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Institutional audit

Trinity and

All Saints College

MAY 2003

Published byQuality Assurance Agency for Higher EducationSouthgate HouseSouthgate StreetGloucester GL1 1UB

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© Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education 2003

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Preface The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (the Agency) exists to safeguard the public interest in sound standardsof higher education (HE) qualifications and to encourage continuous improvement in the management of the quality of HE.

To do this the Agency carries out reviews of individual HE institutions (universities and colleges of HE). In England andNorthern Ireland this process is known as institutional audit. The Agency operates similar but separate processes inScotland and Wales.

The purpose of institutional audit

The aims of institutional audit are to meet the public interest in knowing that universities and colleges are:

providing HE, awards and qualifications of an acceptable quality and an appropriate academic standard; andexercising their legal powers to award degrees in a proper manner.

JudgementsInstitutional audit results in judgements about the institutions being reviewed. Judgements are made about:

the confidence that can reasonably be placed in the soundness of the institution's present and likely futuremanagement of the quality of its programmes and the academic standards of its awards;

the reliance that can reasonably be placed on the accuracy, integrity, completeness and frankness of the informationthat the institution publishes, and about the quality of its programmes and the standards of its awards.

These judgements are expressed as either broad confidence, limited confidence or no confidence and areaccompanied by examples of good practice and recommendations for improvement.

Nationally agreed standardsInstitutional audit uses a set of nationally agreed reference points, known as the 'academic infrastructure', to consider aninstitution's standards and quality. These are published by the Agency and consist of:

The framework for higher education qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (FHEQ), which includedescriptions of different HE qualifications;

The Code of practice for the assurance of academic quality and standards in higher education;

subject benchmark statements, which describe the characteristics of degrees in different subjects;

guidelines for preparing programme specifications, which are descriptions of the what is on offer to students inindividual programmes of study. They outline the intended knowledge, skills, understanding and attributes of astudent completing that programme. They also give details of teaching and assessment methods and link theprogramme to the FHEQ.

The audit processInstitutional audits are carried out by teams of academics who review the way in which institutions oversee theiracademic quality and standards. Because they are evaluating their equals, the process is called 'peer review'.

The main elements of institutional audit are:

a preliminary visit by the Agency to the institution nine months before the audit visit;

a self-evaluation document submitted by the institution four months before the audit visit;

a written submission by the student representative body, if they have chosen to do so, four months before the audit visit;

a detailed briefing visit to the institution by the audit team five weeks before the audit visit;

the audit visit, which lasts five days;

the publication of a report on the audit team's judgements and findings 20 weeks after the audit visit.

The evidence for the audit In order to obtain the evidence for its judgement, the audit team carries out a number of activities, including:

reviewing the institution's own internal procedures and documents, such as regulations, policy statements, codes ofpractice, recruitment publications and minutes of relevant meetings, as well as the self-evaluation document itself;

reviewing the written submission from students;

asking questions of relevant staff;

talking to students about their experiences;

exploring how the institution uses the academic infrastructure.

The audit team also gathers evidence by focusing on examples of the institution's internal quality assurance processes atwork using 'audit trails'. These trails may focus on a particular programme or programmes offered at that institution,when they are known as a 'discipline audit trail'. In addition, the audit team may focus on a particular theme that runsthroughout the institution's management of its standards and quality. This is known as a 'thematic enquiry'.

From 2004, institutions will be required to publish information about the quality and standards of their programmes andawards in a format recommended in document 02/15 Information on quality and standards in higher education published bythe Higher Education Funding Council for England. The audit team reviews progress towards meeting this requirement.

Summary 1

Outcome of the audit 1

Features of good practice 1

Recommendations for action 1

Summary outcomes of discipline audit trails 1

National reference points 2

Main report 4

Section1: Introduction: Trinityand All Saints College 4

The institution and its mission 4

Mission statement 5

Background information 5

The audit process 5

Developments since the previous academicquality audit 5

Section 2: The audit investigations:institutional processes 6

The institution's view as expressed in the SED 6

The institution's framework for managing qualityand standards, including collaborative provision 6

The institution's intentions for the enhancementof quality and standards 7

Internal approval, monitoring andreview processes 7

External participation in internal review processes 8

External examiners and their reports 9

External reference points 9

Programme-level review and accreditationby external agencies 9

Student representation at operationaland institutional level 10

Feedback from students, graduatesand employers 10

Progression and completion statistics 11

Assurance of quality of teaching staff,appointment, appraisal and reward 11

Assurance of quality of teaching through staffsupport and development 12

Learning support resources 12

Academic guidance, support and supervision 13

Personal support and guidance 13

Section 3: The audit investigations:discipline trails and thematic enquiries 14

Discipline audit trails 14

Section 4: The audit investigations:published information 16

The students' experience of published informationand other information available to them 16

Reliability, accuracy and completeness ofpublished information 17

Findings 20

The effectiveness of institutional proceduresfor assuring the quality of programmes 20

The effectiveness of institutional proceduresfor securing the standards of awards 21

The effectiveness of institutional proceduresfor supporting learning 21

Outcomes of discipline audit trails 22

The use made by the institution of theacademic infrastructure 23

The utility of the SED as an illustration of theinstitution's capacity to reflect upon its ownstrengths and limitations, and to act on theseto enhance quality and standards 23

Commentary on the institution's intentions forthe enhancement of quality and standards 23

Reliability of information 24

Features of good practice 24

Recommendations for action 24

Appendix

The College’s response to the audit report 25

Contents

Summary

An audit team from the Quality Assurance Agencyfor Higher Education (the Agency) visited Trinity andAll Saints College (the College) from 12 to 16 Mayto carry out an institutional audit. The purpose ofthe audit was to provide information on the qualityof the opportunities available to students and on theacademic standards of the awards that the Collegeoffers on behalf of the University of Leeds, whichformally awards the degrees.

To arrive at its conclusions the audit team spoke tomembers of staff throughout the College, to currentand former students, and it read a wide range ofdocuments relating to the way the College managesthe academic aspects of its provision.

The words 'academic standards' are used to describethe level of achievement that a student has to reachto gain an academic award (for example, a degree).It should be at a similar level across the UK.

Academic quality is a way of describing how wellthe learning opportunities available to students helpthem to achieve their award. It is about making surethat appropriate and effective teaching, support andlearning opportunities are provided for them.

In institutional audit, both academic standards andacademic quality are reviewed.

Outcome of the audit

As a result of its investigations, the audit team's viewof the College is that:

broad confidence can be placed in the College'scurrent and future management of the quality ofits programmes; andbroad confidence can be placed in the College'spresent and likely future capacity to manageeffectively the academic standards of the awards.

Features of good practice

The audit team identified the following areas asbeing good practice:

the use of the intranet as a means ofcommunication of information to staffand students; the operation of student-staff academiccommittees (SSAC); the use made of staff and student surveys inthe assurance and enhancement of qualityand standards;the use of the Agency's reference points in theCollege's quality assurance procedures;

the development of systematic and integratedstudent support arrangements; the self-critical and inclusive approach used bythe College to prepare the institutional self-evaluation document as an indication of itscapacity for effective self-evaluation; andthe meticulous implementation and monitoring ofthe external examining process and procedures.

Recommendations for action

The audit team also found a number of matterswhere the College might benefit from further action.These matters are:

building on its existing external engagementswith the higher education (HE) sector andincorporating this greater externality into itsmanagement of quality and academic standards; considering, in the context of its current reviewof faculty quality and standards committees,means by which the discharge of theresponsibilities of these committees might berendered more transparent and consistent acrossthe College with particular reference to their rolein the annual monitoring process; to formalise training for student representativesto achieve the clear potential of SSACs as asignificant contributor to the management ofquality and standards.

Summary outcomes of discipline audit trails

Management/Media/History

To arrive at these conclusions, the audit team spoketo staff and students, and was given informationabout the College as a whole. The team looked atthe following areas of provision: Management;Media; and History, to find out how well theCollege's systems and procedures were working atthe discipline level. The College provided the teamwith documents, including student work and, heretoo, the team spoke to staff and students. As well assupporting the overall confidence statements givenabove, the team considered that the standard ofstudent achievement in the three programme areaswas appropriate to the title of the award and itsplace in The framework for higher educationqualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland(FHEQ), published by the Agency. The teamconsidered the quality of the learning opportunitiesavailable to students was suitable for a programmeof study leading to the award of BA (Single/JointHonours) Management; BA (Joint Honours) Media;BA (Honours) History.

Institutional Audit Report: summary

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National reference points

To provide further evidence to support the findings,the audit team also investigated the use made by theCollege of the academic infrastructure which theAgency has developed on behalf of the whole of UKHE. The academic infrastructure is a set of nationallyagreed reference points that help to define bothgood practice and academic standards. The findingsof the audit suggest the College was makingappropriate use of the Code of practice for theassurance of academic quality and standards in highereducation, published by the Agency, the FHEQ, subjectbenchmark statements and programme specifications.The College has embedded these developments in atimely and comprehensive manner into itsmanagement of quality and standards.

From 2004, the Agency's audit teams will commenton the reliability of the information about academicquality and standards that institutions will berequired to publish, which is listed in the HigherEducation Funding Council for England's document02/15, Information on quality and standards in highereducation (HEFCE's document 02/15). The College isalert to the requirements set out in HEFCE'sdocument 02/15, and was taking steps to moveto fulfil its responsibilities.

Trinity and All Saints College

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Main report

Main report

1 An institutional audit of Trinity and All SaintsCollege (the College) was undertaken during theweek commencing 12 May 2003. The purpose ofthe audit was to provide public information on theCollege's management of its quality and standards,including the quality of the development anddelivery of programmes of study leading to awardsof the University of Leeds (the University).

2 The audit was carried out using a processdeveloped by the Quality Assurance Agency forHigher Education (the Agency) in partnership withthe Higher Education Funding Council for England(HEFCE), the Standing Conference of Principals(SCOP) and Universities UK (UUK), and has beenendorsed by the Department for Education andSkills. For institutions in England, it replaces theprevious processes of continuation audit, undertakenby the Agency at the request of UUK and SCOP, anduniversal subject review, undertaken by the Agencyon behalf of HEFCE, as part of the latter's statutoryresponsibility for assessing the quality of educationthat it funds.

3 The audit checked the effectiveness of theCollege's procedures for establishing andmaintaining the standards of its academic awards;for reviewing and enhancing the quality of theprogrammes of study leading to those awards; forpublishing reliable information; and for thedischarge of its responsibilities for the award ofdegrees from the University. As part of the auditprocess, according to protocols agreed with HEFCE,SCOP and UUK, the audit included consideration ofexamples of institutional processes at work at thelevel of the programme, through discipline audittrails (DATs). The scope of the audit encompassedall of the College's provision leading to awards forwhich it is responsible.

Section 1: Introduction: Trinity and AllSaints College

The institution and its mission

4 The College is an independent Roman Catholicfoundation originally founded in 1966 as twoCatholic teacher training colleges on the same site:Trinity for women and All Saints for men. The twocolleges merged in 1980. In 1991, the College wasdesignated a College of the University, with whichinstitution the College established a formalaccreditation agreement in 2001. The campus issituated in Horsforth, some six miles from the centre

of Leeds. The 42-acre campus site includes nine hallsof residence; a Students' Union building; the newAndrew Kean Learning Centre (in use since January2003); and sports facilities.

5 The College is currently delivering a rangeof single and joint honours undergraduateprogrammes as well as taught masters andpostgraduate diploma and certificate programmesleading to University awards. In addition, a smallnumber of students in the College are studying forUniversity research degrees (MPhil and PhD) underjoint supervision arrangements.

6 At the time of the audit visit, almost all of theCollege's 2,055 undergraduates were full-time, aswere two-thirds of its 449 postgraduate students.Some two-thirds of its students were female. Around60 per cent of students were on programmesinvolving media, management, marketing andsports-related subjects. Some 40 per cent of thestudent population was over 21 years of age.

7 The College has been organised since 1999-2000 into four faculties: Arts and Social Sciences;Education; Management; and Media. Each faculty isled by its Dean, to whom heads of subject and/ordirectors of programme are responsible for thedelivery of the relevant academic provision.In addition to the single and joint honoursprogrammes within faculties, there are a numberof inter-faculty joint honours programmes.

8 The distinctiveness of the College lies in its'ethos that recognises its Catholic heritage', albeit inthe context of inclusiveness and its predominantlyvocational orientation, including teacher training.All undergraduates undertake a 'professionalattachment' or placement in their second year andall first-year undergraduates either experience anoutside professional attachment or an on-campuswork-related module. Another characteristic of theCollege's learning experience is its aim to engage itsstudents with issues of ethics and values in allappropriate curricular contexts.

9 There had been significant managementrestructuring under the current Principal, who isthe chief executive responsible to the Board ofGovernors, since 1998. The Senior ManagementTeam (SMT) consists of the Principal and fourassistant principals, each with responsibility forspecific areas of activity: Academic; Resources;Registrar; Finance and Personnel. Recentappointments include a Director of Developmentand a Director of Learning and Teaching.


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Mission statement

10 The Mission Statement of the College states that'Trinity and All Saints is called to be a community forhigher education (HE) in the Catholic tradition:

committed to learning, teaching, scholarshipand care;inspired by Christian ideals and principlesof inclusiveness;informed by charity, justice and prayer'.

Background information

11 The published information available for thisaudit included:

the report of a quality audit of the College bythe Higher Education Quality Council (HEQC)(November 1996);the report of a HEFCE quality assessment reportof Communications and Media Studies(November 1997);the report of an Agency subject review ofpsychology (November 1999);the report of an Agency subject review ofhospitality, leisure, recreation, sport and tourism(October 2000);the report of an Agency subject review of theologyand religious studies (November 2001).

12 The College provided the Agency with:

the College's undergraduate andpostgraduate prospectuses;an institutional self-evaluation document (SED);a discipline self-evaluation document (DSED) foreach of the three areas selected for the DATs;its Accreditation Agreement 2001, CorporatePlan 2000, Operating Statement 2002-03,External Examiners' Handbook for undergraduateprovision 2002-03, External Examiners'Handbook for postgraduate provision 2002-03,and Student Handbook 2002-03.

13 During the audit visit, the audit team was givenready access to the College's internal documents,many of which were available through the intranet.

The audit process

14 Following a preliminary meeting at the Collegein August 2002, the Agency confirmed that threeDATs would be conducted during the audit visit. Theaudit team decided that the DATs would focus onBA (Single/Joint Honours) Management, BA (JointHonours) Media and BA (Honours) History.

15 The Agency received the College's SED in January2003 and its DSED for BA (Single/Joint Honours)

Management, BA (Joint Honours) Media and BA(Honours) History, in February 2003. The SED waswritten specifically for the purposes of the audit andthe DSEDs for History and Management were writtenas part of the College's routine internal reviewprocesses. The DSED for Media was producedspecifically for the purposes of the audit.

16 The audit team visited the College on 12 and13 March, to explore with the Principal, seniormembers of staff and student representativesmatters relating to the management of quality andstandards raised by the SED and otherdocumentation provided for the team. At the closeof the briefing visit a programme of meetings forthe audit visit was developed by the team andagreed with the College.

17 At the preliminary meeting for the audit, thestudents of the College were invited, through theirUnion of Students (TASCUS), to submit a separatedocument (the student written submission (SWS))expressing views on the student experience at theCollege, and identifying any matters of concern orcommendation about the quality of programmesand the standard of awards. The TASCUS decidedthat it would not provide a separate submission toaudit. This was a decision based upon very closeinvolvement of the TASCUS at all stages in thedevelopment and submission of the institution's SED.

18 The audit visit took place from 12 to 16 May2003 and included further meetings with staff andstudents of the College. The audit team was ProfessorB Brown, Mr P Griffiths, Dr R Morgan-Tamosunas, DrR A H Robinson, auditors, and Mr K Hodgson, auditsecretary. The audit was coordinated for the Agencyby Dr J Ellis, Assistant Director, Reviews Group. Theteam is grateful to all those who made themselvesavailable to assist it with its enquiries.

Developments since the previous academicquality audit

19 Before the present audit, the Collegeparticipated in the HEQC quality audit in 1996.This commended a number of the College'sarrangements including its approach to externalityin quality assurance; aspects of the validationprocess; its introduction of student-staff academiccommittees (SSAC); and a personal tutor system.The recommendations that the College was askedto consider included clarifying student use ofUniversity library facilities; enhancing further thedissemination of good practice across the College;and improving staff support.

Institutional Audit Report: main report

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20 The audit team noted a number of changes,some major, since 1996 including the reorganisationof the College into four faculties which has led togreater devolved responsibility; the creation offaculty quality and standards committees (FQSCs);and the recent introduction in each faculty oflearning and teaching coordinators and recruitmentand retention coordinators. The College has alsointroduced improved induction and mentoringarrangements for new lecturing staff as well ascollege-wide peer observation of teaching.

21 The College has been subject to three subjectreviews and one quality assessment since 1996.The reports of these subject reviews considered theprovision to be 'approved'. Since 1997, the Collegehas also had 18 Office for Standards in Educationinspections of initial teacher training; an accreditationvisit from the University; assessment for the award ofInvestors in People; and accreditation visits from theBritish Psychological Society (BPS), the BroadcastJournalism Training Council and the National Councilfor the Training of Journalists.

22 The audit team noted that, through its internalcommittee structures, the College had given carefuland serious consideration to the content of thesereports and it has responded positively andthoroughly to enhance its procedures in responseto suggestions made in the reports.

Section 2: The audit investigations:institutional processes

The institution's view as expressed in the SED

23 In the SED, the College describes itsarrangements for the maintenance and enhancementof the quality of its programmes and the academicstandards of awards. The SED had been prepared bya small steering group which had routinely involvedall sections of the College through regular briefingsand by providing opportunities for debate. Thesteering group included student representation andthe document had also been shared, through itsdevelopment, with the University.

24 The SED gave a clear description of qualityassurance arrangements and a thorough evaluationof their effectiveness, and the audit team found thisself-critical approach, and the clear intention to learnfrom practice, to be evident throughout its visit. Thedocument identified elements of strength but wasalso open about those areas of the College's currentpractice that it had identified as requiring furtherimprovement or enhancement. The team noted with

interest that the quality of analytical reporting by theCollege had been previously commended in Agencysubject review and that the University, inconsideration of its accreditation arrangements, hadalso identified this evaluative approach as being afeature of documentation prepared by the College.In its meetings with staff and its review of additionaldocumentation, the team formed the view that thisself-critical and inclusive approach was characteristicof the College and wished to cite this as an exampleof good practice.

The institution's framework for managingquality and standards, includingcollaborative provision

25 The College SED described its arrangements forthe maintenance and enhancement of quality andstandards as being fit for purpose and designed tomeet relevant external requirements andexpectations. The College's framework for managingquality and standards is supported by a SMT; thePrincipal is supported by four assistant principals,each of whom carries responsibilities for specificfunctions and departments, and the recentappointment of a Director of Development to assistin a 'more proactive strategic approach' toprogramme development. Four deans now managefaculties which have 'enabled greater devolution ofbudgets, staff development and qualitymanagement'. The College is described as beingcommitted to this progressive devolution ofresponsibility to faculty level while maintaininginstitutional oversight.

26 The Academic Board, Academic StandardsCommittee (ASC) and Course Validation Committee(CVC) are key elements of the institutionalframework for the management of quality andstandards. The Academic Board is described in theSED as being the forum for determination of overallpolicy, with ASC having responsibility for periodicreview of quality and standards and CVC takingresponsibility for consideration of new provision andmajor modifications. Following the establishment ofthe four faculty structure, the Academic Boardconsidered that, to enhance a local sense ofownership, each faculty should establish a FQSC witha remit for 'all matters relating to the maintenanceand enhancement of quality and standards'.

27 The Quality Support Unit, which collects anddisseminates data and communicates informationregarding relevant policies and procedures, providessupport for all aspects of the quality assurancearrangements. There is also a Quality AssuranceDocument Directory, available on-line and in hard


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copy, which contains the detailed evaluation,monitoring, review and validation procedures ofthe College.

The institution's intentions for theenhancement of quality and standards

28 In the SED, the College identified issues that itintends to address to enhance the quality of provisionand the standards of awards. Issues included:continuing to develop the independent perspectiveafforded by external review; monitoring the recentlyintroduced arrangements for periodic review throughinternal audit; further consolidating the elements ofthe academic infrastructure into the fabric of theCollege's framework for maintenance andenhancement of quality and standards; monitoringthe impact of the appointment of the retention andrecruitment coordinators; further devolvingresponsibilities to faculty level while maintainingappropriate oversight at institutional level;

29 Other areas identified by the College toenhance the management of quality and standardsincluded: completing its review of the work of theFQSCs; monitoring the end of year reviews at facultylevel; further developing its analysis of the StudentSatisfaction Survey; completing its review of theprofessional attachment programme; monitoring thecontribution made by the faculty learning andteaching coordinators to the identification anddissemination of good practice.

30 The audit team noted that many of these issueshad been developed with the guidance of theAssistant Principal (Academic) and the Director ofLearning and Teaching and had been flagged upacross the College, with many reviews already inprogress. Very few of the issues raised were notalready the subject of some form of review at thetime of the audit and it is a testament to theCollege's current maturity that it is so clearly intenton continuing to learn from practice. The teamconsidered that these planned actions would makea useful contribution to the College's processes andoperational practices for assuring the quality ofprogrammes and enhancing the learningopportunities available to students.

Internal approval, monitoring andreview processes

Programme approval

31 The College has produced procedures, whichare reviewed annually, for the design and approvalof its provision. Proposals to the CVC areaccompanied by confirmation from the Assistant

Registrar (Quality Support) that the relevantprocedures have been followed and thedocumentation is appropriate for presentation to theCommittee. The procedures are detailed and theQuality Support Unit plays an important part inproviding guidance in the preparatory stages. TheCollege has recently agreed, with the full support ofthe University, to streamline the processes it uses forthe consideration of major modifications toprogrammes, with the intention of rationalisingsome of the 'excessively demanding' procedures.The audit team noted that such changes were onlyagreed where there was continued guarantee of themaintenance of standards. This careful approach tothe design and approval of its provision has receivedrecognition and commendation from the University,where the implementation of these procedures hasbeen described as exemplary.

32 The SED described how the University playsan important role in providing oversight for theimplementation of the College's procedures.The long-standing collaborative arrangementsculminated in an agreement, in 2001, between theCollege and the University. The agreement definedthe College's accredited status and continuedapproval for the College to develop and deliverprogrammes leading to awards of the University.The current agreement is, in the first instance, inforce until July 2007.

33 The effectiveness of the operationalarrangements between the University and theCollege are described as having 'in general, workedwell' with the accreditation agreement having led toimproved communication and greater clarity ofrespective responsibilities. Although there weresome further improvements to the collaborativearrangements to which the College was continuingto contribute, the audit team largely agreed withthe view of the University, as expressed in the reportof the review meeting held in 2003, that 'theagreement had proved very successful in providinga helpful sharpening to the rigour of the processesbetween the two institutions which now operatedwith clearly documented and appropriateprocedures and lines of communication'.

Annual monitoring

34 The SED reported on the College's annualreview process. The College routinely monitors awide range of information and data through theoperation of its ASC and FQSC. These monitoringand review processes include scrutiny of externalexaminers' reports, statistical data, informationrelating to the student experience and the annualreview of the relationship with the University.


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The annual review procedures have also beenrecently expanded to enable all sections of studentservices to present individual reports to the SMT.At faculty level, the FQSCs consider proposals forcurriculum changes and the impact of externaldevelopments on the design and operation ofprogrammes at the subject level. The College hasindicated that, with effect from 2002-03, FQSCsshould consider the outcomes of end-of-year reviewsof provision undertaken by course teams.

Periodic review

35 The SED described how the College hasdeveloped a new system for quadrennial periodicreview based on an internal audit of provision. Therationale was considered by Academic Board whichagreed that this periodic review would need tooperate 'within a broader framework whereby thequality and standards of provision would continueto be monitored by the ASC on an annual basis'.The College intends that, in terms of the interfacewith annual monitoring, periodic review should spana longer period to permit an identification of trends.The method of periodic review employed by theCollege had been developed in collaboration withthe University and was based upon a similararrangement in operation at the University.To ensure that these revised procedures wereimplemented effectively, the College had initiated aprogramme of staff development for its auditors incollaboration with the University. The audit teamformed the view that this change to the College'sreview processes was built upon a thoroughevaluation of previous practice.

36 The audit team found that the work of the ASC,in its routine monitoring of a wide range of dataand information, was a clear safeguard for theCollege in its intentions to maintain and monitor thequality and academic standards of its work. TheFQSCs routinely considered external examiners'reports and action to be taken, reports from SSACs,proposed changes in curricula and a range of otherissues generally stimulated by developments in thewider HE sector. Some annual reviews of subjectswere also considered, but the team found that therewas some lack of transparency in the ways in whicheach of the FQSCs operated in this regard and theinformation that subsequently passed through to theASC as a result of this scrutiny was consequentlysomewhat inconsistent. The College had alreadyrecognised this issue and is in the process ofreviewing the operation of the FQSCs and theirinterface with ASC and CVC. In light of this plannedreview, the team would encourage the College toconsider means by which the FQSCs might

discharge their responsibilities more transparentlyand consistently with particular reference to theirrole in annual monitoring.

External participation in internalreview processes

37 The accreditation agreement between theUniversity and the College requires that there isUniversity representation throughout the review andapproval mechanisms of the College, and this issupported by the work of University subjectrepresentatives (USRs) and University committeerepresentatives. The accreditation agreementbrought with it some significant changes to theways in which the USRs in particular now operatewithin the College. USRs previously acted as secondmarkers for a proportion of assessed work before itssubmission to external examiners. Because of theaccreditation agreement, USRs are no longer directlyinvolved with the assessment of student work,although they continue to be consulted on issuesrelating to the design and validation of provision.The SED indicates that 'there is still work to do toensure that all USRs have a clear and accurateunderstanding of a role that has been subject tosignificant and ongoing modification'. While thisremains essentially a matter for the University, theaudit team was reassured, through its meeting withUSRs, that such clarification as was necessary hastaken place and that the contribution made by USRscontinues to be highly valued by the College.

38 One significant benefit of the collaboration withthe University is the confidence it has provided forthe College to continue the expansion of its externalnetwork. Following the use of external members in areview of education, the University 'felt this was avery welcome development and encouraged theCollege to develop this further'. The subsequentinvolvement of external specialists, as a matter ofcourse, in the College's internal audit proceduresappeared to the audit team to be entirely in linewith the advice provided by the accrediting body.The shift towards greater externality was describedby the College as being 'an increasingly importantelement' of its work, and the team noted a numberof examples of the College benchmarking itsacademic and support provision against the widerHE sector. The team was confident that the Collegewas making appropriate use of external participantsin the full range of its quality assurance processes.The College may find it desirable to continue tobuild upon this engagement with the HE sector andon the increased externality recently incorporatedinto the management of quality and academic


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standards by increasing the use of independentexternal membership of panels and audit teams invalidation and review.

External examiners and their reports

39 The SED highlighted the systematic andscrupulous consideration of reports from externalexaminers as one of the distinguishingcharacteristics of the College's framework for theassurance and enhancement of quality andstandards. External examiners are appointed withthe approval of the Chair of the ASC and theUniversity Representative on ASC.

40 An external examiners' handbook sets out theappointment procedure and external examiners'responsibilities for ensuring the compatibility ofacademic standards. External examiners' reports areconsidered by the Chair of Panel of Examiners, Deanof Faculty, Assistant Principal (Academic) and thePrincipal, and by the appropriate FQSC and ASC.In their annual reports external examiners are alsorequired to comment to the University Senatethrough the College ASC and Learning andTeaching Board of the University.

41 The reports examined by the audit team, inconjunction with the samples of assessed work,consistently confirmed the rigour and effectivenessof the College's assessment procedures and criteria,and the rigorous standards of its awards, both interms of the national frameworks, and in relation tocomparable awards at other HE institutions. Fromthe documented and oral evidence available, theteam concluded that there are in place meticulousand robust processes which enable the College toderive maximum benefit from their externalexaminers, and the team consider these to be anexample of good practice.

External reference points

42 The SED describes how the College's frameworkfor the assurance and enhancement of quality andstandards ensured 'systematic consideration byrelevant staff and through the committee structure'of the Code of practice for the assurance of academicquality and standards in higher education (Code ofpractice), subject benchmark statements and Theframework for higher education qualifications inEngland, Wales and Northern Ireland (FHEQ),published by the Agency, to embed them withincourse design, approval and review. The audit teamconsidered that a notable feature of the review andapproval procedures was the way in which externalreference points had been embedded into the

routine procedures of the College in recent years.For example, external examiners are required toreport regularly on how the College has consideredthe purposes of the reference points, reflected on itsown practices and make, if necessary, anyappropriate changes. The evidence available tothe team indicated that the College has takenownership of the academic infrastructure at alllevels, embedding its principles within institutionaland discipline practices at all levels.

43 The College has approached each section ofthe Code of practice in a systematic way throughappropriate committees reporting to AcademicBoard, identifying any areas requiring action.Professional Attachments, a distinctive feature of theCollege's provision, are under ongoing review in thelight of the Code of practice, Section 9: Placementlearning. The College has established an action planidentifying proposed enhancements with targetdates for completion.

44 The College had also approved a template forthe production of programme specifications as partof its review of its approval procedures. In so doing,the College 'signalled its intention to undertake aphased approach to the production of programmespecifications'. The FHEQ was a prominent feature ofapproval procedures with Academic Board havingdecided to approve a set of related descriptors for allof the College's awards. The audit team noted theexplicit use of the FHEQ in meetings of the CVCwhere proposals were being considered for approval.Subject benchmark statements are also now used aspart of the routine approval procedures.

45 The audit team noted the ways in which theCollege has drawn carefully upon the Agency'sexternal reference points, including the Code ofpractice, the FHEQ and subject benchmarkstatements in reviewing its practices; and thesubsequent incorporation of these practices into itsstandard quality assurance procedures. The teamconsidered the College's use of the reference pointsas an example of good practice.

Programme-level review and accreditationby external agencies

46 The SED described how the College hadanalysed the outcomes of subject reviews and hadtaken action to strengthen any identified areas ofweakness. The audit team had the opportunity toexamine in detail the ways in which the College hadresponded to the Agency subject review of theologyand religious studies. This example providedconsiderable evidence that such reports are used, not


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only as external indicators of quality and standards,but as significant opportunities for enhancement.

47 Relevant programmes are subject toaccreditation by, among others, the BPS and variousjournalism councils. The audit team examinedsubstantial documentation relating to the positiveoutcome of the BPS accreditation. This demonstratedthat the College had contributed, through itsAcademic Board, to the accreditation application andthat the implications of successful accreditation interms of revised staffing levels and professionalattachment requirements were being addressed withvigour. The team concluded that it was standardpractice for the College to own both the positiveelements and the implications for professionalaccreditation at institutional level, and to use theopportunities these bring for the greater benefit ofthe institution as a whole.

Student representation at operational andinstitutional level

48 The SED described how students arerepresented on the Board of the Governors,Academic Board, CVC and the ASC. At faculty level,SSACs have been developed to provide studentswith a formal representative structure. The SSACsare designed to ensure that the student body mayhave extensive opportunity to be involved indebating and contributing to all aspects of provisionin both developmental and operational aspects.

49 The audit team heard how studentscommended the open and responsive culturethroughout the College in both academic andsupport departments. Their opinion was valued anddemonstrable action by the College resulted inpositive changes about matters of academic quality,including, for example, timetabling issues and theconsistency of academic feedback mechanisms.

50 The audit team would endorse the viewexpressed in the SED that the College's commitmentto student consultation provides opportunities forthe College to evaluate their programme andstudent experience. The team agreed that theCollege arrangements for quality assurance andenhancement are characterised by a strongemphasis upon student consultation within bothformal and informal processes. The comparativelymodest scale of the College allows for a high levelof communication between the officers of theStudents' Union and senior staff, and betweenstudents and academic and support staff, and theteam concluded that student representation waswell organised, reliable and effective.

Feedback from students, graduatesand employers

51 Formal arrangements for obtaining feedbackinclude a comprehensive annual cycle of studentsurveys undertaken by the Quality Support Unit. Eachof these sources of information has clear arrangementsfor institutional analysis and action, and contribute toa number of quality assurance procedures includingmodule evaluation and internal audit.

52 The Quality Support Unit undertakes an InitialInduction Survey in early October focused uponlevel 1 students and investigates choice ofestablishment, pre-enrolment perceptions andfeedback on the formal induction process.In December, a Welfare Survey of all studentsinvestigates accommodation, catering, studentsupport services and finance, while the February-March Student Satisfaction Survey concentratesupon learning and teaching and learning resources.There are also module evaluation questionnaires,completed at the end of each module. Thesesurveys are seen as important sources of informationfor the College and their results are well embeddedin the evaluation processes at both institutional andoperational levels. Response rates to the surveys arehigh and they are producing high qualityquantitative and qualitative information. The auditteam believes the College's use of studentsatisfaction surveys as sources of information inthe management of quality and standards to be afeature of good practice.

53 All programmes of study are covered by anappropriately constituted SSAC, the remit for whichincludes consideration of any matters relating toacademic provision. The minutes of these committeesillustrate that they consider a range of issues includingthe results of the various questionnaires as well asthose for module evaluation. The audit team was ableto discuss the detailed operation of SSACs withstudents and staff. They concluded that their remit,(including an independent staff member from outsidethe Faculty) and democratic operation (which in mostcases had resulted in students providing both Chairand Secretary) is an excellent model. The systemworks well, has demonstrable impact upon academicquality enhancement, and ensures that the College iswell informed on student opinion. The team believesthe College's use of SSACs in the management ofquality and standards to be a feature of good practice.

54 The audit team recognised that the College hadsought to ensure through the TASCUS that greatersupport and training might be given to enhance thestudent contribution to SSACs. The team believes the


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College may find it desirable to formalise trainingfor student representatives to realise fully the clearpotential of SSACs as a significant contributor to themanagement of quality and standards.

Progression and completion statistics

55 The SED explained that routine monitoring atcorporate level is undertaken by the ASC through anannual reporting cycle which considers a wide rangeof information and data. The form and content ofthese are kept under review by Academic Boardthrough the ASC. Internal statistical indicators areprovided annually by study area, permitting carefulmonitoring of recruitment, entry profile, retentionand progression by programme. Emerging trendswere noted and issues of concern weresystematically followed up by appropriate managers,including the Chair. The SMT also carries out regularanalysis of admissions data. Particular concernsabout recruitment in modern languages, forexample, had been the subject of a special reviewby Academic Board which informed the College'sstrategic decision-making process.

56 In 2000-01, the College established a QualitySupport Unit, led by the Assistant Registrar (QualitySupport), with responsibility, inter alia, for collecting,collating and disseminating information frommodule evaluation questionnaires and studentsatisfaction surveys. This facilitates review ofstatistical data in relation to evidence of the studentexperience. Performance in relation to nationalaverages and HEFCE benchmarks reflects theCollege's commitment to widening participation,and is supported by the recent introduction offaculty recruitment and retention coordinatorswhose role, initially, will be to gather faculty goodpractice on tracking student progression.

57 Statistical and evaluative information is alsoscrutinised at faculty and subject level. Module-levelassessment data, as well as student feedback, isanalysed annually at subject level and in SSACs, andreported and reviewed at FQSCs which report to ASC.

58 On the basis of the documentation provided,the audit team found the quality and availability ofstatistical information to be adequate and effectivelyused to inform monitoring, analysis and strategicplanning within the institution.

Assurance of quality of teaching staff,appointment, appraisal and reward

59 The SED claimed that the College recognisedthat its staff were its most valuable resource, and thatthe prime responsibility for assuring academic

standards rests with the lecturing staff and theirskill, experience and professionalism. The Collegeacknowledged that while it has in place secureplanning arrangements to ensure that staffing levelsare appropriate, it had experienced problems inmaking appointments to advertised vacancies.Policies are therefore in place, fully articulatedthrough a robust Human Resources (HR) Strategy, toencourage a wider range of high-quality applicants,including enhanced relocation packages, andimproved support provision for staff through thecreation of family and emergency leave entitlements.

60 The quality of academic appointments issecured by appropriate membership ofappointments panels, which include externalmembers (normally from the University), improvedselection processes (including the involvement ofstudents), tests, and a rigorous focus upon selectionagainst a person specification. In meetings with newstaff it was clear that these policies were beingimplemented in a very professional manner, andthat the experience of recruitment matched thepolicy expectations. Interview panels were also wellbriefed as to their roles and responsibilities, forexample, in relation to equal opportunities. Theaudit team also considered the appointment ofpart-time staff. The team saw evidence to confirmthat part-time staff received appropriate inductionand were closely integrated into the College.

61 The College has probation periods for newstaff (as appropriate and if recommended byappointment panels), and normally expects newstaff with less then three years of teachingexperience in HE to undertake the PostgraduateCertificate in Learning and Teaching offered by theUniversity. A salary enhancement is offered to staffwho successfully complete this programme. Newstaff are also assigned a departmental mentor.Meetings with staff confirmed that thesearrangements were working and well understood.

62 The scale of the College means that theopportunities for promotion to senior posts arelimited. The SED acknowledged this and relatedmatters, and the HR Strategy sets out clear policies forproviding other career development support designedto promote the retention of staff. This includesfunding to support membership of the Institute forLearning and Teaching in Higher Education.

63 There is a formal appraisal system which is linkedclosely to staff development within the contexts ofboth College strategic needs and individualaspirations. Meetings with staff indicated that thestaff appraisal system was clearly understood,operated as planned, and was closely linked to theCollege's systems of support for staff development.


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64 The audit team was assured that the policiesand practices in the College provide the basis forthe securing of high-quality staff recruitment andretention, and that the HR policy is an importantcomponent of the systems for assuring academicquality and standards.

Assurance of quality of teaching throughstaff support and development

65 The College has in place a clear policy on staffdevelopment, which the SED noted includedsystems for supporting scholarship and professionalupdating and a Research Leave Fund. Previous auditreports had commended good practice but theCollege had subsequently sought to make significantimprovements to its arrangements. These include anextension of appraisal, formal management trainingfor senior staff and a strategic approach to staffdevelopment covering all employees.

66 A comprehensive HR Strategy has been adoptedand states that a cross-college training needsanalysis in 1999-2000 forms the basis for developingthe skills of all staff, channelled towards achievingthe College's strategic objectives. The approachwithin the framework of expectation provided byInvestors in People has enabled the College toaddress its needs through both a comprehensivein-house training programme and targetedindividual training. The easy accessibility of a widerange of institutional support documentation inrelation to staff development and personnel policyand practice on the College's intranet was a modelof good practice reflective of the high quality of theintranet as a source of information and support forboth staff and students. The audit team concludedthat the College's use of the intranet as a means ofcommunication of information to staff and studentswas a feature of good practice.

67 A further important College process forenhancing the quality of teaching was the SharingPractice through Observation of Teaching scheme.This is a peer observation and support systemintroduced during the previous academic year, theintentions of which are developmental - the systemis independent of the College's staff appraisalscheme, which may also include classroomobservation. Discussion with staff, including thoseemployed on a part-time basis, showed that thissystem was widely embedded and already resultingin positive improvements in teaching practice.

68 The audit team was able to conclude thatthe College's analysis of its approaches to staffdevelopment in support of the assurance of the

quality of teaching was accurate. The Collegeclearly valued its staff and had developed soundapproaches to providing support at an individuallevel but in a strategic context. The monitoring ofthe progress of the system at individual andcorporate level was working, and good practicewithin the College was shared widely betweenfaculties and departments, aided by the relativelysmall scale of the College.

Learning support resources

69 The development and delivery of learningresources is set from the College perspective withinthe Learning and Teaching Strategy and theInformation Technology (IT) Strategy. InformationSupport Services is an integrated learning resourceinfrastructure which brings together the library,computer services and the web developmentservice, and is closely articulated with the faculties.The most important new development is theAndrew Kean Learning Centre, completed inDecember 2002, which houses the library, ITfacilities and study space of a high standard. Thisnew facility complements other capital investmentincluding a Media Centre and Management Centre.

70 The College's SED noted that responsibility forthe allocation of resources to learning support restswith the SMT. An allocation system based largelyupon student numbers, but including considerationof special requirements, has enabled the College toprovide support in relation to identified needs.In meetings with staff it was clear that the resourceallocation and management procedures used by theCollege were responsive and delivered within anefficient and cost-effective framework.

71 The audit team was able to note in meetingswith students that there was generally a high levelof satisfaction with resources for learning providedby the College. It was also clear in discussions withstudents that they made use of the University'slibrary (at which they have borrowing rights) andthat the College's sections of the University's VirtualLearning Environment (VLE) system, BodingtonCommon, was playing a developing role inproviding access to a wide range of electronicsources and specific programme-related material.

72 From summaries of recent student surveys,discussion with students during the DATs, andthrough discussions with support staff on resourceallocation, the audit team was able to conclude thatthe College was providing good learning supportopportunities for students, was undertaking effectivemonitoring of resource use, and was able to


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demonstrate a responsive approach to solving bothstrategic and operational resource problems.

Academic guidance, support and supervision

73 A Personal Tutor System provides a first point ofcontact for academic and pastoral advice. The SEDnoted that there appeared to have been acomparatively high level of dissatisfaction with thissystem as reported, for example, in the StudentSatisfaction Survey for 2001-02. Following thissurvey the ASC commissioned a full review whichsuggested a revised approach. From September2002, therefore, a Progress Tutor system wasintroduced for first-year students, integrated withPersonal Development Planning (PDP).

74 A comprehensive Progress Tutor Handbook(2002-03) has been produced to support staff in thenew approach and this was examined by the auditteam. Progress tutors and the PDP process are nownearing the end of the first year of their operation,and meetings with students and progress tutorsindicated that although there were some occasionalproblems such as the difficulty of arrangingmeetings with tutors who were employed on apart-time basis, there was general agreement thisnew system was extremely effective. Throughdiscussions with students the team concluded thatstudents had excellent access to personal academicsupport and that academic staff were providingclear arrangements for access through timetabledperiods of their personal availability. The scale of theCollege allowed the effective operation of aninformal support system in which students had easyaccess to a range of academic advice. The teamconsider the development of systematic andinterlocking support arrangements to be a featureof good practice.

75 Professional attachments are an important anddistinctive feature of College provision. Thisprovision requires considerable academic andpractical support and is set within a validated set ofmodules which contribute credit to awards. Theaudit team was able to confirm by discussions withstudents the importance and value of theseplacements, but it was clear that there had beensome internal operational problems, in part due tostaffing shortages in the Employment PartnershipOffice. The team saw evidence to assure them thatextensive discussion and management actions hadtaken place to remedy the problems.

76 Although its number of research students issmall, the College has instituted a clear system fortheir support in academic matters and has a

Research Committee which reports to AcademicBoard to oversee arrangements. The Committeeincludes a member from the University. College andUniversity staff jointly supervise all research students.Discussion with research students indicated that thelevel of support provided was good, and that thecollaboration with the University provided the basisfor high quality academic supervision.

Personal support and guidance

77 The College established the post of Director ofStudent Support Services in September 2001 toenhance the coordination and integration of alreadywell-established individual student support services.Within the context of the former system of personaltutors and the new arrangements for progress tutors,roles which have both academic and personalsupport responsibilities, the College has a range ofindividual services dedicated to individual studentneeds. These are described in detail for all students inthe Student Handbook, and include financial advice,a counselling service, disability service, a careersservice and student heath centre.

78 The audit team was also made aware bystudents of the important welfare support roleplayed by the Chaplaincy, which works closelywith the College services. The importance of hallwardens, who are senior students with specificresponsibilities in each hall of residence, as 'front line'providers of advice and support, was also noted.

79 Each of the student support services makes areport to the Director of Student Support Servicesevery semester, and an overview is provided toAcademic Board each year. Considerable monitoringdata is provided through the annual Welfare Surveyof all students, and further information on theeffectiveness of the services is gathered in theannual Student Satisfaction Surveys, informationwhich is itself subject to analysis by variouscommittees on a regular basis.

80 The College has developed its careers servicewith the intention of making it a more proactive andfocused service for students. The College wants toprovide career management as an integral,timetabled part of the curriculum. The Job Shop wasseen as a valuable addition to the service, and careersstaff noted that the recommendation to students tolimit part-time work to 15 hours each week wasdesigned to ensure a proper balance betweenacademic work and the need to earn income.

81 In all its meetings with students the audit teamfound that they valued the support services, wereaware of their resources, and were entirely satisfied


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that the College provided a responsive and caringenvironment both for resident and non-resident, fulland part-time students. The team was impressed bythe College's clear commitment to the support of itsstudents within an inclusive and supportiveframework, and noted that further improvementsin access to support services would result from theplanned co-location of services due to take placewithin the current capital programme.

Section 3: The audit investigations:discipline trails and thematic enquiries

Discipline audit trails

82 In each of the selected DATs, appropriatemembers of the audit team met staff and studentsto discuss the programmes, studied a sample ofassessed student work, saw examples of learningresource materials, and studied annual module andprogramme reports and periodic reviews relating tothe programmes.

Management

83 The DSED for programmes in management wasan internal audit document prepared under a newCollege quality and standards procedure. The reportwas comprehensive in coverage, adopted a self-criticalapproach, and had been considered by an internalCollege audit team which included both Universityand independent membership. Both the internal auditand programme documentation indicated that thepurposes and intentions of the Code of practice hadbeen addressed in the design and development of theBA Management programme, and the College's policywas being followed in the rolling programme ofproducing programme specifications at the time ofvalidation and course review.

84 The management programmes are designed tocontribute to the College's mission by providing adistinct learning experience and in particular one thatplaces the emphasis on a vocational learningexperience. The programmes explore managementpractice and practical business issues, withprofessional attachments given a central role.The reports of the external examiners for theundergraduate programme note a high quality ofstudent attainment and the module evaluationquestionnaires indicate that students regarded thecontext and delivery favourably. The audit team wereable to examine a wide range of assessed work fromall levels of the programme, and noted the carefulmarking, helpful feedback to students on coursework,and clear double-marking within College policy.

85 The DSED explained how the FQSC had takena considered view of the alignment of the existingundergraduate courses to the relevant externalreference points. The audit team examined thecourse specifications and validation documentsand was able to confirm that these were entirelyappropriate. The general standard of studentachievement was appropriate to BA (Single/JointHonours) Management and the award's locationwithin the FHEQ.

86 New students on the undergraduate programmesare provided with a comprehensive First YearHandbook, and detailed descriptions of each moduleare provided in both written form and on the web.These provide detailed information on content andassessment. Second and third-year handbooks arebeing prepared; however, discussion with studentsconfirmed that the information provided was bothappropriate and accurate, and students clearlyunderstood their assessment and grading classification.There is also a well organised system of feedback tostudents which had a consistency of approach acrossall modules, and students felt that they had very goodsupport in this and other course matters from theacademic staff. Few students reported problems, butthey knew how to access personal support and adviceif it were required.

87 Key features of the management programmesat undergraduate level are the two professionalattachments. These are organised within the Collegeframework and for management students these hadclearly been able to provide a very positivecontribution to their personal and professionaldevelopment. The work-related professionaldevelopment which these placements provided hadassisted student teams to be especially successful inexternal competition in recent years, illustrating thebroad contribution to career preparation providedby placements.

88 The audit team concluded that the qualityof learning opportunities was suitable for theprogramme of study leading to the award ofBA (Single/Joint Honours) Management.

Media

89 The Media DSED was a detailed and self-criticaldocument prepared by the Dean of the Faculty incollaboration with the Faculty Quality Assurance andEnhancement Tutor and in consultation with staffand students through the SSAC. The DSEDencompassed the undergraduate Scheme of Studyin Media within which students take BA Mediaprogrammes in combination with a choice of othersubjects. The current programme was validated in


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1999, undergoing significant change in 2001 andfurther minor modifications in 2003 within thecontext of the Subject benchmark statement forcommunication, media, film and cultural studies.

90 As confirmed by the external examiners, theobjectives and content of the Media Scheme provisionwere consistent with both the Subject benchmarkstatement and the FHEQ. Programme specificationswere not yet available for media programmes sincethe College was gradually introducing these asprogrammes become due for review and revalidation.The general standard of student achievement wasappropriate to BA (Joint Honours) Media and theaward's location within the FHEQ.

91 The DSED described the scheme as vocationaland profession-orientated with a strong theoreticalunderpinning, and stressed the importance placedon the integration of theory and practice which wasrecognised by external examiners. Core Theorymodules at all three levels provide a soundtheoretical framework, and students are introducedto a range of media skills and practices within thiscritical context at level 1, with a choice of corepreferences and options at levels 2 and 3. A widerange of learning activities is designed to developacademic, technical and transferable skills which areassessed in a variety of ways. Core modules aresupported through the publication of lecture noteson the web-based Bodington Common VLE.Students valued the combination of staff academicand professional experience, with inputs from arange of media and production practitioners.

92 Learning is supported by a purpose-built MediaCentre offering radio and TV production facilities.This is operated according to a student-centredaccess and use policy, the effectiveness of whichwas confirmed to the audit team in meetings withstudents and reflected in documentary evidence.Procedures are in place at faculty and college levelsfor capital resource planning and enhancement inthe light of increasing student numbers andtechnological developments, as well as for relatedstaff development; staff were aware of, and madeuse of, these mechanisms. Media students weregenerally satisfied with the library provision,although some access difficulties were reported atkey assessment pressure points. However, a numberof measures had been put in place to seek toameliorate this situation, including short loanarrangements. Media students are also able to usethe University library and now benefit from thenewly-opened Andrew Kean Learning Centre.

93 Professional attachments at levels 1 and 2 area key and mature feature of the scheme and arequirement for progression to levels 2 and 3. Theseare seen by staff and students as an opportunity toput theory into practice. Placement providers,College tutors and students clearly understood thepurpose of the attachment and their relativeresponsibilities as a result of the cleardocumentation provided and contact with Collegetutors and the Employer Partnership Office. Bothstudents and employers spoke very positively of thevalue of the attachments which frequently resultedin further placement and other employmentopportunities, and providers generally foundstudents to be of a high calibre.

94 Assessment requirements and criteria are setout in level and module handbooks provided tostudents, and also available on-line. The sample ofmarked and moderated student work seen by theaudit team, confirmed the operation of robustassessment practices (including double-marking andfeedback practices) which were also confirmed byexternal examiners. The assessed work available forexamination, with external examiners reports,confirmed that the rigour and standards ofassessment and performance are comparable withthose of other institutions. Students expressed somemisgivings, of which staff were aware, about theopportunity for their individual contribution to befairly recognised in the operation and assessment ofgroup work. This form of assessment was underongoing active review and revision, and staff wereaware of, and in some cases actively involved in,national debates about group work.

95 Module evaluation questionnaires were regularlyused to elicit student feedback which wassystematically reviewed at subject level anddiscussed at the Media SSAC. The importantfunction and effectiveness of this forum for raisingand debating issues within media was evident fromthe documentation available to the audit team andmeetings with students and staff (see above,paragraphs 52, 53).

96 The audit team concluded that the qualityof learning opportunities was suitable for theprogramme of study leading to the award of BA(Joint Honours) Media in combination with a rangeof other available subjects.

History

97 The History DSED was the Annual MonitoringReport for History for the academic year 2001-02,routinely submitted to the FQSC of the Faculty ofArts and Social Sciences. It also covered jointhonours history programmes.


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98 As the single honours history programme hadrecently undergone a major modification, theprogramme specification was made available as anannex to the DSED. It was set out according to aninstitutional template; was clearly written; and madeexplicit reference to faculty-level checking of itsalignment with the Subject benchmark statement forhistory. Teaching staff whom the audit team metconfirmed that the Subject benchmark statement andFHEQ had been considered in the monitoring andreview of the programme.

99 The DSED made appropriate use of data onentrants, progression and completion for singlehonours. As an example of an annual monitoringreport, the DSED was comprehensive in scope,thorough in execution, self-critical whereappropriate and fit for purpose.

100 The audit team was able to see the externalexaminer's reports for the previous three years.These expressed general satisfaction with theprogramme's varied methods of assessment, as withthe standards of assessment, standards of teachingand module design. Although they raised nosubstantive issues, the team was able to see howthey were formally processed by the College's ASCfrom documentation provided.

101 Many examples of different types of writtenassessed work were made available to the audit team.These matched the expectations of the programmespecification and were generally in line with the viewsof the external examiner. The general standard ofstudent achievement was appropriate to BA (Honours)History and the award's location within the FHEQ.

102 The audit team found the student handbooks fitfor purpose and provided user-friendly information.The information for professional attachments wasalso clear and fit for purpose. The contents of thehandbooks are also available in rather differentformat on the history web site with hyperlinks to theModule Catalogue and web sites external to theCollege as sources useful for study purposes.Students whom the team met expressed theirsatisfaction with the helpful written and electronicinformation provided.

103 History staff, students and external examinerscommented positively on the learning resources andenvironment, finding them appropriate for theprogramme. Students commented on their use ofthe University's Brotherton Library as well as theCollege's library and internet. The DSED and historyteaching staff emphasised the helpfulness of thesubject liaison librarian regarding library resourcesand student help, while the Web Development

Officer assisted the staff member responsible for thehistory pages in keeping information up to date.

104 Students described the sensitivity of teachingstaff to feedback and their rapid and positiveresponses. The published findings of institutionalsatisfaction surveys could also lead to changes,students informed the audit team, by being takenup in the History SSAC, which, from documentationthe team saw and its meeting with students, fulfilledits intended functions. The minutes of SSACmeetings are publicly displayed and students theteam met instanced positive staff responses to issuesraised. From its meetings with history students andthe documentation it consulted, the team foundsolid evidence that students were actively involvedin the quality management of their programme.

105 From the printed documentation it consulted, itsreading of relevant web pages and its meetings withhistory staff and students, the audit team was able toestablish that the quality of learning opportunitieswas suitable for the programme of study leading tothe award of BA (Honours) History.

Section 4: The audit investigations:published information

The students' experience of publishedinformation and other information availableto them

106 The College provided the audit team with arange of published information including: theUndergraduate Prospectus 2002; the PostgraduateProspectus; the College's first Annual Report 2002;Student Handbook 2002-03; the Lecturing StaffHandbook 2003; the Senior Managers' HandbookNovember 2002; and the Support Staff Handbook2002. In addition, the team saw recent issues of theirregularly produced college newsletter Insideout,which is a means of informing staff of events andcollege developments, and an example of QED -The Quality Enhancement Digest, an occasionalpublication circulated to all full-time and fractionalstaff by the Director of Learning and Teaching. Theteam also saw an issue of the weekly Chaplain'snewsletter, circulated to all staff and students anddisplayed on notice-boards. At subject level, theteam saw student handbooks in the three DAT areas.The College also provided access to its intranet andthe unrestricted pages of the College's web site.

107 The audit team found the information on theweb pages well indexed and user friendly. Theaccuracy and use of information published on paper


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and the institutional and subject web pages werediscussed in two meetings with a representativeselection of students. Institutional and courseguidance information was also discussed in themeetings with students forming part of the DATs.

108 The SED explained that the UndergraduateProspectus was prepared by the MarketingCommunications Manager under the direction ofthe Head of Admissions and Marketing incollaboration with staff at subject and faculty level,as well as relevant senior staff. The perception ofacademic staff the audit team met was that therewas initial 'producer responsibility' for the accuracyof promotional material published on paper and inelectronic form. Deans had a role in checking thatinformation was accurate, but the final responsibilityfor promotional material in paper form resided withthe Assistant Principal (Registrar), who formallyapproved its publication. With regard to informationon the web site, the team learnt from the SED thatthe Director of Information Support Services wasworking at the time of audit on a 'revisedinformation and communications technologystrategy' which will ensure responsibility for theaccuracy of information put on the web. Fromteaching staff the team met it learnt that the WebDevelopment Officer is currently proactive inattempting to ensure information is up to date.

109 Students who met the audit team made it clearthat they were well satisfied with the informationthat had been made available to them. Somestudents considered that the UndergraduateProspectus had, if anything, undersold the qualityof the student experience in the College and nonevoiced any concern that the College's promotionalmaterial might have been in any respect inaccurate,unreliable or at all misleading. Similar satisfactionwas expressed regarding course handbooks andprogramme information on the internet. All thestudents the team met were aware of criteria forassessment. They told the team that they wouldknow where to look should they feel the needformally to complain; invoke the published appealsprocedure; or make use of student support services.

110 Positive features of the College's informationpolicy were the user-friendly nature of the web siteand the range of institutional and programme-levelinformation made available in paper and electronicforms. The audit team noted the care taken by theCollege to obtain feedback on its promotionalmaterial and the extent to which studentexpectations of their programmes of study had beenmet by means of college-wide surveys and moduleevaluation questionnaires providing opportunities for

comment on the accuracy and quality ofinformation. While arrangements for monitoring theaccuracy and effectiveness of promotional materialwere considered by the team to be robust, it notedthat the College may want to consider establishingcomparable arrangements for material on the web.From documentation consulted for the DATs theteam was able to observe that despite variations inthe information supplied at programme level therewas basic consistency in the provision of coreinformation across programmes. The team notedthat the accuracy of the institutional SED wascongruent with the College's careful managementof the quality of other information it provides.

111 From the documentation it consulted and fromits meetings with staff and students, the audit teamconcluded that the quantity and quality of theinformation available both for prospective studentsand students studying for awards was good.

Reliability, accuracy and completeness ofpublished information

112 From 2004, the institutional audit process willinclude a check on the reliability of the informationset published by institutions in the formatrecommended in HEFCE’s document 02/15,Information on quality and standards in highereducation (HEFCE’s document 02/15). The Collegereported that ongoing developmental work wasbeing undertaken to meet its responsibilities.

113 In its SED, the College records that it has 'takenaccount' of HEFCE’s document 02/15 in itsenhancement of its information systems. It considersitself 'well placed to respond to therecommendations contained therein' with regardto the accuracy, completeness and reliability ofpublished information. In general, as seniormanagers told the audit team, the College wasawaiting definitive guidance from the relevantnational body.

114 In general, the audit team was satisfied that theCollege is engaging constructively with therecommendations in HEFCE’s document 02/15 andis well placed to meet its responsibilities in this area.The team was also satisfied that the information theCollege is publishing currently about the quality ofits programmes and the standards of its awardsis reliable.


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Findings

Findings

115 An institutional audit of the College wasundertaken during the week commencing 12 May2003. The purpose of the audit was to providepublic information on the quality of the College'sprogrammes of study and on the discharge of itsresponsibility for the development and delivery ofprogrammes leading to awards from the University.As part of the audit process, according to protocolsagreed with HEFCE, SCOP and UUK, three DATswere selected for scrutiny. This section of the reportof the audit summarises the findings of the audit.It concludes by identifying features of good practicethat emerged from the audit, and recommendationsto the College for enhancing current practice.

The effectiveness of institutional proceduresfor assuring the quality of programmes

116 In its SED the College described, and expressedconfidence in, its arrangements for the maintenanceand enhancement of quality and standards.The College's approach to quality management isshaped by its relationship with its accrediting body,the University. The accreditation is supported by anumber of reporting mechanisms which arereviewed on an annual basis. The operatingarrangements include the routine involvement ofUSRs and University committee representatives whoprovide annual reports of their activities to theUniversity and the College.

117 The SED makes it clear that the University playsan important and valued role in the oversight of, anda benchmark for, the implementation of itsprocedures and the effectiveness of the operationalarrangements of the collaboration. The accreditationagreement has led to improved communication andgreater clarity of respective responsibilities. The auditteam examined the contribution of the College, in itsrelationship with the University, to the managementof its quality and standards and formed the view thatthe College was playing a significant part in theimprovements to, and clarification of, the respectiveroles and responsibilities.

118 The College describes its committee structure,and particularly the relationship of the AcademicBoard, CVC and the ASC as being 'at the heart ofthe College's system of quality assurance'. TheCollege routinely considers a wide range ofinformation and data through the operation of itscommittee structure. These monitoring and reviewprocesses include scrutiny of external examinersreports, statistical data, information relating to thestudent experience and the annual review of the

relationship with the University. At faculty level,FQSCs consider, among other things, proposals forcurriculum changes and the impact of externaldevelopments on the design and operation ofprovision at the subject level. The College hasindicated that, with effect from 2002-03, FQSCsshould consider the outcomes of end-of-year reviewsof provision undertaken by course teams.

119 Support for all aspects of the operation of theCollege's quality assurance arrangements is providedby the Quality Support Unit, which collects anddisseminates data and communicates informationregarding relevant policies and procedures. TheCollege has produced a Quality Assurance DocumentDirectory, available on-line and in hard copy, whichcontains the detailed evaluation, monitoring, reviewand validation procedures of the College. TheCollege's intranet also contains the definitive sourceof validated provision in a 'module bank' andprovides access to committee minutes and papers.The audit team found the Directory, as with much ofthe information available through the College'sintranet, to be readily accessible and informative.

120 The SED prepared by the College for the auditdescribed how the College has developed itsapproaches to periodic review in recent years leadingto a system of internal audits. The College intendsthat, in terms of the interface with annualmonitoring, periodic review should span a longerperiod to permit the identification of trends. TheAcademic Board has agreed a schedule for theseaudits based on quadrennial review. The teamformed the view that this change to the College'sreview processes was built upon a thoroughevaluation of previous practice. It also concluded thatboth the annual review and internal audit examplesscrutinised were thorough and consistent and wouldprovide appropriate information for the College in itsscrutiny of quality and academic standards.

121 The audit team noted that the Academic Boardhad agreed that a review of the FQSCs should beconducted and that this had been initiated. Fromthe evidence available, the team saw that thesecommittees routinely considered external examinersreports and action to be taken; reports from SSACs;proposed changes in curricula and a range of otherissues. Some annual reviews of subjects were alsoconsidered but the team found that there was somelack of transparency in the ways in which each ofthe FQSCs operated in this regard, and theinformation that subsequently passed through to theASC as a result of this scrutiny was consequentlysomewhat inconsistent. The College had alreadyfully recognised this issue in its agreement to review


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the operation of the FQSCs and their interface withASC and CVC. In light of these findings, the Collegemay find it desirable, in the context of its plannedreview, to consider means by which the FQSCsmight discharge their responsibilities moretransparently and consistently with particularreference to their role in annual monitoring.

122 The findings of the audit confirm that broadconfidence can be placed in the soundness of theCollege's current and likely future management ofthe quality of the awards.

The effectiveness of institutional proceduresfor securing the standards of awards

123 The SED described how the College maintainsacademic standards through its accreditationagreement with the University and other forms ofexternality. A key feature of this approach is the roleand operation of USRs. External input into theCollege's quality assurance processes had also beenextended to include a procedural external examinerrole, as well as external examiners in all subject areasand, the involvement of independent external panelmembers at validation, review and internal audit.The involvement of College staff in a range ofexternal activities, such as external examining, hasalso increased. The College may nevertheless find itdesirable to continue to build on its existing staffand institutional engagement with the HE sector,and on the increased externality recentlyincorporated into its management of quality andacademic standards, by increasing the use ofindependent external membership of panels andaudit teams in validation and review.

124 The SED also highlighted the systematic andscrupulous consideration of reports from externalexaminers as one of the distinguishingcharacteristics of its framework for the assurance andenhancement of quality and standards. Externalexaminers are specifically required to comment intheir reports on the compatibility of academicstandards with subject benchmark statements andthe FHEQ; the fair and consistent operation ofassessment and award processes; and whetherstandards are 'comparable with those of similarprogrammes at the University and other UK HEinstitutions'; and pass on good practice fromelsewhere in the sector. In its study of thedocumentation provided, including examples ofassessed student work, the audit team concludedthat the systems in place were operating asdescribed and were very effective in securing thestandard of awards made by the University. Theteam commended the meticulous implementation

and monitoring of the robust processes whichenable the College to derive maximum benefitfrom their external examiners in the assurance andenhancement of quality and academic standards.

125 On the basis of the evidence available to it,the audit team concluded that the College'sarrangements for securing standards were effective.The findings of the audit confirm that broadconfidence can be placed in the soundness of theCollege's current and likely future management ofthe academic standards of the awards.

The effectiveness of institutional proceduresfor supporting learning

126 The College's support for student learning isfacilitated by the opportunities for participation bystudent representatives at all levels of themanagement structure. The audit team believes theoperation across the College of SSACs as a forum forthe representation and consultation of students atsubject level to be commendable. There areprocedures in place designed to ensure that thestudent body has extensive opportunity to beinvolved in debating and contributing to all aspectsof provision in both developmental and operationalaspects. The team found students to be verysupportive of the open and responsive culturethroughout the College in both academic andsupport departments. The team concluded that thearrangements for student support are characterisedby a strong emphasis upon student consultationwithin both formal and informal structures and thatstudent representation was well organised, reliableand effective.

127 The audit team recognised that the College hadsought to ensure through the Students' Union thatgreater support be given to student representatives.The College may find it desirable to formalisetraining for student representatives to realise fully theclear potential of SSACs as a significant contributorto the management of quality and standards.

128 The College's support for student learning islinked to its ability to appoint high-quality staff. TheCollege has robust procedures in place to supportthe quality of appointments. In meetings with newstaff it was clear that these policies were beingimplemented in an appropriate manner, and thatthe experience of recruitment matched the policyexpectations. The small size of the College means thatthe opportunities for promotion to senior posts islimited and the HR Strategy sets out clear policies forproviding other career development support designedto promote the retention of staff. The College has also

Institutional Audit Report: findings

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implemented a new programme of teachingobservation which is peer based and developmentalin nature and there is a system of staff appraisal.Meetings with staff indicated that the systems wereclearly understood and operated as planned.

129 The resource allocation system has enabled theCollege to provide support in relation to identifiedneeds and it was clear that the managementprocedures used by the College were responsiveand delivered within an efficient and cost-effectiveframework. In meetings with students the auditteam noted that there was a high level ofsatisfaction with resources for learning provided bythe College, and students also benefited from use ofthe University's library and from the College sectionsof the University VLE system, Bodington Common.The team was able to conclude that the College wasproviding good learning support opportunities forstudents, was undertaking effective monitoring ofresource use, and was able to demonstrate aresponsive approach to solving both strategic andoperational resource problems.

130 There is a system of personal tutors, and thishas recently been revised as a Progress Tutor systemintegrated with Personal Development. There wasgeneral agreement that this was developing in anextremely effective manner as the major componentof a system of well-planned, systematic andinterlocking arrangements which enable students toderive maximum benefit from their involvement inthe College community. The audit team concludedthat students had excellent access to personalacademic support and that academic staff wereproviding clear arrangements for access. The scale ofthe College also allowed the effective operation ofan informal support system in which students hadready access to a range of academic advice.

131 There is a range of integrated support servicesfor students, and the audit team found that studentsvalued these support services, were aware of theseresources, and were entirely satisfied that theCollege provided a responsive and caringenvironment both for resident and non-resident, fulland part-time students. The team saw evidence thatclearly demonstrated the College's commitment tothe support of its students within an inclusive andsupportive framework, and noted that furtherimprovements in access to support services wouldresult from the planned co-location of services dueto take place within the current capital programme.

132 Overall, the audit team concluded that studentaccess to academic guidance and personal supportwas good, that central support services and resourceallocation systems were effective and well managed,

that staff development was embedded and effective,and that there were good systems of staffrecruitment and retention.

Outcomes of discipline audit trails

Management

133 From its study of students' assessed work, andfrom discussions with students and staff, the auditteam formed the view that the standard of studentachievement in the programmes was appropriate tothe title of the awards and their location within theFHEQ. The programme specifications and validationdocuments set out appropriate educational aims andlearning outcomes, and link these to teaching andlearning styles. Key features of the managementprogrammes at undergraduate level are the twoprofessional attachments and these had clearlyprovided a very positive contribution to students'personal and professional development. Studentevaluation of the programmes was very positive, andthere was a range of learning resources. Support andguidance given by academic staff was highly ratedand noted as an important feature of the provisionby students. The team concluded that the quality oflearning opportunities available to students wassuitable for programmes of study leading to theaward of BA (Single/Joint Honours) Management.

Media

134 From its study of students' assessed work, andfrom discussions with students and staff, the auditteam formed the view that the standard of studentachievement in the programme was appropriate tothe title of the award and its location within theFHEQ. Validation documentation and studenthandbooks provide appropriate information oneducational aims and learning outcomes, and therelationship between these and learning activity andassessment is clear. The Media Scheme is vocationalby design with an emphasis on the integration oftheory and practice, enabling students to combinea core theoretical framework with a wide range ofmedia skills and practices. Students have access to awide range of resources, including a purpose-builtMedia Centre. Professional attachments are a keyfeature of the programme providing valuablepersonal and professional experience anddevelopment which was particularly appreciated bythe students. Students also valued being taught bystaff combining both academic and professionalexperience, and rated highly the support andguidance provided by staff and the caringenvironment of the College. The standard ofachievement in these programmes is appropriate tothe title of the awards and their location within the


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FHEQ. The quality of the learning opportunitiesavailable to students is suitable for programmes ofstudy leading to the award of BA (Joint Honours)Media in combination with a range of otheravailable subjects.

History

135 From its study of examples of assessed work,and from discussions with students and staff, theaudit team formed the view that the standard ofstudent achievement in the programme wasappropriate to the title of the award and its locationwithin the FHEQ. The team noted the existence insingle honours history of a clearly wordedprogramme specification which was aligned withthe Subject benchmark statement. Student evaluationof their programme was very positive, with frequentcomments being made on the helpfulness ofteaching staff. Students the team met were clearabout methods of assessment which they were ableto consult in handbooks and on web pages. TheSSAC functioned well as a forum for therepresentation of student views and staffconsultation of students. Links between academicstaff and library and web personnel were operative.The team concluded that that the quality of learningopportunities available to students was suitable for aprogramme of study leading to the award of BA(Honours) History.

The use made by the institution of theacademic infrastructure

136 The SED describes how the College's frameworkfor the assurance and enhancement of quality andstandards includes systematic consideration of theCode of practice, subject benchmark statements andthe FHEQ. In its study of the documentation and indiscussions with staff, the audit team found that theacademic infrastructure had been widely debated atall levels and integrated into the College's policiesand procedures.

137 Although programme specifications were notyet in existence in all areas, the College had built arequirement into validation and review proceduresfor all existing programmes to introduceprogramme specifications at their next review andrevalidation point.

138 Professional attachments are an important anddistinctive feature of College provision and the auditteam was able to confirm through discussions withstakeholders the importance and value of theseplacements. While recognising that the College hastaken full account of the intentions of the Code ofpractice, Section 9: Placement learning, the College

may find it desirable to continue reviewing itsprofessional attachment provision with a view to thefurther enhancement of its existing practice. Thismay include further development of its mechanismsfor feedback to employers.

139 The audit team recognised good practice in theways in which the College has drawn carefully onthe Agency's external reference points, including theCode of practice, the FHEQ and subject benchmarkstatements in reviewing its practices; and thesubsequent incorporation of these practices intoits standard quality assurance procedures.

The utility of the SED as an illustration of theinstitution's capacity to reflect upon its ownstrengths and limitations, and to act onthese to enhance quality and standards

140 The SED had been prepared by a small steeringgroup which had routinely involved all sections ofthe College through regular briefings and byproviding opportunities for debate. The steeringgroup included student representatives and theirthorough involvement in arrangements for theproduction of the document had, in the studentsview, rendered a separately produced SWSunnecessary. The audit team considered that theSED was an informative and appropriately self-critical account of the effectiveness of the College'sprocedures. The team formed the view that this self-critical and inclusive approach was characteristic ofthe College and considered this to be an example ofgood practice.

Commentary on the institution'sintentions for the enhancement ofquality and standards

141 In the SED, the College identified a range ofissues that it intends to address to enhance thequality of provision and the standards of awards.Issues included continuing to develop theindependent perspective afforded by externalreview; monitoring the recently introducedarrangements for periodic review through internalaudit; further consolidating elements of theacademic infrastructure into the fabric of theCollege's framework for maintenance andenhancement of quality and standards; monitoringthe impact of the appointment of the retention andrecruitment coordinators; devolving specificresponsibilities to faculty level while maintainingappropriate oversight at institutional level.

Institutional Audit Report: findings

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142 Other areas identified by the College toenhance the management of quality and standardsincluded completing its review of the work of theFQSCs; monitoring the end-of-year reviews at facultylevel; further developing its analysis of the StudentSatisfaction Survey; completing its review of theprofessional attachment programme; monitoring thecontribution made by the faculty learning andteaching coordinators to the identification anddissemination of good practice.

143 The audit team noted that the College hasalready begun to address many of these issues. It isa testament to the College's current maturity that itis so clearly intent on continuing to learn frompractice. The team considered that these plannedactions would make a useful contribution to theCollege's processes and operational practices forassuring the quality of programmes and enhancingthe learning opportunities available to students.

Reliability of information

144 The audit process included checking on theprocedures for ensuring the accuracy and reliabilityof information published by the College. The auditteam did not itself find, nor did students and staff itmet indicate, any inaccuracy or unreliability ofinformation. Students, in particular, wereappreciative of the scope and reliability ofinformation available to them.

145 The audit team noted that the College had awell-established system for monitoring the accuracyof printed promotional material. It further noted thatthe College was actively preparing a comparableformal monitoring system for its web pages.

146 The audit team learnt that the College wasaware of the requirements set out in HEFCE’sdocument 02/15 and was moving, appropriately,towards fulfilling its responsibilities in this respect.

Features of good practice

147 The following features of good practicewere noted:

i. the characteristically self-critical and inclusiveapproach used by the College to prepare theinstitutional SED (paragraph 24);

ii. the meticulous implementation and monitoringof the robust processes which enable theCollege to derive maximum benefit from theirexternal examiners in the assurance andenhancement of quality and academic standards(paragraph 41);

iii. the ways in which the College has drawncarefully upon the Agency's external referencepoints, including the Code of practice, the FHEQand subject benchmark statements, in reviewingits practices; and the subsequent incorporationof these reference points into its standard qualityassurance procedures (paragraph 45);

iv. the regular use of college-wide staff and studentsurveys as sources of information for seniormanagement and the ways in which the latter'sresponse to the views expressed therein are fedback to the staff and student bodies(paragraph 52);

v. the operation across the College of SSACs as aforum for the representation and consultationof students at subject level (paragraph 53);

vi. the College's use of the intranet as a means ofcommunication of information to staff andstudents (paragraph 66);

vii. the development of systematic and interlockingsupport arrangements which enable students toderive maximum benefit from their involvementin the College community (paragraph 74).

Recommendations for action

148 The College is advised to consider thedesirability of:

i. considering, in the context of its planned reviewof FQSCs, means by which the discharge of theresponsibilities of these committees might berendered more transparent and consistent acrossthe College with particular reference to their rolein the annual monitoring process (paragraph 36);

ii. building on its existing external engagementswith the HE sector and incorporating this greaterexternality into its management of quality andacademic standards (paragraph 38);

iii. formalising training for student representatives toachieve the clear potential of SSACs as a significantcontributor to the management of quality andstandards (paragraph 54).


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Institutional Audit Report: appendix

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Appendix

The College’s response to the audit report

The College welcomed the opportunity for external scrutiny of its arrangements for the maintenance andenhancement of quality and standards afforded by the revised audit process. Staff, students, former students,attachment providers and representatives of the accrediting body were pleased to engage with the audit team.

The College notes that the highly positive nature of the report is entirely consistent with the outcomes ofannual and periodic external reviews undertaken on behalf of funding and accrediting bodies, and takes pridein the acknowledgement by the audit team that many aspects of its arrangements represent good practice.It is also pleased to note that none of the recommendations for enhancement were categorised as eitheressential or advisable.

The recommendations which the audit team have made, and for which the College is grateful, appear torepresent encouragement to proceed with work already in hand. As the audit team recognised, very few of thematters which were raised were 'not already the subject of some sort of review at the time of the audit and it isa testament to the College's current maturity that it is so clearly intent on continuing to learn from practice'.

The College will approach the recommendations in a manner consistent with its recognition that theassurance and enhancement of quality and standards is a journey without end. The College is very consciousthat its students deserve and require the highest quality and standards of provision and is committed toensuring that these expectations are fully met. The audit report is heartening testimony to its progress inmaking a reality of this commitment.

RG

011 10/03

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