IOL Approved HE Course - Application form/Assessors Report
Aims of the approved HE course scheme
HE courses are already validated, so the IOL Approval focuses particularly on the way in which the
course is designed and delivered to be suitable as preparation for employment or post-experience
CPD for outdoor practitioners.
The Approval focuses on how the course meets outdoor sector needs, not just HE and HEI needs –
IOL approval is not just looking at the course being a good thing in its own right. It is about links
across the sector, increasing participation and helping graduates to find appropriate courses which
will improve their employability.
Approval therefore focuses on:
1. Course scope and aim – relationship to sector best practice, involvement of sector in course
design, suitability of course for particular target markets etc
2. Course design and delivery – relevance of courses to IOL professional accreditation
criteria, links between theory and practice, suitability of course learning and assessment
methods to outdoor practitioners etc
3. Tutor competence and credibility – relevance and recency of tutor experience within the
outdoor sector, evidence of tutor reflective practice and CPD etc
4. Course entry flexibility – how the course enables standard and direct entry
5. Quality Assurance – how you continuously evaluate and improve the course
Documents required
Because the IOL approval focuses particularly on the areas above, we need to be sure that we have
information on the specific points listed. Simply sending in your course documentation is not
therefore acceptable. Rather, please write focused statements to answer the specific questions
below. Please ensure that your statements do not exceed the stated word limits and that you
attach ONLY the documents requested. We hope you will find this exercise useful rather than
onerous, as it will provide you with excellent marketing material (if you don’t already have it!)
Notes for Assessor (for Office Use only)
Please make notes in the relevant sections of the form about the information supplied and about your
conversations with the applicant.
Please complete the history statement below and email the completed form to Louise at the IOL office
– louise@outdoor-learning.org.
Name/organisation of applicant
Date and comments on initial paperwork review:
Feedback/action points from conversation:
Application completion date:
Any further comments
IOL Approved HE course form 150613 V2
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IOL Approved HE Course - Application/Assessor report form
(please complete one for each course you wish to have approved)
Name of course
Validated by
Please make focused statements against the criteria; please do not just submit pre-existing
documentation. The statements in the boxes should make sense in their own right, but you can also
refer to pages in the documents you have attached, if you want to make us aware of further detail.
Criteria
Section 1- course scope and aim – 400
words maximum
Please list the clearly defined target
markets and specific subject focus of the
course within the outdoor sector
Statement/Assessor Comments
Please show how the course:
Is clearly positioned on a
philosophical/vocational
continuum and states why these
choices have been made
- Involves sector representatives in
course design and ongoing
review
- Has clear processes to ensure
that the course is in line with HE
and outdoor sector best practice
Section 2 – Course design and
delivery (400 words maximum)
Please show how course design and
delivery:
- encourages reflective practice
during the course
- Balances theory and practical
activity
- Balances theory and practice in
module content
- Balances assessment activities
between “academic” and practical
activities
- complies with or exceeds the
standards of good practice
required by the IOL Code of
Professional Conduct,
Environmental Sustainability
Policy, Managing Diversity Policy
Section 3 - Course entry flexibility
(maximum 400 words)
Please show how course enables both
standard and direct entry, and that
these are clearly articulated in:
- Entry requirements for UCAS
entry students
- Entry requirements/routes for
IOL Approved HE course form 150613 V2
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-
post-experience students with
and without formal academic
qualifications, including advanced
standing
APL and/or exemption processes
relevant to this particular course
Section 4 – Quality Assurance
(maximum 400 words)
Please show how you have used
evaluation to continuously monitor and
improve the course (ie HEI evaluation)
Please show how you engage with the
outdoor sector in order to evaluate the
relevance of the course to sector needs,
and develop/amend the course
accordingly (ie sector/practitioner
requirements)
Please give a summary of DLHE data
and 2 case studies showing typical career
paths of your students after graduation
(ideally over 3-5 years).
Please also attach:
Attachment
1. 1 page diagram showing
course/module structure (core
and options) and all module titles
Attached?
Assessor comments
2. Programme specification of the
validated course
9 core module/unit outlines (max 400
words per module) covering APIOL
criteria and which:
 State the:
o Credit value
o Learning outcomes
o Delivery Methods
o Assessment activities

Highlight the specific areas of core
content that cover the APIOL criteria
and state which criterion they cover.
(If all APIOL criteria are not covered,
please give the rationale for this).

The core APIOL pillars of practical
competence and reflective practice
are balanced within the module/unit
3. CVs for your core tutor team
IOL Approved HE course form 150613 V2
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(normally about 5) for the
course (max 400 words each)
particularly focusing on:
a. Academic and outdoor
qualifications
b. APIOL or other evidence
of ongoing reflective
practice
c. Ongoing CPD which
specifically shows how
they maintain their
current links with the
outdoor sector as well as
developing their
academic profile
4. 2 case histories (max 300 words
each) to illustrate how you have
facilitated the entry of students
with non-standard histories to
your course. These enable us to
see how returning learners with
sector experience are integrated
into the course (rather than the
HEFCE / QAA perspective of
specific under represented
groups and post code areas). If
the course has been running for a
number of years and not
managed to attract any,
comments are included on why
this is, and what has been done
about it.
5. One External examiner report
and one end of year monitoring
report
IOL Approved HE course form 150613 V2
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