Northern Regional College ESCalate - JISC Conference Wednesday 26 May 2010.
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Dr Catherine O’MullanDeputy Director Support and Development
and
Mrs Suzanne KennedyHead of Quality Improvement
Main Heading
• Bullet Point 1
• Bullet Point 2
• Bullet Point 3
• Bullet Point 4
• Bullet Point 5
NORTHERN REGIONAL COLLEGE – September 2007
DEL Key Strategies of FE Sector NI
FE Means Business• A key driver of local, sub-regional and
regional economic and workforce development – The Primary Strategic Objective
• An active agent of social cohesion• A major promoter of lifelong learning• Skills Agenda/14-19 Agenda• Success through Excellence
Estates Rationale• Quality of student experience• Optimum number of Campuses• Strategically positioned within our
region• Quality accommodation:
fit-for-purpose• Concentration of investment in
specialist equipment• Maximise the use of available
resources
NRC Characteristics• 9 campuses
• £32 million turnover
• 1200 staff
• @ 24,550 enrolments: • 4500 full-time 20000 part-time
09/10Further Education 13,572Higher Education 1,062Training 2,048Entitlement Framework 2,803Essential Skills 5,072
Total 24,557
Types of provision at NRC• ApprenticeshipsNI/Training for Success
Training Contract @ £4.5 m
• Further & Higher Education/Essential Skills FLU funded
• Entitlement Framework @ 1.5m
• Cost recoverySpecialist provision for employers to meet their needs – bespoke training/externally funded projects @ £0.5m-£1.5m
Director
Restructuring ProcessExecutive Management Team
Deputy Director
Curriculum
Deputy Director
Support and Development
Deputy DirectorPlanning and
Resources
Director of Finance
Support and Development
Deputy Director
StudentServices & Marketing
EconomicEngagement
QualityImprovement
HE within NRCHistorical Overview• Full-time and part-time provision in a range of
vocational areas• HE - Level 4 and above• Full-time HE provision within FE from @ 1990• HND Programmes/Awarding Bodies• Associate Status of University of Ulster• DEL funding MaSN allocation of f/t funded
places across sector
HE within NRC 2009/10• Enrolments
Year F/t P/t Total07/08 257 781 103808/09 194 802 99609/10 260 802 1062
• NRC MaSN = 249
HE within NRC 2009/10• HNDs - Business, Manufacturing/Electronic
Engineering, Building Studies, Health & Social Care, Advanced Practice in Work with Children and Families, Computing with Multi Media
• Level 4 Higher Professional Diploma in Early Years• Foundation Degree in Building Technology and
Management• Foundation Degree in Sport Exercise & Fitness• Campus location/specialist resources• Planning process
HE within NRC 2009/10 Part-time • HND (p/t)• HNCs, Counselling provision (UU), ILM,
IATA, C&G courses, Degree (UU)• FD in Retail (p/t) – employer focus/UU• FD – L&M development• Local access; increased participation• HE Graduations• FE does not have Degree awarding powers
Quality Improvement Unit [QIU]~
Head of
Quality Improvement.
Continuous Professional Development
Manager.
Quality Assurance Manager.
Overarching Aims of the QIU~• to lead the college as it strives for
excellence • to guide the college as it strives for an
ethos and culture where, the central focus for all staff is the learner
• to assist build capacity within all staff so that they have the knowledge, skills and understanding to effectively contribute to the total student learning experience
Guiding Principle for the QIU ~
• Holistic approach to quality
[Develop and support the continuous improvement of the quality of the entire student experience.]
Case Study ~ My personal journey
– Timeline– Initial challenges– Way forward– Keys to Success– Ongoing Challenges
Timeline ~ April 2008: Appointed as Head of Quality Improvement
September 2008: QIU team in place
May 2009: 1st QAA Developmental Review
May 2010: QAA Follow-up to Developmental Review
Initial Challenges ~• Before quality improvement and
enhancement we first had to develop robust quality assurance processes
• Legacy Colleges all had different approaches to quality assurance
• Due to range of provision [14 to 16; FE; Training; HE ~ full and part time] it was important to develop quality processes that were common across the provision
Initial Challenges ~• Developing processes that would meet the
requirements of a wide range of Awarding Bodies that the College works with
• Developing processes that would fulfill the requirements of the Education and Training Inspectorate [Eti]
• Meeting the requirements of the Quality Assurance Agency [QAA]
The Way Forward ~• Development of clear strategies, e.g.
– Quality Improvement Strategy– Retention Strategy– HE Strategy
• Robust quality assurance policies and procedures, e.g.– Assessment – Appeals
The Way Forward ~
• Ensuring that the quality of learning and teaching is a key aspect of the work of the QIU– CPD focus on learning and teaching– ‘modeling’ good learning and teaching
• Making use of the knowledge and expertise of other staff within the College
• Building on previous experiences and relationships e.g.– Local university
The Way Forward ~• Development of college wide Planning
Cycle linked to;– Team based Self Evaluation Reports [SERs]
• Curriculum and Support Services
– Departmental Operational Plans – Overall College Development Plan and Whole
College Quality Improvement Plan, Corporate Targets and KPIs
The Way Forward ~• Quality Improvement Unit is a small unit
only three staff hence it is really important to;– Establish ownership for ‘quality’ in all staff /
teams across the College
• Director and Executive Management Team totally committed to quality improvement;– They allow the QIU the freedom to develop!
The Way Forward ~• Putting the learner at the centre of our
service– Range of mechanisms to support the ‘student
voice’
• Continuous Professional Development as part of QIU– Can have a real focus on the total student
experience – Real focus on quality learning and teaching
Keys to Success~• Building relationships
– At individual and team level• being approachable, responsive, supportive• listening to ‘teams’• Interacting with staff ~ ‘getting out and about’
• Being proactive– When asked a question, giving an answer– Teams now approach QIU for advice and help
in problem solving
Keys to Success~• Being happy with ‘small steps’
• Culture of being learner focused
• Staff Intranet as the central repository for all documentation
• Multidisciplinary teams– HE Committee
• Remit sharing of good practice
• Saying thank you
Keys to Success~• Leading by example
– Quality of documentation produced– Central role of the QIU in external inspections
with Eti and QAA– Timely response to issues raised
• Being creative and innovative• Viewing ‘areas for improvement’ in a
positive light
Keys to Success~• Interaction with curriculum managers
• Interaction with support services – Student support, Admissions, Finance,
Marketing etc
• Being ‘passionate’ about improving quality
• Asking for feedback
Ongoing Challenges ~• Getting ‘buy in’ from all staff
– Every little helps !!
• Embedding of quality policies, procedures and processes– Takes a lot of time to ‘filter down’
• Acceptance of a standardised approach– QCF and QAA are really helping
Ongoing Challenges ~• Moving from quality assurance to quality
improvement and enhancement
• Action planning resulting from external inspections – Making ‘action planning’, success and target
focused– Instilling ownership for the ‘actions’
Ongoing Challenges ~
• Ensuring that processes within the College comply with the QAA Academic Infrastructure – In particular the 10 Codes of Practice
• Developing an HE ethos
• Closing the loop
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