 8.
5. Complaints 5.1 The College monitors all complaints. These are investigated internally and responses provided by appropriate departmental heads.
5.2 The College received 121 complaints in the period 01 September 2015 to 20 June 2016. At the same period last year we had 153. The following table gives details of the complaints with comparisons for the previous two years.
5.3 It will be noted that there had been a large rise in complaints relating to bursary administration in 2014-15 however, the implementation of a new computer-based system has resulted in significant improvements in this area.
5.4 There had also been complaints relating to I.T. systems due to the complexity of bringing together two separate I.T. systems in 2014-15. Significant improvements have been made in this area and stability has now been achieved.
168 Agenda Item 7.2
Meeting of 19 July 2016 Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee
Category of Complaint 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 CP1 Timetabling arrangements/course cancellations/ 6 13 12 change of lecturer CP2 Delivery of Courses/Learning and Teaching 33 14 21 CP3 Standards of equipment or accommodation 5 2 0 CP4 Information provided about, or communication 4 8 6 relating to courses CP5 Course content 6 0 0 CP6 Assessment and/or certification arrangements or 9 8 13 outcomes CP7 Booking/enrolment administration by sectors 7 17 8 CP8 Arrangements relating to interviews/appointments 6 1 3 CP9 Behaviour of student within the College 12 5 1 CP10 Libraries/Information Technology Centre (Open Learning incorporated in Flexible Learning from 09- 0 0 1 10) CP11 Discrimination – protected characteristics 3 2 2 CP12 Behaviour of staff 0 22 14 CP13 Arrangements relating to work placement/ 0 1 0 experience SS1 Equipment/rooms 9 6 0 SS2 Provision of general college information 0 1 1 SS3 Financial matters – invoices/refunds/payments 2 4 4 SS4 Bursary administration 0 19 12 SS5 Health and Safety Issues 1 2 4 SS6 College events 0 2 0 SS7 Services for Disabled 0 0 1 SS8 Guidance/Student Support 2 5 1 COS1 Catering 4 6 5 COS2 Security 1 2 1 COS4 Transport 0 0 3 COS5 Janitorial provision 0 0 0 COS6 Facilities 3 7 3 COS7 Cleaning Services 0 0 1 COS8 Delivery by Contracted Staff 0 0 0 COS10 IT Services 7 19 3 COS11 Car Parking 2 1 1 Totals 120 167 121
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6. Compliments and Thanks 6.1 The College receives many expressions of thanks from students, employers and visitors.
6.2 The following table gives details of those received in the period 01 September 2015 to 17 June 2016 compared with previous two years:
Category of Compliment 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 CP1 Timetabling arrangements/course cancellations/ 0 0 0 change of lecturer CP2 Delivery of Courses 7 9 14 CP3 Standards of equipment or accommodation 0 0 0 CP4 Information provided about, or communication relating 0 0 to courses CP5 Course content 1 0 0 CP6 Assessment and/or certification arrangements or 0 0 0 outcomes CP7 Booking/enrolment administration by sectors 1 1 0 CP8 Arrangements relating to interviews/appointments 0 0 0 CP9 Behaviour of student within the College 1 2 0 CP10 Libraries/Information Technology Centre 2 0 0 CP11 Discrimination - Sex/race/disability/religion or belief/ 0 0 0 sexual orientation/age CP12 Behaviour of staff 0 13 7 CP13 Arrangements relating to work placement/experience 0 1 0 SS1 Equipment/rooms – non course related 0 0 0 SS2 Provision of general college information 1 0 0 SS3 Financial matters – invoices/refunds/payments 0 0 0 SS4 Bursary administration 0 1 3 SS5 Health and Safety Issues 0 0 0 SS6 College Events 10 2 0 SS8 Guidance/Student Support 6 8 0 COS1 Catering 0 0 1 COS2 Security 0 0 0 COS4 Transport 0 0 0 COS5 Janitorial provision 0 0 0 COS6 Facilities and cleaning services 0 0 1 COS10 IT Services 0 0 0 COS11 Car Parking 0 0 0 Student -provided services 0 0 0 Totals 29 37 26
7. Recommendation 7.1 It is recommended that the Committee note the contents of this report.
Rob Wallen John Davidson Principal Vice Principal - Learning & Quality
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Student Support Funds
1. Introduction 1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide the Committee with information on amounts allocated for various support funds and comparative spend of AY2015-16 and AY2014-15.
2. Background 2.1 Funds allocated directly to the College The College receives a range of student support funds mainly from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) but also from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS). These funds can be grouped as follows:
• bursary funds to support eligible Further Education (FE) students • discretionary funds to support both eligible FE and Higher Education (HE) students • childcare funds to support both eligible FE and HE students, now incorporating the Lone Parent Childcare Grant.
2.2 Funds controlled centrally by SFC (as opposed to being allocated directly) but administered by the College on their behalf:
• Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) programme.
3. Bursary Funds – General Rules
3.1 Both the student and their course of study must be deemed eligible before they can be considered for an award.
3.2 The amount of any award shall be determined by the College and would normally cover the student’s maintenance costs, travelling expenses and study costs (within the limits set in national policy).
3.3 The Bursary Fund is cash limited, students who are eligible for support are not automatically entitled to this support.
3.4 Spend on overall study costs must not exceed 15 per cent of the College’s initial bursary allocation for AY2015-16.
3.5 Bursary awards should only be made available automatically for attendance above 90 per cent of planned classroom hours.
3.6 Colleges may use their bursary funds to meet some or all of an eligible student’s travelling expenses where they are eligible for inclusion in a travel allowance by securing a transportation agreement with a local transport provider.
3.7 College’s may spend Bursary Funds on childcare.
3.8 Where SFC have given permission, shortfalls in bursary allocations can be offset by using FE/HE Childcare Funds or FE Discretionary Funds.
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4. Discretionary and Childcare Funds – General Rules 4.1 The range of discretionary and childcare funds is as follows:
A. Further Education Discretionary Fund (FEDF) (SFC) – for eligible non-advanced level students to be used primarily for emergency use to cover general living expenses but not for fees where there is a risk to the students continuation on their course.
B. Further Education and Higher Education Childcare Fund (FE / HE CCF) (SFC) which will have two elements as follows:
i) The Lone Parents Childcare Grant (LPCG) element which will be an entitlement payment of up to £1,215 per year to all eligible further and higher education students who are lone parents and who have formal registered childcare expenses while studying. The LPCG is not income assessed.
ii) The Discretionary Childcare Funds which all students may apply to for financial help with formal registered childcare expenses. Payments from the Discretionary Childcare funds will be made at the discretion of the institutions and based on an assessment of need.
C. Higher Education Discretionary Fund (HEDF) (SAAS) – for all eligible advanced level students to be used for general living expenses but not for fees (may be used for registered/formal childcare costs).
5. Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) Programme 5.1 EMA forms part of the Scottish Government’s agenda of encouraging access to, and participation in post-16 learning by young people from low-income families.
5.2 EMA funds are intended to encourage learners to stay on in post-compulsory education i.e. after they are legally eligible to leave.
5.3 Recipients will normally be aged between 16 and 19 years (inclusive).
5.4 EMA funds do not form part of the grant-in-aid to SFC, but are claimed in arrears based on recorded activity in the sector.
5.5 Currently, eligibility of £30 per week will be for those with a household income of up to £20,351 and income of up to £22,403 for households with more than one dependent child. From the 01 January 2016 there were changes to the income threshold meaning a family with one dependent child earning up to £24,421 would now be eligible, an increase of £4,070 on previous levels. For a family with more than one dependent child, the increase was £4,481 up to £26,884.
5.6 Payment is dependent on 100 per cent weekly attendance and progress towards agreed learning targets. Students are however allowed up to 10 authorised absences over the course of the year without this impacting on their 100 per cent target.
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6. Disbursement of Funds in AY2015-16 6.1 Information on the disbursement of funds up to 17 June 2016 is given in the tables in the appendix to this report. Comparative figures have been provided at the end of last year. No funds have yet been vired between funds.
6.2 There are no more main bursary payment runs left for this academic year. However, the College will still continue to schedule ad hoc runs when required.
To date, the direct Bursary Fund payments to students have been:
Payment Month Amount Paid in Total August £591,159.77 September £567,056.79 October £707,947.43 November £595,160.67 December £568,146.53 January £554,084.47 February £541,655.24 March £487,836.01 April £490,121.50 May £471,971.79 June £439,919.15 Total £6,015,059.35
6.3 If payments continue as anticipated then the College can expect the student support funds to be overspent by some £400k. As well as payments made directly to students this likely overspend of £400k includes a significant element of study expenses amounting to £158k which has previously been allocated to central costs and which has now been charged to bursary. In addition a further £143k costs have been charged to the bursary fund to cover costs associated with mini-bus usage for student-related transport.
7. SFC Allocation 2015-16 7.1 Allocations from SFC and SAAS have, this academic year, been significantly reduced by over £440k from the previous year.
7.2 As noted above the present commitment for bursary and childcare payments currently outweighs our allocation. As well as a consequence of the SFC allocation reduction, this is due to:
• Additional weeks of support paid to students this year compared to 2014-15 (£130k) • BYOD support (£225k) • Increased entitlement to all Bursary-awarded students of approximately £1 per week (£80k) • Busy B’s Nursery cost (£250k).
7.3 Fundamentally, as table 3 within the attached appendix indicates, the College is paying considerably more students this year than last.
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7.4 Weekly reviews of commitment against allocation are carried out, and will be continued, to monitor the College’s position so that any required action to protect the College and its students is taken as quickly as possible.
Actions already taken to reduce the projected commitment include:
• Allocating £233,000 of College depreciation funds to help off-set the overspend; • Finalising any adjustments to take into account the BYOD project; • Investigating the potential to vire funds between underspent funds to overspent funds following Guidance issued; • Seeking permission from SFC to vire further funds if required; • Assessing any future students under the age of 19 for EMA payments only; • Assessing students for course fee waiver only where they are being invoiced for course fees; • Ensuring awards for withdrawn students are processed as quickly as possible; • Restricting the number of withheld payments which can be re-instated per student; • Closing applications for discretionary and childcare funds; • Implementing a closing date for Funding applications; • Investigating the possibility of ending bursary payments sooner by finishing courses earlier.
8. AY2016-17 8.1 Since the last report, The College has now been given its student support fund allocation for 2016-17, details of which are contained in the following table:
Support Funds AY2016-17 AY2015-16 FE Bursary 6,200,995 6,512,201 European Social Fund 296,453 301,349 FE Discretionary 468,403 497,769 FE Childcare 618,240 657,000 Total 7,584,091 7,968,319
8.2 Committee Members should note that the College is facing a £384k reduction in its student support fund allocation for next academic year, an allocation which is over and above the £440K deducted for 2015-16.
8.3 Whilst the distribution of support funds is critical to the College’s ability to meet its commitment within the allocated funds, the Student Funding Team has, across campuses, already discussed how it will evolve College approaches to cope with the more restricted disbursement of student support funds to ensure it mitigates, as best as it can, the impact of such a severe student support fund reduction.
8.4 At the time of writing this report awareness-raising sessions have been organised to take place during the week of 27 June, 2016. These sessions are aimed at groups of staff whose functions and roles directly relate to student funding allocations and, therefore, the required changes in student funding procedures. These awareness-raising sessions will emphasise the need for the strict adherence to new procedures and SFC guidance. They will also highlight the need to action and monitor all aspects of student funding process to ensure fairness and consistency in the allocation of the College’s depleted student support funds. Whilst such approaches aim to ensure a fair and consistent distribution of funds it is anticipated that student retention and attainment, over the course of the following year, will be impacted.
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8.5 By holding these sessions now it is hoped that those staff, in addition to the Student Funding Team, who play a critical part in advising students and supporting the distribution of student support funds i.e. the Student Services Team, Guidance Tutors and teaching staff generally, will also have time to put support plans in place to assist those students who will most likely be affected.
8.6 As well as the aforementioned sessions an extensive list of actions to ensure the appropriate management and distribution of funds, within the designated SFC allocation, will be implemented. These include:
• Improving assessment consistency amongst Team members when calculating bursary and discretionary awards; • Creating a bank of exemplar applications to assist Team members when determining awards; • Improve application turn-around time beyond the significant improvements made for AY2015-16; • Updating student funding software in order to ensure that supporting evidence from prospective students is submitted and processed earlier; • Maintaining a more consistent approach when re-instating held payments and ensuring that strict adherence in student attendance criteria is maintained throughout the year. For AY2016-17 we will only allow the current month and the previous month to be paid when considering reinstatement; • Meeting to be held with Directors of Curriculum, Faculty Managers, Curriculum and Quality Manager, Guidance Tutors, Student Advisers and members of the Student Funding Team; • Removing the availability of emergency payments to be replaced by Discretionary Loans; • Ensuring the policies and procedures pertaining to student support funds are clear and disseminated to all relevant College staff; • Ensuring that all overpayments for bursary, childcare and discretionary funds are reclaimed from the student at the earliest possible opportunity; • Reviewing and adjusting the income bands for Childcare means-testing; • Prioritising support for housing costs for Discretionary applications; • Reverting to a closing date of 30 November for bursary applications, including those where the all the relevant documentation has not been uploaded; • Conducting regular meetings with Guidance Tutors and Student Advisors to support a more consistent approach to advising on, and allocating, student support funds; • Reducing study costs per student in line with revised SFC Guidance i.e. 6% to 7% rather than this year’s 15%; • Reporting progress of actual payments, commitment and allocation to SMT on a fortnightly basis; • Reducing the time students spend in College from 37 weeks to 36 weeks for AY 2016-17; • Close working between the Student Funding Team and the College’s Business Office to ensure accuracy and completeness of reports.
9. Recommendation 9.1 It is recommended that the Committee note the information provided in this paper.
Rob Wallen Neil Cowie Principal Vice Principal - Business Services
175 176
Agenda Item 7.3 Appendix 1
Table 1 – Funds Available
Funds Funds Available Available £000 £000
Support Funds 2015-16 2014-15 6,813(Inc. FE Bursary ESF 301) 6,908 FE Discretionary 497 498 FE / HE Childcare (Inc. LPCG) 657 1,006 Total 7,967 8,412
HE Discretionary 200 210
EMA 480 611
Totals 8,377 9,233
Table 2 – Committed Funds
2015-16 2014-15 to year end Funds available Funds Funds Funds not yet available Available Committed committed Funds Funds not yet £000s to £000s to £000s to Available Committed committed Support Funds date date date £000s £000s £000s FE Bursary (Inc. £301k ESF) 6,813 7,044 -231 6,908 6,171 737 FE Discretionary 497 488 9 498 488 10 FE / HE Childcare (inc LPCG) 657 872 -215 1,006 793 213 Total 7,967 8,404 -437 8,412 7,452 960
HE Discretionary 200 198 2 210 193 17
EMA 480 480 0 500 500 0
Totals 8,647 9,082 -435 9,122 8,145 977
Table 3 – Supported Students
2015-16 2015-16 2014-15 Applications Applications Received Received & being paid and Assessed to date Assessed FE Bursary + Fee Waiver 4,138 3,813 4,100 FE Discretionary + Loans 713 523 691 FE Childcare 207 169 128 FE / HE LPCG 145 145 122 HE Discretionary + Loans 223 173 109 HE Childcare 61 49 36 EMA programme 469 469 359