Higher Education Quality Council
HEQC OVERSEAS PARTNERSHIP AUDITS
UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH
and
BUSINESS CENTRE OF ATHENS, GREECE
DECEMBER 1996
ISBN 1 85824 339 4
PREFACE
The Higher Education Quality Council (HEQC) is collectively owned by the universities, colleges and other higher education institutions in the United Kingdom. Established in 1992, the Council contributes to the maintenance and improvement of the quality and standards of the teaching, learning and student assessment for which these institutions are responsible, wherever and however academic programmes are offered. With this objective, HEQC undertakes regular academic quality audits of individual institutions to review the operation and effectiveness of arrangements for assuring quality and standards.
Quality audits also cover the arrangements which institutions use to assure the quality and standards of their awards and programmes offered in collaboration with other partners, both within and outside the UK. As part of this process, HEQC has extended the scope of audit to include visits to the overseas partners of UK institutions, thus enabling the same enquiries to be made outside the UK concerning arrangements for quality assurance and the safeguarding of standards of the academic awards made by UK institutions.
A pilot programme of visits was undertaken between April and June 1996 to a sample of overseas partner institutions offering programmes leading to the awards of 15 UK institutions. This initiative has been designed to consolidate confidence in the work of British universities and colleges operating outside the UK.
These audit enquiries were assisted by the publication in November 1995 of HEQC's Code of Practice for Overseas Collaborative Provision in Higher Education. This offers guidance on good practice and a framework within which institutions can review and consider their current and future activities. The Code of Practice has been widely welcomed and has been used as a common point of reference for the pilot programme of overseas visits.
Although the Code assisted audit enquiries, we do not claim that it is a definitive check list. Audit teams did not use the pilot visits to 'measure' participating UK institutions' compliance with the Code, since it was recognised that institutions might be reviewing their practice following the appearance of Code. The Code of Practice has been revised in the light of the findings from the pilot visits, and comments received from UK institutions and their partners.
UK universities and colleges who volunteered to participate in the pilot programme of overseas visits did so with the agreement of their overseas partners. The participating institutions covered a range of collaborative links, involving a variety of subjects, programmes and awards.
This report is one of 20 reports published from the pilot programme. It should be read in conjunction with HEQC's published audit report(s) on the UK partner, reference to which is made in this report. In addition, HEQC has published a separate overview report summarising the general findings from the pilot visits and noting examples of good practice and areas where further development will improve and strengthen current arrangements.
Because the audits were pilots intended in part to test an evolving method, the Council considers that it would be mistaken to use the reports as the basis for unconditional generalisations about overseas partnerships developed by UK institutions.
INTRODUCTION
1 This is a report of an audit, carried out by the Higher Education Quality Council (HEQC), of the quality assurance arrangements for a collaborative partnership between the University of Plymouth and the Business Centre of Athens (hereafter referred to as BCA), for the purpose of offering the University's Certificate and Diploma of Higher Education in Marketing and Business Administration in Greece. It forms part of a series of pilot audits of overseas collaborative partnerships undertaken in 1996. The audit included a visit to the Business Centre of Athens in May 1996. Further information about these audits is contained on the inside front cover of this report. Institutions participating in the pilot audits were invited to provide an up-dating note indicating any developments in the partnership from the time of the audit to the printing of this report. A note, supplied by the University, is attached as an annex to this report.
2 A general description of the University's procedures for the assurance of quality of its teaching and learning provision is contained in HEQC's Quality Audit Report of the University published in December 1994. This audit of the partnership arrangements between the University of Plymouth and BCA examined the policies and procedures used by the University to satisfy itself of the academic quality and standards of its award being offered in Greece.
3 The Council is grateful to the University and to BCA for their assistance and co-operation.
Abbreviations used in this report
4 In this report the following abbreviations are used:
Certificate of Higher Education CertHE
Diploma of Higher Education DipHE
Manager of Academic Partnerships MAP
Plymouth Business School PBS
Throughout this report, reference is made to the 1994 HEQC Quality Audit Report on the University of Plymouth and to the 1995 HEQC Code of Practice for Overseas Collaborative Provision in Higher Education. These are referred to henceforth as 'the 1994 Report' and 'the Code'. Similarly, the General Regulations, Academic Regulations and Notes for Guidance and Validation, Review and Audit Policies of the University of Plymouth are referred to as 'the Regulations' and the 1993 Memorandum of Understanding between the University and the Business Centre of Athens/Athenian Centre of Business Studies is referred to as 'the Memorandum'.
THE AUDIT PROCESS
5 Prior to the audit visit, the University submitted documentation outlining its aims and implementation strategies in relation to the collaborative relationship it has established with BCA. The briefing material was mainly drawn from existing papers. Following its reading of the briefing documentation, the audit team proposed a programme for the visit to BCA and sought additional contextual materials to help it to understand and verify the structure and processes of the University's quality assurance arrangements for its overseas collaborative provision. These additional papers included minutes of committees with quality assurance responsibilities, reports generated during the establishment and the subsequent monitoring of the partnership, further details of assessment arrangements and reports on feedback from students.
6 The audit team which visited BCA on 29 May 1996 consisted of Dr F R Burnet, Professor J E Forbes and Mr J D A McWilliam OBE, auditors. Dr R J Brown and Dr C J Haslam also attended for HEQC. During the course of the visit, the audit team held discussions with a range of individuals and groups at BCA, including its President, members of teaching and support staff and students, and senior members of staff from the University of Plymouth Business School.
THE UNIVERSITY CONTEXT
7 The University has adopted a cautious approach to the development of its overseas collaborative partnership arrangements. In discussions with the audit team, senior members of staff indicated that it was not the University's policy to seek out partnership arrangements, either within the UK or overseas, but that proposals from prospective partners would be viewed on their individual merits. As the 1994 Report noted (paragraph 115), the University of Plymouth identifies two broad categories of arrangements with partner institutions. In 'accredited' partner institutions, the University retains the ultimate responsibility for its awards while delegating the responsibility for the academic management of the programmes of study to the partner. In 'associated' partner institutions, each of the University's validated programmes is linked for purposes of development and oversight to one of the University's faculties. Associate colleges have day-to-day responsibility for the delivery of the programme, whilst the University retains academic oversight and provides advice on delivery, moderation and the comparability of standards.
8 The University has established a post of 'Manager of Academic Partnerships' (MAP) and identified individuals within each faculty to act as link tutors, usually, though not always, from a discipline area related to that of the programme in the associated partner institution. The remit of the MAP, which has been expanded to include responsibility for the development of overseas initiatives, is to ensure that University policy and procedures relative to collaborative provision are implemented in associated partner colleges. The MAP also advises the University on academic quality and resourcing matters and liaises with senior management in partner institutions. The audit team learnt that the MAP had recently visited BCA in connection with another possible collaborative development. It welcomed the way in which the University was drawing upon the expertise and wider experience of the MAP.
Institutional recognition
9. The University does not normally carry out a separate recognition process for each new associated partner institution but undertakes a review of institutional issues at the time of each programme validation (see 1994 Report, paragraph 131). Before any formal arrangement for partnership is agreed, informal discussions and consultation take place with the initial contact, initiated either by the prospective partner, or the University.
The Business Centre of Athens
10 The Business Centre of Athens (BCA) was founded in 1970; in 1996 it operated from three buildings in different parts of Athens. BCA regards itself as the first private institution in Greece to offer specialised courses in shipping and marketing, and the audit team noted that it is currently a significant private provider of business studies in Greece. Most of its students gain a BCA certificate after two years of full-time study. By 1996, more than 12,000 students had completed its programmes of study. In 1992 there were some 550 students enrolled across five faculties with a typical entry age of 18 years. The normal minimum entry grade to programmes of study and courses at BCA is said by BCA to be 65 per cent in the Greek Lyceum final examinations.
BACKGROUND TO THE PARTNERSHIP
11 The partnership between the University of Plymouth and BCA dates from 1988 when the Plymouth Business School (PBS) responded to a letter from BCA regarding student exchanges and credit for programmes being run by BCA. After some four years of inter-institutional contact, the University validated a Certificate of Higher Education (CertHE) in Business Administration to run at BCA from September 1992. A programme leading to a CertHE and Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE) award in Marketing and Business Administration was approved to run at BCA from September 1993. Completion of the DipHE in Athens may allow selected students to enrol for a final year of study at Plymouth, leading to an honours degree in Business Administration or Marketing. BCA students transferring to the PBS for their final year of study may choose to be subject to the University's Credit Award and Transfer Scheme (CATS) regulations. Under these regulations, BCA students can elect for an International Business final year and, if successful, graduate with one from a number of approved award titles, including BA(Hons) Combined International Business.
12 The University's relations with BCA are subject to a Memorandum of Understanding, concluded in January 1993, which covers such matters as admission regulations; language of instruction; assessment and examination regulations; financial arrangements and areas of responsibility.
Form of the partnership
13 The audit team was told that the collaboration with BCA was a 'pilot' and had been developed under the University's Regulations for the 'Validation of Inter-University Exchange Programmes, Joint Awards with Non-UK Institutions and Franchise Arrangements'. The team learnt that this operational framework had subsequently been developed to incorporate, good practice identified by the University in relation to the development of UK collaborative partnerships. The University's programme delivered at BCA is classified by the University as a 'joint provision validated programme'. Approximately half of the modules delivered within the programme of study at BCA are also offered by the University at PBS. The team considered that since the collaborative arrangement with BCA has been in operation for some time, it might be helpful if the University was to remove any impression of tentativeness conferred by continuing to use the term 'pilot'. The University may also wish to set out in detail the regulatory framework which applies to this partnership for the benefit of staff operating quality control and quality assurance arrangements in Plymouth and Athens.
INITIAL APPROVAL AND VALIDATION PROCESSES
University requirements
14 Section 13 of the University's Regulatory Framework for the approval, accreditation and validation of programmes in associated partner institutions sets out the principles underpinning the approval of partnership arrangements, such as the one with BCA, and for validating programmes of study and courses.
University validation and approval of programmes at BCA
15 In February 1992, following an exchange of correspondence between the PBS and BCA, the University explained to BCA that if it was to proceed to validation, there would need to be an inspection of the BCA 'to establish whether we wish to proceed to the next more formal stage'. The University requested a range of information covering such matters as the curricula vitarum of staff, an outline of resources available to support the programme, a profile of the student numbers on the various programmes operated by BCA and information of any staff development policies.
16 The University's inspection visit to BCA, involving the Dean and Associate Dean of the PBS and a representative from the Institute of Marine Studies, took place in March 1992 and a recommendation was made to the University that it should agree to proceed to a formal validation of the BCA proposal. Under the University's Regulations, a validation event took place at Plymouth in June 1992, following which the validation panel expressed concerns about the operational details of the partnership arrangement. It was agreed that a further validation meeting was necessary to allow the validation panel to consider the programme team's response to its concerns. This took place in July 1992 at Plymouth. The University's Regulations expect that staff who will teach on the programme, typically a minimum of three from the partner institution, will normally be involved as part of the programme team attending the validation event. The audit team noted that only the Principal of BCA was able to be present as part of the programme team.
17 At its July 1992 meeting, the validation panel discussed the progress made by the programme team towards satisfying the conditions it had been set at the June 1992 meeting. The validation panel, chaired by the Vice-Chancellor, met members of the programme team from the University, although, on this occasion, no staff member from BCA was present. The validation panel recommended to the Academic Board that the Certificate of Higher Education in Business Administration should be approved to run at BCA from September 1992, and that programmes of study leading to the CertHE and DipHE in Marketing and Business Administration be approved to run from September 1993, subject to regular progress reviews and a number of conditions. The validation panel also offered a number of recommendations to the programme team, including that the assessment section of the documentation should make reference to the fact that all assessments must be undertaken in English.
18 Acknowledging that the University's regulations may not have been so fully developed in 1992 as its current Regulations, and the University's view that its collaboration with BCA was a 'pilot' venture, the audit team noted that the validation of the BCA programme had taken place almost entirely at Plymouth. The team further observed that in May 1992, prior to the July 1992 validation event, one member of the validation panel, the Deputy Director (Academic), had specifically commented that the BCA proposal 'had significant resource implications for the Business School'. The validation papers for the July 1992 event contained a short statement from the Dean of the Business School, confirming that there were 'adequate resources within the Faculty to support this proposal and that any requirements for inter-faculty servicing can be met by the faculties concerned and have been agreed'. University staff told the team that standard procedures had been followed for all aspects of the validation process. The Dean's statement to the validation panel, following a visit to inspect the facilities at BCA, confirming that the faculty had adequate resources to support the proposal was, and remains, the normal procedure for all validations and progress reviews. The team learnt with interest that the University now requires the head of the overseas partner institution to countersign such a statement.
19 The Validation Committee received the report of the July 1992 validation panel at its meeting in October 1992, and resolved that the recommendations of the panel be forwarded to the Academic Board for approval. Formal approval was given to the associated partnership arrangement at the meeting of the Academic Board held later that month. Fulfilment of the conditions of approval was monitored by the University's Validation Office through the annual review process and formally confirmed by the Vice-Chancellor, acting as Chair of the Validation Panel.
MONITORING AND REVIEW ARRANGEMENTS
20 The University's Regulations contain a section covering approval, accreditation, validation, review and monitoring of programmes in associated partner institutions. Under the terms of the University's Regulations, which specify general principles for partnership arrangements, responsibility for the academic well-being of the collaborative arrangement with BCA is located with the PBS.
21 Key elements of the University's monitoring and review procedures are that the programme team in the partner institution should liaise informally with the parent academic department and the University's MAP. An individual may be designated by the head of the relevant University school or department to be responsible at the subject level for all liaison with the partner institution. The latter is also required to hold formal programme committee meetings, the minutes of which should be sent to the head of department or school. In addition, the programme co-ordinator in the partner institution is required to produce an annual programme review, to be considered by the partner institution's programme committee before being passed into the University's committee structure, ultimately reaching the appropriate faculty board. Additionally, the partner institution is required to submit an annual statement to the University describing the resources devoted to supporting the collaborative programme it is operating, and more particularly, notifying the University of any changes in staffing that may have occurred.
22 The briefing documents made available to the audit team contained annual reviews for programmes at BCA for the academic years 1992-93, 1993-94 and 1994-95. All these reports had been written by the member of the University staff designated as liaison person by the Dean of Plymouth Business School. This same member of staff, the Associate Dean of PBS, had been the principal initiator of the collaboration with BCA and had spent six months at the partner institution immediately following the validation event in order to help ensure the smooth establishment of the partnership. The reports were, in the team's opinion, comprehensive and raised a wide spectrum of matters relating to the maintenance of academic standards in which the University had indicated a particular interest. The team also learnt that in his capacity as liaison person, the Associate Dean made regular reports to the Faculty's Executive. The papers also contained a synoptic overview by the Dean of the PBS on these reports which, under the University's processes, is formally considered by the Faculty Board and, subject to any necessary amendments, is then sent to the University's Annual Programme Review Sub-Committee.
23 The University - qua University - does not consider annual review reports. These are considered at faculty level and a summary report of overarching issues is then forwarded to the University's Annual Programme Review Sub-Committee for its consideration. In welcoming the role played by the Associate Dean of the Plymouth Business School who, through his regular visits to Athens, seeks to monitor academic standards, the audit team wondered whether University-level monitoring arrangements, as distinct from those of the Business School, for ensuring that appropriate academic standards were being maintained might be further strengthened. For example, it appeared to the team that the University had received no information to indicate that a defined course team was in existence at BCA, although it had been made aware of correspondence between the University's liaison person and several BCA staff. In accordance with the University's Regulations, a member of the BCA's staff had been appointed Programme Co-ordinator. Although an equivalent of a College Programme Committee did meet, no minutes of these meetings had been taken. As noted above, the annual review reports had not been written by BCA but by the University's liaison person, a practice that may have become established in view of the fact that in the early stages of the partnership one individual had fulfilled both roles. These annual review reports had been made available to the BCA course team, but there appeared to be no formal mechanism by which members of BCA could receive the University's response to them.
24 The annual review reports seen by the audit team were extensive and frank. Their consideration by the PBS provides an opportunity for it to protect the standard of the University's awards. For example, one report made several references to attempts to secure the services of a group of staff from a particular discipline area within PBS to support the programme. Under the University's devolved structure, the matter had been discussed at the PBS Faculty Executive but was not mentioned in the Dean's subsequent summary report on the programme's annual review. Consequently, it was not clear to the team how this matter, which it considered had the potential to affect the quality of the award, might be brought to the attention of the relevant University body outwith the PBS. The University advised the team that it was aware of the issue and that, in accordance with the University's policy of delegation of responsibility for quality assurance to faculties, it had been dealt with as an internal PBS matter. Similar procedural matters were brought to the attention of the University in the 1994 Report (paragraphs 29 and 93). The University indicated in its formal response to that Report that faculty and school boards, the University's Quality Audit Committee, Academic Standards Committee, and the Academic Board had all considered the comments made in the Report but that the 'main responsibility for responding to this issue [lay] with faculty boards'. The team also noted that there were no formal mechanisms for drawing the attention of the Business School, or any University-level body outside the School to the reports of University staff who visited the programme in Athens, and that concerns raised by such visitors had frequently not been included in the relevant annual review report. In the light of the team's findings, the University may wish to consider whether its devolved structures permit sufficient information to reach the relevant University-level body to enable it to take action as necessary.
Student feedback
25 The 1994-95 annual review report for provision at BCA contained a section dealing with student feedback and consultation. It stressed the informal means adopted to secure feedback from students, a situation confirmed by the BCA students who met the audit team. Students were generally satisfied with their channels of communication to locally-based staff. However, the University had not required that students be given an opportunity to comment on their learning experiences for each module, and did not appear to monitor specifically this aspect of their provision. The team did, however, learn of at least two instances in which student dissatisfaction had led to consequent changes in module delivery.
THE ASSESSMENT OF STUDENTS
26 The Memorandum of Understanding between the University and BCA states that 'assessments will be the same' for modules common to both the University of Plymouth and Athens and that for modules running in Athens but not in Plymouth, coursework and examinations will be set and marked by BCA staff, while a sample of the scripts marked by BCA staff will be double marked by appropriate Plymouth staff and moderated by the external examiner.
27 The Memorandum also covers examination arrangements. The University places responsibility for administering examinations in Greece on BCA, which must conduct them under University examination regulations and give University staff the right to be present during the examination and to assist with invigilation. Examinations are conducted under arrangements approved by the University and, subsequently, an Award Assessment Board considers the performance of each student assessed. The Board is chaired by the Chairman of the BCA Academic Board of Studies. BCA also operates its own parallel assessment scheme alongside those of the Plymouth Business School, so that each script receives a 'Greek' and a 'British' mark. Students are accordingly able to receive two sets of results, one derived from Greek marking conventions and one based upon a British marking scheme. The team noted with interest the efforts made on the part of BCA staff to undertake marking in line with British conventions using sample scripts pre-marked by PBS staff, and their evident desire to conform more closely to the University-provided marking model.
External examiners
28 The 'Critical Review of the Operation of the Plymouth Business School-BCA Programme' written specifically for the audit visit by the University in March 1996, explained that a 'dedicated' external examiner had been specifically assigned to the BCA programme in 1994. This appointment had been made by the University in response to comments suggesting that existing UK-based external examiners had insufficient knowledge of relevant Greek methods, laws and customs.
29 In his most recent report, dated July 1995, the external examiner had identified a number of difficulties in the assessment standards of the programme which had arisen because staff at BCA had encountered problems in conforming to PBS marking conventions. The external examiner had suggested a number of measures to encourage greater convergence in marking, including the provision of marking schemes by BCA and the pre-marking of appropriate sample scripts by staff from PBS. The audit team took the view that while the appointment of a dedicated external examiner, who also examined modules delivered in Plymouth, was a significant step towards maintaining consistent standards, some difficulties still remained.
30 The audit team was told, for example, that the BCA student pass lists had not been agreed at the PBS Award Assessment Board in July 1995, but at a special Board convened in the following November. This appeared to have occurred because PBS staff had been unable to moderate scripts in sufficient time to enable the marks to be presented to the July 1995 board. The result of this delay in confirming the marks was that students studying at BCA, whose initial admission had been approved by BCA, were allowed to proceed from year two to year three of the programme, even though their University moderated marks were not known either to the students or to BCA staff. When the marks were confirmed in November 1995, a number of students was found to have been admitted to year three of the programme carrying significantly more than the three failed modules permitted by the University's Regulations. This example suggested to the team that the PBS may not be in a position adequately to control the progression of students transferring to Plymouth from University CertHE and DipHE programmes of study in Athens. The University acknowledged that there might be instances where students might be allowed to progress on unconfirmed credit.
31 The external examiner and staff of PBS do not moderate the scripts for students on the second year of the Greek language stream of the course since this leads to a BCA, and not to a University of Plymouth, award. Such students are exclusively examined by BCA staff. Upon completion of their studies at BCA, all students wishing to proceed to the PBS are interviewed by the Associate Dean of PBS. In the 1995-96 academic sessions, some 15 out of a cohort of 90 students, had transferred directly to year three of the English language course, although University staff assured the team that such transfers were 'exceptional'. The team noted that students could thus enter the third year of a University of Plymouth programme having been taught, up to that point, entirely in Greek and examined according to Greek conventions. BCA students progressing to the PBS have their degree classification assessed entirely on their final year results at Plymouth. This, the audit team learnt, is normal University practice for 'non-standard' students, and one which the University considers an important feature of its quality assurance arrangements.
STAFFING AND STAFF DEVELOPMENT
Staff appointment
32 One of the key concerns of the University from the beginning of its relations with BCA has been to find means of verifying the quality of staff appointed to teach its programmes of study and courses at BCA. The matter was raised at the validation event held in July 1992, when the panel was assured that 'the University would be able to veto any decision made on staff appointments'. A condition of the validation was that the PBS 'must ensure a substantial presence in Athens during the first year of the course' and especially during 'critical processes such as recruitment, assessment and consequential examination boards'.
33 The role and responsibilities of the PBS Programme Manager, as set out in the definitive course document for the Certificate/Diploma in Business Administration and Marketing, include 'the right to veto the employment of any particular lecturer on any modules if the lecturer is considered to be unsuitable and not qualified to teach a particular module'. This understanding was further formalised in the Memorandum which states that 'the University reserves the right to participate in the selection of all BCA staff concerned with the University's courses and expressly reserves the right to veto any particular appointment'.
34 In common with other private sector and state-funded higher education institutions in Greece, a substantial part of the teaching staff at BCA is employed on a part-time basis, or on short-term renewable contracts. The Validation Committee's proceedings indicated that it had received and approved the curricula vitarum of the BCA staff teaching on the University's modules at the time of initial validation in 1992, although members of the Committee had not met the relevant staff.
35 The briefing documentation made available to the audit team noted that staffing arrangements at BCA had occasionally caused difficulties. For example, the annual review document for 1993-94 referred to 'unfortunate' changes in personnel at BCA which had prevented BCA staff from visiting Plymouth; the external examiner's report for 1994-95 referred to the need to 'monitor part-time staff and staff turnover rates'; while a report of a visit to Athens by a member of the University's staff referred both to the 'large numbers of part-time staff' at BCA and the potential demands placed on such staff by the nature of their contracts. The team learnt from University staff that its monitoring procedures would identify and act upon any such concerns. The introduction of double marking of BCA-marked scripts was cited as an instance where remedial action had been taken.
36 The audit team was told that the University's representative at BCA scrutinised the curricula vitarum of newly appointed staff before the start of an academic year, and that in at least one instance he had considered an individual unsuitable to teach on the University's programme, and the University had accordingly not agreed the appointment. However, the team was also told that since BCA operated a number of courses and programmes of study alongside the University-validated programme, it was not possible to exercise direct influence over BCA's staff recruitment activities per se, only over BCA's proposed deployment of staff on the University's programme of study. Since the rate of staff turnover was such that some of the University's modules had yet to be delivered by the same individual in consecutive sessions, the team took the view that a closer monitoring of the approval of new staff by the University would enable it to assure itself more effectively of the continuing quality of the staff teaching on its programme of study.
Staff development
37 In its papers, the University's Validation Committee placed great emphasis on reciprocal visits as a means of ensuring continuing staff development for both BCA and University staff, an approach also enshrined in the definitive course document for the University's programme of study at BCA. From the briefing materials it read and from its discussions during the visit to BCA, it appeared to the audit team that there was little formal development by this means for the Centre's staff by BCA. The team learnt, however, that some staff from PBS spent extended periods at BCA, amounting to some 15 weeks per year.
38 The definitive course document referred to above describes the difficulties of implementing the University's staff development requirements and procedures at BCA due to the fact that 'the Greek college system relies very heavily on part-time academic staff'. The document underlines the importance of securing staff development in the areas of UK teaching methods, such as the use of audio-visual equipment, and UK assessment methods. The PBS is charged with monitoring and reporting on staff development activities at BCA and ensuring that BCA implements the University's agreed staff development policy, in respect of the programme taught in Athens.
39 Reports of visits by University staff to BCA and other items in the briefing materials supplied to the audit team referred to other matters which might be assisted by staff development. These included the difficulties students had encountered in relation to 'different teaching and learning styles', the need for Greek staff at BCA to modify their approach to teaching in order to conform more closely to UK expectations, and the possible impact such divergence might have on students' performance. In addition, the external examiner's report for July 1995 referred to 'the need to encourage appropriate teaching and learning methods'. Several staff development initiatives had been taken, designed to encourage a more detailed understanding of UK teaching methods, including, for example, the provision of workshops by University staff visiting Athens and the attendance of selected BCA staff at classes run in Plymouth. The team would wish to commend these initiatives.
PUBLICITY AND PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS
40 BCA's promotional activities are discussed annually with the University's designated liaison person. Copies of the text of all promotional materials are made available to the University, although if they are in Greek they are not translated. The University informed the team that the agreement with BCA could be terminated if it was found that BCA had produced misleading publicity. The audit team was unable to find a specific clause in the Memorandum or in validation documentation relating to this matter. While accepting the desire to establish a relationship with BCA based upon mutual trust, the team would nevertheless wish to encourage the University to review its guidelines on this matter, taking into account the recently published HEQC Code of Practice for Overseas Collaborative Provision in Higher Education.
CONCLUSIONS AND POINTS FOR FURTHER CONSIDERATION
41 BCA is a well-established and respected organisation with links with a number of higher education institutions outside Greece. It maintains a clear separation between its commercial and academic activities. Staff and students from BCA who met the audit team clearly placed a high value on the developing partnership with the University of Plymouth and the opportunities provided by the relationship for students to enter UK higher education. The team noted a striking mutual cordiality and respect between the partners, owing much to the continuing efforts of the PBS Associate Dean, who was involved in initiating the partnership and who has remained the principal liaison point between BCA and the University. A number of beneficial contacts have been developed and nurtured between staff at the two institutions. Day-to-day communications between BCA and the PBS are effective and any difficulties which can be dealt with through such channels seem to be quickly and amicably resolved.
42 In noting the constructive nature of the partnership, the audit team nevertheless identified a number of matters to which the University will wish to give further consideration in order to promote the further development of its relationship with staff and students at BCA. The extent to which staff from the University visit Athens is variable, and BCA staff exchanges with the University have, so far, been confined mainly to senior staff. Staff at BCA appeared to receive little formal feedback from the reports which they send, or which are sent on their behalf, about the progress of the collaborative relationship. Students, similarly, received little information direct from the University. Notwithstanding the commendable efforts of the Associate Dean of the Plymouth Business School, both BCA staff and students expressed a view that they felt somewhat remote from University processes. A useful step has been taken by BCA staff to prepare a student handbook, following a recent visit to Athens by a member of the University's Quality Evaluation and Enhancement Unit.
43 The University is firmly committed to a devolved approach in its policy and practice for quality assurance. In the light of this the audit team was interested to explore the means by which the University satisfies itself that its responsibilities for quality and standards are being discharged effectively in respect of its overseas partnerships. In accordance with University policy, responsibility for the operation of the collaborative partnership with BCA has been delegated to the PBS. Although School-level monitoring has identified matters requiring further attention from the University, it was not always clear to the team that the University - qua University - would necessarily receive the information which would enable it to judge whether it needed to take action.
44 The means by which the University assures itself that the standards of the programme offered in collaboration with BCA are comparable to those applying to students studying at the University of Plymouth could, the audit team considered, be strengthened. These include, in particular, its oversight of arrangements for admitting students to the programme and for appointing teaching staff, and ways of achieving closer correspondence of assessment practice between staff in the UK and teaching staff in Athens.
Institutions participating in the pilot audits were invited to provide an up-dating note indicating any developments in the partnership from the time of the audit to the printing of this report. A note, supplied by the University, is attached.
UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH
Commentary on HEQC Audit Report of BCA
Further to the conclusions and points for further consideration, para 43, the recommendation that more effort be made to involve and integrate BCA staff is accepted and the process of establishing similar procedures at BCA to those in the University, eg more formal course committee procedures and preparation of annual review by BCA staff are being implemented. Also, with reference to para 44, the BCA operation has now been brought formally under the oversight of the MAP and this will strengthen University procedures.
With reference to para 45, the BCA collaboration is undergoing a formal and critical review by the Business School's Quality Enhancement and Evaluation Unit in preparation for a progress review with the University validation event scheduled for May 1997. The University validation event will be held in Athens. The HEQC audit report will be considered in detail as part of this review process, as will the findings of the audit of Enhancement Unit in March 1996. Some actions have already been implemented, or will be implemented during the 96-97 academic year, in response to the latter audit, for representation and of module evaluation by students at BCA. Another recommendation of this internal audit report was that a programme handbook be produced for all BCA student registered on University of Plymouth programmes.
The annual programme review for 95-96 reports a 'marked improvement in assessment arrangements'. For example, at the suggestion of the external examiner, PBS staff 'blind marked' a few papers per module at the end of the first semester as a guide to BCA staff with the result that marking by BCA staff was more realistic than in previous years. PBS staff sampled BCA marked examination papers and for the first time most staff were satisfied that the marks awarded by BCA staff were of a similar standard to those at PBS. BCA also agreed to a common pass mark of 40% for all modules which also helped standardisation of marks. The external examiner confirmed that he was satisfied with the standard of papers set and marking levels. These improvements should mean that, with effect from the 1996-97 academic year, it will be possible to hold the Assessment Board in Plymouth before the end of July.
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