Supporting College HE Admissions
1 June 2015
Welcome
Jeni Clack, Admissions Support and Development Advisor
What is SPA?
 Set up in 2006 following the Schwartz Report Fair Admissions to
Higher Education: Recommendations for Good Practice 2004
“ The Group recommends the creation of a central source of
expertise and advice on admissions issues. Its purpose would
be to act as a resource for institutions who wish to maintain and
enhance excellence in admissions. Such a centre could lead the
continuing development of fair admissions, evaluating and
commissioning research, and spreading best practice.”
 SPA is an independent and objective programme, funded by
DELNI, HEFCE, HEFCW, UCAS and Universities UK
What do we do?
SPA promotes fair admissions and access to higher education in
the UK by developing and leading on good practice in the
recruitment and selection of students.
 Expert shared resource for HE sector on fair admissions
 Independent, impartial, evidenced based good practice
 Information broker between makers and implementers of policy
 Small team, but with practical and relevant experience
 We work closely with HEPs and other stakeholders
What is fair admissions?
1. be transparent
2. enable institutions to select students who are able to complete
for all
the“Equal
courseopportunity
as judged by their
achievements and their potential
3.
4.
5.
individuals, regardless of
strive
to use assessment
background,
to gainmethods that are reliable and valid
admission
to barriers
a course
seek
to minimise
to applicants
suited to their ability and
be professional in every respect and underpinned by
aspirations.”
appropriate institutional structures and processes
The College HE Admissions Community of Practice
The College HE Admissions Community of Practice works with
SPA and AoC to develop and share good practice in College HE
admissions, including:
•
•
•
•
building an evidence base of current practice
assessing policies and procedures
raising awareness and disseminating relevant information
promoting the professionalism of admissions within FE Colleges
offering HE
• and establishing a supportive forum for practitioners within
College HE to network
The Community Executive
The Executive group is responsible for overseeing, steering and
supporting the continued development of this College HE admissions
community.
They aim to identify, promote and share good practice, help to solve
issues with the community and highlight sources of useful information.
Membership
SPA, AoC, and experienced practitioners whose role includes HE
admissions in FE Colleges.
SPA’s role
Organising, supporting and resourcing the Executive.
2015 so far …
College HE Admissions JISCMail forum
• Communications from the Executive, notification of events and updates
on good practice information.
• A discussion list for subscribers to ask questions, offer advice and share
their experiences of College HE admissions.
Briefings from the Executive
• Provide information on events and other current topics for the community.
• The first two issues are available on the SPA website
Community of Practice event, 26 February
• Focusing on two themes requested by the community of practice: the
QAA and colleges, managing good university-college partnerships
And today’s event…
Today’s event …
 Nick Davy, AoC
 Mike Lambourne, CMA
 DISCUSS
 SHARE
 PLAN
 Openness, respect and trust
A year of College HE admissions:
issues, solutions and challenges ahead
Nick Davy, HE Policy Manager, AoC
SPA Conference
June 1st 2015 Birmingham
Nick Davy, AoC HE Policy Manager
Recruitment and Policy Background
 Key Sector Recruitment Trends
 Labour Market Trends
 College HE Sector shape?
 Political Context
 Key Issues for Admissions/Recruitment staff?
Trends in Enrolments
First Year Trends
Labour Market Trends
Managers, directors and senior
officials +586k
Professional occupations +1175k
Associate professional and
technical +583k
Administrative and secretarial 486k
Skilled trades occupations -306k
Caring, leisure and other service
+ 649k
Sales and customer service -64k
Process, plant and machine
operatives -214k
Elementary occupations -67k
Low Skills Equilibrium?
Some towns and cities – experience a ‘low
skills equilibrium’
 Concentration of low paid jobs
 Low level skills amongst population
 Problems with attracting inward investment
 Low educational aspirations and poor
results in local schools
 Reinforcing spiral of decline or status quo
Shape of College HE
• Prescribed HE (08/09 – 12/13): Increase in full time courses
and part-time HNC courses;
 Trend from part time to full time courses, such as education
and business studies;
 50% decline in part time ITT and Creative Arts;
 Majority in 08/09 – 25+; in 12/13 – under 21
 Small increase in part time engineering and construction.
• NPHE: 11% decline over 5 years, 95% - part time;
 All regions experienced a decrease except London and South
West;
 61% of NPHE at level four; 86% of students over 25;
Some difficult questions?
 Have too many colleges become ‘big schools’ – L1/2 provision?
 Have we lost our reputation for technical and professional education?
(levels 3/4/5?)
 Are there too many small colleges?
__________________________________________________________
________
 How can England create a technical education strand in further and
higher education?

Greater autonomy/Awarding Powers at 3/4/5

National Accreditation Council

Improved LMI/Stronger employer links

Decrease intermediaries such as LEPs; regulate providers/buyers
Political Context
 Apprenticeships


Higher apprenticeships
Degree apprenticeships
 Full-time three year General and
Academic/Professional Higher
Education
Key Issues
Regulation of the HE sector – entry/ongoing review
Lifting of Student Number Controls – what happened in
Australia?
Competition and Markets Authority/Consumer Law
Subscription to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA)
– external complaints
Apprenticeships/Higher Apprenticeships
Internal progression/Guarantees-Compacts?
Thanks
Any Questions?
Nick_davy@aoc.co.uk
Competition and Markets Authority
advice on consumer protection in HE admissions
Mike Lambourne, Assistant Director, CMA
Consumer Protection Law
and the Higher Education
sector
Mike Lambourne – Assistant
Director, CMA
1 June 2015
23
About the CMA
● Formed on 1 April 2014
● Unified competition and consumer authority
● Mission is to make markets work well for consumers, businesses
and the economy
● Uses its consumer powers to tackle market wide consumer
problems or issues which affect consumers’ ability to make
choices (powers include providing guidance to businesses on legal
obligations, and enforcement of consumer protection law)
24
CMA’s enforcement powers
●
CMA has civil & criminal powers to enforce a range of consumer protection laws
e.g. to tackle unfair business practices
●
Enforcement action by CMA may be appropriate where:
- breaches point to systemic failures in a market
- changing behaviour of one business sets a precedent or has other market-wide implications
- an important legal precedent can be set
- there is a strong need for deterrence
●
Range of compliance options available alongside enforcement, including
education, advice and warnings
25
CMA’s work in HE sector
●
HE providers play a crucial role in the UK economy
●
Our work followed Office of Fair Trading’s Call for Information (CfI) into the higher
education undergraduate sector in England - this found no evidence of pervasive bad practices,
but identified some potential consumer protection issues
●
We took forward OFT recommendation to clarify universities responsibilities under
consumer law
●
We consulted on compliance advice for UK HE providers (publicly funded universities, Further
Education colleges offering HE courses, and alternative providers), focussing on undergraduate courses.
●
Final compliance advice published on 12 March 2015
●
We also published materials for undergraduate students about their rights under
consumer law
26
How does consumer law apply
to UK HE sector?
● Consumer law is applicable throughout the whole of the UK
● Consumer law will generally apply to the relationship between HE
providers and prospective and current undergraduate students:
-
HE providers will be a ‘trader’ or ‘seller’ for purposes of consumer law
(even if operating on a non-profit basis e.g. having charitable status)
-
undergraduate students will generally be acting for purposes outside
their trade, business or profession and will therefore be ‘consumers’ - in
general this is likely to be the case even when studying a particular subject
may lead a person to a related career in the future. Payment arrangements
are not determinative
● Consumer law may also be relevant to other types of courses and
students
27
How does consumer law fit
with HE sector requirements?
● Consumer law sets out minimum standards that apply to
various aspects of an HE provider’s dealings with students
● It sits alongside sector-specific requirements and guidelines
that are relevant to many HE providers, e.g. the Quality
Assurance Agency’s UK Quality Code, Office of Independent
Adjudicator’s Good Practice Framework for handling complaints
● We closely engaged with HE sector bodies about our compliance
advice and understand that it does not conflict with sector
regulation and guidance
28
Why is consumer law important
for students?
● Choosing the right course and HE provider is an
important decision - students are investing a lot of time
and money and it can be difficult to change course or
provider if they are dissatisfied
● Consumer law helps ensure that students:
- get the information they need to make informed
choices about what and where to study
- are treated fairly during their studies
- are equipped to resolve problems if things go wrong
29
Why is consumer law important
for HE providers?
● Compliance with consumer law is not only important in giving
students the protection required by the law, but in helping to
maintain student confidence and the standards and reputation
of the UK HE sector
● Consumer law is an important aspect of an HE provider’s
relationship with students (alongside a supportive learning and
pastoral environment within an academic community). It can
help you compete for and retain students by providing studentfocused services, meeting student expectations & enhancing the
student experience
● HE providers who do not meet their obligations may be in
breach of consumer law and risk enforcement action as well as
action by students
30
HE providers’ obligations to undergraduate
students under consumer law
Consumer law can apply at any stage of an HE provider’s
interaction with prospective and current students
HE providers must:
● give prospective students the clear, accurate and timely information
that they need so they can make an informed decision about what and
where to study
● ensure that their terms and conditions are fair, for example, so they
cannot make surprising changes to the course or costs
● ensure that their complaint handling processes are accessible, clear
and fair
31
Partnership arrangements &
consumer law compliance
● There are various kinds of partnerships which involve more
than one provider in the delivery of an HE course and award of
a qualification e.g. validation, franchise and joint course arrangements
● It is very important that providers and their students are clear
where responsibilities lie e.g. clarity about responsibility for
admissions, course delivery & complaint handling, and who the
student is contracting with
● All providers in a partnership arrangement should ensure they
are complying with consumer law in their dealings with
undergraduate students – review practices and rules &
regulations that apply or have the potential to affect students
32
Information Provision
● HE providers must give prospective students the ‘material information’
they need to make an informed decision before they apply. This
information includes:
-
the course content and structure and how it will be delivered
-
the total course costs (including tuition fees and any extra costs associated with
the course that students are likely to incur, such as field trips, lab equipment, bench
fees or studio hire)
-
any information that is likely to affect a prospective student’s decision
● Information must be clear, accurate and easily accessible
● Consumer law applies to information given in writing, verbally or visually
Will you have to
pay extra for lab
fees?
33
Examples of possible
information provision breaches
Not providing 'material’ information
and/or not providing it at the right time
Giving false or misleading information
that impacts on a student’s decision
●
information is difficult for students to find and
access e.g. it is on a website that is hard to
navigate or held in a number of different places
●
leading students to believe at an open day that a
particular and eminent individual will be involved in
the teaching of the course - when this is not the
case
●
failing to provide information about extra course
costs up front
●
presenting information that could suggest the
course provides a particular qualification by a
professional body - when this is not the case and
further study would be required to obtain the
relevant award
●
through wording or images creating the impression
that the campus is based in central London - when
in fact it is based elsewhere (particularly relevant
for international students)
●
failing to make clear that certain modules must be
completed for the award to be accredited
●
only making important information available to
prospective students after they have applied, for
example via an applicant portal
●
failing to make prospective students aware at the
earliest opportunity of changes to the information
contained in a prospectus – on which their choice
34
Information Provision –
pre-contract information
● Before, or at the latest when, offering a place to a prospective student,
an HE provider must tell them of any changes since they applied and
give ‘pre-contract information’ which includes:
-
course information and costs
-
arrangements for making payments to the provider
-
information on complaints handling
-
any right to cancel should the student change their mind (for distance contracts
e.g. via UCAS)
● When an offer is accepted, the HE provider and prospective student will
enter into a contract for admission to a course
● Requirement to give confirmation of a distance contract and pre
contract information using a ‘durable medium’, within a reasonable time
after the contract is entered into (unless it was already provided on a
durable medium) e.g. email with documents attached (but not a website link)
35
Terms and Conditions
● Likely to include all contracts, rules and regulations and other
documents that students are bound by, which together form the
contract terms between the student and provider.
● Under unfair terms legislation:
-
Terms should be easily located and accessible to prospective students
-
Important or surprising terms should be specifically brought to prospective
students attention before they accept an offer
-
Terms should be written in plain and intelligible language (they must be
clear, transparent and legible)
-
Terms should strike a fair balance between the rights and obligations of the
provider and student – for example they should not allow a wide discretion to
change important aspects of the course or fees
● Providers will not be able to enforce terms and conditions
which are found to be unfair
36
Terms and Conditions:
Terms allowing changes to courses
●
Terms allowing changes to be made to a course will not be automatically unfair as there
needs to be a reasonable amount of flexibility, e.g. to allow adjustments for recent theories
and practice in an area
●
But a term that allows a provider too much discretion to make sweeping changes to a
course – such as to the course content, location of study, method of assessment or the final
qualification to be awarded – is likely to be considered unfair unless it describes the
circumstances when and reasons why this might happen (so that students know in advance
when and how changes might be made)
●
A term will not be made fair just because a provider says that
anyyou
changes
it makes
Have
had unexpected
says that any changes it makes will be reasonable
changes to your course?
‘”The University may alter the timetable, location,
campus, amount of contact time, how the course is
delivered, the course content and assessment of any
course, provided such alterations are reasonable’”
37
Terms and Conditions:
Terms allowing fee increases
●
It is important that prospective students know how much their course is likely to
cost in total to allow them to fully assess their options and to better financially plan
●
Before prospective students apply, they should be able to foresee how much the
total fees will be for the course
Have you had unexpected changes
to your tuition fees?
●
Terms allowing HE providers a wide discretion to increase fees during a course may
be unfair e.g.
“Tuition fees for most courses will increase from year to year. Therefore, if you are on a course of more
than one year’s duration you can expect to pay higher tuition fees in subsequent years. It is your
responsibility to find out what the tuition fee will be for each year of your course”
38
Complaint handling
●
Complaint handling processes must be transparent and easily accessible to students
(both in relation to procedures for prospective students and current students)
-
prospective students must be provided with information about the complaints process before they
accept an offer of a course
-
the complaints process must be easily located and accessible to current students e.g. on website or
intranet
-
●
students should be provided with clear and accurate information about the complaint handling
procedures, including who deals with their complaint if courses are provided in partnership, and
details of any external complaint scheme students can access such as the OIA
Complaint handling processes must be fair e.g. set out clear and reasonable timescales, allow
students to escalate the matter if they are unhappy
●
Complaints procedures more likely to comply with consumer law where they follow any
guidelines published by a third party complaint scheme (of which the HE provider is a
member) e.g. OIA’s Good Practice Framework for handling complaints
Complaints
Is it clear who is
handling must
responsible for
be fair.
handling your
complaint?
39
What we’ve produced
For HE providers:
● 60-second summary
● Longer advice
For students and their advisers
● 60-second summary
● Longer guide
● Visual messages
● Posters
● Press & social media activities
● A mechanism to report concerns
40
Monitoring Compliance
● We have set out clear expectations on HE provider compliance – providers need
to review practices, policies and terms to make sure they are compliant and if necessary make changes
● We have put in place an online reporting mechanism to report concerns
about possible breaches of consumer law
● We are monitoring the sector and will carry out a compliance review
commencing in October 2015
● HE providers that fail to comply with consumer law may risk enforcement
action - CMA, Trading Standards Services & Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in
Northern Ireland all have enforcement powers
● Sector bodies such as the Quality Assurance Agency may also be able to
act in appropriate circumstances to secure compliance - where appropriate, the
CMA may choose to raise concerns about an HE provider with the QAA and ask it to consider an
investigation under its Concerns Scheme
20
Some key messages to take away
●
Undergraduate students have rights under consumer law
●
FE Colleges providing HE courses have obligations under consumer law. Compliance
can help to meet student expectations and enhance their experience. If you breach
consumer law you could face enforcement action
●
Consumer law sits alongside HE sector-specific requirements. CMA will continue to
work closely with key sector bodies
●
Where providers offer courses through partnership arrangements, it is very important that
they and their students are clear where responsibilities lie
Students have consumer rights.
42
Group tasks: consumer protection
1. Discuss



information
terms and conditions
complaints
2. Share
good practice
3. Identify
issues
LUNCH
The College HE Admissions Issue Review Plan
Jeni Clack, Admissions Support and Development Advisor
The College HE Admissions Issue Review Plan

Developed in collaboration with College HE colleagues at our
event in June 2014

Identified seven key issues for College HE admissions

Developed plans for reviewing and resolving those issues
and improving the applicant experience of College HE
The key issues
To improve the applicant experience into HE:

different avenues of application
 the dropout rate between application and interview
 UCAS/HEP interface with college MIS
 internal progression
 staff training for HE admissions staff
 working with multiple HEPs
 recruiting external students
Issue Review Plan
Starting point for College HE staff to identify and resolve key
issues for their admissions to HE.
“Sharing issues with fellow colleges and working out
solutions was a great opportunity to review our
own practice.”
Issues, solutions, engagement, review
Issues, solutions, engagement, review
Communicating
that colleges
aren’t only for
16-18
Schools liaison
staff to cover
HE in school
visits
Schools liaison
and feeder
schools
Applicant
numbers and
conversion
rates
Group task: part one
“To improve the applicant experience, we will…”
Review at least one of the key issues from the plan to evaluate:
 whether the previously identified aspects are still relevant for
colleges or resolved
 any further solutions to include
 and any additional aspects to the issue not previously identified
Group task: part two
“To assure consumer protection, we will…”


Add one new issue, specific to the impact of CMA advice
identified earlier today
Develop a review plan to help resolve it
All contributions today will be used to update and expand the
Issue Review Plan which will be published on the SPA
website after the event.
Group tasks: Issue Review Plan
1. Evaluate
and update
one existing issue
Blue = relevant
Red = resolved
2. Add
a new issue on
consumer protection
Supporting the College HE Admissions
Community of Practice in 2015-16
Dan Shaffer, Head of Professionalism in Admissions
Thank you
feel free to stay and chat
enquiries@spa.ac.uk 01242 544891
www.spa.ac.uk/support/heinfe
Please complete your
feedback forms