Inverness College UHI
6 May 2016
A report by HM Inspectors
on behalf of the
Scottish Funding Council
Summary report
The external review process
HM Inspectors undertake an independent review of the quality of provision in Scotland’s
colleges on behalf of the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council (SFC)
under a service level agreement between the council and Education Scotland. External
review teams include HM Inspectors, associate assessors and a student team member.
The review took place in accordance with the protocol on quality assurance of University
of the Highland and Islands Millennium Institute and the SFC-funded colleges which are
academic partners of UHIMI (March 2009). Under this protocol, which was agreed by
SFC, Education Scotland and the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education
(QAA), the review focused solely on Further Education (FE) provision.
During external reviews, members of the review teams observe learning and teaching
and hold discussions with learners, staff and stakeholders. They consider information
on learner attainment and evaluate learner progress and outcomes. They meet with
members of the Board of Management and obtain feedback from community groups,
partners and employers who work with the college.
The purpose of this report is to convey the main outcomes arising from the external
review, to acknowledge the college’s strengths and to provide a clear agenda for future
action to improve and enhance quality.
This external review results in judgements of effective or limited effectiveness or not
effective that express the external review team’s overall evaluation of high quality
learning, learner engagement and quality culture.
The report also uses the following terms to describe
numbers and proportions:
almost all
most
majority
less than half
few
over 90%
75-90%
50-74%
15-49%
up to 15%
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Contents
1.
Page
Introduction
1
The external review
1
2.
The college and its context
2
3.
Outcomes of external review
Judgement of Effectiveness
3
Section A:
Section B:
Section C:
Section D:
Section E:
Overarching judgement
Supporting statements
Areas of positive practice
Areas for development
Main points for action
3
3
5
5
6
4.
Signposting excellent practice
7
5.
What is an overarching judgement?
9
6.
What happens next?
11
7.
Further information
11
8.
How can you contact us?
12
Appendices
13
Glossary of terms
The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework
13
14
1.
Introduction
The external review
The external review by Education Scotland took place during the week beginning
7 March 2016.
We examined learning and teaching and other important activities that impact on the
quality of the learner experience. We evaluated these against the three key principles
of high quality learning, learner engagement and quality culture, using the 13 reference
quality indicators outlined in External quality arrangements for Scotland’s colleges,
updated August 2013. We also included Quality Indicators 1.3 Adherence to statutory
principles and 2.2 Relevance of programmes and services to learner needs, to support
our evaluations. We used information from previous visits to the college to decide the
scope of the review.
We found examples of excellence which we describe in this report on page 7 and 8.
The external review team talked with learners, staff at all levels in the college, members
of the Board of Management, employers, external agencies and other users of the
college.
1
2.
The college and its context
In carrying out the external review of Inverness College University of the Highlands and
Islands (UHI), Education Scotland took the following college context fully into account.
Inverness College UHI is the largest academic partner in the UHI partnership. In
2013-14 the college increased its further education (FE) activity target from Scottish
Further and Higher Education Funding Council (SFC) from 37,760 to 40,301 wSUM.
In 2014-15 the college enrolled 4,704 learners on FE programmes. There are
approximately 400 staff in the college, of which just over half are teaching staff.
The FE curriculum covers 16 subject areas which includes specialist provision within the
Scottish School of Forestry. The college also delivers a large number of Modern
Apprenticeship programmes supported by Skills Development Scotland (SDS).
School-college partnership provision includes new Foundation Apprenticeships in
Engineering.
The college has experienced significant change over the last three years. The current
principal was appointed in February 2013 and 20 new senior and middle managers
have taken up post since then. Over the last few years the college has embarked on a
major review of practices and business processes and systems. Organisational
changes have taken place alongside the construction and relocation to the college’s
new estates. The college’s new main building on the Inverness Campus opened to
learners in August 2015 and the new facilities which house forestry provision at Balloch
opened in April 2015.
The college participates in the Highlands and Islands regional colleges’ structure, the
UHI partnership and the Highland Community Planning Partnership. It also contributes
to local and regional employer forums. In October 2015 the principal began a two-year,
part-time secondment as the UHI Vice-Principal, Work-based Learning/Employer
Engagement. In 2015, the college achieved the Frank Buttle Trust quality mark and the
Investors in Young People award.
The majority of FE learners enrolled at Inverness College UHI come from the Inverness
and Inner Moray Firth area. The college also attracts learners wishing to study on
specialist programmes from across the Highland region and beyond. The population of
the Inner Moray Firth area is approximately 153,000 and grew by 14.8% between 2001
and 2011. Unemployment rates in the area are lower than across Scotland as a whole
and in line with those of the Highlands and Islands. School attainment and school
leaver positive destinations for the wider Highland Council area are above the Scotland
average. A larger proportion of the adult population in the Inner Moray Firth area have
degree-level qualifications compared to the Highlands and Islands and Scotland as a
whole.
In 2014-15 total college income was £17.6m of which 73% was grant income from SFC
(including UHI grant for higher education).
2
3.
Outcomes of External Review
Judgement of Effectiveness
Section A: Overarching judgement
Inverness College UHI has in place effective arrangements to maintain and
enhance the quality of its provision and outcomes for learners and other
stakeholders.
This judgement means that, in relation to quality assurance and enhancement, the
college is led well, has sufficiently robust arrangements to address any identified
minor weaknesses, and is likely to continue to improve the quality of its services for
learners and other stakeholders.
Section B: Supporting statements
Learner progress and outcomes
Full-time FE successful completion rates have improved from 54% to 63%, just
under the national sector performance level. In part-time FE programmes,
successful completion rates have moved from 62% to 82% and are now well above
national sector performance. However, early and further withdrawal rates in
full-time FE programmes have been static over the three year period, and remain
slightly worse than national sector performance levels. Almost 97% of FE learners
whose destinations are known progress to work or further study. The college is
addressing its responsibilities well with regard to PREVENT, Corporate Parenting
and equalities. FE programmes take good account of the economic needs of the
region and the local area, and offer clear progression pathways. Almost all full-time
FE programmes have a clear focus on essential skills, including employability, and
most learners make good use of opportunities to develop these. The majority of
learners achieve appropriate qualifications and achieve their personal goals. Many
also take part in competitions and award schemes in order to broaden their
experience.
Learning and teaching processes
The college offers a range of FE programmes which meets well the needs of
learners from diverse backgrounds and circumstances. Learners and teaching staff
develop purposeful relationships that contribute to a safe and positive learning
environment. Almost all learners are making good progress in their studies,
developing a range of useful skills for employment or progression to further study.
They particularly enjoy practical classes. Most teaching staff use their professional
and industrial knowledge well to ensure learning is delivered in a motivating way.
They set appropriate standards in almost all classes and explain clearly their
expectations. However, effective use by teaching staff and learners of the virtual
learning environment (VLE) is inconsistent across FE programmes. Personal
3
Academic Tutors (PAT) provide high-quality on-going guidance and support to
learners. College central guidance staff also work well with programme teams.
Teaching staff review and discuss learning and teaching regularly and most engage
well in self-evaluation and internal review processes. Programme teams are aware
of areas in need of further improvement and respond positively to the support and
challenge provided by senior managers through targeted intervention
arrangements.
Learner engagement
The college is highly committed to successful learner engagement. It has many
constructive processes in place to elicit the views of learners and uses them to
influence improvement. Many learners take responsibility for their own learning and
influence the design and delivery of learning. In a majority of programmes, FE
class representatives participate in course committee meetings. However, a
significant number of course committee meetings and reports do not benefit from
direct learner input and many class representatives are unaware of this aspect of
their role. Over the past few years Inverness College Students’ Association (ICSA)
has enhanced its profile and influence significantly. Learners are well represented
on key college committees. The college makes constructive use of learner
feedback from ICSA Student Representative Council (SRC) meetings to enhance
the quality of college services. However, the number of class representatives
attending SRC meetings has reduced over the past year. While almost all learners
are aware of the existence of the students’ association, a majority have only limited
awareness of its role in influencing improvement. Many learners organise
fundraising events and contribute to volunteering activities that benefit the college
and the wider community.
Leadership and Quality Culture
Partnership working in the college is a major strength, with a wide range of
successful, collaborative projects in place. The college strategic aims and
objectives are clear and appropriate. Since 2013 an increasingly open, positive
ethos has developed within the college. The principal and senior managers have
led recent developments within the college very effectively and leadership across
curriculum and support teams is strong. The move to a new building has greatly
improved the working environment. The college has clear strategies in place for
improving the learner experience and ensuring that learners achieve programme
aims. There is effective coordination between support and curriculum teams and
many support service and quality processes have been improved. However,
college plans to resolve residual learner funding application issues are not clear.
Most staff and many learners engage well in quality processes. However,
arrangements for programme self-evaluation reporting mean that programme
teams are unable to analyse key messages from learner feedback or monitor
actions to address any issues systematically enough. There is significant
improvement in overall college successful outcome rates. However, a few
programmes still have low success rates. The college is actively monitoring and
supporting these areas.
4
Section C:












In both full-time and part-time FE programmes, there have been significant
improvements in successful completion rates over a three year period.
FE programmes take good account of the economic needs of the region and the
local area, and there are clear progression pathways in place for those who want to
continue their learning or move to employment.
Almost all FE learners who are attending college are progressing well. The majority
achieve appropriate qualifications and achieve their personal goals. Almost 97% of
FE learners whose destinations are known progress to work or further study.
Most teaching staff use their professional and industrial knowledge well to ensure
learning is delivered in a motivating way. Teaching staff and learners work well
together to establish positive and respectful relationships.
PATs provide high-quality on-going guidance and support through weekly timetabled
guidance sessions. All learners feel very well informed about options for
progression.
The college has many constructive processes in place to elicit the views of learners
and use them to influence improvement. Several improvements have taken place as
a result.
Over the past few years, ICSA has enhanced its profile and influence significantly.
It is very well supported by the college.
The college Strategic Plan for 2014-17 sets out clear and appropriate aims and
objectives. Following a difficult period in its history, many key concerns have been
addressed successfully and the college is now on track towards achieving its aims.
An increasingly open, positive ethos has developed within the college over the past
few years. The move to new buildings in 2015 has greatly improved the working
environment.
The Board of Management and college senior managers have a clear sense of
direction for the development of the curriculum. The college makes good use of
economic intelligence across different industry sectors to make sure it is delivering
an appropriate range of programmes.
The principal and senior managers work positively with the Board of Management
and have led recent developments within the college very effectively. Leadership
across curriculum and support teams is also strong.
The college has clear strategies in place for improving the learner experience and
ensuring that learners achieve programme aims. In a relatively short space of time,
it has significantly improved the quality of its work. There has been a largely
successful drive towards consistency of quality approaches across all curriculum
areas.
Section D:



Areas of positive practice
Areas for development
Successful outcome rates are low in a few subject areas, and reflect high levels of
learner withdrawal.
A significant number of course committee meetings and reports do not benefit from
direct FE class representative input. Many FE class representatives are unaware
that they are expected to attend these meetings and provide the views of their
classmates to course committees.
A majority of learners have only limited awareness of the role of the students’
association in influencing improvement.
5


At the time of the review, 145 learners had not yet completed the funding application
process. College attempts to resolve this situation have not been successful. While
the college has plans in place to overhaul the process for FE learner funding, plans
to address this specific issue are not yet clear.
Arrangements for programme self-evaluation reporting mean that learner views from
the range of sources used in the college are not collated or evidenced specifically
as part of the process. As a consequence, programme teams are unable to analyse
key messages from learner feedback or monitor actions to address any issues
systematically enough.
Section E:
Main points for action

The college should improve successful completion rates in programmes
where they are low.

The college should ensure that its arrangements for collating learner views
and using them to inform quality improvement at programme level are fully
effective.

The college should improve its management of applications for learner
funding.
6
4.
Signposting excellent practice
During the Education Scotland external review, the college submitted examples of what
it considered to be excellent practice and the review team also identified examples
worthy of dissemination.
4.1 Effective partnership working between college and school
College staff have pioneered an innovative and successful partnership approach to
delivering the National Certificate Activity Tourism programme at SCQF level 6 with
Kingussie High School. This is providing a highly effective model of delivery of full NC
programmes as an integrated part of the senior phase curriculum. The initiative has
been developed to address the specific needs of young people in S5 and S6, many of
whom have a keen interest in outdoor activities. In 2014-15, 14 pupils took part. The
programme provides them with an enhanced understanding of employment
opportunities in the growing area of activity tourism and helps them to identify pathways
for further study. The initiative addresses very well the aspirations of DYW in the
region, and ensures that education and training is directly related to key developments
in the local economy.
College and school staff share the delivery of the programme. School teaching staff
deliver the classroom based elements of the qualification, with support and moderation
provided by college teaching staff. College staff deliver the outdoor activity elements in
a range of local locations. Activities include rock climbing, ski-ing, hill walking, biking
and orienteering. This enables the young people to experience activities in real-life
situations, which makes learning both challenging and enjoyable. The learning is
enhanced through the active engagement of several local businesses and
organisations. This has resulted in the design of real-life projects, provision of
high-quality resources and very helpful support for staff.
College and school staff have worked constructively together to ensure that planning of
learning and assessment is well coordinated. Effective integration of units and
assessments is ensuring that the available time for delivering the programme is
maximised. Practical and theoretical elements relate well to each other and both retain
a strong focus on employability. The VLE is used effectively as a communication portal
for both staff and learners. Successful completion rates on the programme were 92% in
2014-15, and many young people have increased their motivation to engage with
learning as a result of taking part. The programme has continued into the current year
and there are plans in place to deliver similar qualifications in other subject areas.
4.2
Staff engagement with improvement of college processes
College senior managers have addressed key procedural issues which were having a
negative impact on learners. They developed a method of using the collective views of
staff and learners to identify the reasons behind procedural problems, develop solutions
and ensure immediate improvement.
Starting in 2013, the college facilitated a series of events involving mixed focus groups
of staff and learners. Facilitators used the Customer Service Excellence framework to
map key issues identified from sources such as the all-staff conference, learner
questionnaires and analysis of complaints. This has ensured a clear focus on the
7
needs of customers, for example learners. Importantly, it has enabled all participants to
identify objectively where current college processes either match or run counter to
recognised best practice. This has helped everyone to identify ways of aligning college
practices with those of the best organisations. Event facilitators also provided clear
diagrammatical illustrations of college process flowcharts and interdependencies.
These ensured that participants had a clear understanding of the rationale behind
different processes before they proposed changes to them. Facilitators structured
discussions so that while participants shared their individual perspectives, they primarily
generated creative and realistic solutions to problems. This open-ended, collaborative
way of working has been critical to the success of the events. It has ensured that
everyone’s views have been heard and people have felt confident in challenging the
status quo. Furthermore, the clear focus on improvements to the learner experience
has had the effect of pulling everyone together and channelling all discussions towards
one end point.
A further success factor of the project was that college senior managers endorsed and
implemented very quickly many of the changes which were proposed by participants.
This impacted immediately and positively on, for example, admission procedures,
learner induction and on-line programme resulting. It also identified longer-term issues,
such as timetabling and room utilisation, which have become live projects for those
undertaking leadership training. This rapid response aspect has been a major
contributor to re-building staff confidence in college management and to staff
engagement with constructive, well-informed solutions. Most importantly, the learner
experience of college services in several areas has improved significantly over the past
few years.
8
5.
What is an overarching judgement?
Education Scotland uses an overarching judgement of Effectiveness to express the
findings of the review team. The judgement of effectiveness takes into account all the
evidence gathered through the external review. Such judgements express outcomes
as:
effective;
limited effectiveness; or
not effective.
This judgement is further detailed by supporting statements which substantiate the
judgement of effectiveness. Education Scotland evaluates and reports according to the
three key principles. In this report, the principles and supporting statements relate to:
Key principle 1 – High quality learning (supporting statements numbers 1 and 2)
Key principle 2 – Learner engagement (supporting statement number 3)
Key principle 3 – Quality culture (supporting statement number 4)
Judgements of effectiveness and supporting statements provide stakeholders with
assurances, or otherwise, about the quality of a college’s provision. These judgements
are based on trends and track record of a college, the findings at the time of the
external review, and the college’s capacity to continue improving.
A judgement of effective indicates that the college has in place effective
arrangements to maintain and enhance the quality of its provision and outcomes for
learners and other stakeholders. This judgement means that, in relation to quality
assurance and enhancement, the college is led well, has sufficiently robust
arrangements to address any minor weakness, and is likely to continue to improve the
quality of its services for learners and other stakeholders.
A judgement of limited effectiveness indicates that the effectiveness of the college’s
arrangements to maintain and enhance the quality of its provision and outcomes for
learners and other stakeholders is limited. This judgement means that there are some
strengths in the college’s arrangements for quality enhancement. However, there are
weaknesses in arrangements for high quality learning and/or learner engagement
and/or quality culture. If not addressed, the importance of these weaknesses will
continue to limit the effectiveness of the college’s arrangements.
A judgement of not effective indicates that the college’s arrangements to maintain and
enhance the quality of its provision and outcomes for learners and other stakeholders
are not effective. This judgement means that there are significant weaknesses in the
arrangements for high quality learning and/or learner engagement and/or quality culture.
There is a high probability that, without significant and comprehensive action, with
external monitoring and support, the college will fail to improve current low-quality
provision and outcomes to an acceptable level. Education Scotland does not have
evidence that the college has the capacity and commitment to identify and implement
effective and comprehensive action.
9
Scottish Funding Council response to judgements
If the overarching judgement is effective, the Council will expect the college to engage
with Education Scotland in follow-up activity, as appropriate, and, one year after the
publication of the review reports, to provide a report, endorsed by its governing body
(see Council guidance to colleges on quality from August 2012, paragraphs 62-66
SFC/13/2012 setting out its response to the review.)
If the overarching judgement is of limited effectiveness or is not effective, the Council
will require the institution to prepare and fulfil an action plan to address the
shortcomings identified (see paragraph 67 of guidance). Education Scotland will
provide advice to SFC on the adequacy of the action plan and on how it is being
implemented. SFC, taking into account any advice from Education Scotland, will
normally require a formal follow-up review at an appropriate time, usually within no more
than two years.
10
6.
What happens next?
Education Scotland will continue to monitor progress during annual engagement visits to
the college.
There will be feedback to the learners at the college.
One year on from this report, the college will produce a report setting out what it has
done to address the main points for action and/or areas for development in the report
and other quality assurance and enhancement activities. There will be a link to this
report from Education Scotland’s website.
Dr John Laird
HM Inspector
7.
Further information
The review and judgements relate to the college as a whole and do not provide
information about individual programmes of study or subjects. For further information
on these or any other queries, contact the college or look on its website https://www.inverness.uhi.ac.uk/
For further information about Education Scotland, the external review methodologies, or
other information about reviews, see www.educationscotland.gov.uk
For further information about the Scottish Funding Council, see www.sfc.ac.uk
11
8.
How can you contact us?
This report has been produced as a web-only publication and is available on our
website at
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/inspectionandreview/reports/othersectors/collegere
views/InvernessCollege.asp .
If you would like to receive this report in a different format, for example, in a translation
please contact the administration team on 0131 244 5684.
If you want to give us feedback or make a complaint about our work, please contact us
by telephone on 0131 244 4330, or e-mail: complaints@educationscotland.gsi.gov.uk or
write to us addressing your letter to The Complaints Manager, Denholm House,
Almondvale Business Park, Livingston, EH54 6GA.
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Crown Copyright 2016
Education Scotland
12
Appendix 1
Glossary of terms
CPD
DYW
FE
HM
ICSA
NC
PAT
PDLT
PDM
QAA
SCQF
SDS
SFC
SMT
sparqs
SRC
UHI
UHIMI
VLE
wSUM
Continuing Professional Development
Developing the Young Workforce
Further Education
Her Majesty’s
Inverness College Student’s Association
National Certificate
Personal Academic Tutor
Professional Development in Learning and Teaching
Programme Development Manager
Quality Assurance Agency
Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework
Skills Development Scotland
Scottish Funding Council
Senior Management Team
student participation in quality Scotland
Student Representative Council
University of the Highlands and Island
University of the Highlands and Islands Millennium Institute
Virtual Learning Environment
weighted Student Unit of Measurement
13
Appendix 2
14