Scholarly Activity in Higher Education delivered in Further Education:
A study by the Mixed Economy Group of colleges
Madeleine King and John Widdowson
December 2009
Table of Contents
Page No.
Foreword ………………………………………………………………………………………. 3
Scholarly Activity in HE delivered in FE………………………………………………….. 4
1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………............ 4
2. Background to the Project………………………………………………………............5
3. Desk Research ………………………………………………………………………….. 5
4. The College Picture: results of the staff survey ……………………………………… 8
5. Student Survey undertaken by National Union of students…………………………15
6. Case Studies……………………………………………………………………………..18
7. Conclusions …………………………………………………………………………….. 18
8. Recommendations …………………………………………………………………….. 20
Appendix 1
1. Participating Colleges………………………………………………………………….. 23
2. Other participants………………………………………………………………………..24
Appendix 2 (Case Studies)
Bournemouth and Poole College………………………………………………………… 25
Hartpury College…………………………………………………………………………… 29
Kingston Maurward………………………………………………………………………… 32
Newcastle College…………………………………………………………………………. 34
Weston College…………………………………………………………………………….. 36
Worcester College of Technology………………………………………………………... 38
Appendix 3
The College Survey Questionnaire………………………………………………………. 41
Appendix 4
Focus Group outline by the National Union of Students………………………………. 47
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Foreword
The role of research, scholarship and scholarly activity has been a recurrent theme in
the development and delivery of HE in FE. The emphasis placed on new industries and
higher level skills in the recent Government publications, “Higher Ambitions” and “Skills
for Growth” underlines the need for more dynamic and inclusive definitions which
support the needs of an increasingly skills and knowledge based economy.
This report argues that there is an emerging need for a new dimension to both our
definition and our approach to what constitutes appropriate activity by teachers in
supporting the delivery of high-quality, vocational skills-based HE. FE colleges have a
clear role to play in this, building on the vocational further education courses they
provide and the close links they enjoy with local employers. Rather than focus on
presumed deficiencies in current approaches, we argue that recognition must be given
to a form of scholarly activity which is more associated with professional currency and
the application of research than the creation of new knowledge. Whilst this latter is
rightly located in a traditional University setting, the technical skills required under the
“New Industries, New Jobs” agenda are more likely to be stimulated and developed in an
HE in FE setting. Our report looks at how this can be achieved over the coming year.
We are grateful to all of the college staff who took the time to complete our survey and
thus provide a starting point from which to begin this process. Our thanks also go to
Kat Fletcher and Kate Green in the 157 Group for their support in the development of the
project, as well as to Gemma Painter and her colleagues within the National Union of
Students for their work in setting up focus groups to test out student perceptions of
scholarly activity. The Association of Colleges publicised our electronic survey and
Geeta Patel in particular is to be thanked for her work in helping us to analyse the
resulting information.
This document would not have been possible without the funding and on-going
mentoring provided by the Higher Education Academy. We greatly appreciated the
support provided by Colin Rainey and his colleagues and also by Becky Turner from the
HELP CETL at the University of Plymouth. Finally, we are indebted to Maggie
Greenwood, who acted as our independent reader and who kept us on the straight and
narrow in terms of our interpretation of the available data.
John Widdowson
Chair, Mixed Economy Group of Colleges
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Scholarly Activity in HE delivered in FE:
A study undertaken by the Mixed Economy Group of colleges
1.
Introduction
This piece of work was initiated and funded by the Higher Education Academy
(HEA) in 2009 in order to investigate the nature and extent of scholarly activity in
those Further Education colleges (FECs) which also offer Higher Education (HE.)
“Research”, “scholarship” and “scholarly activity” are all terms which are linked to
the concept of the delivery of HE: the project set out to see how this distinctive
feature of Higher level work was undertaken in an FE setting. It began as a study
that was based around four questions:
• How is scholarly activity defined in HE?
• Are existing definitions of scholarly activity fit for purpose in the developing HE
landscape, including HE delivered in the context of the FE college?
• Do they need to be redefined or supplemented to apply to vocational HE
delivered in FE?
• How can we measure the impact of such activity upon teaching, learning and the
student experience?
The research was carried out to explore the need for a new definition of scholarly
activity that was appropriate to an HE in FE setting and which would be recognised
as such by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), Government and funding Councils.
In addition, we wanted to capture the views of those who experienced HE in FE,
particularly if they were also able to make a personal comparison with their own
earlier experience of HE in a University setting or to do so as a result of comparing
their experience of HE in FE with that of family members or close friends currently
studying at a University. The project involved a number of discussions with full and
part-time HE students enrolled at four FE colleges. (This particular aspect of the
work will be further developed through a larger study focusing on the expectations of
students who choose to pursue their HE in FE.)
The study took the form of desk research to assess “scholarly activity” in its
broadest sense within HE in FE and a survey of Directors of Higher Education in HE
in FE colleges. (These individuals were selected as best placed to comment on
both strategic and operational aspects of the project.) In the event, the survey
captured the views of 47 FE colleges and our conclusions therefore are
representative of only 16% of the 285 FECs which deliver HE. Details of
participants are listed in Appendix 1.
A number of case studies have been produced which illustrate a range of
approaches to scholarly activity. Some are drawn from colleges with relatively small
amounts of HE provision, some from those with over 1,000 ftes. The case studies
can be found in Appendix 2.
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2.
Background to the Project
It is useful to set this piece of work in context. At the time of the project (autumn
2009), England had entered arguably the greatest recession since the 1920s.
Demand for HE was at its highest for 20 years due to a peak in the numbers of 18
year olds, a shortage of employment opportunities for school leavers, and an
increased demand from those already in work but anxious to gain new skills in order
to ride out the recession. In order to manage a shortfall in funding, numbers of
available HE places in 2009 had been capped by the Higher Education Funding
Council for England (HEFCE). Within the FE sector a funding crisis had drawn a
sudden halt to the college building programme but demand from 16 - 18 year olds
was running at a peak. The recession meant that there would, realistically, be no
real expansion in the amount of public funding available for either HE or FE in the
short-term, yet demand for both was at record levels. The DIUS Select Committee
had issued its report “Students and Universities1” which was critical of many aspects
of HE provided in Universities and of the funding regime for part-time students. This
was followed by several speeches by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation
and Skills, Peter Mandelson, setting out the need for a different approach to HE –
one that was more flexible and more related to the needs of the economy. An HE
Framework was subsequently unveiled in November2 which reinforced the links
between business and HE and emphasised the role of the student as a customer
who should have access to a range of information about course content and future
employment options.
With a general election due in 2010, significant policy developments were unlikely
but there was great interest by all political parties in finding a way to balance future
demand for HE with a reduced public contribution - and an on-going need to
increase the proportion of the work force with higher level skills. Much of the HE
delivered in FE focuses on vocational courses delivered on a part-time basis to adult
learners. As we enter a difficult funding period, this project is therefore pertinent not
only to any future discussions about the nature of HE in FE and the student
experience but also to the wider landscape and discussions about the role of Higher
Education providers.
Our survey reflects achievements in the development of HE in FE, and raises
questions about how these advances can be maintained in what will inevitably be
more constrained circumstances in the next few academic years.
3. Desk Research
In writing this report the authors acknowledge the work which has been done over
the last decade to promote the development of scholarly activity (SA) in HE in FE.
Three agencies in particular have contributed to this, namely the HEFCE-funded
Higher Education Learning Partnerships Centre for Excellence in Teaching and
Learning (HELP CETL) at the University of Plymouth, the HEA and HEFCE itself.
1 Students and Universities. House of Commons Innovation, Universities, Science and
Skills Committee. HC170-1 August 2009.
2 Higher Ambitions. The future of universities in a knowledge economy. Department for Business,
Innovation and Skills. November 2009.
5
A concise description of the setting typical of those delivering HE in FE is found in
the work of Turner et al3. A key passage from this article, referring to the
experiences of FE staff who are part of the CETL’s Award Holder Scheme within the
University of Plymouth Colleges network, notes that:
“HE in FE is operating in a very different arena to HE delivered in Universities.
Based on these varying positions, and the comments made by award holders, it
would appear that the emerging HE-in-FE culture in their colleges is a hybrid which
is neither HE (as they perceive as prevailing within Universities) nor FE (as
perceived by FE colleagues). This may reflect the non-traditional nature of the
student body, the dispersed geographical spread of colleges in the UPC network
and the context lecturers work within.
Rather than responding to the demands of one agenda or one agency, colleges
need to meet the requirements of many simultaneously. It is probable that the
tensions between HE and FE will only be resolved as HE provision within colleges
matures, develops a clear identity within institutions and subsequently receives the
recognition and support lecturers feel it deserves.”
The HEA has an interest in HE in FE and has developed its focus on Scholarly
Activity delivered in an FE setting. Aside from its Subject Centres, the Academy has
also reported recently on the relative importance attached to research as opposed to
teaching skills in an HE setting, noting that whilst many Universities profess to
recognise teaching skills as crucial to the success of their institution, reward is more
likely to come to those who research well rather than those who are gifted teachers.4
The report concluded by noting that:
“A central aim of higher education institutions is to provide high quality, inspiring
teaching in order to enhance the student experience and the high level graduate
outcomes to which an excellent experience leads. This report identifies the need for
action to properly recognise teaching at institutional level and to enable academics
to feel confident that teaching is appropriately rewarded as a central aspect of their
work.”
FECs have a primary focus on teaching and learning, so the HE carried out in this
setting will inevitably reflect this starting point.
HEFCE has updated its guidance for those college staff providing HE. The “Good
Practice Guide”5 combines in one document two earlier free-standing good practice
guides published by HEFCE in 2003. The content of the current publication
illustrates the rapid changes that have taken place in HE in FE in the last half dozen
3 Emerging HE cultures: perspectives from CETL award holders in a partner college network.
(Journal of Further and Higher Education, Vol 33, No 3, August 2009.)
4 Reward and Recognition of Teaching in Higher Education. The Higher Education Academy and
the GENIE CETL at the University of Leicester. 2009.
5 Supporting higher education in further education colleges – policy, practice and prospects.
February 2009/05 HEFCE. 2009
6
years. The document acknowledges the distinctiveness of HE in FE and offers a
generic definition of SA which reflects the circumstances of those delivering HE
under FE employment terms and conditions.
All of the bodies referred to above have done much to develop the confidence and
expertise in those developing HE in a FE setting. The many references made over
the last year to the disparate emphasis placed on research as opposed to teaching
within the HE world are relevant to the position of those delivering HE in FE, where
the emphasis is first and foremost on teaching and learning. Many contributors to
this discussion refer to the work of Ernest Boyer6, an American academic.
In 1990, Ernest Boyer published Scholarship Reconsidered, in which he argued for
abandoning the traditional “teaching vs. research” model for prioritising faculty time,
and urged colleges to adopt a much broader definition of scholarship to replace the
traditional research model. He suggested that "[at] the very heart of the current
debate - the single concern around which all others pivot - is the issue of faculty
time. What is really being called into question is the reward system and the key
issue is this: what activities of the professoriate are most highly prized?" Boyer’s
ideas remain popular, although as noted above, recent evidence suggests that
University departments still tend to base employment and promotion decisions on
traditional measures of research success, for example, position in national exercises
such as the recently completed Research Assessment Exercise, the number of
books or articles published about new knowledge, or grants won. (The question that
was never addressed was “highly prized by whom?” Or “highly prized for what?”)
Boyer saw scholarly activity as covering four areas of approach – the scholarship of
discovery (the nearest to this is the blue skies research associated with traditional
academic research), the scholarship of integration, whereby research is developed
by sharing it between disciplines, the scholarship of application and the scholarship
of teaching. It is the latter two of these that we might expect to find being developed
within HE in FE.
The Further Education and Training Act 2007 enables FE colleges to apply for
Foundation Degree Awarding Powers. The guidance for applicant colleges7 requires
them to provide evidence that all teaching staff delivering HE programmes have
relevant “knowledge and understanding of current scholarly developments in their
discipline area and at a level appropriate to a Foundation Degree and that such
knowledge and understanding directly inform and enhance their teaching.”
Directors of HE in FECs are working with two funding Councils, two funding, data
collection and quality systems and managing staff who deliver HE under FE terms
and conditions. These require a focus on teaching and learning, stipulate that
lecturing staff must possess or be working towards a recognised teaching
qualification in order to deliver this key role, and are obliged to undertake a
significant number of taught contact hours per annum. Staff in HEIs may not regard
themselves primarily as teachers, are not required to have a teaching qualification
and have less contractual contact time with students. Unlike HE delivered in
Universities, the majority of HE in FE is vocational and part-time and delivered to an
older age group of students.
6 Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate. Ernest L, Boyer. Carnegie
Foundation, 1990.
7 Guidance and criteria for Foundation Degree Awarding Powers. DIUS. 2008
7
These factors, coupled with the primary role of FECs as providers of post-statutory
education and training, could be expected to lead to the evolution of a distinctive
form of HE in FE and thus of a distinctive approach to scholarly activity. The
transfer of knowledge from teacher to student and the informed debate that this
could encourage was seen by Boyer as the most valuable of the HE lecturer’s skills.
Given that many HE in FE teaching staff are former practitioners who entered
teaching (and often maintain an active interest in their original profession) would HE
in FE prove to be a starting point for established examples of the scholarship of
application and teaching?
Inevitably, we drifted into a number of assumptions when carrying out our survey.
We expected to find examples of the emergence of a new approach and a new
definition. We also expected to find examples of debate about the distinction
between higher skills and Higher Education and of the definition of the term
“Higher”. We assumed that staff teaching HE in FE would have a professional
identity that was different to their peers in the University sector, where research was
the main determinant of success and promotion. We also assumed that student
expectations and the nature of the HE in FE course offer would further shape this
evolution. The outcome of our survey suggested that this was not always the case.
4. The College Picture: results of the staff survey
(a) Methodology
This part of the report was produced as a result of an electronic survey located
on the Association of Colleges website. The site was chosen in order to
maximise the number of possible respondents and thus the range of providers
of HE in FE. An additional and separate reminder of the survey location was
sent to members of the Mixed Economy Group (the largest providers of HE in
FE) and the 157 Group (the largest colleges in terms of overall student numbers
and college budgets.) A copy of the survey questionnaire is attached as
Appendix 3.
(b) Scale of project
47 colleges took part in the college survey, of which 46 returned data that was
wholly or more than 50% complete. Of the 47, 23 were members of the Mixed
Economy Group of colleges and thus reflected the views of some of the larger
providers of HE. Currently 285 colleges offer HE in FE, giving a response rate
of 16%.
93% of respondents were General Further Education (GFE) colleges, with a
small number of returns (2) from Land- based institutions. Whilst all regions
were represented, most respondents were from the North West and South East.
Responses received ranged from colleges with less than 100 full-time
equivalents (ftes) of HE students to those with over 1,000. 26% of respondents
had between 250-499 ftes with a further 21% coming from those with over 1000
ftes. Almost all colleges offered Foundation degrees, 87% Higher Nationals,
76% offered Honours degrees and 74% offered post-graduate provision. Nonprescribed HE, which is funded by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) rather
than HEFCE, was offered by 76% of respondents.
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(c) Definitions of scholarly activity
We set out to establish how many colleges had evolved a definition of scholarly
activity, and to investigate whether or not this differed from that of their
validating HEI (or HEIs). We were interested to find out whether or not any
divergence of definition was apparent and, if so, whether this was in terms of
basic principles or more about the way these were applied to particular
subjects. Inconsistencies in definition might have been expected to lead to
difficulties in terms of mutual expectations over how staff time was deployed,
relationships with employers, the relationship with the HEI(s) and/or how staff
development was planned and undertaken.
Colleges’ own definitions.
In the event, this proved to be less of a debating point than the researchers
expected. About half of the responding colleges had a definition of scholarly
activity. Within this, there was considerable variation in the responses received
– some colleges demonstrate a clear understanding of scholarly activity whilst
others are much less able to articulate this, offering a general mixture of
activities. Some colleges relate scholarly activity to the requirements of IQER,
validating HEIs etc. The responses fell into three broad categories:
• scholarly activity as research, intellectual updating, academic development
etc.
“An activity which contributes to the creation, development and maintenance of
the intellectual infrastructure of subjects and disciplines in forms such as
textbooks, dictionaries, scholarly editions, book reviews, contributions to major
research data banks, published contributions to seminars and conferences with
or on behalf of the academic community.
About a third of colleges defined SA in this way
• a broader context of keeping up to date with the curriculum, industrial
secondment etc
“Any undertaking that impacts on the relevant HE curriculum. This is a `broad
church` and includes research, industrial secondment/placement, consultancy
and participation in validation events”
• meeting the strategic aims of the organisation.
”Activities which help to achieve the college strategic plan and impact upon the
quality of teaching and learning”
One definition neatly incorporated all three:
An activity or activities with the potential to:
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- create or affirm knowledge and/or expertise of a subject or discipline
- develop or enhance understanding of a subject or discipline
- develop or enhance methodologies for the delivery of a subject or discipline
To be accepted as R&SA this activity must be shared with peers, disseminated
across the institution and possibly beyond and archived in ways which are
easily accessible to all staff.
Many of the definitions were quite formal in nature and more akin to HE
definitions of research, including writing peer reviewed articles, development of
specialist subject knowledge etc. (10 of the 25 responses). The focus of
scholarly activity is largely on those delivering HE – only one of the colleges
responding appears to put this in the context of a whole-college CPD strategy.
However, whatever the approach taken to defining scholarly activity, there is a
consensus amongst the respondents that “research will generally fall outside
the stated mission of FECs”. This recognition of the different purposes and
cultures of FECs and HEIs runs through all the responses to the questionnaire.
Definitions provided by validating HEIs.
This question sought to investigate the degree of commonality between the
definitions of scholarly activity used by FECs and those of their partner
HEI(s).There were 40 responses to this question. Over half said that their
validating HEI (s) had no definition of scholarly activity. Of those who were
aware of such a definition, most referred either to the Boyer models, the HEFCE
references in the Good Practice Guide or simply said that their HEI(s) accepted
the college’s own definition. One commented:
“We work with 5 HEIs and I can’t find a single definition of SA that any of them
use. This survey has prompted us to work on a definition of our own that we
can share with our HEIs and see where that discussion takes us.”
Commentary
Responses to these two sections suggest that the concept of a definition of SA
is not a significant issue amongst those delivering or validating HE in FE. There
appears to be a sufficiently mature relationship with validating HEIs such that
the need for a formal definition is rendered unnecessary. Where the issue may
arise is during the process of validation, when HEIs may seek to test the depth
and extent of FEC staff scholarship and currency. This is best summed up in the
comments of one college respondent, who said:
“Some validating panels do sometimes suggest that we might engage in more
research but as an FE college delivering HE courses mainly at level 4 and 5 we
have explained that we are not a research institution and HEFCE have agreed
this is not expected of HE in FE but that our course teams must evidence
current knowledge and awareness and understanding of new developments.”
The same college noted the reality of the situation - an inverse proportion rule
operated when considering contact time for students and levels of SA. (The
greater the contact time, the less time was available for scholarly activity.)
10
What consistently emerges from the responses to this point is awareness that
within an FE setting, SA, however defined, will ultimately focus on activities
which have a direct impact on teaching and learning, rather than discovery
research or the application of research. It is likely that any definition which did
not balance teaching and scholarship would almost inevitably result in a
reduced commitment to staff development on the part of the organisation.
(d) College support for continuing professional development
This section of the survey sought to establish the extent and the nature of
college support for the CPD of staff delivering HE. 75% of colleges said that
they required staff to possess a qualification higher than the one that they
delivered. This was both encouraged as part of personal development (100% of
respondents) and also expected by nearly half of the validating HEIs. The
majority of colleges do not appear to support staff through the acquisition of
these qualifications - 19 of the 44 responses say that less than 20% of their staff
obtained their qualification through college-funded staff development i.e. 43%.
Only 5 colleges (11%) say that they fund more than 60% of their staff to gain a
qualification funded through college CPD. An alternative explanation is that
staff who teach on HE programmes are more likely to have obtained a higher
qualification before recruitment.
Colleges appear to support attendance at research conferences more generously
than reduced contact time. Support for industrial secondments was somewhere in
between.
The nature of this support.
This is considered in two areas - the extent to which FECs are working with and
supported by HEIs and the support given by colleges to their staff.
When colleges were asked to comment on the support for staff development
available from their validating HEI the overwhelming feature was the high level of
joint working between validating HEIs and FECs. From 46 responses, only one
reported no real contact with the validating University. Whilst the degree of
involvement varied from mutual free access to all staff development opportunities
provided within both the FEC and the HEI to mutual access but on a fee-paying
basis in both directions, what emerges amongst those who responded to the
survey is a well-established environment of mutual support. There are occasional
references to difficulties in using these opportunities to the full: the lack of time is
often commented upon, but generally FEC staff seem to be able to benefit from
opportunities made available by partner HEIs, such as bespoke support with
undertaking research, attendance at conferences, all staff development events,
work/industry placements and reciprocal visits by teaching staff.
Within colleges, annual appraisal, classroom observation by peers, the
opportunity to bid for small amounts of research funding and reduced contact
time were the most common means of monitoring staff development. Colleges
were supportive of staff working as QAA assessors, IQER reviewers, and
external examiners and in any activity which promoted links with employers,
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including short industrial placements. This latter was more likely to be supported
by colleges with larger volumes of HE, perhaps reflecting the organisational
benefits of a greater critical mass. All respondents noted that their college
supported linked CPD with a partner HEI. Less well-developed was the concept
of a community of practice between Colleges, which suggests that there is scope
to develop this approach to professional development.
“HE staff in FE tend to be working in comparative isolation with very few other
colleagues having similar levels of subject expertise. Any measures that can
facilitate communication and collaboration between colleagues across the
sector, in HEIs and other bodies, e.g. HE Academy would significantly help FE
staff to undertake scholarly activity, have it recognised, distributed and
discussed and assist with access to funding to support more activities.”
Commentary
Emerging from this section was a sense that for many colleges academic
development was well-supported through links with partner HEIs and work with
bodies such as QAA. There is a suggestion that third party support is also valued
– respondents rated highly involvement from organisations such as HEA, fdf,
MEG and AoC. Cost was sometimes raised as a limiting factor, however. LLNs,
HEFCE and LSIS were also seen as sources of support, although HEFCE was
judged to have only a limited role due to its apparent reluctance to work directly
with FECs – the requirement to bid for funding for support through a partner HEI
was perceived as a limiting factor for staff development in an HE in FE context.
“It is really significant that colleges do not have access to HEFCE funding in the
same way that HEIs do. Access to many avenues is restricted by having to go
via a parent HEI which inhibits the involvement of many colleges.”
The majority of respondents (80%) state that colleges have active links to
employers and actively support links with the working world through industrial
secondments, exhibitions and job shadowing, etc.
(e) Maintenance of the standard expected by professional bodies
Many teaching staff moved into an academic career from a technical or
professional role and chose to remain members of their original professional
body. Many part-time staff are still industry-active and those who are full-time
often wish/need to maintain the currency of their skills. We were interested in the
extent to which colleges support professional updating and thus the maintenance
of credibility amongst employers. In 89% of cases, staff were funded by their
colleges to attend CPD arranged by their professional bodies. A similar
percentage were encouraged to take an active part in professional body activities
such as committee membership and to undertake relevant industrial placements.
Few colleges were willing to fund staff membership fees to their professional
body: this is perhaps presumed to be a personal responsibility which may also
include the individual’s licence to practice.
12
The involvement of professional bodies was judged important by 97% of
respondents, with most agreeing that CPD provided by and for the profession
was important.
Commentary
The issue emerging from this section is that college staff are looking to their
professional bodies for support in their teaching role, which often involves
teaching students aspiring to membership of that or a related body. Many made
the point that both providers and individuals should have a close relationship with
their professional body but that individuals (rather than institutions) should
receive targeted support which would help in the delivery of related teaching. This
would in turn promote the image of the profession.
(f) What scholarly activity is being undertaken?
This section sought to get a picture of what was actually happening in colleges, in
terms of the SA being undertaken. Forty responses were received to the request
for examples of SA: we were also interested to know the rationale behind the
decision to undertake particular areas of study as this would have provided a
valuable context for many of the previous responses. This aspect was rarely
addressed, leaving us with a long list of funded activities but no real sense of why
they were taking place. With this caveat, we can see that the work broadly
divides into four areas:
• Own personal study for higher academic qualifications e.g. studying for
Doctorates or Masters degrees. However, we are unable to distinguish
between higher study undertaken in order to be able to teach at HE level (as
required by 75% of respondents) or to deliver particular programmes
determined by the FEC/HEI and personal development
• Professional development e.g. updating subjects, industry updating,
professional qualifications and membership of professional bodies, practising
artists curating exhibitions, offering consultancy to industry
• Development of teaching and validation skills e.g. IQER training, Teacher
training (including Teaching Higher Education in Further Education Settings)
courses to develop mentoring skills
• Specialist subject research (most often referred to by the Specialist Colleges)
e.g. Equine science; Early Years, writing a book for fine arts students,
authoring text books and contributing to text books.
Commentary
13
There is wealth of SA taking place within the colleges which took part in our
survey. Most of it is funded, either fully or in part. In some instances, a small sum
is paid to staff in recognition of their work if it is carried out as a member of the
institution: this encourages a research culture across the FEC. Within the
specialist colleges which took part in the survey, there are good examples of all
four of the Boyer descriptions of SA. Without more detail, it is a matter of
conjecture as to how far this reflects a vertical organisation within specialist
providers – all levels of study concerning a particular sector are found under one
roof and staff develop a range of skills in the course of delivering to their
students, many of whom may move from L3 to higher levels of study. It may also
be that these institutions offer provision not found in HEIs.
(h) The impact of SA on students
Just over half (54%) of colleges responded to the question on how they measure
the impact of scholarly activity undertaken by staff on students. Of these, 76%
used external examiner reports which commented on the relevance and currency
of subject areas as a means of judging the quality of teaching and thus tutor
skills, and 73% use annual surveys. Less than half used interviews with students
(46%) or focus groups (42%).
30 colleges responded in detail when asked to give examples of how they
measure impact. One college cited the use of student/staff/employer blogs as a
means of identifying and sharing the benefit of tutor SA, and noted that staff
reviews of programmes often led to curriculum changes which reflected their own
professional currency or studies. Another college noted that secondments to the
Engineering sector enabled staff to add relevance to their teaching, which was
measured by surveys carried out with HNC students over their satisfaction with
teaching and learning. Updating in computer networking enabled staff to improve
the delivery of vendor qualifications, as measured by student satisfaction
surveys.
Only one respondent reported on trend analysis linked to SA, whilst another did
identify the difficulty of identifying a direct causal link between SA and scholarly
activity.
Only 24 (53%) of colleges answered the question on whether the impact of
Scholarly activity was considered easier to evidence in some subject areas than
others. Of these, only 6 (25%) colleges suggested that it was easier in some
curriculum areas - these were the more practical areas such as Engineering,
Creative and Media, Health and Social Care, and Social work which were often
taught in smaller groups and by staff in membership of a professional body. Staff
who are more actively involved in SA are more likely to set projects which reflect
both current thinking and professional practice.
However, for many respondents this was not an easy question to answer and the
real problem was one of measuring impact, regardless of subject area. Some
professional bodies require CPD records in order to maintain a license to practice
and this in turn has an impact on SA. However, one respondent noted that:
14
“The problem is that such activity is inherent in the development and delivery of
vocational programmes and thus may not be recognised as being “scholarly
activity “by staff. It is just `what they do` in many cases.”
Another said:
“Students comment on the currency of staff knowledge and the activities of staff
are known to students. This is apparent because any scholarly activity that is
undertaken must impact on the curriculum and its delivery. In this respect
students get to know by the interaction with staff who share details of their
current undertakings.”
Commentary
Whilst many colleges commented that the increased use of live briefs and
project-based assessments provided a means for tutors to illustrate their own
awareness of current techniques and/or thinking, gathering the views of their
students seems to be an under-developed aspect of scholarly activity on the part
of teaching staff.
5.
Student survey undertaken by National Union of Students
An element of the research was to look at the National Student Survey (NSS) for
2009 to see whether any links to scholarly activity among FE teachers of HE could
be established through the data. The NSS is a census of students in the final year of
a course leading to undergraduate credits or qualifications across the UK. It is an
opportunity for students to give their opinions on what they liked about their time at
their institution as well as things that they felt could have been improved
One of the aims of this element of the research was to attempt to link national data
from the NSS to the local data from interviews with students conducted for us by the
National Union of Students. However, the questions asked of the students in their
focus groups (see Appendix 4) do not directly relate to the NSS questions. There are
no direct questions on the NSS which enable us to establish a link between
undertaking of research and scholarly activity by teachers and satisfaction of
students.
The national data is compiled from all institutions that have sufficient HE students
responding. It is possible to interrogate the data at institution level and compare
with the national data e.g. at one MEG college 92% of students think that staff are
enthusiastic about what they are teaching, compared to 82% for all FECs and 84%
for all HEIs.
It would be possible to investigate the individual institution results and map them
across with those colleges that have clear scholarly activity strategies and good
support for research and CPD. However, any such analysis would need to be
treated with caution since it would be hard to find any direct causal relationship
between support for scholarly activity and interest and enthusiasm in teaching a
subject
A more personal student perspective was provided by a small study undertaken by
the NUS on our behalf. NUS officials led a series of discussions with (separate)
focus groups of full and part-time students. These sought to establish what students
perceived to be the impact of their tutors’ own updating and professional knowledge,
15
in terms of curriculum delivery and touched on issues of professional currency and
general teaching skills. A copy of the outline questionnaire used by NUS is included
as Appendix 4. The discussions covered four broad areas:
The tutor’s professional currency
This was regarded as important by all discussion groups, with regular references to
occasions when teachers used current industry journals, magazines, changes in
legislation to illustrate theory. The use of “live briefs”, coupled with evidence that
their tutors were clearly aware of current practice in the relevant sector through their
references to their own (tutors’) recent experience was also highly regarded by
students.
How the teacher acquired their knowledge
This section of the discussions leads to the conclusion that students place equal
value on good teaching skills and industrial experience. Some students on directly
vocational courses thought it was essential that their teachers had worked in a
directly relevant industry. Others noted that where a teacher had moved from
practice to teaching it was important that they maintained their links to practice,
rather than focused on teaching and research. Other students noted that, as they
were already working in a particular sector and gaining a daily input to the uplifting
of their practical skills, they viewed their days at college as the time when they
gained the theoretical unpinning relevant to their courses/job roles. In this case, it
was important for their teachers to have a sound grasp of more “academic" issues.
Teaching methods employed by tutors
Students were agreed that whilst there was no one most effective method of
teaching, they appreciated clear preparation, confidence and openness in their
tutors. They also appreciated tutors who prompted discussion, often noting that
sharing best practice amongst peers was often of equal importance to hearing about
good practice from a teacher.
Student influence on teaching and learning
This was a generally positive area of discussion, with most students considering that
there were mechanisms in place which enabled them to register their views. Some
noted that where they had suggested changes, informal conversations with students
in the year below indicated that these had been taken on board. A range of formal
and informal routes were in place for feedback to tutors.
Value for money?
This section was perceived as less relevant by those whose courses were paid for
by their employer. International students were more aware of value for money
issues, and had high expectations of their tutors and college resources. All students
set great store by the balance of contact time/free time, with some noting that whilst
HE was meant to encourage independent learning, there was a point at which too
little contact time (“teaching themselves”) was not value for money. College-based
16
HE was perceived as being cheaper than University but enabling students to obtain
a University degree.
Differences between HE in a college and in a University.
This was reported almost entirely in favour of colleges, with only a small number of
students raising a concern that although they were following an HE course and
would obtain a University degree, they were not perceived as “real” University
students by society in general and employers in particular. There was a general
consensus that small group teaching, more personalised learning, a more diverse
mix of fellow students and the ability to live locally were advantages when set
against the traditional experience of living away from home and studying in a more
traditional academic setting. The point was made that, as far as the students were
concerned, their college teachers are more “real world” than they assumed would be
the case with University tutors, who were imagined to be more immersed in
academic life. The college student population, being very diverse, was perceived as
good preparation for the outside world.
Commentary
This section of the study is drawn from a small number of responses and will be the
basis of a larger, separate study in 2010. It was deliberately set up to include
balanced numbers of full and part-time students, however, and to include a range of
subject disciplines. The points emerging are significant: students set great store by
the professional currency of their tutors and by their ability to teach. They value the
college setting, with its small class sizes and the confidence that this can develop in
non-traditional learners. They perceive there to be a “real world” factor – teachers
who have experience of a particular sector and a diverse mix of fellow students.
Whilst they expect their tutors to be experts in their field, this small-scale study
suggests that they are not expecting them to be engaged in primary research.
As part of this study we also approached three private, for-profit providers of HE in
order to obtain their perspective on the issue of scholarly activity. Most private
providers operate within a specialist field and the majority operate on a for-profit
basis. Our interest was prompted by the fact that all three have no difficulty in
recruiting students, despite charging fees that are significantly above the current cap
and thus being outside the remit of HEFCE. Did students expect their teaching staff
to undertake scholarly activity? Was this part of the tutors’ conditions of service?
Their views were probably best summed up by Carl Lygo, Chief Executive of BPP
Education, who commented that:
“At BPP we recruit practitioners to teach our students, their experience is forged
on the anvil of reality! Trial advocacy is best taught by somebody who has actually
conducted countless trials in court. It does not matter to us that they have not
then gone on to write up their experiences for the general public to read about it. A
17
Ph.D is not a necessary qualification for expertise in teaching nor practise. The
key issue is whether they bring their experiences to the classroom, either in terms
of the materials they prepare for use in the classroom or the way in which they
teach. The shared experience of our practitioner faculty is then used to enrich the
curriculum and we take on board the published research in the area.”
6.
Case Studies
The survey covered a wide range of providers, some of whom are able to evidence
innovative practice in scholarly activity. Case studies are attached as Appendix 1.
7.
Conclusions
These are presented in two sections, representing those emerging from the desk
research undertaken in advance of the survey, and those from the survey itself.
(a) From the Desk research.
The background reading undertaken for this project led on from the work of
Boyer, from current debates in the education press about the respective drivers
within academia, the approach taken by private providers of HE and the
increasing importance attached to the student perspective. Seen in the context
of our original research questions, these appeared to point towards the
evolution of a distinctive, new entity that was HE in FE, in which the tutor
delivering HE in this setting would have a professional persona which was
different from that of a University-based colleague. Our findings were that:
With regard to the question of HE in FE,
• The development of SA in a FE setting will continue to be determined by the
primary role of the college as a provider of vocational HE in its locality
• Within this, there is room for debate over the interpretation and application of
terms and conditions of employment for staff delivering HE in FE without
destabilising existing arrangements
• The development of a whole-college approach to scholarly activity is a key
part of the evolution of a distinctive HE in FE view of scholarly activity
• Definitions of SA in the college context need to have regard to a range of
demands including those of non-HEI validated provision such as HNs,
professional qualifications and other non prescribed HE.
In terms of the way in which scholarly activity in HE in FE is perceived,
• This is closely related to the current debate about the relative importance of
and balance to be struck between good teaching and academic research
within the traditional University setting
• Whilst inspiring teaching is acknowledged to be part of the HE experience, in
practice, it may not well-regarded by senior academics in universities or
encouraged by the present funding approach, which still appears to place
greater emphasis on primary research
18
• Teachers of HE in FE often see themselves as teachers first, members of a
“parent” profession second and traditional academics third
• The work of Boyer is still relevant, and offers a useful way of relating the
delivery of high-quality higher-level skills to professional currency and
teaching skills
• In practice, without a significant change to the way in which HE is funded and
described and rewarded, the development of good teaching practice and the
application of research will always been seen as being less “HE “ than
primary research.
Lessons from private providers suggest that:
• Students will pay high fees for high-quality vocational HE in subjects such as
Law and Accountancy
• Students value high levels of tutor support, whether in-line or in person
• Students value access to and feedback from tutors who are experts in their
field
• Some private providers appear to place much greater emphasis on teaching
skills and professional currency than traditional academic skills
Student surveys such as NSS and reports from organisations such as HEPI8 all
support the contention that students value good teaching, regular access to
their teachers, regular feedback and reassurance that their studies will lead to
employment.
As stated at the end of section 1, our desk research led us to expect a debate
around these issues.
(b)
From the Survey
The results of our survey have led us to conclude that:
• The demand for a definition of scholarly activity, and for a definition which is
specific to HE in FE, is not proven by this piece of research. Nor have we
found any evidence of significant inconsistencies in expectations between
HEIs and validating FECs
• The concept of scholarly activity in HE in FE is evolving. Not all colleges
have a definition - and where their HEI does not have one, this questionnaire
has prompted thought. Some colleges may now devise their own definition,
taking a middle path between the research-led approach of a traditional HEI
and a more appropriate definition for a vocationally focussed FEC. This is
likely to reflect the FE sector’s focus on teaching and learning, whilst drawing
heavily on the professional body expectations facing industry-active tutors
8 The Academic experience of students in English universities Tom Sastry and Bahram
Bekhradnia. HEPI 2007.
19
• In some FECs a more traditional definition has been devised, whilst in
others, a more holistic approach is evolving which is in keeping with the
college strategic plan and HE strategy and the expectations of validating
HEIs
• Whilst there are issues to be dealt with around conditions of service this
need not be a barrier to developing and supporting SA
• There is a potential need for more support to be given to the development of
communities of practice
• Linked to this is a need for more focused third-party intervention, whether
from HEA, MEG, or the professional bodies. This reflects a need for outside
expertise to help shape the SA process, particularly in terms of communities
of practice
• Students value good teaching and contact with their tutors
• Students value the overall setting within which HE in FE is delivered
• Students expect professional currency and credibility in their tutors.
8.
Recommendations:
This exercise may be seen as a first step in giving shape and direction to the
development of an approach to scholarly activity which satisfies the requirements of
validating bodies, quality assurance agencies, employers and students. Given the
evolving nature of the HE landscape and the increased demands placed on all
providers of HE, a definition of scholarly activity which embraces not only traditional
concepts of scholarship but also the needs of employers and students for vocational
relevance may be timely. We address our recommendations to a number of
agencies:
(i) For HEFCE
(a) Recognise that teaching skills and subject relevance have equal standing
with more traditional research activity.
The renewed focus on higher level skills and relevance to the needs of
employment may require a different and extended mix of skills to be
available to students and institutions. Although traditional research and
academic skills will continue to have great importance for institutions and
learners, a growing number of students see higher level qualifications as a
direct means of enhancing employment and career prospects. Approaches
to funding should recognise this.
(b) Provide equal and direct access to development funding.
20
FECs which offer HE, particularly those which are directly funded and have
FDAP, should be able to bid for target and project funding directly, rather
than have to go through a partner HEI as is presently required. Currently,
the pools of funding for CPD for those delivering HE in FE are limited and
are often predicated on traditional academic research rather than the more
applied scholarship that is relevant to and which prevails within an HE in FE
setting.
(ii) For the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills
(a) Begin a dialogue between representatives of HE in HE, HE in FE, private
providers, employers and professional bodies to define and then enhance a
new and distinctive approach to vocational scholarly activity, which values
professional and industrial relevance
The Department is well-placed to encourage the input of professional
bodies to staff CPD and the consequent promotion of the professions. This
would complement the findings of the Milburn Report and build on existing
work to widen participation in both HE and the professions
(b) Recognise that the two aims of widening participation and higher level
skills can also be linked to attract a different type of student, with
aspirations directly related to career and professional development as a
prime aim for study
The Department must acknowledge that HE is no longer territory inhabited
solely by 18 year old students following three-year, full-time courses at
University and must adjust its language and funding guidance accordingly.
For many older students progression is neither linear nor immediate. The
impact of teaching this cohort of students must therefore be recognised in
terms of the expectations made of teaching staff – professional currency
and applied research are vital when teaching students who are pursuing
career-relevant courses. This should be recognised and fostered nationally.
(iii) For the Higher Education Academy
Promote the development of the concept of communities of practice.
The research suggests that there is a need for a third party to help bring
together groups of practitioners, particularly those working in new and nontraditional disciplines. Networking and support are highly valued - the Plymouth
CETL model may offer a way forward elsewhere.
Third party guidance to those delivering HE in FECs must come from both
academic and professional sources. Support is needed from outside agencies
such as employers and professional bodies, rather than just other HEIs.
(iv) For the HEA and FE colleges.
21
Promote teaching-related scholarly activity within college consortia
Once underway, consortia of colleges will be able to drive forward this approach
themselves but a small amount of specialist advice and funding is needed to
kick-start this process. The existing arrangements concerning subject centres
and staff professional development are not easy to access and need to be
reformulated in order to draw in more FE-based practitioners.
(v) For FE colleges which offer HE.
.
(a) Consider the need for a definition of scholarly activity.
It may be helpful to have a definition of scholarly activity to support staff
CPD and recognise their need to carry out SA when teaching HE.
(b) Monitor staff training/CPD in order to ensure value for money and positive
outcome of any training provided
Clearer links need to be established between the minimum 30 hours of
CPD now available to staff, successful funding bids, activities undertaken
and outcomes. The research suggests that there are varying degrees of
management interest in how staff pursue scholarly activity and the linkage
that is made back to course content and student success.
(c) Measure impact – how to relate student experience to scholarly activity and
vocational currency.
This is acknowledged to be difficult, as it is virtually impossible to maintain
that the only factor which influenced students’ results was the particular
scholarly activity undertaken by their tutor during their study programme.
However, other agencies have made some progress in trying to align
similar variables.
(d) Benchmark results better.
Whilst the issue was not directly covered by this research, some
consideration should be given to how FE colleges share the outcome of
their good practice. In some indirectly-funded colleges it is not easy to
disaggregate exam results or widening participation data from that of a
partner HEI.
Appendix 1
22
List of Participants
1. Participating Colleges:
Abingdon & Whitney College
Accrington & Rossendale College
Bournemouth and Poole College
Bradford College
Bromley College of F&HE
Castle College
Colchester Institute
Cornwall College
City College Brighton and Hove
City of Sunderland
Dudley College
Guildford College
Hackney Community College
Hartpury College
Havering College of Further and Higher Education
Henley College Coventry
Highbury College
Hull College
King George V College
Kingston Maurward College
Leeds City College
Leicester
Mid Kent College
Myerscough College
Nescot
New College Durham
New College Nottingham
Newcastle College
Newcastle-under-Lyme College
Preston College
St Helens College
Solihull College
Somerset College of Arts and Technology
South Cheshire College
South East Essex College
South Nottingham College
South Tyneside College
Stockport
Stockton Riverside College
Strode College
Telford College of Arts and Technology
The Grimsby Institute
The Sheffield College
Weston College
Wigan and Leigh College
Worcester College of technology
??? College not named
23
2. Other participants:
The following were actively involved in this project and are willing to be contacted if you would like
further information about any particular aspect of the research:
(a) Authors’ perspective:
John Widdowson, the Chair of the Mixed Economy Group of colleges and Principal and Chief
Executive of New College, Durham:
[email protected] 0191 375 4002
Madeleine King, the MEG Co-ordinator and AoC HE Policy Manager:
[email protected] 01207 034 9900
(b) Case study contacts:
David Cooke, College Research and Scholarly Activity Coordinator, Newcastle College.
[email protected] 0191 2004472
Dr Philip Davies, Director of HE, Bournemouth and Poole College.
[email protected] 01202 205382
Carl Flint, Vice Principal, Worcester College of Technology.
[email protected] 01905 743478
Anthony Murray, Director of Higher Education, Weston College.
[email protected] 01934 411401
Dr. Fiona Roberts, Head of Higher Education, Kingston Maurwood College.
[email protected] 01305 215007
Dr. Steven Waite Vice Principal (Higher Education), Hartpury College.
[email protected] 01452702337
(c) Student perspective:
Gemma Painter, Policy Officer (FE) National Union of Students.
[email protected] 0207 380 6668
(d) Higher Education Academy support:
Colin Rainey, Senior Adviser, HE in FE, Higher Education Academy.
[email protected] 01904 717564
(e) HELP CETL, University of Plymouth
Dr. Rebecca Turner, HELP CETL Educational Researcher and Award Holder
Scheme Manager.
[email protected] 01752 238653
24
Appendix 2
Case Studies illustrating the organisation and impact of Scholarly activity
in HE delivered in FE
Bournemouth and Poole College
Dr Philip Davies, Director of Higher Education, Bournemouth and Poole College
Research and Scholarly Activity is not a natural part of FE culture but
Bournemouth and Poole College (BPC) feel that it is an essential part of what
they do and is expected from any institution involved in the delivery of HE.
However, colleges like ours have an uphill task in engaging academic staff in an
environment that is at best indifferent and at worst hostile to research activities.
BPC have developed a four-stage approach to promoting Scholarly Activity and
engaging in research which is part of our overall HE strategy.
1. All HE staff, by which we mean teaching staff who are engaged for any part
of their time in the delivery of HE programmes, are expected to engage in
scholarly activity and/or research with clearly identified activities and
measurable targets/outputs. These will be monitored through the appraisal
process and agreed annually with faculty managers during appraisal.
2. All HE staff are encouraged to develop their academic qualifications to at
least one level higher than that which they are teaching. The college
undertakes to financially support HE staff to gain Master’s and Doctorate
qualifications and all who are supported in this way are expected to
contribute to the College Annual Research Conference.
3. Bournemouth and Poole College run an annual event to showcase the
scholarly activity and research that their staff are engaged in. This year will
see the 6th Annual Research Conference planned for July 2010 at The
Queens Hotel in Bournemouth.
The breadth of topics presented last year gives a reflection of the diversity of
staff interests at BPC, including “Can Equine Assisted Therapy be used to
manage challenging behaviour?”, “The Copenhagen Interpretation and its
malcontents”, “A Family Affair: Audience positioning in gangster films and the
mythology of the Italian-American identity”, “Improving tutorial support for
those completing HE courses at Bournemouth and Poole College”, “3D
Mathematical Modelling”, “Low Literacy Levels and Crime”, “Evaluating the
strategic role of on-line sales activity in building an international market”,
“How can we encourage reflective practice in the classroom from both
teachers and learners”, “Old Age Learning”, “The many legacies of Jimi
Hendrix - an interactive installation”, “What is landscape archaeology and
25
what does it bring to the understanding of the past?”, “Needs not Numbers: A
report on mental health services in East Dorset for the local black and
minority population.”
4. More recently BPC HE staff have been engaged in research activities (as
defined by the RAE) by joining together and forging a multimedia research
group with staff at our partner HEI Bournemouth University. Two HE staff
from BPC and two from BU have been collaborating on a cross-institution
research group. This venture represents our first college-university
partnership research collaboration culminating in the submission of paper to
an international conference. During the year this group has written and
presented joint papers on multimedia at the BU Educational EREEP
conference (May 09), the Annual BPC Research Conference (July 09) and
three staff (two from BPC and one from BU) attended the four-day IEEE
International Conference in Colmar, France (July 09). Two papers were
presented on Multimedia themes.
Forging a research group from staff at both BPC and BU is proving to be an
exciting and productive venture and is the first collaborative research group
of its kind within the partnership.
We are hoping that this will prove an inspiration for other research groups to
form across our partnership and we are aiming to continue our collaboration
next year with further joint research work being done in the area of
Multimedia/Networking and the submission of further peer reviewed research
papers to the follow on conference MMEDIA2010 in Athens, Greece in June
2010. Having College staff engage with true research activities takes our HE
staff development to a new level and enhances the knowledge and
confidence of staff as well as providing the underpinning for improving and
developing our own HE programmes.
What follows is an extract from BPC HE Strategy 2010-2013:
4.6 Continuous Professional Development, Research and Scholarly Activity
We are committed to the ongoing training and development of our teaching and
support staff, and will provide a wide range of staff development courses and
workshops and in addition provide access to any of the college programmes. The
College also delivers a minimum of 2 days dedicated HE training each year
around key HE topic areas e.g. Academic Infrastructure, Retention, Assessment,
Student Voice.
Scholarly Activity
We are committed to supporting research and scholarly activity as we believe
this is essential to sustain the future development of Higher Education. All HE
26
staff are expected to engage in scholarship and/or research with clearly identified
activities and measurable targets/outputs which will be agreed annually with
faculty managers during appraisal.
Scholarly and developmental activities include:
• organising symposia and the college Annual Research Conference
• practice-based research (developing a body of work in their own field)
• writing papers
• development of pedagogy
• developing employer engagement including consultancy
• ensuring HE teaching is at the forefront of current practice.
Research
We use the term ‘research’ in the same way as the RAE to mean peer reviewed
work that is published in a journal, book or conference.
We are not setting out to be a research-intensive institution. That is not our
purpose nor are we funded for such activities. However, we recognise along with
QAA and HEFCE that quality HE teaching is underpinned by research and
scholarly activity and that access to this expertise is also perceived as part of the
“student experience” of HE.
To this end we have established a collaborative Research Group with our partner
institution Bournemouth University and we are developing a situation where
individual staff are partners in BU research groups. Our research group
presented a paper at the IEEE international conference in Colmar, France in July
2009. In addition to this, the college has for the last five years hosted an Annual
Research Conference to show-case the research and scholarly activity being
undertaken at The College.
The aims of the Research Group are:
− The development of staff-led research, both scientific and pedagogic, at
departmental level
− The publication of peer-reviewed papers national and international
journals and conferences
− The development of research pages on the college website for staff and
student projects
− The research group offer symposia and master classes to staff and
students.
− Staff development in research-based activities
Commitments
We will ensure that HE academic staff maintain a close and professional
understanding of current developments in scholarship in their subjects and that
27
structured opportunities for them to do so are both readily available and widely
taken up.
We will seek to extend collaborative research opportunities with a wider range of
teams in conjunction with our partner institutions.
We will make research and scholarly activity a subject for staff development
days; participate in joint activities with partner universities; continue holding our
annual research conference; and setting up research centres.
We will use the Teaching Quality Enhancement Fund to resource research
projects.
We will ensure that HE staff have minimum 30 hours of continuous professional
development annually for research and scholarly activity.
We will encourage all staff engaged on higher level programmes to join in the
staff development opportunities provided by partner HEIs, and provide
development opportunities at the college.
We encourage membership of the Higher Education Academy (HEA). A number
of HE staff are members and fellows of the HEA and the college recommends
affiliation to this professional body.
28
Hartpury College
Dr. Steven Waite, Vice Principal (Higher Education), Hartpury College.
An overview of the support and management of scholarship and research activity
at a specialist land-based college.
In 2007, following a review of scholarship and research activities at the college, a
new Research and Knowledge Exchange Strategy (2007 – 2012) was developed
and adopted. The strategy aims to improve the support available for staff
scholarship, increase the scope and extent of research undertaken and its
effectiveness as measured primarily by the quantity and quality of outputs. One
overarching objective was to encourage the development of a coordinated
approach to research with activities clustered around key themes that align with
our facilities and expertise. There were several factors driving this development,
including the wish to develop an income stream through consultancy and to
extend and increase the range of services the college was able to offer its
commercial clients and partners.
However, fundamental was the belief that good quality learning and teaching
should be informed and delivered by practitioners and lecturers who are
reflective and engaged with their subjects through active scholarship. The
assumption that staff scholarship and research should be valued and viewed as
the norm rather than the exception, reflects a core value of the College that
students and staff should be ‘nurtured’ by providing opportunities and
appropriate support to allow them to develop and achieve their full potential.
Three key actions resulting from this strategy have helped greatly to increase the
quality and extent of scholarship and research activity at Hartpury:
1) The strategic but limited investment in key facilities and staff.
2) The establishment of clear decision making and deliberative forums.
3) The use of targeted staff development funding.
In support of research and to generate opportunities for consultancy the College
has selectively invested in the development and improvement of key facilities
which link closely to core curriculum areas (e.g., Human Performance Laboratory,
Sport Injury Centre, and Equine Therapy Centre). In this way opportunities for
research have been improved along with the learning environment and
experience we are able to offer our students. For example the Equine Therapy
Centre, which is equipped with a high speed treadmill and water treadmill,
specialist biomechanical and gait analysis equipment, generates an income
from the treatment of client horses, provides a teaching resource for students and
a focus for student and staff research. Investment in facilities has been
supported by limited but targeted investment in research active staff. The
appointment of staff with research expertise and experience has not only
29
increased the research capacity of the college, but has aided the development of
an ethos of research and scholarship. A small cohort of staff productively
engaged in scholarship and research can be key to successfully nurturing the
scholarship of other staff.
The college Centre for Rural Business (CfRB) has played an important role in
developing and supporting scholarship and research. The CfRB provides a range
of services for industry from the delivery and assessment of work related and
work based training to undertaking commissioned research projects. As part of
KTE node activity funded by the New Engineering Foundation, which the College
shares with Duchy College, the CfRB undertook original research into the levels
of understanding among agrifood businesses of Knowledge Transfer and
Engagement (KTE). Parallel research was conducted into FE colleges’ approach
and barriers to KTE. In addition to providing opportunities for the colleges and
staff to link with industry, the research has also generated a publication submitted
to a peer reviewed academic journal.
Research and scholarship is overseen by the Research and Knowledge
Exchange (RKE) committee which is charged with implementing the College
Research, Scholarship and Knowledge Exchange Strategy. The committee
meets four times a year and reports directly to the senior academic committee,
the Associate Faculty Board. It tracks and records research activity and outputs
as well as being the forum where funding and resource allocations issues are
considered. Below this committee, four thematic research groups have been
established each linking closely with subject teaching teams. This close linkage
helps to ensure that teaching, research and scholarship are viewed as
interlocking and mutually beneficial activities.
The groups, which apart from the appointed leaders who act as a facilitator, have
an essentially elective membership and meet approximately once a month. They
provide an open and collegiate forum for staff to discuss research, develop
supportive partnerships and to set group research targets. In some areas smaller
sub-groups of 3 to 5 staff have evolved. These small sub-groups have proved
particularly effective at making efficient use of available resources. They promote
a team approach to research, with staff pooling their time and knowledge to
achieve a common research aim. Groups will agree an overall project, which is
then divided into smaller units of research, some of which are undertaken by
staff, and some will form the basis of undergraduate and postgraduate student
projects. In this way coherent research activity is fostered and the potential
quantity and quality of outputs is improved substantially. When managed in this
way, well supported and supervised student research projects provide excellent
opportunities for the generation of research outputs, e.g. conference
presentations, as well as a means of supporting and promoting staff research
and scholarship.
30
This year through our links with the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare
(UFAW) the 5th annual student Animal Welfare conference will be held at Hartpury
College. Events such this provide an excellent opportunity for the promotion of
research and scholarship by both staff and students, they encourage the public
dissemination and discussion of research findings as well as providing an
opportunity of peer assessment and evaluation of work.
The college has allocated a small amount of funding to a research budget
administered by the RKE committee. This provides ‘seed – corn’ funds for
projects and will support conference attendance. The funding available in this
budget is supplemented by a fixed proportion of any additional earned research
income. Time allocations for both scholarship and research activity are built into
the work-load model used by the college. Where necessary these allocations
may be increased to give staff additional dedicated time for research and
scholarship. A major contributing factor to increasing staff scholarship and
research output has been the strategic funding of staff development activities.
Over the last two years the college has funded either completely, or in part, fees
for eight staff members undertaking postgraduate study and research, four of
these are working towards doctorate level qualifications. The level of support is
negotiated on a case by case basis, and will be linked to specific outcomes,
including the presentation and publication of work. In addition to the payment of
fees, support can include funding for data collection trips as well attendance at
conferences or workshops and training events. The college does not distinguish
between pedagogical and discipline related scholarship and research, similarly
while research is often perceived as primarily an ‘HE’ activity, both ‘FE’ and ‘HE’
staff are encouraged to engage in further scholarship and research.
31
Kingston Maurward
Dr. Fiona Roberts, Head of Higher Education, Kingston Maurwood College.
Kingston Maurwood is a specialist land-based college. The college is arguably
unusual in terms of HE delivery in an FE environment in that a significant number
of staff members engaged with HE provision have post graduate qualifications; a
proportion of which have post doctoral research experience. Thus, staff have a
prior history of what could be considered a fairly ‘standard’ approach to scholarly
activity e.g. research aimed at the publication of peer reviewed papers and book
chapters. The challenge has been to accommodate this within an FE college
environment and in a manner that has benefits to the student group beyond
simply adding to a body relevant scientific literature.
There have been numerous examples of how this has been achieved but an
ongoing programme of scholarly activity has been facilitated by a partner HEI
initiative, namely Bournemouth University’s Collaborative Research Project
Programme.
Various staff members have participated in this BU-funded research initiative but
an example that has had direct impact on curriculum delivery in terms of both
mode and content is as follows:
Roberts, F.G (2008) The use of Animals in Teaching: The ethical dichotomy in FE
and HE environments and its practical consequences for the student learning
experience and industry. Proceedings of Partnership Research Conference
Bournemouth University pp. 46 – 56
Science provision and delivery is now at the heart of much of government policy
and agenda and within biosciences the comparative paucity of relevant practical
skills shown by emerging students is of concern to related industries. However at
both FE and HE, science delivery can be problematic. Thus, in essence the study
sought to address the issue as to whether a VLE provided a comparable learning
experience, in terms of student engagement, attainment and skills acquisition,
when compared with a conventional wet specimen dissection practical.
The study involved the delivery of a lecture and associated practical activity
concentrating on cardiac structure & function. This formed part of the normal
delivery of the anatomy & physiology syllabus delivered across a range of BTEC
National Awards i.e. FE students comprised the target group. A total of 47 were
assigned to one of two groups. Student comprehension and recall (after
completing either a real or virtual dissection exercise) was assessed based on a
topic related short answer test. In addition, students’ learning styles were
assessed and their evaluative response to the exercise recorded (based on
ethical and aesthetic considerations).
32
Results demonstrated that the real dissection activity facilitated improved
comprehension and recall (irrespective of student gender, learning style or main
programme of study). Student reservations about activity related to aesthetic
rather than ethical concerns (which runs slightly contrary to the accepted
viewpoint) and no student refused to undertake the real dissection.
The implications of this study (one of the largest of its type) have informed
delivery at both FE and HE i.e. increased levels of ‘hands on’ practical work in a
laboratory context. Equally the role of VLE has been considered and a more
circumspect approach adopted to its use (in some key areas).
The published paper is used for reference in the Animal/Equine Behaviour &
Welfare FdSc and BSc programmes. The ethical issues are discussed in the
Level C ethics and legislation unit, while the broader scope of potential humananimal interactions in a scientific context are discussed by 3 rd year students in
anthrozoology.
Overall activities of this sort develop staff scholarly activity and have real practical
and academic relevance.
33
Newcastle College
David Cooke, College Research and Scholarly Activity Coordinator, Newcastle
College.
The widespread nature of higher education at Newcastle College and its varying
growth rates across Schools has meant that the concomitant growth in research
and scholarly activity has also varied in design and output.
What has become apparent is a commitment to carrying out activities above and
beyond those required solely for the purposes of learning and teaching. What is
exciting at this stage in the development of our provision is the wide range of
activities which possess the opportunity to produce a model for RSA which is
appealingly diverse and creatively beneficial to both staff and students. This short
paper will review one activity carried out by staff which may be used as model for
future review and evaluation. Of equal importance will be the contribution that
this makes to our understanding of what constitutes RSA and perhaps more
importantly, what does not.
The author acknowledges the contribution made by HEFCE in suggesting a
number of possible activities which might be accepted as RSA. In doing so we do
not necessarily support the list; the debate about what should and should not be
included continues.
The following case study focuses on improving the student experience by the
effective application of a new technology. Additionally tutors are working in
realms which have the potential to extend their knowledge and skills not only of
their subject but also how teaching the subject can be improved.
The Application of Epop in the Delivery of the BSc in Computing
The college ILT unit had come across a new IT plug-in associated with
Blackboard, its preferred Virtual learning Environment. The unit manager was
keen for two tutors to trial the programme in different schools to evaluate its
potential as a vehicle for blended learning. The school of Applied Science
decided that it could be explored as a taught unit in itself; students becoming both
guinea pigs and assessors of its impact. As a taught unit it worked well and both
staff and students were impressed by its potential. At this point a student on the
programme suggested that it might have real implications for the delivery of the
course.
The course team under the direction of Marie Grice and with the support of the
ILT unit set up a trial to deliver part of a unit in the first semester. This was in
2007-2008. The proposal was put together by the team and submitted to the
Programme Manger who agreed to allow the trial to take place under close
scrutiny and only for the partial unit outlined. It was tacitly agreed that this would
form part of the staff members’ CPD for that year.
34
Application of the new programme required staff to update their understanding
and skills related to accessing the plug-in via the Blackboard site. They also had
to become adept in the remote manipulation of a virtual teaching and learning
environment. Essentially this required technical expertise in operating the new
application which enabled real time face to face communication between tutor
and student group as well as individual communications between tutor and
student and between student and student. The application also enabled real time
text creation and provided both tutor and students with a work area that they all
could contribute to. Finally the programme enabled tutors to access a student’s
own IT environment and to enable them to access programmes and applications
running on the tutor’s own PC.
The power of the programme was immediate: tutors and students had face to
face communications which proved to be a significant aid to communications.
The system allowed access from any PC and many students did so from work
environments enabling them to enhance work based learning.
The initial trial proved a huge success and plans were drawn up for it to be
repeated the following semester with a full unit. In turn this was equally
successful and since then the course now delivers three units via this blended
learning approach as well as student tutorials. Tutors also realised that the
application could be used effectively in delivering feedback to student and this
soon became a central feature of its use. Feedback could be detailed, immediate
and captured by the student to support them through further assignments.
After two years a considerable amount of analysis and evaluation has taken place
to assess the success of Epop. Significantly, during its use retention and
achievement has been 100%. Students find the increased flexibility extremely
beneficial. They now have daily contact with peers and tutors from any available
PC. As noted earlier the capacity to run the programme from work has been seen
as a particularly beneficial aspect. Increased student-to-student interaction has
increased the cohesiveness of the group and enabled students to support each
other. A particular pleasing spin off of the package was when it enables a student
who had to move to another part of the country to complete his course in full.
It can be seen from the above that the application has huge potential for the
delivery of blended and distance learning programmes, programmes based within
the workplace and part time study.
35
Weston College
Anthony Murray, Director of Higher Education, Weston College.
Three short case studies which illustrate the practical benefits of scholarly activity.
(a) Case Study 1
Objective of the activity
1. To further develop research links with the partner HEI and benefit from the
scholarly activity taking place at the University.
2. To publish an article in a peer-reviewed journal and thereby enhance the
research profile of the Music Department at the College.
Allocation of hours: 52
Output from the activity
1. Attending and contributing to a discussion forum at the partner University,
including the presentation of a paper on “Musical semiotics in action: applying
and debating Hatten’s semiotics in a musico-dramatic context”. To gain a
further insight into work of the Head of Music and Professor of Music at the
University.
2. Production of an article which focused on the wider arguments about the
relationship between musical and linguistic meanings in opera. The article
was published in Studies in Musical Theatre (approximately 5000 words).
How the activity impacted on the delivery of HE at the College
1. Enabled Weston to further develop links with the Music Department at the
University and generally inform the wider content of the two Foundation
Degrees offered at the College: Music Production and Popular Music.
2. Enabled the member of staff to immerse themselves in their subject, which
has impacted upon the teaching and learning.
(b) Case Study 2
Objective of the activity
To set up an internal moderation and marking procedure, for the assessment of
written assignments within HE.
Allocation of Hours: 35
Output from activity
36
1. An Assessment/moderation pro-forma that meets the requirements of our
partner Universities and the QAA Code of Practice, which will be rolled out
throughout HE at Weston College.
2. Assessment material that identifies the various domains (such as conceptual
or ethical) by which essays are assessed, identified against the intended
learning outcomes outlined in the module handbooks.
How the activity impacted on the delivery of HE at the College
1. The College now has a substantive procedure in place for the rigorous
marking of essays/written assignments and power points. The pro-forma that
has been devised provides the learner with clear instructions as to what will
be assessed, whilst allowing some flexibility to choose from a variety of
assessment domain alternatives, which students can choose to explore their
assignment.
2. A further advantage of the procedure is that early on it helps to identify a
learner’s ability to engage with and assimilate the knowledge required for
each domain, and those students for whom learning support would be
appropriate.
3. It also provides the opportunity to reconsider the level at which particular
handouts or texts are pitched and through this, to reflect upon both the
appropriateness of these texts and the learner’s ability to engage with them.
(c) Case Study 3
Objective of the activity
To engage with Southampton City Council through an industrial placement.
Allocation of hours: 52
Output from the activity
To improve staff understanding of the design and commercial applications of
databases.
How the activity impacted on the delivery of HE at the College
1. It enabled the Tutor to develop a new link with an employer, whilst further
developing database skills in areas such as security.
2. The placement has also enhanced the delivery of the curriculum by
integrating contemporary examples of good practice in database
development and design.
37
38
Worcester College of Technology
Carl Flint, Vice Principal (Corporate Services), Worcester College of Technology.
This article describes how one general FE college fosters the development and
celebration of scholarly activity across all college staff.
Introduction
At the time of the HEFCE Total Quality Enhancement Fund initiative (2006), I
submitted a category within the overall College application which related to
Scholarly Activity. This was in response at the time to:•
•
•
•
Promoting the college particularly with respect to HE
Celebrating the achievements of staff pertaining to their professionalism
outside of ‘the classroom’
Attempting to reward staff for their contribution to the wider context of
education and training
Promoting the opportunity to all staff to produce work which would be
supported through the scholarly activity initiative.
After gaining approval from my colleagues for this initiative I contacted all staff
through the College email. Perhaps not unsurprisingly all of the feedback was
from academic staff and the Head of Information Systems. However all staff were
informed.
Publications approved were for nationally-recognised text books, chapters within
textbooks (as co-authors), a paperback, a publication supporting an exhibition
and a research paper for the Centre of Excellence in Leadership (CEL). Initially
payments ranging from £100 to £250 were made to 11 staff. 3 staff were from
support areas i.e. head of information services, ILT development officer and a
study centre assistant. The remainder were from academics teaching Higher
Education.
The following year it was recognised that probably the majority of staff with
publications had been rewarded and thus a new category of ‘presentations at
National Conferences’ was added (excluding members of the senior leadership
team). However 8 publications were approved and 5 staff rewarded for their
presentations.
In the final year of TQEF there were no publications but 11 staff were rewarded
for their presentations at national events.
Over the three-year period the range of materials approved was considerable
such as Accountancy, Art History, Interior Design, Law, Modern Psychology,
Personal Development, Marketing, Information Learning technologies and
incorporating differentiation into lesson plans.
39
What happened as a result?
All the staff rewarded over the years were grateful for their small ‘bonus’. The
response to requests to submit material was good although the total range of
staff submitting was under 30 in total. The same staff were often active in
presenting as well as publishing. Only a very few applications were turned down.
The scheme did identify some colleagues who had either not read the email, or
thought it not worth applying to be awarded because of information from their
colleagues, e.g. ‘Roger has written loads of accountancy stuff on auditing!’ I then
contacted them suggesting they might like to apply. Members of the Executive
were excluded to remove any accusations of nepotism. The Scholarly Activity
booklet has been well received and overall I believe the work put in to this
initiative has created a culture of support for HE activity in a very difficult
financially constrained FE environment. The booklet can be downloaded from the
HEA website.
Background – the Information prepared for Worcester College staff.
Scholarly Activity 2006 to 2009
Outline
The HEFCE Total Quality Enhancement Fund allocations are £2k per annum up
to and including the 08-09 academic year. In the submission to the fund I
allocated £2k pa to scholarly activity. This is an initiative to promote the College
in an area of activity FE is not traditionally known for.
It is also suggested that some College staff would see this as an opportunity for
personal and professional development, again the College would benefit through
the staff that wish to extend their professional activities and utilise their research
activity in their teaching.
It is intended that an annual report is made to the Governing Body, LLN and our
partner HE institutions on WCT’s Scholarly Activity.
Correspondence to all staff
I would like to make all staff aware of an opportunity that has arisen whereby a
small sum of money can be awarded to you for your published work.
The objective here is to promote the College through the excellent work of staff.
One method of promoting the College would be through articles in the popular
education press e.g. The Times Ed. However there are hundreds of journals
covering all aspects of professional activity plus magazines, and newsletters
from non-government organisations which would be equally appropriate.
40
Therefore this opportunity is open to all staff within the College whether in a
support role or directly teaching and administering the learning process.
A non-teaching example I recently thought of, was for a colleague to write an
article on the College’s Fairtrade experience, this could be submitted to the CoOp Magazine which always includes articles on environmental issues and
Fairtrade. The magazine is sent to all Co-operative members across the country.
If colleagues could email or speak with me with any ideas they may have I will be
happy to advise further.
The following list of frequently asked questions may help
How many words does the article need to be? Choice is yours - sometimes
journals publish a max and min, best to contact the journal and find out specifics
Is this to be done in my own time or can I use my time in College as well? This is
additional money to be paid through the normal PAYE system and is about work
you are doing in your own time. However it is recognised that data and
documents etc you have used or need to develop in College may be part of your
normal duties. This in-work element cannot interfere with your normal duties.
How much money would I get paid from the College? Once agreed up to £100
gross. Up to £300 max gross depending how widespread you can get the work
published.
Who does it get handed in to? Where would it be published? Will my name be on
it? Initially to myself and then for you once agreement has been reached to
send off to whatever journal, editor., e.g., Times Ed, title Supporting dyslexic
learners through Equine studies Jo Brown Head of Equine Studies Worcester
College of Technology. Any articles intending to be submitted I will summarise
and forward to my colleagues on the Exec for approval.
Does it need to be an academic piece of writing e.g. Harvard referenced etc, yes
but don’t go OTT check- out the expectation of the journal. However you might
like any good journalist modify the doc appropriate to the audience.
Can I submit my degree or other academic work? First check out whether you
have the ‘copyright’ to do so.
I am writing a book, will you help me financially? Yes within the rules and regs
above - the key here is, is the College being positively promoted?
Appendix 3
41
The College Survey Questionnaire
The purpose of this survey is to explore current definitions of scholarly activity, working
towards a definition which is more appropriate to teaching HE in FE and which may have
wider applicability in the developing HE landscape. The research findings will contribute
to the current debate about the nature of scholarship. Examples of good practice will be
identified from both the teacher and the learner’s point of view. The requirements of
employers and other organisations such as professional bodies will also be relevant.
More specifically, the questionnaire will address:
• the definitions of scholarly activity currently applied by validating institutions
• whether or not there are inconsistencies in the definitions
• their usefulness as definitions
• alternative / supplementary definitions applied by Colleges e.g. ongoing
professional CPD
• staff development policies which encourage staff teaching at a higher level to
obtain higher degrees or other qualifications.
• policies within the Colleges which promote scholarly activity (however this is
defined)
• mechanisms which ensure that the requirements of professional body
membership are integrated with scholarly activity
• examples of work being undertaken as scholarly activity and how it is delivered in
a College setting
• impact measures to assess the benefits to students of the approach taken to
scholarly activity by the College.
• involvement of employers in staff CPD, e.g. staff work placement, involvement in
employer work panels.
In all cases, the nature of the activity, what is being done, and the process that makes it
happen, is more important than details of individual tutors.
The survey is split over seven sections, and may require liaison with the HR Director at
your college. Please allow sufficient time to complete it. We would be grateful if you
would submit your response to the survey by 5pm on Friday 25 September 2009.
If you have any queries about the content of this survey, please contact AoC's Higher
Education Policy Manager, Madeleine King ([email protected] or 020 7034
9972). If you would like to clarify any of your responses by including relevant extracts
from supporting documentation, please email this separately to Madeleine at her e-mail
address.
If you have any technical queries about the survey, please contact AoC's Research
Officer, Geeta Patel ([email protected] or 020 7034 9914).
Thank you for your time. Your details will remain strictly anonymous.
1. Contact details
Section 1: Survey information
42
Name of college:
Contact name:
Position:
Email:
Scholarly Activity in
2. College type:
(please select from the drop-down box)
3. College region:
(please select from the drop-down box)
2. College Profile
Mixed Economy Group Scholarly Activity in
How many HE full-time equivalent (FTE) students did your College have in
2007/08? (Please include ALL funded HE FTEs - e.g., HEFCE-funded
provision, NHS provision, franchised provision and LSC-funded provision)
100 - 249
250 - 499
500 - 749
750 - 999
More than 1,000
In broad terms, in 2007/08 what percentage of your College's HE FTEs
were:
Honours students:
Post-graduate students:
Foundation Degree students:
Higher National students:
Non-Prescribed Higher Education (NPHE)
students:
Less than 100
How many FE FTE students did your College have in 2007/08?
(please include all FE provision)
Section 2: Activity in
3. College data
Does your College have a definition of scholarly activity?
Yes
No
If yes to the above, what is your College's definition of scholarly activity?
43
What is the definition of scholarly activity that is applied by your current
validating HEI? (If you have more than one validating institution, please
state each definition, but send relevant extracts from supporting
documentation if you have many such arrangements as this may be easier
than writing multiple definitions).
If your College has more than one validating institution, are those
definitions consistent:
with each other
with your College definition
If there are inconsistencies in the definitions, what are they?
(e.g. between basic principles or between subjects)
Section 3: Existing definitions of scholarly activity
What is the impact of inconsistent definitions of scholarly activity on each
of the following situations: (Please comment on each issue)
Allocation of staff time to various activities, e.g. teaching, preparation,
student support:
Staff professional development in parent profession:
Staff development as a teacher:
Taught hours per week for students:
Contact time for staff:
College and HEI working relationships in terms of the development of
scholarly activity:
Contact with employers:
Is there any variation between subjects in terms of the level of scholarly
activity that is expected and therefore how the subject is supported within
the College?
Yes
No
(This section relates specifically to staff who teach HE programmes.)
What percentage of your teaching staff have a qualification higher than the
qualification that they are delivering?
0 - 20%
21 - 40%
41 - 60%
61 - 80%
81 - 100%
Does the College require teaching staff to possess a qualification higher
than the one that they are delivering?
Yes No
Is the achievement of higher qualifications by staff:
44
(Please tick one box in each row)
encouraged as part of personal development
made a requirement by the validating university?

How does your College ensure that HE staff are up-to-date in terms of their
knowledge of their subject?
With reference to your current staff teaching on HE programmes, what
percentage obtained their qualification through College-funded staff
development?
Section 4: Staff development
0 - 20%
21 - 40%
41 - 60%
61 - 80%
81 - 100%
What support for staff development is available from your validating
HEI(s)?
Linked CPD with a partner HEI:
“Community of Practice” arrangements with
local HE providers or other colleges:
College-funded activities delivered by another
HE agency such as HELP CETL or HEA:
Please give details of how your College supports Continuing Professional
Development (CPD) for staff delivering HE in FE in terms of each of the
following:
Encouraging and supporting other activities,
e.g., work as a QAA assessor:
Employer/sector activities (such as industrial
secondments, projects directly associated with
subject, etc):
What internal arrangements does your College have for the promotion of
scholarly activity? (Please tick all that apply)
Reduced contact time for CPD
Payment of fees for all higher degrees, etc
Research conferences, etc
Other, such as industrial secondments
If 'other', please specify
How do staff maintain the standards expected by their own professional
bodies whilst in College employment?
(Please tick all that apply)
College funds staff to maintain professional body membership or “licence to practice”
Staff are funded by the College to attend CPD arranged by their professional body
Staff are allocated time for industrial placement/visits
Staff are encouraged to contribute to professional body activities e.g. committee membership etc
Staff are supported in working as examiners etc for their professional body
Other
If 'other', please specify
45
It would be helpful to have examples of what is currently being undertaken
by HE in FE teaching staff as scholarly activity, with a note as to the
rationale behind the work. If you have any examples, please give details
below:
(e.g. academic qualifications, professional body awards, professional
updating, professional body requirements, HEI requirements, etc)
What makes it possible for this scholarly activity to be undertaken in
College time?
(Please tick all that apply)
Section 6: Examples of scholarly activity undertaken in a Staff are given
reduced teaching timetables
Support is available from a designated College staff development fund
Funds can be obtained by bidding into internal funds for staff development
Staff are expected to undertake such activity in their own time
Funds are obtained from external bodies e.g. HEI, employers
Economy Group of Colleges'
Who else could offer additional support that would be helpful to HE in FE
staff, in terms of undertaking scholarly activity?
(Please tick all that apply)
Higher Education Academy (HEA)
Foundation Degree Forward (fdf)
Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETLs)
Mixed Economy Group (MEG)
Association for Collaborative Provision of HE in FE (ACP)
Association of Colleges (AoC)
Employers
Other If 'other', please specify
Do the professional bodies have a role in supporting continuing
professional development in colleges?
Yes
No
If 'yes' to the above, how might they do this?
(Please tick all that apply)
Providing work shadowing opportunities
Providing bursaries
CPD provided for and by the profession itself
Other
If 'other', please specify
Economy Group of Colleges' n
Do you measure the impact of the scholarly activity undertaken by your HE
in FE staff upon HE in FE students?
Yes
No
If Yes to the above, how do you measure the impact?
46
(Please tick all that apply)
Interviews with part-time and full-time students
Focus groups
Annual surveys
External awards to students
Exam results
External Examiner reports
Particular project outcomes
Other
If 'other', please specify
Please quote some examples of how you have measured the impact of the
scholarly activity undertaken by your HE in FE staff upon part-time and fulltime HE in FE students:
Is the impact of scholarly activity undertaken by HE in FE staff easier to
evidence in some subjects/sectors than others?
Please give details below:
Section 7: Impact measures
Please provide details of any other information, not covered by the
questions in the survey, that you think may be helpful:
47
Appendix 4
Focus Group outline used by the National Union of Students
Scholarly Activity in HE in FE :Student Strand
Introduction
This report pulls together the feedback collected at the four focus groups conducted as
part of the student strand of the Scholarly Activity research project.
Participants were asked to consider the following questions:
1. Is your teacher’s subject knowledge up-to-date?
2. How has your teacher gained knowledge of their subject – through work, study, or
both? Do the qualifications and experience of your teacher matter to you?
3. Consider the different teaching methods you have experienced on your course.
Which teaching methods do you prefer?
4. As a HE learner in an FE college, are you able to influence the content of your
course? If so, how do you have an influence?
5. Do you feel that your course represents value for money?
6. How is studying at an FE college different from studying at a university/higher
education institution? What are the advantages of studying at a college?
A note on how the questions worked in the focus group setting:
1.
In its original format, question one was found to be “closed” in that it very quickly
led to a straight “yes”, “no” or “don’t know” answer. To promote further discussion,
the following prompts were added:
•
•
What current industry examples does your teacher use?
What current case studies have you been introduced to on your course?
2.
Nothing to add
3.
Nothing to add
4.
This question was broadened out to allow participants to consider the ways in
which they were able to provide feedback about their learning experience, and
whether or not they perceived this feedback to be taken into account or acted upon.
5.
In future, this question will probably need to be better contextualised. In its
current format, it didn’t appear to help shed any light on students’ experience of
48
teaching and learning. For example, many students were on part-time HE courses
paid for by their employer, so their concept of “value for money” no doubt differs
from a student who is paying for their own course.
6.
This question was problematic for those students who have never studied at a
HEI. As such, a further question was added:
• What’s unique about studying at a college?
The groups consisted of a diverse range of students studying HE courses in an FE
setting. Across four colleges, a total of 56 students participated in the focus groups.
Of these, 30 were full-time students, and 26 were part-time.
The range of courses being undertaken by the participants included:
•
Foundation Degree in Education & Administration
• Foundation Degree in Early Childhood Studies
• HNC in Construction
• BA (Hons) in Business Management
• Foundation Degree in Business Operations
• Foundation Degree in Housing
• Foundation Degree in Photography
• Foundation Degree in Hospitality and Tourism
• Foundation Degree in Culinary Arts
• Foundation Degree in Rural Environmental Management
• HNC in Business & Management
• HND in Business & Management
• Foundation Degree Teaching in the Lifelong Learner Sector
• Foundation Degree in Criminal Justice
• Foundation Degree in Business & Internet Technologies
• BA (hons) Business, Administration & Management Top-up
• PGCE in Post-Compulsory Education
Responses
Up-to-date subject knowledge
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Some participants were introduced to recent industry magazines and journals,
and perceived therefore that their teachers’ knowledge was up-to-date.
Some teachers had worked in relevant industry previously, and used practical
anecdotes from their time in industry to supplement the teaching of theory. This
was combined with recent examples from the media.
The range of example used gave some of the students’ confidence in the
knowledge of their teachers.
Some participants cited awareness of recent legislation as a key gauge of how
up-to-date their teachers’ subject knowledge was.
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Some of the part-time students already working in industry noted that sharing
best practice amongst peers was of equal importance to hearing examples of
best practice from a teacher.
However, some participants noted that teachers were using examples and
materials which were over 5 years old, and were concerned that this
demonstrated a lack of up-to-date knowledge
Some participants noted that they were encouraged to use up-to-date journal
articles in their assignments, but that they were not introduced to up-to-date
sources in class
Conversely, other participants felt that tutors used case studies as an active tool
to help them with assignments
Assignments are often structured around examples of practical activity in the
relevant field.
Some participants noted that theory was illustrated through recent case studies
and journal articles
Teachers clearly watched the news and were able to provide feedback on recent
industry developments
Students were enabled to work with “live clients” as if actually running a business
Teachers carry out research and feed back the findings
Teachers use the most up-to-date information in order to encourage students to
do the same in their assignments
In one focus group of full-time students, participants debated the importance of
very up-to-date examples. Participants concluded that some subjects demanded
the most recent case studies and examples, whereas for other subjects this may
not be necessary. For example, for Internet Technologies, tools and resources
have to be the most recent version. However for law-based subjects, case-law
may be old, but still the most up-to-date available. In these instances, tutors can
give up-to-date examples of the application of case-law, and participants had
experienced this.
Some noted that tutors visited relevant companies and organisations in order to
gather recent examples from industry
Participants who were on teacher training courses noted that their tutors were in
continuous professional practice as they taught on a regular basis. Learners
noted that they were therefore able to observe “industry examples” every time
they were taught.
Some teacher training students felt that they would benefit from observing
practice from a cross section of staff across the college (rather than just their own
teachers)
Students felt that their learning experience was enriched when they were
introduced to something not on the curriculum, but still relevant to the subject.
Knowledge acquisition: work, study or both?
• Some participants thought that a teaching qualification and teaching skills were
more important than how their teachers’ subject knowledge was acquired
• Some thought that both industry experience and an academic background
were of equal importance
• Previous experience of study enables teachers to relate to students
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• Previous industry experience enables teachers to help students into work
• Further, it was noted that previous experience in industry provided teachers
with valuable contacts. In turn, this enabled teachers to help students into work
• Some participants thought it would be reassuring to know if their teachers were
continuously updating their teaching skills, but were unaware about whether this
was happening
• Some participants were aware that their teachers went to conferences in order
to update subject knowledge
• Some participants thought that colleges should do more to help staff update
their teaching skills
• Students sometimes become aware of the academic background and work
background of their teachers through anecdotes, “e.g. When I worked at…” or
“When I was at university…”.
• Some students on directly vocational courses thought it was essential that their
teachers had worked in a directly relevant industry
• Some teachers start out in practice, become part-time teachers, and then
slowly diminish the practice side and become full-time teachers. It’s important
that they maintain links to practice though
• Some part-time students already work in a particular sector, and go to college
to gain theoretical knowledge relevant to their role. In this case, it’s important for
tutors to be more “academic”
• For some participants, it was clear that tutors carried out research in their
spare time
• Some teachers put recent research findings on college VLE
• Some students were encouraged by the fact that their teachers were members
of relevant professional bodies
• It was noted by some participants that a teacher’s CPD is not something that
students would either be aware of, or able to comment upon. Likewise, students
did not necessarily understand the structure of teaching qualifications and
training (unless they were training to work in the sector)
• In ICT-based subjects, some students thought that poor college ICT facilities
had the most profound effect on their acquisition of up-to-date examples, rather
than teachers’ knowledge
• Industry experience warrants a high level of respect for teachers amongst
students
Teaching methods
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For many part-time students who are studying on a course directly connected to
their job, their learning experience is very classroom-based
Both part-time and full-time student participants appreciated a variety of teaching
methods, and appreciated the interactive component of their lessons, e.g. group
discussion
Some participants disliked being shown slides without any further explanation or
opportunity for discussion
Most participants noted that there wasn’t a singular most effective method of
teaching, and that different methods suited the different personalities and styles
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of different teachers. Above all, participants appreciated clear preparation,
confidence, and openness in their teachers. They also appreciated teachers who
promoted discussion
Group discussions should however be guided by a teacher’s knowledge
The prevalence of small group teaching in FECs was highlighted as a key feature
of their teaching which encouraged discussion. Some of the students said that
they preferred their normal small groups of 2 to 10 to the larger (though rarer)
courses with lectures of 50-100.
There was concern amongst some students that their course did not have as
many of the practical elements which they had expected.
Pre-defined expectations around course content may lead to pre-defined
expectations about teaching methods and styles. Frustrations about teaching
methods may simply be linked to (false) expectations not being met
Teacher training students noted that teachers are obligated to cater to different
learning styles, and that staff are offered development and training on learning
styles and how to differentiate their teaching methods
College was recognised as a learning environment where 1-2-1 support between
teacher and student was readily available
Some students thought that, where universities are creating examination and
assessment content and criteria, this placed their counterparts in universities at
an advantage. There was a perception that students in universities may get
“inside knowledge” of exams.
Students’ influence on teaching & learning
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Some students had Class/Course Reps to whom they provided feedback, others
did not know if they had such a rep
Students were asked to fill in feedback questionnaires but were not sure if their
comments had any impact
Some students were concerned about the anonymity of questionnaires, and were
concerned that their handwriting may be recognised
Some students completed weekly questionnaires in tutorials
Some students noted that feedback had been taken on board and had heard
about the impact through those students in the year below them
Some students felt that informal methods for gathering their views about the
course were positive, and that they were encouraged to provide continuous
informal feedback
Some students were encouraged by their course tutors to raise issues over email
Some students were encouraged to go to the course leader to provide feedback
Some students were very positive about the responsiveness of direct feedback to
tutors or lecturers seeing this as the key way to resolve any issues. The same
students felt ambivalent about the impact that formal feedback mechanisms had.
While informal routes seemed for many students to work well, some expressed
concern with their inability to escalate issues as these seemed not to be
addressed by the management of the college.
Within one college, there was no parity across departments in terms of surveying
students about their experiences. Students in some departments were heavily
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surveyed for their opinions about courses, whilst other students had never seen a
questionnaire.
Personal tutors were generally recognised as a valued route to raising issues and
providing feedback.
Some students felt that their counterparts studying at university may have more
influence over course content and curriculum
Some participants felt that HE courses should be standardised in order for those
studying HE in FE to gain exactly the same qualification as their counterparts
studying in universities. It was felt that courses should be standardised in order to
give a consistent offer to potential employers.
Students were positive about having been visited by staff from their accrediting
universities, and were able to provide feedback at these visits.
Value for money
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Not relevant to some students – course paid for by employer
Two days per week contact time did not represent “value for money” for some
students
However, two days per week allows flexibility and enables students to work
alongside. Some of the students said that although their course was ‘full time’,
being in college only three days per week allowed them to work enough to afford
study at the same time: this was particularly important to students studying in
order to progress in a chosen career as they were able to work in that industry
alongside studying.
University students may have more spare time – there is more of a culture in
colleges of students who also work
Course is supposed to encourage adult independent learning, but students
teaching themselves does not represent value for money
Courses are expensive for international students
The course is value for money as it’s accredited by a university
The expectations of international students are higher because of the price
Many students noted that studying in a college was cheaper than university
Not a choice between college and university, as most students who study HE in a
college couldn’t go to university for some reason
Some students expressed concern about the additional costs of materials and
travel which did not represent good value for money.
‘Value for money’ can be defined in very different ways. It could be, for example,
getting a job at the end of your course. HE provision at college was recognised
as a route out of poverty for some participants.
‘Value for money’ is a complex concept, and some students were not aware of
the level of government subsidy of their courses.
Differences between studying in college or university
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Some specialist courses are only delivered at college, so there isn’t a choice
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At college, students appreciate being taught in smaller groups. Less formal and
more personal
College tutors are more “real world” than university academics
Timetable at college allows flexibility. Some students said that their course which
involved being on site only three days per week would be taught over five days at
a university limiting the opportunity for paid work.
Some students applied to college as they didn’t think they would be accepted by
a university
College allows more time to spend with family, and fits in with childcare
College experience is more personalised
Feel more at ease in smaller groups – college caters for this
College allows students to get to know their peers more easily
A disadvantage to studying at college is that you’re not considered a university
student by wider society. Some students also said that they did not feel that their
nearby awarding university considered them ‘proper students’ in terms of access
to resources such as the library.
Concern that employers would favour those who’ve been to university
At college, students get to mix with a more diverse range of people. It’s the
students’ diverse backgrounds and experience which makes college unique
College is more supportive to students
Some international students attend college as it’s in partnership with their home
university
Some students hadn’t been to university so couldn’t examine the difference
Some students did not think they would fit into university culture, and so preferred
college
A number of participants said that the added value of a university was the social
experience which they were not interested in. They said that, being older, and
having chosen to return to study they weren’t looking for that element of the
student experience.
Some students attend college as, for various reasons, they need to stay in their
local area
College enables a second chance at learning
Some participants perceived a focus on academia amongst university lecturers.
Not taught any study skills at university (unlike college)
college enables a progression from FE to HE with the support of the same tutors,
the same familiar faces, etc
Some students appreciated the location of their college which, in the case of
land-based activities, was much better than that which they associated with
universities in cities.
One participant thought that studying at college was much less alienating than
studying at university, and remarked that new universities in particular offered an
impersonal experience to students.
Better pastoral care at college.
Some participants felt that teaching is the first priority of colleges, whereas
research is the first priority of universities. They felt therefore that they were
having a much more positive experience of teaching and learning at college than
they would at university.
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It was noted that colleges tailored their provision to the needs of students. In
some cases, classes were moved to a more convenient time for the students.