An Coiste Feabhais Acadúil
The Committee on Academic Quality Improvement
The Academic Quality Assurance Programme 2002 – 2003
REVIEW OF
THE OFFICE OF ADULT & CONTINUING EDUCATION
Final Report
3 Deireadh Fómhair 2003
AdultEduFinalReport03
Adult & Continuing Education: Review Group Report
This report arises from a visit by a review team to the Office of Adult and Continuing
Education on 12-14 May 2003. The Office had already prepared and submitted a 'Self
Assessment Report' that, with other documentation, was made available to the review
team in advance of the visit.
The review team consisted of: Professor Máirtín Ó Fathaigh, Centre for Adult and
Continuing Education, University College Cork (Chairperson); Professor Maria
Slowey, Director of Adult and Continuing Education, University of Glasgow; Mr
Keith Warnock, Department of Accountancy and Finance, NUI, Galway; and
Seosamh Mac Donnacha, Oifig na Gaeilge Labhartha, NUI, Galway acting as
rapporteur.
The report is structured to cover the following main topics
Introduction
1. Aims and Objectives
2. Organization and management
2.1 Overall Position within the University’s Structures
2.2 Academic Structures
2.3 Internal Structures
2.4 Accommodation and Facilities
3. Programmes and Instruction
4. Scholarship and Research
5. Career Planning and Professional Development of Staff
6. The Wider Context
7. Summary and Concluding Remarks
0
AdultEduFinalReport03
Introduction
Our visit to the Office of Adult and Continuing Education spanned three days and
included meetings with senior management of the Office and the University, with the
staff of the Office, with students and other participants in the Office’s programmes
and with community leaders who have collaborated in the work of the Office.
The review team were extremely impressed with the quality and with the level of
creativity and imagination shown in the work of the Office with a wide range of
students, participants and other bodies. The effect of their activities on their students,
on other participants and on the communities in which they work was evident to us.
Many times over the three days, participants we met made comments to us such as:
‘This has changed my life.’ ‘We were chosen for the Access Course because we were
disadvantaged students, but from the first day I was an ‘advantaged’ student.’ ‘It was
a wonderful experience.’ ‘It made a huge difference to my life.’ In addition it became
clear to us that the Office has become the human face of the University in the
communities in which it is active and that its involvement in the life of these
communities has done much to reshape the image of the University as an institution
which cares about its community and as a place to which educationally
underprivileged children and adults can aspire to be part of. The review team highly
commends the work of the Office, work that is not only a credit to its own staff but
also a credit to the University as a whole.
The review team were also impressed by the serious consideration being given to the
work of the Office of Adult and Continuing Education by the senior management of
the University as evidenced by our meetings with them, by its inclusion in one of the
University’s strategic priorities for the period 2003 – 2008, and in particular by the
emphasis placed on community service within the University’s career development
and promotion process.
It was clear to the review team, however, that much debate has still to take place
regarding many aspects of the Office’s future and that this debate needs to be
broadened to consider a wider range of issues and to include significant stakeholders
not currently involved in the debate. We hope that our comments and
recommendations will provide a useful input into that process.
AdultEduFinalReport03
Adult & Continuing Education: Review Group Report
1.
Aims and Objectives
The Office of Adult and Continuing Education was established more than 30 years
ago as an administrative structure, with responsibility for the College’s ‘Extra-Mural
Studies’ programme. In the intervening years it has developed, both in size and scope,
and now deals with a diverse range of projects and students. This development has
been facilitated in the past by the small and entrepreneurial nature of the unit, which
has allowed it to be flexible, innovative and responsive and has also been driven by
the need of the unit to respond to opportunities as they arose and to take on activities
which did not have champions or a ‘natural’ home in any other part of the
University’s structure.
Much of this development appears to have taken place, however, without any serious
consideration having been given by the University to the evolving needs of the unit
itself, either structurally or in terms of the development needs of the staff employed
therein. In addition, demographic changes and changes in the expectations of society
as a whole have ensured that the area of adult and continuing education itself has
become more important in the overall strategic development and ethos of the
University. The concept itself has broadened considerably to include issues relating to
lifelong learning, access to third level education for marginalized groups and
communities, community education, intergenerational educational disadvantage, rural
and urban disadvantage, distance learning, professional development and the
contribution of the University to society in general.
Within this context, the review team formed the opinion that, while the aims and
objectives of the various projects and programmes being run by the Office have a
clear focus, it is extremely difficult to pin down the mission and strategic intent of the
unit as a whole. In addition, there is a need for the University itself, within the context
of its strategic and academic plans for the period 2003-2008, to clearly identify those
components of its strategic priority to maximise its contribution at national and
regional levels, which are to be developed under the auspices of the Office of Adult
and Continuing Education.
We therefore recommend:
• That the University develop the relevant aspects of its existing Strategic Plan
into an overall operational strategy, in which the main components of its
strategic priority in this area are identified. This operational strategy should
identify the lead units of the University that are expected to have operational
responsibility for each component and the main departments/faculties which are
to have a collaborative role in its development. It should also form the basis for
the University’s strategic investment decisions in this area.
•
That the aims and objectives of the Office of Adult and Continuing Education
be reviewed in the context of the role it is expected to play within the above
operational strategy.
We hope that, taken as a whole, the discussion and associated recommendations in
this report will be of assistance in the achievement of the above.
More specifically, we also recommend, that, as part of this process, the title of
Office of Adult and Continuing Education be reconsidered, as the review team
1
AdultEduFinalReport03
Adult & Continuing Education: Review Group Report
came to a view that the title of Centre or Institute of Adult and Continuing
Education may be more appropriate.
Within this context the Office would be in a position to prioritise its many potential
contributions to the strategic and academic development of the University during
2003-2008 and to achieve an appropriate balance between the need to follow a
cohesive strategic development path and the need to respond to funding opportunities
as they arise.
2.
Organization and Management
2.1 Overall Position within the University’s Structures
While the University’s Strategic Plan for 2003-2008 has made the area of adult and
continuing education central to the University’s core mission, appropriate structures
have yet to be developed to allow this to happen in a more effective way. It was clear
to the review team that this issue is receiving consideration at the most senior level
within the University and that several models are currently being debated, although an
issue of concern to us is that the staff of the Office of Adult and Continuing Education
itself appear to have had little or no opportunity to participate in this debate. The
review team strongly endorse the view that there is a need to establish an advisory
Board for the area of adult and continuing education and lifelong learning, which will:
•
•
•
•
provide support and advice to the management and staff of the Office;
act as a body through which the strategic development of the Office can be
supported;
provide the Office with some of the linkages it needs, both within and outside the
University
contribute to the development of University strategy in relevant areas.
The review team recommends that the composition and terms of reference of this
body should take into account the operational strategy and review referred to in 1
above, and that the composition of the Board should include representation from:
•
•
•
•
the University’s senior management;
the various sub-units operating within the Office of Adult and Continuing
Education;
other stakeholder groups within and outside the University, including students
and community groups;
mainstream departments closely involved with the work of the Office.
2.2 Academic Structures
A key issue, not surprisingly, raised during the visit of the review team was in relation
to whether the Office of Adult and Continuing has or should have an academic role.
On the one hand a view exists that it is not feasible to replicate existing mainstream
departments within an adult and continuing education umbrella and that mainstream
departments must retain ultimate responsibility for academic standards in their areas
of expertise and knowledge. On the other hand, the area of Adult and Continuing
Education needs to have access to more responsive and flexible modes of developing
and delivering programmes than those that are inherent to mainstream departments,
and needs to develop a cohort of academic personnel:
2
AdultEduFinalReport03
Adult & Continuing Education: Review Group Report
•
•
•
who are expert and committed to the concept of adult and community education in
addition to the development of standards and knowledge in their subject area;
who are comfortable working in an interdisciplinary environment and whose
teaching practices encompass the wide range of students and methodologies and
technologies being used;
who are interested in research activities relevant to this area as well as more
mainstream research activities.
It is also important to note that many of the Office’s staff are already involved in
academic activities and that this positive development needs to be recognised in
whatever future structures are developed. Not to allow staff who have made a
significant contribution to the work and development of the Office in this way in the
past to continue with their own professional and academic development would, in our
view, be unjust and most likely impact badly on issues of staff morale and staff
retention in the future. In addition, as the range of activities for which the Office is
responsible continues to grow it is likely that the Office itself will have to recruit
more academic staff to provide for areas of expertise which do not exist in
mainstream departments, or where it makes more economic and operational sense to
do so.
The review team is of the view that this should be seen as a positive development and
should be facilitated by ensuring that suitable opportunities exist for the professional
development of such staff, particularly in relation to their involvement in research
activities and through a strong linkage with mainstream departments as appropriate.
Such a view would envisage the Office of Adult and Continuing Education
developing, over time, sub-units which are complementary to existing mainstream
departments and/or which specialise in key knowledge areas that don’t currently exist
within the University.
The review team is also of the view that there is a need for a more formalised linkage
with the broader academic community within the University and in other third level
institutions with which the Office collaborates. We recommend that this be achieved
by including an academic role within the terms of reference of the Board suggested
above or by establishing an academic sub-committee of the Board to act as a quasiFaculty or Board of Studies.
The review team welcomed the serious consideration being given to this issue by
senior management of the University, in the context of how best to link the operation
of the existing Office to University strategy in relevant areas. Ultimately this is a
matter for decision by the Management Group. Two possible options are outlined
here:
(a) The establishment of a position of Dean of Adult and Continuing Education (or
Lifelong Learning). This would have the advantage of enhancing the academic
position of adult and continuing education within the University and give it a
similar status, and University-wide remit, akin to that of research. The Dean
would act as Chair of the Board (and Academic sub-committee) recommended
above and have overall responsibility for the direction of academic standards in
programmes run by the Office. The Dean would specifically facilitate
3
AdultEduFinalReport03
Adult & Continuing Education: Review Group Report
collaboration between the Office and other academic departments in the
development and delivery of programmes and be responsible for supporting the
implementation of relevant aspects of University policy across the institution.
(b) Alternatively, the above objectives could also be achieved by designating a
senior person, at Vice President or Registrar level as Chair of the proposed
Board and Academic sub-committee. The advantage of this approach is the
direct link which would be established to University strategic interests through
the Management Group. A possible disadvantage arises from the practical
constraints which competing demands place on the time of such senior post
holders. In the short to medium term a considerable commitment will be
required to bring the work of the Office to the next stage of development as
recommended in this report.
The objective of the structures being proposed should be twofold. Firstly, to develop
trust and confidence between the Office of Adult and Continuing Education and
collaborating academic departments of the University. If the Office is to continue
being successful in the long run it will have to believe that the rest of the academic
community and the senior management of the University has sufficient confidence in
it to allow it take responsibility for its own academic affairs. Secondly, to link the
work of the Office more closely to overall University strategy in areas such as
continuing education, widening access, flexible provision, and lifelong learning.
Therefore, it is important that the tone set by whatever structure is adopted to
consolidate the current and future position of Adult and Continuing Education as part
of the core mission of the University be one built on confidence and trust which
supports collaboration between mainstream departments and the Office of Adult and
Continuing Education, rather than one which is built on the premise that the Office of
Adult and Continuing Education must always look elsewhere for its academic
credentials.
2.3 Internal Structures
As a result of its historical development in response to various opportunities the
Office has developed an internal structure composed of several different units
operating semi-independently of each other. Thus, there appears to be very little
ongoing communication between the various units. This, the review team surmises,
leaves the Office with only limited opportunities for cross-fertilisation of ideas,
exchanges of expertise within the different sub-units, and opportunities for staff to
discuss and explore the overall mission and vision of the Office. This situation has
been exacerbated by infrastructure deficits leading to the geographical dispersal of the
Office in a number of locations both on and off campus.
The review team recommends:
•
that the Office provide formal processes that will facilitate staff meeting to
discuss relevant issues on an ongoing basis;
• the creation of an executive management committee involving the heads of the
various units/projects in the overall strategic management and development of
the Office;
that consideration be given to the creation of a new intermediate management level
to support the work of the Director
4
AdultEduFinalReport03
Adult & Continuing Education: Review Group Report
2.4 Accommodation and Facilities
A key challenge facing the Office currently is the issue of accommodation and
facilities for staff and students. Currently the Office is dispersed over several
locations on and off campus in what is, in some cases, totally unsuitable
accommodation. This has serious repercussions for staff morale, for operational
effectiveness and for the ability of the Office to meet the needs of its students in an
appropriate way. It also inhibits communication and the creation of synergy within the
Office as mentioned above. From a strategic point of view it means that the Office
does not have a high-visibility high-status presence on campus and throws into doubt
the seriousness of the University’s commitment to making the area of Adult and
Continuing Education central to its core mission. In addition, it means that much of
the work of the Office, because it happens off campus, is not visible to the rest of the
University and does not readily get the recognition it deserves.
The Review Team strongly recommends that the University investigate the
feasibility of making a strategic commitment to the development of a purpose built
highly visible high status centre for adult and continuing education on campus
which will contain adequate facilities for staff and students, and which allows for
future developments in this area. It is envisaged that this centre would also include
dedicated late-opening facilities which will complement the University’s existing
facilities, for example the library and catering facilities, which are not economical
to keep open at times which meet the needs of Adult and Continuing Education
students.
3.
Programmes and Instruction
All programmes delivered by the Office of Adult and Continuing Education which
lead to a University award are subject to the academic control of the relevant
department/faculty, often through a programme board. New programmes must be
approved by the faculty for transmission to the Academic Council. Examination and
other assessment results must be approved by the relevant examination board. In this
sense, quality assurance procedures of the Office of Adult and Continuing Education
are those of the departments and faculties in association with which programmes are
provided. In practice, however, the special needs of the Office require that procedures
are implemented which supplement the quality assurance procedures of the academic
departments. For instance, there is a specialist external examiner for the Open
Learning Centre.
The variation in the level of commitment of academic departments means that while
some programmes are taught by full-time academic staff, others are largely taught by
part-timers. This creates at least the potential for variations in the quality of delivery
and it was not apparent to us that there was a clear policy on assessing this. The varied
nature of the Office’s activities, and its varied relationship with different academic
departments, precludes the adoption of a simple set of standard procedures to ensure
quality.
We recommend, however, that the procedures implemented should be documented
and reported to the Board, proposed above, on an annual basis. Such a report might
cover procedures and criteria for the recruitment of staff, arrangements for the
5
AdultEduFinalReport03
Adult & Continuing Education: Review Group Report
provision of any necessary training, and the collection and dissemination of student
feedback.
We wish to emphasise that our discussions with students from a variety of
programmes revealed no significant perceptions of shortcomings in the academic
quality of the material delivered or in the mechanisms of programme management.
Our comments are designed to stimulate the development and documentation of
procedures which will ensure the same quality in the future throughout the Office’s
varied activities.
4.
Scholarship and Research
The Office of Adult and Continuing Education is technically defined as an
administrative unit. However, in the light of the reconsideration of the academic
dimension of its role as recommended in this report the review team is of the view
that, in due course, it is important that research should come to form an integral
aspect of its activities. This would bring potential benefits to staff and enhance the
overall professional standing of the Office. Equally, if not more importantly, such
research activity would also allow the University to gain added academic value from
the distinctive connections that the Office currently enjoys in the field of adult and
lifelong learning.
The experience and commitment of the staff we met provides an excellent basis for
further developments in the area of adult and continuing education. In this context,
involvement in formal reflective work would have the added advantage of assisting in
the further development and dissemination of NUI, Galway’s approaches and models
of development in this area. While some members of staff are engaged in aspects of
evaluative activity, this is underdeveloped and requires academic leadership and
direction. As a short-term strategy, consideration might be given to raising the profile
of the work of the Office through the publication (under a common ‘brand image’) of
some existing material, in collaboration with academic departments as appropriate.
The scope for external (national and European) funding for policy orientated and
action research is considerable, and consideration might be given to supporting
appropriate staff to develop such work with links to academic staff working in
relevant areas. Given the multi- and inter-disciplinary nature of research in this area
we think it important that such connections should build upon relationships with a
range of disciplines across the University, including the Department of Education, and
with other third level institutions.
A particular area for potential development identified by the review team relates to
research which could feedback into evidence based policy development for the
University in areas such as the needs of non-traditional students, access, retention,
learning outcomes and evaluation.
The development of such a research culture/agenda within the Office of Adult and
Continuing Education would create additional opportunities for the professional
development of staff and greatly enhance their academic standing. However, for such
an approach to be sustainable it must be reflected in funding mechanisms and in the
conditions under which staff members are employed.
6
AdultEduFinalReport03
Adult & Continuing Education: Review Group Report
We recommend therefore that consideration be given to ways in which academic
and policy orientated research might become part of the next stage of development
of the Office. This could be taken forward by a Working Group involving the Chair
of the proposed Board, the Dean of Research, the Director and senior members of
his staff, and a number of senior researchers from cognate areas in education and
the social sciences.
5.
Career Planning and Professional Development of Staff
The review group was particularly impressed by the committed dedication, the
enthusiastic contributions and the excellent personal skills of individual staff
members. In particular, we noted the hybrid nature of the work and the range of skills
involved. This includes elements that relate to:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
mainstream teaching and course development;
academic programme planning;
the creation of innovative delivery mechanisms;
recruitment and training of part-time teaching staff;
recruitment of students/participants;
educational guidance and support counselling for non-traditional learners;
liaison with local schools and communities;
partnership development with external agencies and organisations;
the development of access strategies.
The range of innate skills demonstrated by staff and inherent in the work of the Office
is characteristic of the highly prized skills of knowledge workers and are highly
valued by employers in general. However, the review team was surprised to note the
manner in which many members of staff appear to be employed on temporary
contracts and do not have the value and benefits of a career planning and professional
development route. This, the review team surmises, is likely to lead to difficulties
with staff retention, recruitment and motivation in the future.
We therefore recommend that a more formal process of career and professional
development, including involvement in research activities as suggested at 4 above,
be developed for staff, and that, where appropriate, closer integration with the
academic departments of the University be facilitated. This should be a process to
bring transparency and coherence to the important elements of staff career
planning and professional development. Staff of the Office should be intimately
involved in this developmental process, thus ensuring an element of personal
ownership and contribution to the model/elements that emerge.
6.
The Wider Context
The existing portfolio of work of the Office has developed over the years through
creative and flexible responses to external demands and opportunities. Inevitably
some element of opportunism is likely to arise in the activities of any such
entrepreneurial unit. Overall however a number of common underlying themes did
become evident in the course of extensive discussions with staff, students and external
partners - these broadly related to educational innovation, community outreach and
addressing the emerging and changing needs of various groups of ‘non-traditional’
learners.
7
AdultEduFinalReport03
Adult & Continuing Education: Review Group Report
We think it would be beneficial to both the University and the Office if these
‘common purposes’ were more explicit. In particular, such clarification would help
shape decisions about priorities for future development. The resources of the Office
are already stretched so, in our view, it seems important to review and consolidate
existing activities before taking on new ventures. In this context, we believe that the
operational strategy and new structures suggested in sections 1 and 2 above would be
of assistance in shifting the balance from a more reactive to a more strategic
approach.
At both the national and broader international level social, economic and demographic
trends are leading to an increased higher education policy focus on a number of areas
in which the Office of Adult and Continuing Education can demonstrate considerable
expertise. These include
•
•
•
•
•
•
widening participation
lifelong learning
flexible higher education provision
innovation in teaching and learning
international links
continuing professional development.
The potential for development in these and other areas to the benefit of the University
is, in the view of the Review Team, considerable. Two avenues in particular that
emerged in the course of our discussions with potential for significant growth (and
likely to be attractive for external funding) are:
(i)
(ii)
work based learning- bringing together academic and professional learning,
and
the expansion of mixed mode provision- including part-time, flexible, distance
and e-learning.
We recommend the development of a Strategic Plan for the Office (or
Institute/Centre) be regarded as a high priority by the Office and the University.
This Plan should take into consideration the thrust of the recommendations in this
report, in particular those relating to potential areas for development and closer
connection with overall University strategy. It is essential that it is underpinned by a
detailed business plan.
7.
Summary and Concluding Remarks
The Office of Adult and Continuing Education was established initially as an
administrative structure to take responsibility for a small and homogeneous range of
activities. In the intervening years, its development has been driven mainly by the
need to respond to funding opportunities and to take responsibility for activities that
didn’t fit neatly into other parts of the University’s structure. It has therefore
developed a range of programmes/sub-units whose main common attribute is that they
use delivery mechanisms and deal with a range of students/participants who are
perceived to be outside the ‘traditional’ range of the University’s activities and
structures. This strategic and structural looseness has been added to by a lack of
investment in the structural elements of the Office’s requirements.
8
AdultEduFinalReport03
Adult & Continuing Education: Review Group Report
In the intervening years, however, as a result in part of the Office’s own activities and
other social and demographic factors, the perceived importance of adult and
continuing education has increased and the concept itself has broadened to encompass
a much broader range of issues and target groups. This is reflected by its inclusion in
one of the University’s strategic priorities for the period 2003 – 2008. This represents
an opportunity for the Office and the University to develop an operational strategy
that will, amongst other things, clarify in a strategic context:
• the range of main areas and programmes which are to be developed under the
auspices of the Office of Adult and Continuing Education;
• the organisational adjustments necessary to enable the Office to gain value from
the synergy inherent within its activities, through the provision of a suitable
academic vehicle for integrating the work of the Office with that of mainstream
academic departments in a way which increases respect for and confidence in the
Office’s own academic ability and credentials;
• the investment decisions that need to be made to enable the Office to operate with
maximum effectiveness and to develop the areas and programmes which are vital
to the University’s strategic priorities in this area.
Within this context and given the quality, commitment and enthusiasm of the staff of
the Office and the flexibility, creativity and imagination they have shown in
developing programmes and responding to the needs of communities and students the
review team has little doubt that the Office of Adult and Continuing Education has the
potential to become one of the flagships of NUI, Galway and a world leader in the
area of adult and continuing education in the future.
9
AdultEduFinalReport03