This Higher Education Access agreement is informed by City of Liverpool College s mission and core values and HE strategy, namely:

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1 The City of Liverpool College - Access Agreement Content: 1. Introduction 2. Fees, student numbers and fee income 3. Access and student success measures 4. Targets and milestones 5. Monitoring and evaluation arrangements 6. Equality and diversity 7. Provision of information to prospective students 8. Consulting with students 9. Resource Plan 1. Introduction This Higher Education Access agreement is informed by City of Liverpool College s mission and core values and HE strategy, namely: To become a bold and exciting national leader, empowering students, staff and businesses with the skills and capabilities they need to overcome the challenges of the future. We will do this by growing our core teaching and learning offer, and creating a more diverse and commercially successful organisation, which is acknowledged as key to the economic growth of the Liverpool City Region and development of the wider education sector Our values are: Being outstanding in everything we do, Being creative and enterprising, Being inclusive in everything we do, Being a great place to work and learn, Being a driver of economic success City of Liverpool College is a large inner city general further education college with a diverse student population. The campus comprises five main centres, four of which accommodate at least one higher education programme. The key drivers for developing high level qualifications originally stemmed from the desire to add higher level qualifications to the long-established FE provision supported by the following themes: 1) to extend student choice, in particular as internal progression for level 3 students 2) to satisfy the training needs of local businesses for up-skilling 3) to generate an alternative income stream 1

2 The College has been an established provider of HE for more than 20 years with a continuing strategic aim to strengthen and widen participation in HE to meet the needs of Liverpool. There is good provision at the College for all students at Level 3 and the vocational and academic course teams. Work is needed to raise aspirations for these students, resulting in good progression into HE. Whilst internal progression paths from level 3 exist in many subject areas, progression rates from full time level three courses do not meet our expectation and many level 3 students choose to progress externally into HE or employment. In level of internally progressing level 3students onto our HE provision was at 20%. The College recognises the need to provide improved information and widen curriculum choices in order to encourage greater internal progression for both full time and work-based students at Level 3. HE in the College builds on the strengths in FE and most of the prescribed HE programmes sit within curriculum areas that achieved CoVE status. The College works in partnership with four universities but also offers Higher Nationals and a range of non-prescribed qualifications at level 4, including NVQs. Based on student numbers, higher education makes up approximately 5% of the Government funded population of students. College student population brings in approximately the total college income (2.5 million). The College s ambitions with regard to its HE provision are: To provide a high quality teaching and learning experience To provide a range of opportunities that meet student and employer need and complement the courses available at local HEIs To deliver HE in an efficient and sustainable way To provide success The key principles on which the HE Strategy is based are: A commitment to strengthening existing HE Widening access to and participation in HE by inspiring local people, particularly those underrepresented in higher education, to achieve their full potential at a higher skills level through flexible and accessible provision Working with partner awarding bodies to deliver a sustainable, high quality and vocationally orientated higher educational provision Meeting the needs of local, regional and national stakeholders and initiatives in relation to supporting economic development through the development of higher level skills Working with employers to develop flexible and work-related higher education to meet the higher skills needs of their industry and their workforce The Liverpool City Region articulates the skills needs for the following priority sectors: Low Carbon Economy Knowledge Economy Visitor Economy Super-Port 2

3 The key strategic objectives within the strategy are: Improve skills and boost employment in selected key sectors Increase employer and individual investment in skills across the city region Enable those out of work to compete in the labour market by ensuring that they have the necessary skills Promote better information for learners, employers, colleges, universities and training providers to make more informed decisions. Note the College is committed to improving information available to all stakeholders about HE and the information is developed for Key Information Set (KIS) on the College Website The college will provide a clear and transparent view of the allocation of HEFCE and other higher education income. This will be available through the College s financial reporting systems, SLT minutes and Governor Reports. These will also be made available to students on the College Website. Create an aspirational and innovative enterprise culture The Liverpool City Region identifies that the finance and business services sector remains a major driver for growth in the future, despite the continued economic down-turn. The sector has undergone intensive changes over the past three years resulting in both skills gaps as well as a number of highprofile and significant redundancies. Current skills gaps are in higher skilled jobs including accountants and accounting technicians it is expected that demand will rise in the legal profession for paralegal trained staff. Demand is also likely to rise for regulatory and compliance and change management skills as businesses adapt to new regulatory structures. New skills in carbon accounting, carbon trading as well as legal aspects of compliance around the low carbon agenda will be demanded as the potential for the sector grows. Consistent with national trends in financial and business services there is also a demand for learning in soft skills covering leadership and management, sales and marketing, communication and IT skills. It is expected that there will also be a heightened emphasis on CPD as firms grapple with emerging legislation, changing industry standards and regulatory regimes. The Visitor Economy is still of huge importance to the region and is one of the largest regional industries. Skills in demand are in sector focused customer service, chef skills and managerial skills. Major new projects in the pipeline for Liverpool City Region, such as the Seaforth In-river Terminal, Mersey Gateway crossing, the Liverpool Bio Campus and Liverpool and Wirral Waters will enter construction phases in the next two years. The economic impact of these schemes is critical to the medium term prospects for the City Region but the impact of this investment, and resulting jobs, will be limited for the next two years..the HE Strategy continues to be refined to reflect regional and local priorities and the College HE Portfolio provides evidence as follows: Creative business a range of awards in creative and visual arts 3

4 Tourism L3 awards and HE awards Care Services existing HE awards in BA Honours in Social work and the development of Health & Social Care HNC in for September 2015 start. Green industries and low carbon Looking to develop new awards in Low Carbon technologies for 2016/17. Leadership and Management existing awards will be reviewed together with potential new, shorter awards to meet employer preferences. 2. Fees, student numbers and fee income This agreement applies to all courses for which the City of Liverpool College currently receives funding or a student number allocation directly from the Higher Education Funding Council for England. Students included within this agreement are full-time students who are eligible to pay EU tuition fees and part time students and non-eu students recruited to provision offered at the City of Liverpool College. Higher Education fees are determined by the College, and are reviewed annually by the College Board of Governors. This access agreement is reviewed annually by the College Executive Leadership Team. In , the following charges will apply. Upper limit for the FT Home/EU undergraduate Fee Upper limit for the PT Home/EU undergraduate Fee 7, In future years we anticipate increasing this fee in line with the annual increase set by the Government each year. The higher level fee will not apply to current students on programmes commencing before 1 September

5 Proposed higher education provision Programme title 1 st year FT target 1 st year PT target HND Computing 16 n/a HNC Electrical and Electronic Engineering HNC Mechanical Engineering 14 5 HNC Business 10 8 HND Applied Chemistry 10 6 HNC in Health and Social Care 10 6 HND Applied Biology 10 6 HND Game Design 14 n/a HND Sports Management 14 5 FdA Leisure and Tourism / Hospitality 16 n/a FD Early Years programme 15 n/a FdA Popular Music 16 n/a FD Dental Technology n/a 14 FD Building Service Engineering ( closed programme) 8 5 HNC Construction and built environment n/a 18 HNC Drama 16 n/a HNC Dance 16 n/a HNC Musical Theatre 16 n/a FdA Fashion and Clothing Technology 16 n/a Cert Ed Total The overall target numbers for F/T and P/T students in all year groups is 541 in

6 3. Access and student success measures Current level of achievements are at 92% and the retention is at 83%. We expect that with the additional funding from the increased fees and additional opportunities to offer support we will increase the retention levels to 85% in the year and will continue to increase the retention rate by at least two percent annually in the years: , and aiming to reach 91% of retention. Student consultation In response to focus group meetings and suggestions from students, as discussed ate the HE strategy group and at the individual Board of Studies for HE programmes that are attended by student representatives the College has agreed on prioritising the following additional fee income over the period to be used to: 1. Deliver HE provision in small group sizes ( up to 20) allowing for extensive academic, study and pastoral support 2. Offer direct support to enhance levels of retention, achievement and progression by supporting development of study skills such as academic writing, enhance employability of our students through enterprise activities and provide individual personal tutor s support 3. Provide bursaries for students with household income levels of less than 25,000 in addition to financial support from the hardship fund. 4. Provide progression bursaries for the College students who are internally progressing onto HE. Higher Education Bursaries / The City of Liverpool College HE Bursary This bursary is available for new undergraduate students provided they meet the initial and continuing eligibility criteria as follows: Full Time Eligibility Part Time Eligibility Have a household income of under/up to 25, Be in receipt of any of the following student support grants/allowances: Special Support Grant, Parents Learning Allowance, Childcare Grant, Disabled Students Allowance. Be domiciled within the EU Have a household income of under/up to 25,000 and Be in receipt of the following grants/welfare benefits Disabled Students Allowance Jobseeker s Allowance Income Support 6

7 Employment and Support Allowance Carer s Allowance Be domiciled within the EU Students who are fully funded by their employer or sponsor (excluding Student Finance England) are not eligible for this support. Bursary Payment The bursary is paid in cash in three instalments based on students meeting oncourse achievement targets and a 90% attendance criteria. Full Time Part Time 1 st Payment November nd Payment February rd Payment June 2016 The City of Liverpool College HE Progression Bursary This bursary is available for new undergraduate students provided they meet the initial and continuing eligibility criteria as follows: Full Time Eligibility Have a household income of under/up to 25, Have progressed from a full level 3 qualification undertaken in the college in the 2014/2015 academic year Be domiciled within the EU Part Time Eligibility Have a household income of under/up to 25,000 and Be in receipt of the following grants/welfare benefits Disabled Students Allowance Jobseeker s Allowance Income Support Employment and Support Allowance Carer s Allowance Have progressed from a full level 3 qualification undertaken in the college in the 2014/2015 academic year Be domiciled within the EU 7

8 Students who are fully funded by their employer or sponsor (excluding Student Finance England) are not eligible. Bursary Payment The bursary is paid in three instalments based on students meeting on-course achievement targets and a 90% attendance criteria. Full Time Part Time Eligibility 1 st Payment November nd Payment February rd Payment June ) Bursary payments for subsequent years will be determined by the college, and you will be notified in writing of our decision by late summer ) HE bursaries are paid from a limited funding source. College reserves the right to withdraw the offer of bursary once the available funding is allocated. Students may access only one HE bursary. The City of Liverpool College Higher Education Hardship Fund 2016/2017 It is the College s intention that the cost of Higher Education should not act as a barrier to participation for those capable of benefiting from such an education and otherwise willing to engage in it. Higher education students who are experiencing severe financial difficulty or unforeseen circumstances with financial implications can apply for support. Applications will be considered on individual basis and will be income assessed. Available to English domiciled, new undergraduate students starting their higher education studies in at The City of Liverpool College. Students must have a declared annual household income of under/ up to 25,000 Cash payment of maximum 1000 for FT students or 500 for PT students may be granted. Application forms will be available from Early September 2015 for year of study. The City of Liverpool College Hardship fund is not repayable. The City of Liverpool College HE Progression Bursary 2016/2017 This 1, cash bursary is available for new undergraduate students on full time HE programmes provided they meet the initial and continuing eligibility criteria as follows: Have a household income of under/up to 25, Achieve at least 2 B grades or 2 Merit grades at level 3 programme. Be domiciled within the EU 8

9 Students who are fully funded by their employer or sponsor (Excluding Student Finance England) are not eligible. Bursary Payment HE bursary is paid in three instalments based on students meeting on-course achievement targets and a 90% attendance criteria. 1 st Payment November nd Payment February rd Payment June 2017 Bursary payments for subsequent years will be determined by the college, and you will be notified in writing of our decision by late summer HE bursaries are paid from a limited funding source. College reserves the right to withdraw the offer of bursary once the available funding is allocated. We advise all student applicants to apply early. HE applicants may access only one HE bursary. 5. Provide support for Level 3 students to prepare them for entering HE by providing tuition in academic skills such as referencing, research, academic writing and independent study. 6. Provide opportunities for those studying an apprenticeship to enter HE to equip the student with the necessary academic skills to succeed in HE 7. Outreach activities: develop progression opportunities and support level 3 students within the City region local schools and with other providers to promote access to HE particularly in disadvantaged areas. Progression activity College is committed to supporting progression from our own level 3 students onto internally offered HE programmes, predominantly at levels 4 and 5. Familiar College environment, small class sizes and full pastoral support benefits some of the learners who would otherwise not consider progression to HE. Level 3 students are offered induction talks, study skills support, taster days and individual tutors support through the academic year during their final year of studying at the level 3 program in preparation of their application to the higher level programme. College progression bursaries are offered to enable and encourage those from deprived postal codes and HE cold spots to consider progression on to the HE. Outreach activities College has recently been involved with forming the national network for outreach activity, Merseyside Collaborative Network, in partnership with the Liverpool University and other Merseyside based HEIS. Since the dissolution of Aim Higher in 2011, there has been a lack of co-ordinated partnership work in Greater Merseyside between HEIs, FE Colleges and associated stakeholders such as Education Business Partnerships. New partnership is aiming to cover this gap. Initial discussions identified the following targets: Collaborative network areas of focus As proposed in initial paper 9

10 Primary School pupils Access to Higher Education/Adult learners/part-time students Black and Minority Ethnic groups (BME)/Community engagement Looked After Children (LAC)/Care Leavers Employer engagement/skills development amongst workforce Careers Information Advice and Guidance (CIAG) within secondary schools Academic Taster Days/Master Classes Evaluation College will set own targets in relation to agreed areas of focus. 8. Additional Learning Support for Students on Higher Education Courses The City of Liverpool College is committed to support all its students including those on Higher Education courses who have Learning Difficulty and /or Disability. The support is provided in line with the Student Finance England guidelines and the established values within Higher Education institutions across the country. All HE students, including those with disability and/or learning difficulty can access the College wide services i.e., use of Learning Resource Centres, Mental Health and Wellbeing support and Counselling. Additional Learning Support is, however, only available to students who have a proper diagnosis by a qualified specialist and have been accepted and funded through the Disabled Student Allowance (DSA). College has set aside some funds to support students with Dyslexia to undertake Dyslexia Assessment with an educational psychologist (arranged by the College). This is to ensure that students with Dyslexia are able to access Disabled Student Allowance (DSA). 10

11 Targets and milestones In line with the proposed additional levels of support we will continue to monitor students level of applications and number of accepted places, levels of internal progressions and levels of recruitment from the deprived areas, level of retention, achievement and success and students level of satisfaction with the HE provision relating to available support ( NSS survey and student focus groups feedback). 4. Monitoring and evaluation arrangements The implementation of the access agreement will be monitored by the Higher Education academic and strategy group. This group also has the responsibility for monitoring all aspects of the fees and bursary arrangements. 5. Equality and diversity The College is completely committed and responsive to its diverse community and equality of opportunity for all in line with the public sector duties of the Equality Act An equality impact assessment has been carried out on this document to determine any potential negative or differential impact on learners from protected characteristic groups as defined by the Act. 6. Provision of information to prospective students The City of Liverpool College is committed to providing full financial information, including current fee and bursary details to students in the following publications: HE Prospectus This will contain details on: tuition fees, loans, bursaries and will include guidance on how to apply and who to contact. Details of what is provided by the student services team including advice and guidance, study support and additional support will also be included. College Website this will include the tuition fee and bursary scheme in addition to details of services provided by student services. HE Open Days Student support and academic staff give information and advise to prospective students and their families at open days and can be contacted by phone and Relevant HE External Exhibitions and Events 7. Consulting with students THE CoLC is committed to actively include all HE students to participate in decision making and monitoring of the effectiveness of all relevant operational and strategic HE processes. College operates a student representation system and every HE course (and every year group) have a nominated student representative. HE Students are actively involved and included in all HE decision making processes HE Students have their own voice and can express their views and concerns College academic structures and staff are fully responsive to HE students views 11

12 Student representatives will be advised of the access agreement and will have access to it. Student will be encouraged to attend relevant HE course team meetings, Focus group meetings, HE management and Academic Board meetings and will be actively involved with monitoring the implementation of the agreement. 8. Resource Plan submitted as a separate attachment Signatures: VP Finance College Deputy Principal Date: 20/04/15 12

13 Table 7 - Targets and milestones Institution name: The City of Liverpool College Institution UKPRN: Table 7a - Statistical targets and milestones relating to your applicants, entrants or student body Reference number Please select target type from the drop-down menu Description (500 characters maximum) Is this a collaborative target? Baseline year Baseline data Yearly milestones (numeric where possible, however you may use text) Commentary on your milestones/targets or textual description where numerical description is not appropriate (500 characters maximum) T16a_01 Other statistic - Other (please give details in the next column) Low participation neighbourhoods No % 52% 53% 54% 55% 56% College is committed to increasing participation from the low progression neighbourhoods among adult and young, full time and part time participants over the years. T16a_02 Other statistic - Other (please give details in the next column) Internal progression No % 22% 24% 26% 28% 30% College is committed to increase internal progression of the level 3 students onto HE programmes within the College. T16a_03 Other statistic - Other (please give details in the next column) Retention level with socio economic categories of underrepresented groups within HE level No % 87% 89% 91% 93% 94% Current retention is below 90%. Retention support is put in place to improve it and bring retention in line with the local universities retention target of 90% by 2017 and to continue the improvement trend above 90%. Notes Alongside applicant and entrant targets, we encourage you to provide targets around outreach and student success work (including collaborative work where appropriate) or other initiatives to illustrate your progress towards increasing access, student success and progression. These should be measurable outcomes based targets and should focus on the number of beneficiaries reached by a particular activity/programme or the number of schools worked with, and what the outcomes were, rather than simply recording the nature/number of activities. Table 7b - Other milestones and targets. Reference Number Please select target type from the drop-down menu Description (500 characters maximum) Is this a collaborative target? Baseline year Baseline data Yearly milestones (numeric where possible, however you may use text) Commentary on your milestones/targets or textual description where numerical description is not appropriate (500 characters maximum) Optional commentary on milestones. This box is character-limited to 1000 characters; however, we are happy for you to upload additional supporting information as a separate Word/pdf document.