South Devon College Periodic Review 2014-15
Arts & Humanities Subject Cluster
Panel discussions led to the following conclusions in respect of the range of programmes reviewed.
Conclusions on Innovation and Good Practice:
The Panel commended the following:

Staff engagement with industry to support student work experience
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The Graduate Assistant Scheme for recent alumni to enhance the learning experience of students
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Cross-college moderation events undertaken by HE Leads
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The Research Showcase
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The way the College has supported students to access HE and continued support throughout their programme of study
 The College’s approach to triangulating the needs of employers, students and
College strategy in the development of new programmes
Conclusions on Quality and Standards:
The Panel was assured that quality and standards are met, as noted in the recent QAA
Higher Education Review.
Students were clear about assessment requirements and the role of external examiners etc.
Conclusions on whether the programmes remain current and valid in light of developing knowledge in the discipline, practice in its application and developments in teaching and learning:
College has CPD and HE only development days. Staff are supported to undertake higher degrees, and attend conferences, and have a research showcase. Engagement with these activities is monitored by annual staff review. Many staff are research active and/or act as practitioners in their subject area. Subjects have Employer Forums and Sector Focus
Groups, which operate on a formal basis and are a key way in which currency is assured and enhanced.
Forward looking recommendations for actions to remedy any identified shortcomings, and for further enhancement of quality and standards:
The Team was asked to consider the following:

Consider strategies for developing student autonomy to ease transition to further HE and work environments

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Develop the use of resources to assure HE students are able to make best use of the
HE building and their use of workshops
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Continue to build on the research and scholarship expectations to support HE
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Consider building on good practice elsewhere in the College regarding opportunities for standardisation of work and outcomes with Academic Liaison People (ALPs) and other providers
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Strengthen the development of students as autonomous learners and opportunities for inter-disciplinary learning
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Increase the formalisation of work experience mechanisms
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Promote the use of e-resources in assessments
Business Subject Cluster
Panel discussions led to the following conclusions in respect of the range of programmes reviewed.
Conclusions on Innovation and Good Practice:
The Panel commended the following:
 The support and responsiveness to students’ learning and pastoral needs

The good use of employer based projects incorporating professional and academic skills
 The ‘Standards of Assessment Practice 2014/15’ document especially the threshold and aspiration of assessment and feedback commitment
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The highly positive comments from students about the quality , quantity, value and timeliness of feedback, feed forward and formative assessment
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The deliberate and strategic position the cluster takes in developing its curriculum offer in consultation with the local community, employers and agencies

The ongoing working relationship with Academic Liaison People (ALPs) in
Criminology and Law
Conclusions on Quality and Standards:
The Panel was assured that quality and standards are met, as noted in the recent QAA
Higher Education Review.
Conclusions on whether the programmes remain current and valid in light of developing knowledge in the discipline, practice in its application and developments in teaching and learning:
The Panel was confident that the programmes remained current and valid through the effective use of permitted changes but recommended that FdA Business (approved in 2002) would benefit from being reapproved.
Staff are supported and encouraged to undertake scholarly and professional development to assure and enhance the provision.
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Forward looking recommendations for actions to remedy any identified shortcomings, and for further enhancement of quality and standards:

Assessment consistency in terms of the assessment effort and the use of appendices, as articulated by the students
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Build on the current ALP good practice across the cluster

Continue to pursue the development of level 6 provision within the Business cluster

Continue to explore good practice within the use of the VLE 1
Health, Human Science and Education Subject Cluster
Panel discussions led to the following conclusions in respect of the range of programmes reviewed.
Conclusions on Innovation and Good Practice:
The Panel commended the following:

The accessibility of learning resources and the scheduling of assessment and delivery
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The effective support for individual students, both academically and professionally
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The engagement of academic staff in managing the work experience and placements of students

The cross disciplinary student conference which includes examples of staff scholarly activity
Conclusions on Quality and Standards:
The Panel was assured that quality and standards are met, as noted in the recent QAA
Higher Education Review.
The high quality of the FdSc Healthcare Practice competency documents was commended.
Conclusions on whether the programmes remain current and valid in light of developing knowledge in the discipline, practice in its application and developments in teaching and learning:
The programmes remain current and valid through the scholarly activity undertaken by staff.
The College makes effective use of permitted changes to maintain currency of programmes e.g. FdSc Healthcare Practice. However, the FdA Early Years Care and Education would benefit from a reapproval.
1 Virtual Learning Environment
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Forward looking recommendations for actions to remedy any identified shortcomings, and for further enhancement of quality and standards:
The Team was asked to consider the following:

To discuss the role of the ALPs within the colleges provision with the University

To recognise the importance of staff scholarly activity for HE staff and for the College to continue to support them in their current teaching roles

To transfer the strengths from within the Clusters experience of supporting employability to resonate in other areas of Higher Education activity
 To adhere to the University’s assessment policy with regard to the normal requirement for two assessments per 20 credit module
Science and Environment Subject Cluster
Panel discussions led to the following conclusions in respect of the range of programmes reviewed.
Conclusions on Innovation and Good Practice:
The Panel commended the following:

The use of the post it note system on FdSc Animal Science
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The operation of the tutorial system, particularly for FdSc Animal Science
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The College commitment to staff development
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The involvement of student representatives as partners in the quality assurance process
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The strong links with industry
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The HE Student Governor role on the College Governing Body
Conclusions on Quality and Standards:
The Panel was assured that quality and standards were maintained, however, the lack of effective operational management of FdSc Computing is negatively impacting on the student experience.
Conclusions on whether the programmes remain current and valid in light of developing knowledge in the discipline, practice in its application and developments in teaching and learning:
With the exception of FdSc Computing, the programmes remain current and valid.
Forward looking recommendations for actions to remedy any identified shortcomings, and for further enhancement of quality and standards:
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
That sufficient resource is invested in the operational management of FdSc
Computing

For a period of stability with curriculum management of FdSc Computing over the foreseeable future

To enhance student understanding of terminology used for formative assessment
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For staff to follow the South Devon College and Plymouth University policies for the timely notification of staff changes
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For the computing resource in the Energy Centre to be increased

To consider mechanisms for increased staff confidence in the delivery of statistics across the science based programmes
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