Taught Degree Awarding Powers

Transcription

1 Taught Degree Awarding Powers Some questions and answers

2 What is TDAP and why do we want it? All our taught degree programmes are currently validated by The University of Manchester (UoM). This means that we have to conform to all the regulations that govern the University and to follow their processes for much of what we do. If we are granted Taught Degree Awarding Powers (TDAP) we will become totally independent of UoM and will have the right to offer degrees in our own name. The award of TDAP acknowledges the College s academic integrity as a mature higher education institution with rigorous standards and academic governance. It also reflects the quality and relevance of its qualifications and marks the next step in the evolution of Rose Bruford College into a fully independent drama school for and about all aspects of theatre and performance. Gaining TDAP demonstrates that the College maintains the highest standards in such areas as: Governance and academic management Academic standards and quality assurance Scholarship and pedagogical effectiveness Student support and learning So TDAP matters. The acquisition of Taught Degree Awarding Powers will give the College a greater level of flexibility and responsiveness to meet the needs of those working in a dynamic and ever changing sector. Our degrees can also become more responsive to industry standards. Our own degree awarding powers will enhance the standing, reputation and achievement associated with holding a Rose Bruford College qualification.

3 What is the process for gaining Taught Degree Awarding Powers? The power to award degrees is regulated by law and in order to be able to award a recognised higher education degree an organisation needs to be authorised to do so by the Privy Council, a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The Privy Council s decision to grant degree awarding powers to the College follows a full-scale and lengthy review by an externally appointed scrutiny team and a positive recommendation to the Privy Council by the Quality Assurance Agency s (QAA) Advisory Committee for Taught Degree Awarding Powers. The grant of Taught Degree Awarding Powers comes at the end of an application process that involves a close examination of all aspects of our activity and talking to our partner university (UoM), academic community and students. It is a long and complex due diligence process and we have to meet the appropriate criteria and standards. Does this mean the College will become a University? No. Degree awarding powers and University status are not the same thing. Rose Bruford College is an educational charity. The rules on university title are changing and we may seek university title later but you have to hold TDAP before you can apply. Does this mean that in future the College will only be offering higher education qualifications? No. We can already award certificates of the College through short courses, for instance, if we wish. However, TDAP means that we will be able to attach credit to such awards if we so desire. It also means we can accredit awards made by other institutions in the same way that UoM does now for us. How will this affect RBC students? For students, the new powers further enhance the standing, reputation and achievement associated with holding a Rose Bruford College award. TDAP also mean that the College has a greater degree of flexibility and responsiveness to act in the best interests of its student body. On a practical level, it is very much business as usual. There will be no immediate changes to qualification structures, curricula or assessment. In the short term we will want to continue our relationship with UoM. We will need to give careful consideration to the transitional arrangements for moving students from the UoM framework to the RBC framework and a College Working Party has been set up to consider and plan this transition. Will the College still be offering its courses internationally? The College remains committed to supporting its overseas students and academic collaborators. The reputation and standing of UK degrees are amongst the highest in the world and TDAP is a further endorsement of the quality of ifs programmes for international students and collaborative partners. Having TDAP could allow international students to seek further funding and access student loans in their own countries to pay their fees. Will the College be developing new programmes? TDAP offers greater flexibility in how we manage our portfolio of programmes and how we grow as an institution. At the moment we are tied into the University s validation timetable once we have gone through our own development processes internally. Plans are already in place to explore expanding the postgraduate provision, but we would be foolish to rush into programme development without fully assessing such developments and the ability of new programmes to attract students.

4 Does this mean that the College will be diversifying into other subject areas? The strategic plan has identified our core strengths. We are specialists in theatre and performance and it is anticipated that this will remain our principal focus in the foreseeable future. The College recognises that it would be foolish to move too far from our area of expertise. But our new 2020 strategic plan, post TDAP, will chart new growth for Rose Bruford College. What does this mean for alumni of the College? The acquisition of Taught Degree Awarding Powers strengthens the standing, reputation and achievement associated with having trained at Rose Bruford College. It also gives the College a greater level of flexibility and responsiveness to meet the needs of those working in a dynamic and ever changing sector. In the longer term Taught Degree Awarding Powers has the potential (should we deem it desirable) to enable the College to enhance its provision with continuing professional development services that meet the essential modern demands of ongoing academic and vocational learning and personal development. Will this change the content of College programmes? No. Rose Bruford College programmes will continue to blend a practitioner approach with academic rigour. It is this blend of the practical, vocational and academic that makes RBC qualifications unique. Its focus will always remain on content that is relevant and applicable to the student and the industry. What TDAP will give the College is a more independent and flexible future. So TDAP matters!

5 TDAP matters Lamorbey Park, Burn Oak Lane Sidcup DA15 9DF