UNDERGRADUATE: EXTERNAL EXAMINER REPORT TEMPLATE Please add your comments in the space provided in each section. After completion, please email the report to eternaleaminers@bathspa.ac.uk to arrive by 31 July 2015. IMPORTANT: Please note that, for the purposes of meeting indicator 14 of the Quality code Chapter B7 Eternal eamining, this report will be published in full for all students to access on the University s VLE. As such, it is particularly important that individual students are not named nor reference made to students work/presentations or circumstances which may identify them (eg the detailed description of a particular piece of work or a student s circumstances). SECTION 1: GENERAL INFORMATION Name of Eternal Eaminer Home institution/ professional affiliation Course eamined Christine Collins University of Hertfordshire FdA Early Years Institution(s) where City of Bristol College course delivered Academic year 2014/15 Mentor/Mentoring (if applicable) Mentoring Jo Dallal Page 1 of 6
CHECKLIST please indicate by placing X in the appropriate bo Course materials did you receive: Student handbook Course regulations Module descriptions (within student handbook) Assessment briefs/marking criteria Draft eamination papers: Did you receive all the draft papers If not, was this at your request Were the nature and level of the questions appropriate If not, were suitable arrangements made to consider your comments Marking eamination scripts: Did you receive a sufficient number of scripts If you did not receive all the scripts, was the method of selection satisfactory Was the general standard and consistency of marking appropriate Were the scripts marked in such a way as to enable you to see the reasons for the award of given marks Dissertations/project reports: Was the choice of subject for dissertations appropriate Was the method and standard of assessment appropriate Coursework/continuously assessed work: Was sufficient coursework made available to you for assessment Was the method and general standard of marking and consistency satisfactory YES NO N/A N/A Page 2 of 6
SECTION 2: STUDENT PERFORMANCE The overall performance of students on this programme compares favourably with students on Early Years Foundation Degrees elsewhere. Module evaluation forms show that students have good engagement with the variety of assessment tasks set and show a strong commitment to their course. Student feedback showed that they felt they were supported well in their studies. Most students are working full time as well as studying and many of the students demonstrated that they were meeting or working hard towards meeting a high academic standard. Use of journal articles and recent documents was in evidence. The assignments were largely of very good quality with a generally high standard of literacy shown. Students continue to draw on practice eperience successfully as mentioned in the previous reports. SECTION 3: MARKING & ASSESSMENT There is clear evidence of supportive and developmental feedback for students at all levels and across all modules and colleges. This has been enhanced by the use of appropriate language being used to tie in with the grading criteria. The team have worked hard on this and report that it is working well. Further suggestions for enhancement of feedback can be seen in section 6 below. Some of the marking seen had underlining on the script with no comments to the student. Please ensure that this is addressed for the benefit of the students. I was able to access student work on line- thank you for this. The on line marking appeared robust and clear. The wide range of assessments provided all students with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills and apply these to practice issues and the assessed coursework relates clearly to module aims and outcomes. The variety and creativity of assessments provided are a particular strength of this course. However the word count is high in comparison to similar courses. Course work assessments match the learning outcomes of the modules. Clear evidence of cross moderation conversations stimulated by blind marking one assignment prior to moderation was provided as recommended in the previous report. The link tutor and the college tutors have shown evidence of working hard towards ensuring there are fair and consistent levels of marking and parity of epectation across the colleges and with the University. However, I did notice some slight differences in the grade ranges as shown in the table below. I would encourage markers to use the full range of grades where appropriate. College 70 and 50s and 60s 40s Fail above Swindon 3% 97% 0 0 Bristol 9% 72% 16.5% 3% Page 3 of 6
Weston College 20% 66% 13% 1.5% For the seen theme assessment for ED5502, it appeared that some students were taking more that the allotted 250 words and symbols into the assessment. I suggest that the word limit is adhered to as this could give some students an advantage over others. SECTION 4: TEACHING, LEARNING & CURRICULUM The programme specification contains appropriate materials showing epectations and course details. The curriculum is varied and relates to subject benchmark statements. The assessments are varied and appropriate for the curriculum and the teaching methods on the course. Assessments were clearly related to practice which is a particular strength of this course. This course relates favourably in level to other similar courses in this subject. Student work also compares positively when compared with other Foundation Degrees in Early Years. SECTION 5: EMPLOYABILITY All students on this course are practitioners. The course encourages reflection and analysis of Early Years practice in all modules which enhances and supports practice. Skills of organisation, time management and leadership and management of change are also developed and analysed. These skills, which are developed throughout the course, enhance student employability. The materials seen, particularly in the child studies and research projects produced by students show evidence of employer engagement by the staff and students on this course. All students have mentors in their placement setting who support them and help them to relate theory to practice. The possibility of a mentor agreement was discussed with some staff and will be considered by the team. SECTION 6: STRENGTHS & AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT Are there any particular strengths, distinctive/innovative features or areas of good practice in relation to standards and assessment? The commitment of the course team was again apparent and the collaboration between the college teams and Bath spa continues to be strong. Feedback given is rigorous for students at all levels. What are the main priorities for improvement? I have provided some points below that the team may wish to consider: Page 4 of 6
Ensure students stick to allocated word count for seen theme. The team may find it useful to include a bo on the hand in sheet for students to include the word count and sign to sign that this is accurate ( this may not be necessary if all marking is going to go on line) Final bo on feedback sheets could include bullet points which identify areas for development for future assignments and how students can improve their academic skills (feed forward) Use full range of marks where appropriate including low fails and high firsts The teams may wish to consider the pass/fail elements of some of the assessments. These areas are not formally assessed but there is an epectation that students will pass them. I suggest that students need to be aware of the consequences if they do not pass, in order for them to have value and to ensure clarity. SECTION 7: SPECIFIC COMMENTS WHERE COURSES ARE DELIVERED AT PARTNER COLLEGES OR PRIVATE PROVIDERS AT DIFFERING LOCATIONS There is clear evidence that the college and Bath Spa University staff collaborate effectively to ensure good practice. The cross- moderation, marking and planning processes are transparent and positive aspects of this programme. There appears to be a positive professional relationship between all partner members and with the Link Tutor at Bath Spa and all staff that I met show enthusiasm and commitment to providing a quality programme for the students. SECTION 8: DECLARATION Please delete as appropriate: YES I confirm: City of Bristol College processes for assessment, eamination and the determination of awards are sound and have been fairly conducted in the contet of the boards on which I sit; Broad comparability of standards relative to other institutions which offer similar programmes. SECTION 9: OTHER MATTERS The work that I saw was presented to me in a clear and easy to access format with all appropriate paperwork. Thank you to the team for this. Page 5 of 6
SECTION 10: Please comment on whether the course team has taken appropriate action in regard to any strengths or areas for development identified in the report for last academic year (NB If this is your first year of appointment, please comment on the response to your predecessor s final report). The team have made several changes in response to my suggestions last year, Consider using the terminology used in the marking grids on feedback sheets to describe levels eg. Adequate /good/eceptional. This will make it easier for students to map eactly where they are for different sections of their work. Staff have worked hard on this and the feedback is that students and staff have found it useful for clarity First and second marker comments could be merged before being fed back to student to avoid conflicting feedback. This appears to have been corrected Where electronic marking is used, I suggest that the team try to avoid repetition in order to enhance value to the student. Electronic marking, where used, is comprehensive and no longer repetitive Consider pre- marking moderation by all markers blind marking a script and discuss and agree grade to support consistency of marking even further between colleges. Feedback suggests that this was very useful in supporting discussion and parity in relation to marking. I suggest that this continues with higher and lower grade assignments being blind marked by all colleges in order to identify if there are any differences in the range of marks given by different markers ( relating to table in section 3) FOR EXTERNAL EXAMINERS IN THEIR LAST YEAR OF APPOINTMENT: Please provide an overview of your period as an eternal eaminer for this award at Bath Spa University. Page 6 of 6