Gateway Quality Review: Wales: Coleg Cambria, May 2019
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Gateway Quality Review: Wales Coleg Cambria May 2019 Key findings QAA's judgements about Coleg Cambria The QAA review team formed the following judgements about the higher education provision at Coleg Cambria. • There can be confidence that academic standards are reliable, meet UK requirements, and are reasonably comparable. • There can be confidence that the quality of the student academic experience meets baseline regulatory requirements. Areas for development The review team identified the following areas for development that have the potential to enhance quality and/or further secure the reliability and/or comparability of academic standards at Coleg Cambria. The review team advises Coleg Cambria to: • review and improve the accessibility of terms and conditions for all students at key stages of the admission process, including the Pearson provision (Consumer Protection). Specified improvements The review team did not identify any specified improvements. 1 About this review The review visit took place from 14 to 15 May 2019 and was conducted by a team of three reviewers, as follows: • Peter Hymans • Penny Renwick • Sarah Bennett (student reviewer). The overall aim of Gateway Quality Review: Wales is to: • provide the relevant funding body with an expert judgement about the readiness of a provider to enter, or continue to operate within, the higher education sector. Gateway Quality Review: Wales is designed to: • ensure that the student interest is protected • provide expert advice to ensure that the reputation of the UK higher education system is protected, including the protection of degree standards • identify development areas that will help a provider to progress through a developmental period and be considered 'established'. Each review considers a provider's arrangements against relevant aspects of the baseline regulatory requirements, and in particular: • the reliability of degree standards and their reasonable comparability with standards set and achieved by other providers • the quality of the student academic experience, including student outcomes where the provider has a track record of delivery of higher education. About Coleg Cambria Coleg Cambria (the College) was established in August 2013 as a result of the merger of Deeside College and Yale College. It operates across five campuses and has a total of over 12,000 students (423 of whom were studying higher education programmes in 2018). Coleg Cambria delivers further education, adult learning, apprenticeships, work-based learning, school link programmes, and higher education. Only the higher education programmes fall within the scope of this review. This will be the first Quality Assurance Agency Review for Coleg Cambria. Currently its foundation degrees and degrees are franchised through its University partners and it has course specific designation for its Pearson programmes. Partnerships currently exist with Aberystwyth University, Swansea University, Liverpool John Moores University, University of Chester, Glyndŵr University, and Pearson. 2 Judgement area: Reliability and comparability of academic standards The Framework for Higher Education Qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (FHEQ) 1 The College staff have a good understanding of the FHEQ requirements. The partnership agreements between the College and its awarding bodies all state that the latter are responsible for the establishment of academic standards. The College was involved in the development of some programmes, including the FdSc Offender Management, Criminal and Social Justice with College staff working alongside awarding body staff. During this process the university staff ensured that the academic standards were in alignment with the relevant descriptors from the FHEQ, Subject Benchmark Statements and the Foundation Degree Characteristics Statement prior to a validation event at the University. Employers were also consulted during the writing of the programme. For Pearson programmes, the awarding organisation is entirely responsible for establishing the academic standards of the programme. 2 The College has recently developed an internal form for HE course approval, which should be submitted to the HE Steering Group, as it is responsible for the strategic management of the higher education strategy. The form is due for approval after discussion with the Principal and covers issues related to the demand for the course and resourcing, but does not cover academic standards. 3 Some of the programmes on offer at Coleg Cambria are bespoke to local industries including construction and aeronautical engineering. In these cases, the College benchmarks its programmes by accrediting them with the relevant professional bodies and UK skills standards. The Credit and Qualifications Framework for Wales (CQFW) 4 Coleg Cambria states that the programmes it offers fit the HE pillar within the CQFW framework and that all eight high-level principles are adhered to when developing programmes. It also states that particular care is taken when working with English universities to ensure the eight principles and the common values of learning outcomes, levels and credit values are adhered to. Staff the review team met stated that the FHEQ is aligned with the CQFW and that staff cross-referenced and mapped the CQFW across its programmes, although this was not recorded. 5 Credit accumulation and transfer arrangements for programmes that align with CQFW standards are the responsibility of the awarding bodies through their accreditation of prior learning policies and procedures. As the credit arrangements for both FHEQ and CQFW are aligned, the procedures cover both frameworks. Only one request for credit transfer between programmes has been made and the College is working with the awarding body to ensure that credit is transferred within the programme regulations. The relevant code of governance: such as the Higher Education Code of Governance published by the Committee of University Chairs (CUC) or the Association of Colleges' Code of Good Governance for English Colleges (AoC) 6 Effective arrangements are in place for the maintenance and oversight of academic governance. The College governing body meets every month and comprises 20 members, including representatives from business, and the local community, members of College staff, student governors and the Chief Executive. The Governing Body follows the seven elements 3 of good governance set out in the Code of Good Governance for Colleges in Wales (Colegau Cymru) and maintains oversight of HE using a variety of methods, including reviewing and discussing regular reports relating to student progression data, performance outcomes and HE provision. The Governing Body is led by the Chief Executive, the Chief Operating Officer and the Principal, who are supported by the senior management team. 7 The HE Steering Group oversees higher education provision, which is responsible for the strategic management and implementation of the HE Strategy. The HE Steering Group can make recommendations to the senior management team, the Board, and subcommittees of the Governors as required. In accordance with the Code of Good Governance for Colleges in Wales, the Governing Body uses a variety of ways to meet with staff and employers, including learning walks and meetings with link governors. In meetings with the review team, representatives from the Governors felt that this arrangement provided them with an effective oversight of higher education provision at the College. 8 The College's Risk Register, which includes both further and higher education provision, is managed by the Risk Management Group: potential risks are reviewed and categorised in a colour-coding system using the College's Strategic Plan. The Risk Register is reviewed termly by the Audit and Risk Committee, or more frequently if needed, and reported to the Board of Governors regularly for analysis and approval. The Expectations of the UK Quality Code for Higher Education (the Quality Code) 9 Partner universities take responsibility for the setting of academic standards through programme development and there is shared responsibility for the maintenance of those standards, as set out in the memorandum of understanding, through the articulated allocation of responsibilities. The College has partnership agreements with the five HEIs that it works with, which outline responsibilities clearly. Staff the review team met had a clear understanding of how they work with their partners to jointly ensure that the academic standards for the College's qualifications are maintained. 10 Assessment policies are developed by the University partners and in the case of Pearson Higher Nationals, they have been developed by the College in adherence to Pearson regulations and guidance. Programme and module specifications set out clearly the academic level and learning outcomes of assessed modules. Assessment tasks are aligned to the learning outcomes. The College draws on Pearson subject specialists for support regarding assessment, and internal moderation processes are clearly documented. For franchised programmes the standards are set by the partner University. In some cases, the College uses the assessments set by the University. In other cases, the College will write the assessments and the University will verify them before they are issued. University partners provide support through informal and formal visits, and meetings including Joint Boards of Study and a moderation/cross-marking process. The students