Purposes and outcomes of the review
The programme reviewed
Section A Framework
Section B Overall educational aims of the programme
Section C An evaluation of the emerging standards of the programme and the emerging achievements of students
Section D An evaluation of the quality of students' learning opportunities
Section E An evaluation of the monitoring and enhancement of quality and standards
Section F Good practice and/or innovative features
Summary of the main review outcomes
The Higher Education Funding Council for England has commissioned the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education to carry out a second programme of reviews of a sample of Foundation Degrees (FDs) in England in the academic year 2004-05. The major purposes of the review process are:
The findings from the reviewers' lines of enquiry result in a published report containing two threshold judgements. In the case of programmes where there are students who have graduated, the report contains judgements on the confidence, or otherwise, the reviewers have in:
In the case of recent programmes where no students have graduated to date, the report contains judgements on the confidence, or otherwise, the reviewers have in:
The report also comments on the maintenance and enhancement of standards and quality, and on the examples of good practice and innovation which may be worthy of wider dissemination.
Each review looks at one FD programme. It covers the entirely of that programme and includes, as applicable, the provision at all sites of delivery, all pathways, sites of work-based learning and modes of study.
The review takes place within a framework that includes a range of activities common to all reviews. Each review is structured around a series of 11 key questions to be considered by the provider in preparing its self-evaluation and by the reviewers when summarising evidence to be used to reach the two threshold judgements. The same questions form the structure of the report.
1 The FD in Care Management was the first that the University of Luton developed. It is the model that other FDs validated by the University have emulated. Its development has been collaborative, involving all members of the programme team in the University's Faculty of Health and Social Sciences and its partner colleges, and seeks to build on their particular educational and professional strengths. The initial approval in 2001 was for delivery at Bedford College; in 2003 approval of a revised programme was extended to delivery in both Bedford and Barnfield (Luton) colleges.
2 The programme is designed to meet the needs of staff in local care settings to demonstrate the acquisition of occupational standards set out in the National Care Standards Act (2000) and to meet the changing criteria of the Inspectorate Unit. The requirement is for all managers of residential homes to hold a Level 4 qualification in Care and Management. Following consultation to identify local needs, the University and its partner colleges developed a programme that aligns with the defining characteristics of FDs. The 2003 programme revision also incorporates opportunities for students to complete the Registered Managers (Adults) Award (RMA), NVQ level 4 Management and NVQ Level 4 Care. By mapping the FD learning outcomes to an NVQ4, the course meets the needs of those employers within the care sector who only support NVQ-related staff development. Students attend college part-time, one day a week. The Inspectorate Unit requires them to work 30 hours a week and through both activities they accrue 120 credits over one calendar year. They can therefore complete the FD in two years.
3 Student enrolments are 53 in 2004-05: 21 at Bedford (11 in year one, 10 in year two) and 32 at Barnfield (14 in year one, 18 in year two). Ages range from 25 to 63 years and they are categorically non-traditional students in HE. In order to join the programme, students must be locally employed in an appropriate role in the sector. The students include residential care-home owners, managers, deputy managers and senior staff in a variety of care facilities. The residential homes cover a variety of needs such as mental health, other disabilities, age and infirmity. Other facilities provide domiciliary visits so the care role is peripatetic. Some students are themselves employers and, in most cases, the facility is small, with just one student on the programme. The result is that the programme engages with 53 care facilities in and near Bedford and Luton, the two main towns of Bedfordshire. The emergence of the Training Organisation for the Personal Social Services (Topss), should see a local presence in the county to support future developments.
4 The main aim of the FD is to provide residential care-home managers with a vocationally relevant higher education (HE) qualification, the content of which reflects the demands and diversity of the manager's role. On completion of the programme, students will be able to:
5 The programme specification states clear aims and programme-level learning outcomes. Aims and intended learning outcomes (ILOs) clearly link to the needs of care-facility managers. The course's Definitive Document analyses its background and the programme team's preparations. The analysis shows awareness of the defining characteristics of FDs, including employer involvement; accessibility; articulation and progression; flexibility; and partnership.
6 The learning outcomes for the programme specify knowledge, understanding and skills as applied to the workplace and the professional and personal needs of students. They are appropriate to the intermediate level of the FHEQ. The programme aims and learning outcomes are congruent with current national care standards and practices.
7 Both colleges' course handbooks clearly communicate the aims and ILOs to students. The module learning outcomes contribute appropriately to the overall achievement of the programme outcomes but their mapping, including that of key skills in the modules, could be improved.
8 The programme has a rating of 240 credits, 120 at level 1 and 120 at level 2. There is an appropriate balance of work-based learning (WBL) and academic studies: 90 credits specifically relate to WBL modules, 30 at level 1 and 60 at level 2.
9 Guaranteed articulation is to one honours degree, the BA (Hons) Health Care (Care Management) programme at the University. Students who successfully complete the FD can enter level 3 of the programme, offered in both full and part-time modes over one or two years. The Definitive Document anticipates the development of bridging arrangement to aid progression. Instead, a revision of the part-time offering of level 3 now includes WBL and the annual review of the honours degree notes action to continue to interact with the FD. Students progressing from the FD will continue to study a curriculum with a familiar design focusing on their work sector. There are also limited opportunities for entry with credit into the University's honours degree in social work.
10 National care standards and local and regional needs of knowledge and skills drove the curricular design. The integration of academic studies and WBL reflects the defining characteristics of FDs. All modules are compulsory and relate to the workplace in both design and delivery. The emphasis is on building knowledge and skills throughout the course and meeting the needs of non-traditional students. These needs change as students gain confidence in their abilities to reflect on their work setting and practices and use examples in their academic studies. Alongside the FD, students are completing vocational awards required for registration as managers in their employment sector. Although the colleges employ separate assessors for the NVQ units, there is evidence from students and assessors that there is integration across the awards.
11 The programme is identical at both colleges. For each module a coordinator oversees its delivery across the two colleges and a contact in each college acts as a link with the University. A residential course provides for the joint delivery of one module, Interpersonal Skills with Clients and Significant Others, by bringing both groups of students and staff together.
12 The curriculum aims to promote the development of independent learners. Students understand that their learning levels should advance from a general grasp of relevant knowledge and skills applicable to the sector in level 1, to increasing critical analysis and reflection at level 2. Learning outcomes for each module show this development.
13 Although the curriculum does not include personal development planning, it incorporates continuing professional development in WBL modules in levels 1 and 2. These show a thematic approach to lifelong learning, beginning with the management of self and others and moving on at level 2 to the students' role in business planning, finance and resourcing.
14 The curriculum further integrates Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) key skills into the course. An additional skill, career development, appears in some examples of student work, but is not thoroughly embedded in the curriculum.
15 Two level 1 modules, Equality, Diversity and Equal Rights, and Management of Physical, Social and Emotional Environments, cover policies in the workplace relating to health and safety, equal opportunities and EU employment legislation.
16 The course handbooks clearly describe the assessment arrangements. Students understand what they are expected to demonstrate in the assessment, including the meeting of the learning outcomes that require the integration of theory with practice.
17 The assessment levels have been mapped against the University's regulatory framework and against FHEQ levels. Assessed work reflects the FHEQ in developing knowledge and understanding in year one and extending knowledge and understanding in year two.
18 The assignments for each module are identical at both colleges. The module coordinators oversee their assessment across the two colleges. The double-marking of all assessed work, albeit not anonymous, and moderation at the University of a 10 per cent representative sample, addresses the need for consistent measurement of achievement. The course handbooks are not consistent in providing information about assessment tasks. There are more details of some assessment tasks in the Barnfield College handbook, but a wider range of information in the Bedford College handbook to guide students undertaking assessments.
19 As a further contribution to the security of assessment arrangements, an external examiner considers work from both years of the programme. The external examiner's comments about assessment in the annual course report indicate concerns, shared by students, about the amount of assessment expected in each module. Many modules have several assessment tasks, the range including group presentations, reports, essays, portfolios and reflective accounts. Students struggle with this workload and feel that, as a result of the requirement to complete a number of small tasks, they cannot do justice to the subject matter. Submission dates early in the first year, with several assignments due on the same date, had also led to students feeling overburdened.
20 All assessments are summative. The lack of opportunities for formative assessment is not helpful to non-traditional students. The programme team has recognised the various assessment concerns and are reviewing the overall assessment strategy.
21 Students receive written feedback on the assessments, normally within a reasonable time following the submission date. Marking criteria form part of the feedback, which often concentrates on study skills, and can be quite brief. It does not, in the main, contain much explanation concerning the grade given, or help in developing learning further. Students can, however, request an individual tutorial to gain further feedback. There are no specific criteria for marking presentations.
22 Employers are not involved in assessments. The providers' intention is to involve them in both delivery and assessment when current students graduate and remain in local employment. Future access to a core of former students is seen as a way for the programme team to review and strengthen the supervision and assessment arrangements in the individual employment settings.
23 Academic staff assess the WBL modules, which are subject to the same marking and moderation process as all other modules. They demonstrate the integration of WBL and academic study. In the level 1 WBL module, a portfolio of evidence gathered throughout the year draws together learning across all the other modules. The WBL modules in year two use a reflective diary to demonstrate how students have been able to use underpinning theories and knowledge to inform their practice.
24 Cross referencing of the separate assessments for NVQ4 awards and the FD identifies distinct achievements for the specific award. The University provides a transcript of credits, recording the students' assessed skills and knowledge.
25 The University has systems for the accreditation of prior learning (APL). This involves the individual college in processing then presenting to the University APL Board any claims for APL at entry or to progress through the FD. At the start of the FD at Barnfield College, students could transfer from an NVQ programme to the FD, subject to an APL mapping exercise. A few students produced portfolios of evidence for consideration but were unable to demonstrate the achievement of all the relevant learning outcomes. Most students who did have APL approved, preferred to continue just with the NVQ. The programme team acknowledges the need for further work in mapping APL and the accreditation of prior (experiential) learning (AP(E)L) opportunities into the FD and NVQ awards and communicating the arrangements to applicants.
26 Some students completed the original version of the FD at Bedford College in 2003. The first cohort of the FD that was revised in 2003 is due to complete the programme in 2005.
27 The reviewers scrutinised students' assessed work in a range of modules from both years at both colleges, including WBL modules. The work included essays, transcripts of oral presentations, reports and portfolios of evidence.
28 Generally, student work demonstrates the achievement of knowledge, understanding and skills appropriate to the level, the overall learning outcomes of the programme and the defining characteristics of an FD. Most students show ability to use analytical and subject-specific skills appropriate to the task and level, although the use of appropriate literature, especially books and journals, is not always evident. In most work, students demonstrate the ability to apply theory to practice and the development of practical skills.
29 Students' work demonstrates a range of key skills, including oral and written communication, use of information technology (IT) and working with others. Skills relating to the application of number were not evident in the sample of work available to the reviewers, although those skills are mapped into two level 2 modules for which students had not yet submitted work for assessment.
30 All students are in employment and appreciate the relevance and currency of the programme in relation to their roles as care managers. They are very positive about the benefits of the programme and cited many examples of professional and personal development resulting from their studies. The majority indicated they would like to progress to the articulated honours degree if employment and financial circumstances permit.
31 Employers were not directly involved in the design and content of the programme. The University and the colleges have well-established links with care managers, through employer forums. Nevertheless, neither the original validation document nor the revalidation in 2003 cites employers as having commented upon the programme. The Programme Management Board includes no employer representatives and none participated in the review.
32 The NVQ level 4 is the standard that employers understand and have experience in assessing. In order to pass this, students have to provide strong evidence of good practice. The rationale for the FD is to underpin and support the vocational qualifications by the teaching and assessment of theory. It is possible to pass the NVQ and fail the FD, in which case the student will leave with a valued qualification. The providers claim that employers were keen that this should be so, as all the students are employed and sponsored onto the course.
33 The programme team has begun to involve employers in the regular review of the programme. Both colleges have held the first meetings of employers' panels. Following a review of the programme that will include developments in the health and social care national agendas, an Employers Liaison Panel will be the forum in which employers will engage with the programme's design. The programme team will continue to involve employers in the monitoring of the FD through an annual feedback questionnaire survey, already undertaken by Barnfield College. A particular line of inquiry is into the changes employers have identified in the skills sets of the students and any continuing gaps that the programme can fill.
34 Employers do not assess work-based skills and achievements. The programme team considers that this would be inappropriate because many employers, although owners of the care facilities, would not be qualified to assess the National Occupational Standards. Instead, as reported in the self-evaluation, 'the colleges employ work-based supervisors to support the students in the learning process and assess their progress and attainment of learning outcomes'. The assessor supervisors are qualified to assess NVQ level 4 and have the necessary current experience in the sector. They do not, however, participate in the assessment of the FD learning outcomes, only the NVQs. The self-evaluation is misleading on this point.
35 There is no official link with students' line managers or training departments, which is a weakness. WBL is extremely well integrated into the programme, however, and the module learning outcomes are directly related to working practice and the improvement of standards in the workplace. Evidence for this comes from assignment briefs, which show that all assessments contain a work-based task and associated reflection. It also comes from student work, which demonstrates reflection and changes to working practices. Through the WBL modules in both years, the programme explicitly recognises and transparently rewards WBL. All students that the reviewers met were able to identify ways in which the programme had improved their own working practices. The student intake includes a few proprietors of care homes, two of whom attended the first meeting of their college's employer panel. Most students are managers or deputy managers, and the students may be said partially to represent the views of employers on programme developments.
The reviewers have confidence in the emerging academic standards and emerging achievements of students.
36 Students complete a learning-styles questionnaire at the beginning of the programme and tutors use this to adapt their lesson plans for that cohort. The staff employ a variety of teaching methods supportive of adult learning, tailored to this non-traditional group of students employed in positions of responsibility and enabling them to achieve the learning outcomes.
37 Both colleges have effective procedures for monitoring the quality of teaching, and lesson plans and discussions with students indicate that the delivery of the programme is of consistent quality across the two colleges. The timetabling of group tutorials at the end of each college day complements the other teaching methods. Tutors encourage students to discuss class materials in relation to their own working environments and the practical nature of the assessment tasks, hence supporting the integration and application of academic studies with WBL.
38 The learning materials for the programme are lacking in some respects. For example, handouts include no references to academic journals even at level 2 and many of the handouts from the level 1 modules were identified as being from NVQ level 3. Nevertheless, having been encouraged by tutors and support staff to access the internet, electronic journals and databases, students asserted that the programme has given them a taste for learning. The first manifestation of that is their expressed desire to progress from the FD to an honours degree.
39 Sources of information for students about the programme include course handbooks, open days at the colleges for prospective students, course packs, and the web sites. A few employing agencies had alerted students to the existence of the programme.
40 Information on the character, content and delivery of the FD is clear, accurate and consistent across the colleges. Students understand the nature of the WBL components and it is generally through them that employers receive information about the programme's content and the WBL expectations. The employers' only formal involvement is to provide a letter of recommendation and confirm their support for the student.
41 The two colleges have their own interview schedule, designed to ensure that prospective students are in a suitable managerial role. Applicants have the opportunity to discuss any APL during their interview. Prospective students may visit the University to find out about the range of support available to them, which includes advice on employment and career advancement.
42 During an induction week, and again at the start of year two, students undertake a diagnostic test in literacy and numeracy. Results that fall below a target point trigger referral to learning-support services for assistance. Meetings with students and college librarians confirmed that students can access specialist college resources and the University's support services. Students commented on receiving support for dyslexia, for example.
43 Of the 33 initial enrolments in 2003, 25 students remain on the course during 2004-05, 11 of 16 at Bedford, and 14 of 17 at Barnfield. A similar attrition has occurred from the 35 enrolments in 2004, seven of 17 at Bedford, but none of 18 at Barnfield. Staff at Bedford noted that many offers of places had not led to enrolment and that the reasons for this need to be followed up with the prospective students and their employers. None of the withdrawals have resulted from academic failure. Some occurred within the first two weeks of the course, when students realised it was not right for them; others left because of difficulties in managing the FD and NVQ workload alongside employment commitments. An inconvenient college timetable at Barnfield had led some students to leave the programme in 2003-04, but they started again in 2004-05 when the timetable had been revised.
44 Students confirm the difficulties in managing their simultaneous pursuit of two awards. They were expecting that the NVQ would not be completed by the time they finish the FD. Some were concerned that if they were out of time to complete the NVQ units they would have to pay for the remainder themselves.
45 Students appreciate the arrangements for academic support. In addition to holding the timetabled group tutorial, tutors are flexible about offering individual tutorials as required and to looking at assignment drafts and responding to email contact from students. They also identify problems occurring in assessed work and advise students accordingly. If these problems derive from the workplace, tutors offer classroom support by contextualising examples to the students' own work setting. The employment of NVQ assessors is also helpful in this respect. Although they have no involvement with the FD itself, they meet regularly with college staff.
46 Students meet with the pathway leader for the honours degree programme in the second semester of year two to discuss the articulation arrangements. Some students expressed disappointment about the limited opportunities to move onto the social work degree, but the limitations relate to restrictions imposed by the General Social Care Council.
47 There are seven full-time and two part-time staff teaching and managing the programme. Staff have an appropriate range of academic qualifications and professional experience to support the achievement of the programme outcomes. College staff undertake short periods of professional updating annually and the University staff-development programme and the Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning are open to them.
48 The work-based staff who support the students in their workplace are college-employed NVQ supervisors and assessors. Although not directly involved in the FD, they are suitably qualified and up to date in work practices. Students make extensive use of their supervisor's support to develop their learning in the workplace. They consider the learning opportunities provided in their working environment appropriate for developing the knowledge and skills required for the FD. Students regard their fellow students, all engaged as they are in local care-management settings, as an important resource in sharing and exchanging work-related information and experience.
49 The colleges and the University have clearly defined learning resource strategies to ensure that resources are adequate for the FD programme. Students have access to libraries and IT resource centres in their college and also to learning resources at the University.
50 Library resources include books, multimedia materials and journals. A computerised catalogue of the library stock is available on the student intranet. The book stock in the college libraries is generally appropriate and up-to-date. An extensive range of peer-reviewed journals is available online. At Bedford College, the library hosts a specialist Royal College of Nursing Resource Centre. Other facilities at both colleges include study areas, photocopying, careers information and the use of online journals and databases. Library staff provide induction to the library and useful written guides to the subject area for students. Regular liaison takes place with the programme team. Students reported receiving helpful advice about the purchase of books.
51 The IT facilities are extensive and accessible. They include well-equipped open-access areas and classrooms. Students' network accounts provide access to online learning materials and resources. The use of IT in the delivery of teaching and learning through a virtual learning environment (VLE) is at an early stage of development. The University will introduce a VLE for all its provision in 2005-06 and there are plans to develop VLEs in the colleges.
52 Many students reported using college PCs for the production of assessed work and students at Barnfield College make use of online services such as electronic journals though their ATHENS accounts. This did not appear to be the case at Bedford. All students met by the reviewers have computer/internet access at work and many found it more convenient to use their employers' IT facilities or their own computer to support their studies.
53 Students are generally satisfied with the opening hours of the colleges' learning centres and libraries and with available learning materials. They also appreciate the helpfulness of librarians and IT support staff at both colleges but few students use the University's facilities. The reviewers have some concerns about the currency of booklists and the lack of peer-reviewed journals included in the module and assessment information.
54 The clear relevance of the learning outcomes to the student's workplace is a strength of the programme. Although most students had enrolled primarily to gain an NVQ, they consider the FD programme confers real benefits. These include 'gaining confidence'; 'now knowing why they were doing what they did'; and 'being able to apply theory and knowledge to practice'. Students confirmed that when assessment did not seem to apply well to a particular workplace, staff had been supportive in finding a suitable alternative.
55 The NVQ assessors undertake direct observations and supervision in the workplace but have no formal links with the students' employers. Nor are the assessors part of the teaching and assessment team for the FD. They meet regularly with the assessors' coordinator and report any workplace concerns to them, but play no part even in marking WBL assignments. They were not involved in planning the programme, receive no induction into the FD, and do not receive non-NVQ materials.
56 The reviewers saw no evidence that the students' employers have knowledge of the programme's content, how they could enhance WBL or support students in the workplace. Student opinion, voiced to the reviewers, is that employers' ignorance of the students' high workload had led to the withdrawal of their support for some students, which partly explained the early attrition from the programme. Students also referred to family commitments that are not taken into account by some employers in balancing working schedules with the programme's requirements. The lack of collaboration with employers may be keeping some potential students from the valuable learning opportunities that the programme provides.
57 The learning opportunities in the workplace are good. Students undertake WBL while performing their managerial roles in care facilities and are able to reflect on their learning. Part of the programme requires them to evaluate their own policies and change or improve their implementation, and assignments show evidence of the programme leading to changed working practices. This includes the normal health and safety, equal opportunities and risk analysis policies they operate. Some responses to the Barnfield College survey of employers indicate that the work of students on the programme has improved and also that some employers would welcome having direct input to the programme. Employer inputs to teaching would be a rich resource in this sector.
The reviewers have confidence in the quality of the students' learning opportunities.
58 The process of validation in 2001 and amendment in 2003 is well documented and clearly reflects the programme team's awareness of the defining characteristics of an FD.
59 The agreements established with each of the colleges align with the Code of practice for the assurance of academic quality and standards in higher education, Section 2: Collaborative provision and flexible and distributed learning, published by QAA. Responsibility for monitoring, enhancement and support lies with the University. In practice, the University receives annual programme reports from the colleges. These result from consideration of evidence from a range of sources, including the external examiner's report, student feedback, programme team meetings, and student progression and achievement data. The recently established employers' liaison panels will also have a role in the programme's regular reviews systematic responses to the external examiner feed into action plans for the following year. The University's Faculty of Health and Social Sciences' annual monitoring meeting considers the colleges' reports in producing the field report for health care.
60 The programme team receives student feedback from several sources, including module evaluation questionnaires, student representation on the Programme Board and informal dialogue with staff. Students consider that their views are listened to and there is evidence that changes are made to the programme as a result of student feedback. For example, when students had found attendance difficult at the scheduled hours, discussion with tutors led to alteration of the college timetable.
61 One external examiner acts for both colleges. The University is responsible for the nomination and appointment of the external examiner and conducts the process through well-documented procedures. These have secured an examiner from an appropriate academic subject background, who is familiar with the operation of FD programmes and has experience of WBL. The external examiner also examines the University's BA (Hons) programme in Health Care (Care Management). This reflects the University's requirement to examine other programmes in the same subject field, in order to facilitate the setting and maintenance of academic standards. In this instance, where partner colleges deliver the FD, the external examiner samples work at both levels 1 and 2.
62 In monitoring academic standards and the quality of the student experience across both colleges, teams of trained observers supported by 'advanced learning practitioners' undertake teaching observations. Their role is to provide feedback and also includes the dissemination of best practice in teaching and learning. The University also oversees a system of cross-college moderation of assessments.
63 The self-evaluation presents five aspects of the course for consideration in response to this question. The reviewers identify no innovations, but confirm one broad feature of good practice, a specific element of good practice and two further areas of strength.
64 Providing the opportunity to gain vocational awards required for professional registration, while following the FD programme, is good practice. Although not without its complications of additional workloads, it is a feature that could well be incorporated in similar courses elsewhere.
65 Bringing students together from the two colleges for a two-day residential course is good practice. It provides an opportunity for the two groups of students to meet and share experiences of the programme. Students, tutors and NVQ assessors from both colleges are involved. Although its compulsory nature can create problems for students with domestic care responsibilities, students value the experience. The practice could be adopted in other courses delivered at multiple sites.
66 The programme's main general strength is its transformative nature. Scrutiny of their assignments supports the students' positive statements that following the course has enabled them to put theory into their working practices and has enhanced them.
67 Collaboration between the University and the two colleges meets an expectation of the development of FDs delivered by partners of the awarding institution. The collaborative management, although not innovative, is highly effective and a clear strength of the provision.
68 The claim that flexibility in meeting specific local needs is a strength is premature. The design of the programme did not directly involve employers and only recently have they been routinely consulted in its monitoring and evaluation. For students, there is a strict attendance requirement, with no option for distance learning.
The Foundation Degree (FD) in Care Management validated by the University of Luton and delivered at Barnfield College and Bedford College was reviewed in the academic year 2004-05. Judgements were made about the emerging academic standards and the emerging achievement of students and of the quality of the learning opportunities provided.
Overall, the reviewers have confidence in the emerging standards and emerging achievements of students.
Overall, the reviewers have confidence in the quality of learning opportunities.
Features of good practice include:
Strengths of the programme include:
Areas for development include: