These notes provide general guidance on the writing of PARM report and the actions required to complete the PARM process.

Transcription

1 CENTRE FOR ACADEMIC STANDARDS & QUALITY ENHANCEMENT Writing & Circulating PARM Reports NOTES OF GUIDANCE FOR PANEL SECRETARIES These notes provide general guidance on the writing of PARM report and the actions required to complete the PARM process. Ensure that you are using the most up to date Faculty-based PARM Report Template download from the website each time. The template has, and will be, updated at regular intervals as the need for different/more/clarified information emerges. You will find the report template on the following website: WRITING THE REPORT GENERAL POINTS TO REMEMBER Each section of the report includes guidance (in red italics) on how to complete the report. Remove any unnecessary pieces of guidance, information or options included in italics in the template eg at the start of the report Draft/Confirmed Programme Approval/Review/Modification as you complete the report. The University convention for written PARM reports is: - to write reports in the past tense; - to attribute comments to a role rather than a name eg the External Assessor requested rather than Joe Brown requested.. - To ensure that comments made by students are reported in a manner which ensures anonymity ie do not use names and, where possible, avoid attributing comments to a specific group/level of students eg the L4 student indicated.. The aim of the report is to: - capture the sense of the meeting; - indicate the judgment of the Panel; - present the evidence on which the judgment was based; - present the advice from the Panel that will be useful to the Programme Team; - expand on the reasons for any conditions or recommendations; - record any examples of exceptional good practice or other praiseworthy items. The report has several audiences and what you write needs to be appropriate for: - the programme team it will provide an agenda for the team s response to any conditions and recommendation and it needs to be useful; - the University it must be informative to a group who was not present at the event, has not read the documents but needs to know the outcome of the event; - external bodies (eg QAA, PSRBs) it must provide regulatory bodies with confidence that the University is successfully discharging its responsibilities in terms of assuring the quality and appropriateness of its provision. CASQE Page 1 of 7 Writing the PARM Report

2 There should be a clear relationship between the outcomes of the meeting (Part A) and the notes in the discussion (Part B). When in doubt use your own words. If you do not understand the notes that you may have taken down verbatim ask yourself what did they really mean when they said that? and then write in your own words. If you are going to record any criticisms explain clearly what they are and why. If you are going to be detailed, be precise. Check for factual accuracy against the submission document or check with the Chair. Edit your report after drafting: - short paragraphs and sentences are easier to read and control; - cut anything that is not essential to the meaning of what you have written; - avoid long strings of subordinate clauses; - be self-critical. SPECIFIC GUIDANCE Nb not all sections are included here. Please read these in conjunction with the notes provided in the Template itself. PART A Section A1 (Programme Title) - ensure that the APPROVED Programme Specification title is used here. In cases where modifications are made to part of a network indicate the Programme Specification and the major changes proposed eg: Ceramics Undergraduate Programme: Inclusion of new awards BA (Hons) China Clay Pots BSc (Hons) Pottery If the Programme Specification title is to change as part of the proposal, indicate this Ceramics Undergraduate Programme Nb change of title as part of review to Ceramics and Glassware Undergraduate Programme Report Header and Section A6 Include the University s PARM database reference in the Header section of the report and in Section A6. You will find this reference on the Strategic Approval Sign off forms once the DVC has agreed the proposals. Section A7 Brief Outline of Proposal/Developments This section is specifically for the factual details of the proposal/development. NB: there is a section in Part B context and background. There is a list of the type of information required on the report template itself. Section A11 - Conclusions on Quality and Standards The template provides a selection of standard statements that should be applied as appropriate. These include statements for provision where the Panel is recommending CASQE Page 2 of 7 Writing the PARM Report

3 approval, limited approval and non-approval. On occasions it may be necessary to tailor these statements to ensure that they provide an accurate outcome of the Panel s recommendation (eg if the proposal was a request to add a new partner to deliver existing provision, the approval statement will need to be amended to reflect what is being asked of the Panel). It is critical that, on those occasions where the Panel has concerns about the proposals which are significant enough for it to recommend either a limited level of approval (time length or limited content approval) or very exceptionally non-approval, the statement in this section accurately reflects the outcome of the meeting as recorded in A12 (Summary of Outcome). Possible exemplars might be: Limited approval length Whilst the Panel concluded that the intended learning outcomes of the programme were being achieved by students in light of the innovative nature of the modifications to the programme the Panel recommended approval for 3 years to enable the Programme Team Or Standard Paragraph plus However, approval was restricted to 3 years due to concerns raised in respect of.. Section A12 Summary of Outcome Again, standard statements are provided. Remove those that do not apply and ensure that those that are required, accurately reflect the outcome eg if limited approval was given, make sure that the length of period of approval is included. Section A13 Conditions of Approval For ease, make sure any conditions are cross-referenced to the discussion points in Section B. Where a condition is lengthy, it may be appropriate to provide a brief statement in this box on the lines of: 1. the programme specification is amended in line with the guidance provided by the Panel, the detail of which, is included as Appendix?? at the end of the report. This allows for much greater detail to be included as an appendix to the report, which will be useful to the Programme Team. Section A14 Deadline for fulfilment of Conditions 14(i) is where the deadline date for academic type conditions (eg amendments to programme/unit specifications. 14(ii) is only to be completed where collaborative provision is being considered by the Panel. This section records the date by which the Formal Agreement should be signed by both parties. Finalised programme specifications must be attached to CASQE Page 3 of 7 Writing the PARM Report

4 the Formal Agreement when they are sent for signature. Any conditions relation to the programme specification must have been made and approved by the Chair before it can be attached. A separate, later date is, therefore, required for the completion of the Formal Agreement. PART B PANEL DISCUSSION The Headings within this section are ordered to reflect the standard Aims of a Faculty event. There is guidance provided within the template itself as to what areas should be reported under each heading. Issues/discussions relating to areas such as Combined Honours, Foundation Year, Collaborative Partners should be recorded under the most relevant heading. The nature of this section of the report should be directive and need not reflect the entire range of discussion at the meeting, but should ensure that all agenda items and major themes of discussion are addressed. Avoid use of colloquialisms and, whilst reporting the outcome accurately, look for the positives. Ensure that the report has a logic and coherence which might not have been apparent in the meeting itself. Discussions naturally tend to jump/drift organically from one subject to another. You may have to untangle the threads of discussion in order to produce a set of notes that provide an accurate summary of the main points of discussion, together with a clear justification for the Panel s decisions and recommendations. The report should be organised thematically following the template provided, rather than as a chronological record of discussions. The nature of the report, and the conclusion in particular, will need to reflect the specific characteristics of the programme(s) considered and the nature of the Event. Where there is a Report Heading, find something to put under it! (even if it is a simple statement indicating that it is not applicable eg there would be nothing to include under an Report of Student Meeting for a brand new programme). Wherever discussions relate to an area that is covered by a University policy/icp/ framework, reference the University policy, eg if the provision under consideration involves placements, ensure that the ICP on Placements and Work-based Provision is appropriately referenced the Panel was satisfied that the arrangements for placements aligned to the ICP for Placements and Work-based Provision.. PART C RESPONSE TO CONDITIONS No Conditions Set If the Panel did not set any conditions of approval, and there are no collaborative partnerships involved, it is not necessary to complete this section of the report. Conditions Set This section of the report can only be fully completed once the response to CASQE Page 4 of 7 Writing the PARM Report

5 condition(s) has been approved by the Panel Chair and the draft report is often circulated without this section. Do not delay the confirmation of Sections A & B of PARM report if this section is not completed. Section C can be circulated later, once the Chair has considered and approved the Programme Team s response to any conditions. SECTION D COMPLETION BY CASQE If there are no conditions set, Section D should be retained to enable CASQE to complete the final sign off information at the end of the approval process. APPENDIX I This is relevant for Review and Modification reports and should contain a list of all changes made to the programme/network of programmes as part of the review/modification event. This information will be required for the University academic database and should include any changes to the programme which would not normally be captured within a revised programme specification eg units (ie removed, added, title changes). Programme Teams are requested to complete a specific section in their Review and Modification Course Development Plans which you can cut and paste into the Report Appendix. FURTHER APPENDICES As indicated Section A13 above, it may be appropriate to provide the detail of one or more conditions in the form of an appendix. CIRCULATION OF OUTCOMES The outcomes of the event (conditions, recommendations and fulfilment date(s)) should be approved by the Chair and circulated to the programme team within one week of the event. The most effective way of doing this is by circulating a draft of Part A of the report. If the event involved collaborative provision, send the outcomes of the report to the Collaborative Partnership Office as soon as possible. It is the responsibility of the Chair to ensure that the reports, conditions and recommendations are accurate. Ask the Chair to agree a form of words at the meeting. CIRCULATION OF THE FULL REPORT Draft reports ie Parts A, B (C if available at that stage) and any Appendices, should be approved by the Chair and normally circulated, within three weeks, to all the Panel and Programme Team for comment prior to confirmation. Ask for any comments/suggested changes to be sent to you by a designated date. CASQE Page 5 of 7 Writing the PARM Report

6 All comments received from Panel members should be sent to the Chair (via the Faculty s Quality Officer). It is the Chair s responsibility to decide whether comments/changes are included in the confirmed report. The confirmed report ie Sections A, B (C if available at that stage) and any appendices, should be circulated to all members of the Panel and all Programme Team members who attended. An electronic copy should be sent to the Faculty s CASQE Link Officer (even if they did not attend the event) and Marian Kelly in the Centre for Academic Standards & Quality Enhancement. Where the PARM event included consideration of any Combined Honours subjects (check the programme specification) you should ask the Programme Leader to ensure that they send a copy of the report to any Programme Leader responsibly for a Combined Honours combination with the programme under scrutiny. FULFILMENT OF CONDITIONS The Programme Team must submit its written response to any conditions of approval to the Faculty s Quality Officer by the due date. As the date approaches, start to chase to ensure that the response is on track! The response should contain: - a written response from the Programme Team which describes how the Programme Team has complied with the conditions. This is usually made in the relevant section of Part C of the report (unless it is particularly long or complicated when it may be more appropriate for it to be submitted as a separate document); - appropriate supporting evidence; - updated programme specification and any other documents requested by the panel. Once it has been scrutinised and approved at Faculty level, you should submit - the response, and - a copy of the report, updated to include appropriate details in Part C to the Chair for approval. Ask the Panel Chair for written confirmation of their approval. There is a signature box included in Part C for the Chair to sign and return to you. If you do not hear anything within a few days, start chasing!! It is important to receive, hard auditable evidence of the Chair s approval. If it is proving difficult to get their signature, at least ensure that an response is received. On receipt of the Chair s approval, complete the final section of the PARM report with the details of approval and send an electronic copy to both the Faculty s CASQE Link Officer and Marian Kelly at CASQE. Send a copy of the Chair s signature to CASQE (Marian Kelly) for the audit trail. CASQE Page 6 of 7 Writing the PARM Report

7 Collaborative Provision a condition of approval for any approval, review and most modifications involving collaborative provision is the completion and signing of a Formal Agreement by MMU and partner. If you are at the point where all conditions with the exception of the formal agreement have been fulfilled, you can ask the Chair to sign off the academic conditions. However, it should be clear in the sign off section that the Formal Agreement has not been signed (there is opportunity for this in the document). The report can be sent to CASQE as above, but the recommendation for approval will not go forward until CASQE has confirmation that the Formal Agreement has been signed. UNIVERSITY APPROVAL On receipt by CASQE, the confirmed report, and responses to any conditions signed off by the Panel Chair, will be scrutinised by the Head of CASQE who will, if appropriate confirm the recommendation of the Panel. Once approved by the Head of CASQE, you will be sent a final sign off document confirming the status of the programme which should be included in the relevant programme log for future auditing purposes. CASQE will include the outcome in its annual report on Quality and Standards to University s Academic Quality and Standards Committee Extracts from confirmed PARM reports (Parts A and C) will be published on the CASQE website. ACTION POST APPROVAL Ensure that the new/updated programme specification and unit specifications are ready to be uploaded to relevant websites. Ensure that any Recommendations included in section A15 of the report are included in the continuous monitoring processes for the provision Include the report and sign off in the Programme Log. October 2015 CASQE Page 7 of 7 Writing the PARM Report