Concerns about standards and quality in higher education

Transcription

1 Concerns about standards and quality in higher education St Patrick's International College, March 2015 Introduction and background 1 This report is of the findings of a full investigation undertaken at St Patrick's International College (the College) following receipt of submissions to QAA's Concerns Scheme. The concerns related primarily to: admissions procedures; programme approval; the learning environment; student retention and attendance; teaching quality; and record keeping. 2 The investigation, conducted under QAA's Concerns Scheme, was undertaken by Professor D Meehan and Professor C Pickles, supported by Professor R Harris as QAA Coordinating Officer and Ms J Crowther as supporting QAA officer (the concerns team). Findings Admissions procedures 3 Immediately prior to the concerns team's visit, the College's website contained references to non-existent courses, some of which have since been removed. The website also contained a link to a non-existent School of English, whereas language teaching is now provided by another organisation within the Group. 4 The recruitment and admissions information contained in the Quality Assurance and Enhancement Handbook does not accurately describe current procedures. 5 The College's approach to student recruitment includes making cold contacts. Students accordingly reported having been approached by a representative of the College who described the programmes on offer, drawing attention to the potential availability of student loans. 6 Current students met by the concerns team stated that they believed some students had joined only to secure the loan which was available and had submitted either no work or patently inadequate work. There were also examples provided of poor classroom behaviour which included: students fighting in the classroom; students talking, texting and listening to music during classes; and students who, though not members of the class, had entered the classroom and been disruptive, unimpeded by the teacher. 7 The College acknowledged that many students had not studied in a classroom environment for some time and needed to understand what is and is not appropriate behaviour. The College referred to an as yet untested revised admissions procedure and a zero tolerance policy to disruptive behaviour when such behaviour was formally reported. While the team could confirm that a clear disciplinary procedure is in place, the unreported misconduct described by some students demonstrates that it is not wholly effective, and that the College is therefore unable to assure itself of the quality of this aspect of student learning opportunities. 1

2 Recommendations ensure that all information it publishes, both on its website and elsewhere in the public domain, is accurate and reliable; and implement a procedure which enables it to draw the immediate attention of third parties publishing information about the College to any inaccuracies such information might contain give priority to updating Appendix A of its Quality Assurance and Enhancement Handbook such that it accurately reports current recruitment and admissions procedures if and when recruitment is resumed, monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of its revised admission process in identifying and rejecting unmotivated and wronglymotivated applicants review its classroom management procedures to ensure that all staff are confident and competent in this area, that guidelines are adhered to, and that students are not adversely affected by the behaviour of others ensure both that academic staff have the skill set necessary to control student misbehaviour and that adequate procedures are in place for senior managers to be immediately informed of all instances of classroom misconduct. Programme approval 8 The concerns team scrutinised the College's relations with an Italian distance learning university. This university had an association with another organisation within the Group, and when that organisation's Tier 4 licence was suspended the students affected were transferred to the College on the basis of a variation to the contract which included the College as a party. This arrangement, though not improper, was commercially opportunistic and, given the complexity of inter-institutional relations within the Group, open to misunderstanding, or, potentially, undue commercial pressure of a kind which might threaten institutional autonomy. Recommendation take a more strategic and formal approach to programme approval, including approval of programmes operated with partners. Learning environment 9 A number of allegations made by those contacting the Concerns Scheme refer to inadequacies in the College's human and physical learning environment. Particular reference was made to: unnotified or short-notice class cancellations; insufficient desks for staff; retention problems resulting from poor information, monitoring and support; small and ill-equipped classrooms; lack of IT equipment; books being inaccessible; difficulties in accessing the website; and insufficient refreshment facilities. 10 The concerns team explored these allegations in detail with managers, staff and students, noting in particular the evidence of the latter that the College's relocation in September 2014 had generally been positive. While the former premises had become very over-crowded as a result of the rapid increase in student numbers precipitated by the then six entry point system, the concerns team found that now classes are rarely cancelled and that when this does occur a substitute lecturer normally takes the class. They also found that 2

3 library opening hours are good, the virtual learning environment is accessible and widely utilised, and that the support services, including essential skills support, are valued. The team concludes that allegations about the learning environment cannot be upheld. Student attendance and retention 11 While the College's Attendance Policy appears fit for purpose, students made it clear that the Policy is not consistently or reliably implemented, stating that to their knowledge students sometimes signed-in their friends, and that on at least one occasion embarrassment had ensued when a lecturer had spotted an already signed-in student arriving late. 12 The Board of Examiners determines progression or termination after its end-of-year meeting, at which point the College informs the Student Loan Company. The College explained that Pearson's system (which retains student registration for five years) differs from that common within higher education; that its system of specifying non-attenders as 'inactive' aims to enable students in temporary difficulty to return at a later date; and that referred students are permitted to repeat the assessment the following term. 13 The College was asked to provide accurate and up-to-date data on admissions, retention and achievement: analysis of this data confirms that withdrawal rates on large courses are in excess of 30 per cent, rising to around 36 per cent in one major recruitment area, where the range is from 28 per cent to 44 per cent. The College points to the character of its intake as likely to place withdrawal rates above the higher end of the national norm, stating and demonstrating that its withdrawal rate is broadly aligned with national figures for mature black entrants, and that students do not primarily withdraw due to dissatisfaction with teaching quality. 14 Nevertheless, such a withdrawal rate again calls into question the effectiveness of admissions procedures in identifying students whose motivation is suspect and those who have undertaken insufficient personal and financial planning. While the College has put in place a more rigorous academic admissions system, and while any attempt to introduce more academic rigour into admissions is welcome, the concerns team, noting the College's claim that most withdrawing students do so for non-academic reasons, questions whether this approach is sufficiently aligned with the College's own understanding of the issues. Recommendations review the security of its signing-in systems and ensure that breaches are consistently reported and punished maintain a detailed record of inactive students to facilitate regular reviews of its admissions procedures by providing a more accurate indication of students in personal or financial difficulty, and therefore at risk of withdrawal. Teaching quality 15 Submissions to the Concerns Scheme drew negative attention to the quality of classroom learning resources and the English language ability of some lecturers. The concerns team found little evidence of these being serious problems, noting that students spoke positively about the helpfulness of teaching staff, personal tutors, unit leaders and the Essential Skills Unit. 3

4 16 Nevertheless, two main factors lead the concerns team to suggest that the College look again at its staff appointment and development policies: first, disciplinary issues of a kind unusual in higher education occur periodically; and secondly, students drew attention to the breadth of teaching undertaken by some staff members, indicating that such staff are less confident of their material on some occasions than on others. The fact that staff curricula vitae were not always up to date or readily available meant that matching expertise to teaching responsibilities was not easily achieved. Recommendations require up-to-date staff curricula vitae to be maintained, and in such a form as to ensure that the nature and limits of discipline expertise are clearly stated ensure that heads of school make certain that staff are competent and qualified to teach all units assigned to them. Record keeping 17 Students and staff whom the concerns team met did not express any criticism of record keeping, and no evidence was found to justify this concern. Conclusions 18 From the point of view of the quality of student learning opportunities, the College has made progress since September 2014, and, in respect of four of the six main topics raised under the Concerns Scheme, the concerns team found practice broadly acceptable, though in some cases with scope for improvement. 19 The significant exceptions to this are in the areas of admissions procedures and student retention and attendance, where the concerns raised are justified. Notwithstanding the College s assertion that significant progress has been made in recent months in addressing weaknesses in the management of academic standards and quality there was insufficient evidence available for the concerns team to evaluate this. As a consequence the team concluded that: the Expectation of Chapter B2: Recruitment, Selection and Admission to Higher Education of the UK Quality Code for Higher Education, that admissions arrangements are clear, fair, explicit and consistently applied, is not met the Expectation of Chapter B3: Learning and Teaching of the UK Quality Code for Higher Education, that every student is enabled to develop as an independent learner, study their chosen subject(s) in depth and enhance their capacity for analytical, critical and creative thinking, is not met. 20 In respect of admissions procedures, the concerns team found inaccurate information in the Quality Assurance and Enhancement Handbook: the College accepts this point and states that all necessary corrections will be made. More seriously, students reported failures to protect their learning opportunities by managing the disruptive behaviour of unmotivated students. Such a situation, which sees also a minimum 30 per cent nonprogression rate and a significant minority of students submitting no work (or submitting late), is indicative of recruitment errors and a failure to ensure that academic staff are equipped to cope with periodic disciplinary problems. Here and elsewhere, the problem was less the quality of the policies themselves than with their operation at the teacher-student 4

5 interface and with the apparently limited awareness of senior personnel of the variable experiences of students. 21 In respect of student retention and attendance, while the College has a clear and detailed Attendance Policy, a policy is only as good as its implementation, and the concerns team found convincing evidence of unreported breaches which appear to be common knowledge among students. As a secondary issue, the team found the College's calculation of progression rates complicated by the designation of existing students as inactive rather than withdrawn, and that undue scope for the exercise of discretion exists in this distinction. 22 In the light of the conclusions of this report, the College will provide an action plan within six weeks of publication, to be followed up by a full QAA Higher Education Review to ensure that the recommendations contained therein have been effectively addressed. Recommendations ensure that all information it publishes, both on its website and elsewhere in the public domain, is accurate and reliable; and implement a procedure which enables it to draw the immediate attention of third parties publishing information about the College to any inaccuracies such information might contain(paragraphs 3-7) give priority to updating Appendix A of its Quality Assurance and Enhancement Handbook such that it accurately reports current recruitment and admissions procedures (paragraphs 3-7) if and when recruitment is resumed, monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of its revised admissions process in identifying and rejecting unmotivated and wrongly-motivated applicants (paragraphs 3-7) review its classroom management procedures to ensure that all staff are confident and competent in this area; that guidelines are adhered to; and that students are not adversely affected by the behaviour of others (paragraphs 3-7) ensure both that academic staff have the skill set necessary to control student misbehaviour and that adequate procedures are in place for senior managers to be immediately informed of all instances of classroom misconduct (paragraphs 3-7) take a more strategic and formal approach to programme approval, including approval of programmes operated with partners (paragraph 8) review the security of its signing-in systems and ensure that breaches are consistently reported and punished (paragraphs 11-14) maintain a detailed record of inactive students to facilitate regular reviews of its admission procedures by providing a more accurate indication of students in personal or financial difficulty, and therefore at risk of withdrawal (paragraphs 11-14) require up-to-date staff curricula vitae to be maintained, and in such a form as to ensure that the nature and limits of discipline expertise are clearly stated (paragraphs 15-16) ensure that heads of school make certain that staff are competent and qualified to teach all units assigned to them (paragraphs 15-16). 5

6 QAA R April 2015 The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education 2015 Southgate House, Southgate Street, Gloucester GL1 1UB Tel: [email protected] Website: Registered charity numbers and SC