Consumo de Alimento

A new programme will need to address the issues outlined in Section 6.1 as well as the requirements of the awarding body and, for prescribed higher education, QAA’s

Academic Infrastructure. Table 12 summarises the development of a programme proposal and programme content.

Table 12 Development of a new programme

Develop proposal Write programme

The initial proposal could contain the following: • title

• rationale for the programme – why it should be introduced and the evidence base

• how it fits in with the college’s HE and overall strategy

• labour market information suggesting that this course is needed locally, regionally and perhaps nationally

• evidence of support from employers and SSCs (through their Sector Skills Agreements) or other relevant bodies

• evidence of student demand – this needs careful planning, and should not only be from students progressing internally

• recognition of the wider range of abilities that students might demonstrate

• a competitor analysis showing whether this subject area is already available in the locality. It can be helpful to look on the web for similar programmes further away, to determine a benchmark; the fdf web-site has a listing of all foundation degrees and Edexcel will give information about colleges offering higher nationals

• information about partners involved in the development

• an indication that the awarding body will, in principle, validate the programme at the planned level

• resource implications, i.e. staff – including staff qualifications – accommodation and equipment

• a simple business plan showing how the HEFCE grant allocation (direct or indirect, as agreed with partner) and/or tuition

fees/employer contribution would meet the resources necessary for the programme.

The development should then address:

• the programme’s overall educational aims and intended learning outcomes

• curriculum design (units/modules and level of the programme), making sure this takes account of the level descriptors in QAA’s FHEQ (see Section 2.2) and, where appropriate, credit values

• reference to QAA subject benchmark statements, where appropriate • the teaching and learning strategy

• the assessment strategy • student support

• the development of learning materials (which can be shared in a collaborative development, thus ensuring that students on the same programme use the same materials)

• resources:

− staff (availability, experience, specialisms and qualifications, with a CV or teaching profile)

− accommodation

− equipment (including IT)

− other learning resources, especially library book stock and periodicals

• programme specification • progression arrangements

• the timescale for receiving accreditation or validation and revalidation • the marketing strategy (marketing can start before validation, as long

QAA Academic Infrastructure

The Academic Infrastructure has four components: the ‘Code of practice for the assurance of academic quality and standards in higher education’; the frameworks for higher

education qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and in Scotland; subject benchmark statements; and programme specifications. In addition, there are progress files and country-specific guidelines for APL. Section 2 addressed the FHEQ; this section focuses on programme specifications and subject benchmarks in the context of curriculum development. Section 10 addresses the code of practice.

In its report on the five-year cycle of academic review of provision in (directly or consortium funded) colleges (‘Learning from Academic review of higher education in further education colleges in England 2002-07’), QAA noted that while it had taken some time for the

Academic Infrastructure to be embedded – particularly for programme specifications – the majority of reports from 2005-07 indicated that appropriate account was being taken of all elements. This is particularly important in IQER, which is predicated on the way colleges reflect the Academic Infrastructure (see Section 10).

Programme specifications

Programme specifications are required for each prescribed HE programme. They describe its components, such as learning outcomes, structure, assessment, teaching and learning strategy and admissions requirements; see QAA’s ‘Guidelines for preparing programme specifications’, which includes ‘Working with programme specifications: a leaflet for further education colleges’. The guidelines are comprehensive and include examples illustrating how learning outcomes might be worded to address demonstration of the required skills – knowledge and understanding (of a subject), intellectual skills, practical skills and key skills. In a programme specification, the teaching team needs to set out clearly and concisely the: • programme’s intended learning outcomes

• teaching and learning strategies that will enable learners to achieve these outcomes and the assessment strategies that will be used to enable them to demonstrate their achievement

• relationship of the programme and its study elements to the qualifications framework.

It is important that course teams show clearly how they will develop the knowledge,

understanding, cognitive and other skills and attributes for the level of the qualification (see Section 2).

The main purpose of programme specifications is to provide information to students, providers and other stakeholders:

• for students and potential students on

− what they will learn, the teaching they will receive, and how they will be assessed − how the programme meets national expectations for HE awards

− possible career paths and any links to professional qualifications • for HE providers and their staff to

− promote discussion when programmes are being developed or revised − support quality assurance processes

• for reviewers and examiners to

− understand the aims and intended learning outcomes of programmes • for employers and professional, statutory and regulatory bodies on

− the general and specific skills and abilities that will be developed by following the course

• as a basis for feedback

− from students or recent graduates.

It is, however, difficult to draft a programme specification that meets the needs of all the identified audiences. Some HEIs and colleges have done this by developing web pages that facilitate different levels of access to more detailed information through links to other documents. Others have drafted layers of detail which are introduced gradually to students. Where colleges are developing Edexcel awards (under an HEI’s licence), care must be taken to incorporate the Edexcel requirements into locally devised programme

specifications.

Subject benchmark statements

The development of programme specifications should be informed by the QAA subject benchmark statements, which have been developed to assist those involved in programme design, delivery and review. They provide a helpful starting point when designing a new programme or reviewing an existing one.

Subject benchmark statements set out expectations about threshold standards of degrees in a range of subject areas. They describe what gives a discipline its coherence and identity, and define what can be expected of a graduate in terms of the abilities and skills needed to develop understanding or competence in the subject. Some benchmark statements combine or make reference to professional standards required by external professional or regulatory bodies in the discipline.

Although subject benchmark statements are provided for honours degree and masters level, they can inform curriculum content for higher nationals and foundation degrees as well as providing information on what is needed if a student is to progress to honours-level study.

The Higher Education Academy’s subject centres are also a useful resource when developing curricula and learning resources. Some, such as the Engineering Subject Centre, have a particular focus on HE in FECs (see

Qualification benchmarks

For colleges developing foundation degrees, QAA’s foundation degree qualification benchmark offers helpful advice on the defining characteristics of the foundation degree (see Section 6.7).

Progress files

Progress files were introduced alongside the elements of the Academic Infrastructure to provide both a transcript for recording student achievement and a means for students to develop and plan for their personal educational and career development – PDP. The progress file reflects the learner’s work towards achieving the learning outcomes set out in the programme specifications, and the transcript records the achievement.

Credit frameworks

Many HEIs in England make use of credit and have credit accumulation and transfer systems. However, while there have been several national and regional frameworks in the UK for some time, there was no national system in England. Following on from the

recommendations of the Burgess Group (‘Proposals for national arrangements for the use of academic credit in higher education in England’, 2006), the Credit Issues Development Group was set up. The CIDG has written a ‘Higher education credit framework for England: guidance on academic credit arrangements in higher education in England’, published by

QAA in August 2008. This can be accessed on QAA’s web-site, along with a statement regarding the complementary relationship between the FHEQ and the credit framework

The CIDG guidelines set out the purposes and benefits of credit and credit frameworks. They point out their potential roles in supporting progression into and within HE, and in transfer between programmes by indicating the volume and intellectual demand of learning. The framework includes a table of credit values relating to the main HE qualifications in England, and generic credit level descriptors. However, while: ‘all institutions are

encouraged to implement the credit arrangements as indicated by the guidance in table 1 [Credit values typically associated with the design of programmes leading to main HE qualifications in England] by the start of academic year 2009-10, and to include the credits associated with their programmes in the descriptions of each of the programmes which they offer’ (paragraph 41), it is noted that ‘institutions’ decision-making processes regarding academic standards and quality should, and will, remain properly and entirely the

responsibility of each autonomous institution’, and ‘The application of these national guidelines on credit will remain a matter for individual institutions to decide on at their discretion’ (Executive summary).

Colleges, therefore, need to work with their awarding body’s position on the use of credit.

Flexibility in delivery

Curriculum teams increasingly need to ensure that delivery models for programmes are sufficiently flexible to enable study by learners who are work based or studying part-time. Timetabling needs to accommodate part-time work and/or caring responsibilities, and may need to offer opportunities to work online from home or work, as demonstrated by the following example.

Newcastle College

The foundation degree Administration in the NHS (blended learning) was originally developed as a traditional taught programme designed for administrative and clerical staff working in public or private health and care environments. It is of particular importance for administrators with significant levels of responsibility who wish to progress beyond a level 3 administration qualification.

In response to employer need, Newcastle College – working in partnership with the NHS Core Learning Unit – developed a blended learning version of the Fd Administration in the NHS for 2007-08. This has enabled potential learners in all corners of England to access the programme. Course material has been converted so that it is blended-learning friendly and accessible online. In addition to completing formal assessments, learners progress through modules section by section; tutors maintain telephone and e-mail contact when appropriate. Learners are also brought together physically on occasions during the

programme to receive face-to-face delivery. Online communities of practice help to support learners through the programme.

As a result of this development, new partners are now engaged around the country, such as Staffordshire and Shropshire Trusts.