links to statistical data for this sector:
Quality Indicator data from inspections
Subject review grades summary 2000-04
College review grades summary 2000-04
1.1 The college sector
Scotland’s colleges provide learners with opportunities to develop personal skills and skills for employment, enabling them to contribute to the economy and the wider social and cultural environment and to enhance their own quality of life. They have motivated a wide cross-section of our society to become lifelong learners.
Colleges operate in widely varying social, economic and geographical environments. They have adopted a responsive and flexible approach in expanding and broadening provision to satisfy the demands of employers and communities in continually changing economic and social circumstances, and to meet the needs of learners from a range of backgrounds. The sector has expanded to the extent that in 2005 almost one in ten Scots participated in activities offered by Scotland’s colleges. Some colleges serve scattered and diverse rural populations. Others operate from urban locations, with most learners coming from within a relatively small area. Most colleges offer a broad curriculum but a number specialise in particular subject areas and draw learners from across Scotland and beyond. Recent consolidation in the sector has had the effect of reducing the overall number of colleges from 46 to 43.
Students access college learning through community-based centres, work places, distance learning, and online packages as well as in the more traditional settings of classrooms, workshops and laboratories on a main campus. A number of colleges have new, modern accommodation. Others operating from older buildings on well-established campuses have plans at advanced stages of development to improve their learning and teaching accommodation.
Colleges are funded by the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council (SFC) and also gain other income through contracts with employers and other agencies, for example to carry out government-funded training. Some colleges, in particular those which are partners in the University of the Highlands and Islands Millennium Institute, offer a range of degree programmes and research opportunities for learners.
Details on HMIE findings in the college sector are available in annual reports19 published by HMIE to provide an analysis of the findings of that year’s reviews, and an overview20 of findings across all years of the review cycle to date.
1.2 Key strengths Key strengths of the college sector include the following.
1.3 Aspects for improvement This report identifies the following key themes as aspects for further improvement in the college sector. Self-evaluation and its impact
Sharing of good practice
Learning and teaching
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Introduction
The Scottish Executive’s five-year strategy for lifelong learning, Life through Learning: Learning through Life (Scottish Executive, 2003), recognises the important role that Scotland’s colleges play in driving change in Scotland’s society and the Scottish economy, in developing in learners the range of skills they require to participate fully as citizens in society, and in preparing learners for their role in supporting economic development in Scotland. In recent years, Scotland’s colleges have increased numbers of learners in the sector and implemented a range of flexible strategies which have supported learners in their lifelong learning.
2.1 Learner outcomes
Typically, colleges provide education and training from level 1 to level 8 in the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). Some offer programmes of study at higher levels, usually in conjunction with a partner HEI. In colleges, formal attainment is accredited by various awarding bodies, but predominantly through the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA). The SFC publishes annually an analysis of learner attainment from returns made by colleges on retention rates, and unit and programme attainment rates.21
A key area of economic development in which colleges play an important role is in supporting workforce development. One way in which colleges contribute to this is through the delivery of Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQ) programmes to Skillseekers, Modern Apprentices and others in a broad range of subjects.
Most learners in Scotland’s colleges have a positive learning experience and achieve and progress well. In practical subjects, learners often develop vocational skills at levels above the minimum required. In part-time further education (FE) and higher education (HE) programmes most learners complete the programme and attain the relevant named award. As well as attaining formal qualifications, learners develop further their core skills, personal skills, vocational skills and other skills for employability during their time in a college.
However, attendance, retention and completion rates are still poor in many programmes. In some cases, learners either withdraw from their programme early or attend classes infrequently or irregularly. This often contributes to low programme attainment.
A minority of learners do not develop their core skills well, sometimes because of insufficient contextualisation, coverage or integration within programmes. Where this occurs, it often contributes to low participation in lessons and associated poor attainment. In more than a few cases learners’ literacy and numeracy skills are developed reactively rather than as part of a programme of systematic and sustained development of skills.22 Over the last four years of review, evaluations show that there is still considerable room for improvement in providing learners with the best possible opportunities to learn and to achieve. The SFC is promoting a quality enhancement theme on learner retention and achievement to encourage colleges to adopt measures which will improve these aspects.
Student achievement
Distribution of quality indicator evaluations in college sector subject reviews, 2000-2004.
2.2 The views of learners
An analysis of the views of learners23 identified several factors which learners consider to be influential to their overall progress and achievement. These factors include the quality of teaching and approachability of teaching staff, ethos and group dynamics, the design and organisational aspects of programmes, the availability of appropriate guidance, induction and support, and the extent of the match between learning preferences of learners and teaching approaches. In respect of all these factors, learners in Scotland’s colleges have consistently expressed favourable views on their experiences, with staff commitment and effective support seen as particularly strong features of college life.
3.1 Learning and teaching
Within most college environments, the use of a wide range of stimulating learning and teaching approaches fosters and maintains the interest of learners. Most teaching staff take appropriate account of learners’ prior learning and experience in adapting the pace and level of learning to meet learner needs. Staff help learners, including mature students and adult returners, to improve self-confidence and skills for employability. In most cases, staff also challenge learners to achieve beyond the minimum level required for completion of their programme.
Over the four-year review cycle ending in 2004, much sector-leading and innovative practice was identified to support improvements in further education. A selection of these examples reflecting learning and teaching practice worthy of dissemination, may be explored on the HMIE website.
However, teaching staff occasionally adopt minimalist approaches such as teaching almost exclusively to assessment demands. Where excessive or inappropriate assessment practices are applied, these often serve to obstruct rather than aid learning. They also burden students and demotivate staff. In a few cases, learners are not fully engaged in the learning process and teaching staff do not take the opportunity to deploy an appropriate range of teaching methods. In a few cases, imaginative use of ICT has enhanced the learning process. However, limitations in staff familiarity and expertise, insufficiently varied approaches to the use of ICT and occasionally limited access to ICT adversely affect learning experiences.
Teaching and learning process
Distribution of quality indicator evaluations in college sector subject reviews, 2000-2004.
In most subjects, learners benefit from engagement with well-qualified staff who have up-to-date professional expertise, supported by effective continuing professional development. In most subjects, staff provide effective guidance and support for learning. However, in a few cases, ineffective career review and continuous professional development leave subject staff poorly equipped to provide learners with the help and support they need for a relevant, rich and rewarding learning experience.
Signpost to improvement in learning and teaching
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3.2 Programmes
All colleges offer flexible programmes in a range of subject disciplines. Many colleges promote a broad range of flexible learning opportunities in various locations. The delivery of programmes at times and in locations convenient to learners encourages a wide range of participants to enrol and complete programmes of study. Almost all colleges offer distance-learning programmes and are developing an increasing range of online learning materials. In a few colleges, the range of programmes offered on a flexible basis is narrow and does not offer sufficient learner choice. Many staff in colleges use strong links with external agencies to incorporate work-based experiences, fieldwork and project work within curriculum delivery. Many colleges deliver programmes in adult literacy and numeracy and pre-vocational skills through effective partnership working with local authority departments and community agencies. Links with community learning and with social work are particularly strong in a number of colleges, and facilitate education in the community for disadvantaged groups of learners. Links which colleges have established with schools provide pupils with learning experiences which are not available in school contexts. Practical difficulties including transport and the problems of aligning timetables among several schools and their local college occasionally create barriers to effective collaboration between schools and colleges. Partnerships between colleges and HEIs provide learners with clear and often well-integrated progression pathways to degrees.
3.3 Access and inclusion; guidance and support
Collaborative activities with a wide range of partners have encouraged stronger participation rates leading to enhanced work-based learning opportunities and improved progression routes for learners. Improved guidance and support arrangements have contributed to learners having positive learning experiences overall and have helped develop their skills for lifelong learning.
Colleges have played an important role in improving access and inclusion for a broad range of learners. Strong teamworking, partnership, shared commitment to success, good rapport and mutual respect all contribute to the quality of access and inclusion. Student enrolments in colleges increased by around 20% between 1995 and 2000. Since 2001, fundable activity within the sector has not increased significantly, and there has been a small decline in individual enrolments.
Access and inclusion
Distribution of quality indicator evaluations in college sector college reviews, 2000-2004.
In recent years, colleges have invested heavily in expanding and developing their guidance and support services to help learners. These overarching services have become increasingly accessible to all learners at all points in their learning experience. They have provided induction and pre-entry screening arrangements, referral systems for staff and learners, and ongoing monitoring of learner progress. In a few instances, guidance and support arrangements in colleges have not supported the early intervention necessary to sustain learner retention and achievement.
Signpost to improvement in guidance and support
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3.4 Resources
Recent improvements in college accommodation and investment in up-to-date equipment and materials have provided learners with stimulating learning environments and essential modern facilities. In most instances, the classroom and workshop ethos is positive and the atmosphere in which students learn is friendly, relaxed, informal yet purposeful, and conducive to learning. In a few cases, poor or insufficient accommodation and outdated or inadequate equipment provide a serious disincentive to learners and have contributed to poor retention and attainment rates.
4.1 Leadership
In most colleges, effective educational leadership and good communication keep staff throughout the organisation well informed about key priorities, aims and objectives.
Appropriate mission, vision and value statements, often placing the learner at the centre,
are usually well understood by staff. In most colleges, productive partnerships are in place between college staff and employers, community organisations and other educational institutions such as universities and schools. Partnerships at strategic and operational level inform managers about stakeholder needs. Other partnerships with employers and community groups support the learning process and help to develop learners’ skills for employability and citizenship.
Educational leadership and direction
Distribution of quality indicator evaluations in college sector college reviews, 2000-2004.
At the operational level, a range of posts and responsibilities ensure the implementation of plans for the delivery of the curriculum in a range of modes. In most colleges, the planning process is well established and comprehensive, with clearly defined strategic priorities and operational targets. Generally, operational plans relate well to colleges’ strategic aims. However, target setting is often insufficiently specific, and milestones and responsibilities are not clearly identified, limiting opportunities for colleges to implement effective action planning to bring about improvement.
4.2 Capacity to improve
In most colleges, quality assurance and improvement arrangements have developed and become more comprehensive over the past four years. Where programme teams have implemented rigorous and well-informed self-evaluation processes, this has often led to improvements in the learner experience. Similarly, where programme teams evaluate learning and teaching and share good practice in teaching approaches, this often leads to individual staff adopting more effective methods.
Most colleges collect evidence from learners, employers and other stakeholders in order to evaluate the level of client satisfaction. More than a few colleges also recognise the important contribution that non-teaching functions make to the learner experience and have extended self-evaluation and improvement processes to all areas impacting on learning and teaching.
A number of specific benefits have accrued from self-evaluation and improvement activity including:
However, despite developments in quality improvement arrangements over the last few years, weaknesses are still prevalent in the approaches of some programme teams and colleges to quality assurance and improvement activities.
Reviewers find that programme teams often:
Quality assurance and improvement
Distribution of quality indicator evaluations in college sector subject reviews, 2000-2004.
Signpost to improvement in quality assurance and improvement
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Weaknesses at college level in quality improvement often relate to:
Quality improvement
Distribution of quality indicator evaluations in college sector college reviews, 2000-2004.
In recent years most colleges have demonstrated increased maturity in developing and implementing systems and procedures to help deliver effective learning experiences for a wide and expanding range of learners, and to meet the needs of society and the economy. Overall, colleges are well placed to build on current strengths and enhance further the experiences of learners.