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
Section G 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 Management of Hospitality is validated by Anglia Polytechnic University (APU) and is available across East Anglia through delivery sites in Colchester (Colchester Institute (CI)), Bury St Edmunds (West Suffolk College (WS)) and Norwich (City College Norwich (CCN)). The programme, which is managed by the University's Ashcroft International Business School (AIBS), was originally named Arts Foundation Degree (FdA) Management (Hospitality) which ran from 2002-03 until 2003-04. It assumed its current title from 2004-05, after a major curricular revision took place, coinciding with CCN becoming a provider.
2 There are 56 students currently studying on the programme, the majority of whom are full-time. Nearly all students, however, are working either part-time or full-time in the local hospitality sector. Students without hospitality work experience are helped to find suitable work by the colleges, for example, by an initial placement in an appropriate facility. Some 33 sites are listed at which students are working, either singly or with other students. These include major hotel and restaurant chains, but are mainly small businesses such as pubs, clubs and small hotels. Many students work a substantial number of hours in addition to their studies which are therefore arranged to facilitate work requirements.
3 The aims of the FD Management of Hospitality are to:
4 The aims and intended learning outcomes (ILOs) of the FD Management of Hospitality are clearly written and relate to the management of hospitality. The original FdA Management (Hospitality) was developed in accordance with the Essential Features of FDs. The revalidation in 2004 took into account the Foundation Degree qualification benchmark (final draft) and the relevant subject benchmarks. The academic demands of the intermediate level (I) of the FHEQ are reflected within the written aims and ILOs. The Sector Skills Council was not formed when these programmes were designed. The current occupational standards and practice were informed by the Hotel Marketing Association and employers.
5 The aims and ILOs correspond to the defining characteristics of FDs adequately. They facilitate a significant role for work-based learning (WBL), the involvement of employers in curriculum design and the provision of WBL, progression to a top-up degree and responsiveness to the particular employment characteristics of each college area.
6 There is a sufficient relationship between the ILOs for modules and those for the programme as a whole. This is demonstrated by a curriculum map and through the integration of the WBL and skills modules.
7 The programme has 240 credits, with 120 at level 2, and is made up of core and option modules, at levels 1 and 2. The new curriculum was developed within a generic business framework, with the majority of subject-specific knowledge being developed in the workplace. The University has a core curriculum, comprising 80 credits, which must be included within all of its FD programmes. In addition, FDs managed by AIBS comprise a management core of 50 credits as well as a collection of sector specific and optional modules. The sector-specific pathway varies slightly with each college, for example WS developed the module Licensed Retail Management with its advisory board. The pathway that each college offers reflect the sub-regions. The reviewers felt that recognising and allowing for this programme diversity is a strength that could be developed further.
8 The curriculum offers a broad range of study and progresses coherently from level 1 to 2. The WBL module at level 2 (to be delivered for the first time in 2005-06) is, as proposed, insufficiently differentiated from that at level 1. This is significant as the WBL modules are where the relationship between academic learning and work practice is made most explicit in the programme. The revised programme implements level descriptors in line with the FHEQ. Lifelong learning is fostered through a personal development plan for each learner and abilities are developed through the modules focusing on learning skills and graduate and employment skills. The parallel WBL elements also stimulate student reflection. The overall curriculum design facilitates the learning of students with non-traditional entry qualifications.
9 The design of the curricula is appropriate to ensure that students are able to attain the ILOs. The integration of vocational skills and their application in a work-based environment facilitate this. Delivery modes and study patterns provide two days in college and the remainder of time is spent in the workplace. Students appreciate this flexibility, feeling that they can bring the classroom into work.
10 Students from each of the three providing colleges are receiving a satisfactory and broadly equivalent curriculum. Teaching staffs liaise to share teaching materials and developments. A strength of the programme is that partner colleges are able to develop particular links with employers which add to the currency and provide innovation. WS, for example, delivers the Accommodation Resource Management module in association with Marriott Hotels.
11 Policies to ensure that the conditions of WBL comply with relevant legislation including health and safety, equal opportunities and EU employment legislation are the responsibility of each student's employer, within this highly regulated industry.
12 There is clear articulation and progression to an honours degree. This was initially to the independent BA (Hons) Hospitality Studies at CI. Four graduates of the programme are presently studying at CI on the honours degree. Progression is now to the BA (Hons) Hospitality Management at CI or CCN. Articulation is guaranteed to either through the APU partnership scheme. The modular scheme gives students some flexibility, allowing them to progress, alternatively, to a bridging programme giving access to an honours degree in business.
13 Students are generally clear in their understanding of assessment arrangements, assessment criteria and schedules. A range of appropriate assessment instruments is used, and specific requirements are explained to students, verbally and in writing, at the beginning of each semester. The variety of assessment tasks includes presentations, case-studies, multiple-choice tests, profiles, logs and projects, but written reports predominate.
14 There is evidence of links between WBL and assessment in the assessment instruments and student work. This is confirmed by discussions with students and employers. In at least one establishment, the assignment had been set by the employer, although another employer indicated that in core business management modules, assessment was not related to the workplace. Examination of student work, however, shows that assessment provides a balance and integration of management, subject-specific and vocational skills and knowledge.
15 At module level the match between assessment tasks and learning outcomes is not always exact. There is some variation of practice in this respect and in the transparency of some assessments to students. A set of generic assessment criteria is provided by APU, although there are differing formats which have the potential to obscure the achievement requirements to some students. Written feedback on assessments is provided to students using a designated form and students are able to meet with tutors to discuss this although, again, there is some variation in practice and feedback is not always related to the assessment criteria.
16 Key transferable skills are not assessed explicitly in management core or subject-specific modules although their development is charted in the Preparing an Action Plan for Personal Development module. In the revised FD core curriculum, personal development planning has been incorporated with the Graduate and Employment Skills module.
17 A process for second-marking and cross moderation exists which is beginning to address some of the variability noted and helps to ensure the rigour and consistency of assessment. The appointment of subject-specific examiners addresses a weakness in the assurance of standards in the initial FD programme and is assisting the development of rigorous standards of assessment.
18 A policy is in place for the accreditation of prior (experiential) learning (AP(E)L), and five Hospitality students from CI have benefited from this. Upon completion of their studies, all students are provided with a transcript by APU that demonstrates their overall achievement.
19 The assessment instruments and student work examined showed that in the main, the programme ILOs are being achieved and that the core features of a FD and the intermediate level of the FHEQ are being attained. The reviewers sampled student work from 13 different modules; this confirmed that students are exposed to a broad range of study. The sampled student work shows that the standards achieved by learners meet the minimum expectations for the award. External examiner reports confirm the achievement of standards.
20 The students confirmed that there was an appropriate balance between generic management material and vocational study which could facilitate career progression in both generic and specialist fields. They also indicated that integration of WBL and academic study was effective in both directions; taught material was used in practical problem-solving situations and issues arising from the workplace were discussed in the classroom.
21 Ten students have successfully completed the programme, five at CI and five at WS. This represents completion rates of 45 per cent and 42 per cent respectively for the first cohort of students. This should improve due to better retention rates for later cohorts.
22 There is clear evidence to show that the pathway is addressing a shortfall in the regional workforce. There is a proven regional demand for sector-specific and generic management skills to which the programme contributes. Employers and employer-related organisations were involved in identifying employment sector needs and in the design and content of the programme. Specific option modules have been introduced as a result of employer input.
23 The continuing involvement of employers is variable. Some WBL involves employers in both the design and formative assessment of work-based projects. For example, the staff of the Angel Hotel in Bury St Edmunds participated fully in the design of assessment for the three students currently on the programme who are employed at the hotel. Other WBL lacks integration with academic study and both students and employers have expressed their concerns. Induction and continuing support for employers across the three centres is also variable.
The reviewers have confidence in the academic standards and achievements of students.
24 A revised approach to teaching was adopted in 2004 in order to contextualise learning and provide a sound underpinning to both core business and management modules and vocational modules. Knowledge and understanding are developed through lectures, seminars, directed independent study and through related work experience. At CCN and WS the FD students are taught together as a discrete group. This allows more focused teaching of management modules to hospitality students.
25 Students stated that the quality of teaching was high, that the tutors had experience of industry and that the programme met their expectations. Academic guidance forms a part of the teaching strategy and is provided by both module and personal tutors. Action learning sets have been beneficial and have helped to encourage mutual support groups, which have arranged visits to one another's places of work. There is evidence that this is promoting a commitment to independent and lifelong learning.
26 Students are encouraged to record their WBL through learning logs, action learning sets, critical incident techniques and general reflection on their personal development. Learning logs contain critical reflections on work experience and encourage students to make connections between their academic studies and their workplace experience. Students also appreciated that they could negotiate and personalise some of their learning outcomes and forms of assessment for their WBL. However, students reported that the WBL modules were often compressed at the end of the teaching day and that this limited their value. College staff acknowledged that this was a timetabling issue that needed resolution. Students felt that they had been well prepared for the WBL and that the College was helpful and supportive if/when difficulties arose.
27 The self-evaluation claims that 'the vocational elements of teaching and learning are further strengthened by visits to differing types of hospitality outlets at which presentations by employers are made'. This, again, is variable. At WS there are frequent visits to employers and one module on room allocation has been delivered in a hotel. At CCN and CI there have been fewer industry visits. There is scope for those features of the provision which constitute innovation and good practice (employer commitment; site visits; guest speakers) to be implemented consistently to ensure parity of learning experience across all centres.
28 Students are provided with clear information and guidance regarding their programme including a course handbook and module study guides, which define assessment requirements and schedules. Information on progression to level 3 is provided. Suitable induction is provided for new and re-entering students.
29 The students on the programme come from a wide variety of backgrounds with varying entry qualifications. In the current two cohorts of 56 students in total 32 per cent have GCE or VCE A-levels, 26 per cent have BTEC, 22 per cent have NVQ, and the remainder have Access or other qualifications. Three students have been admitted by APEL. Some students have specific support needs. English language support for students is provided at WS. Academic staff at CI are supported in their work with students by the Learning and Skills Development Unit.
30 Academic and pastoral support is provided to students by a personal tutor. Students' work is regularly reviewed and staff are confident that all students receive comprehensive guidance and feedback. Students meet regularly with module tutors to discuss their work. Study skills are identified through the Learning Skills Development module and through personal development planning meetings with tutors.
31 Students are given briefings and workbooks for their WBL. Staff feel that these need further development so that they provide clearer information for students. Support for their WBL is given by the students' employer. Examples were given where this is working well; the problem is ensuring consistently equitable experience and support for all students which requires closer monitoring.
32 The student retention rate has improved markedly since the first cohort and currently stands at 67 per cent and 65 per cent respectively for CI and WS. The withdrawal rate is much higher than the academic failure rate and college staff indicate that this is caused by problems associated with the combination of work and study, including the take up of permanent employment. CCN enrolled its first students in September 2004 and currently has 100 per cent retention.
33 Students are given guidance on progression at the beginning of year two. At CI, four of the completing students progressed onto the final year of the relevant undergraduate course in a manner that they described as 'seamless'. All the other graduates are in employment, the majority within hospitality but some within general management. Existing students, in discussion with the reviewers, confirmed their intention to move onto the undergraduate course in greater numbers than before and therefore progression rates are likely to increase. These students confirmed that such a move would not be problematic. The fact that students have progressed academically and have also found both generic and specific employment confirms the value of the programme.
34 There is an adequate range of staff employed to teach on the programme and to sustain the management and hospitality aspects at all colleges. The academic staff are suitably qualified and are able to update their industrial experience with the partner employers; there are staff training and development opportunities available for the college staff with joint university hosted events.
35 The range and quantity of specialist resources is adequate for the needs of the programme and FD students, although the specialist facilities available vary between colleges. CI and CCN both have Centre of Vocational Excellence status in Hospitality and WS in Management. WS augments its Hospitality resources by using the premises of partner employers for some activities.
36 The students in all three colleges have access to appropriate and convenient library and learning resource centres. Opening times vary but are sufficient to allow access to resources. Students were critical of WS bookstock. There is electronic access to the University Library and electronic journals and databases, including ATHENS, Infotrack, ALTIS and Mintel. Students can borrow university books via inter-library loans. There is no developed electronic support system for the Management programmes across centres which use different software from the university. This inhibits the development of any partnership wide information and learning support environment.
37 Although the SED states that 'apart from the provision of WBL opportunities, employers are not generally directly involved in delivery or assessment' a limited number of occasional guest lectures by employers have taken place. More recently, an initiative at WS has involved direct employer input into a specific module including the provision of formative assessment. In addition, at one site of WBL, the employer has liaised with a tutor to design an assignment for use in another module. Employer input was also found to be emerging in two other modules. These initiatives are considered to be examples of good practice and illustrate that employer involvement in direct delivery is expanding from its initial WBL focus.
38 Employers are provided with a briefing pack, which consists of general information about the nature of FDs, the students' module handbook and a document that outlines the responsibilities of the employer, the learner and the College. Despite this, not all employers, at the sites of WBL visited, were fully aware of the opportunities and support that they could provide for students. However, these employers did acknowledge that their relationship with the colleges was in an early stage of development. College staff had recently begun to visit employers and staff at WS contact employers through breakfast meetings. All employers did their best to provide appropriate coaching and mentoring in the workplace although they did acknowledge that commercial pressures sometime meant that this was less than ideal. WS has gained European Social Fund monies to support mentoring in the workplace.
39 At all sites of WBL, the reviewers found that students were able to demonstrate skills relevant to their employment. The students' skills were valued by employers and their potential was recognised. Students had been treated as regular members of staff with regard to health and safety, equal opportunities and other legal requirements.
The reviewers have confidence in the quality of the students' learning opportunities.
40 The mechanisms for validation are robust. The pathway was initially validated in 2002 and was reviewed and re-approved in 2004. The programme meets a clearly identified employment need and has been specifically designed to focus on this need. Amendments to the programme have taken place with employer involvement.
41 The responsibility for monitoring and enhancement lies with the AIBS within APU. There are clear mechanisms in place to ensure that the programme is monitored systematically against its learning outcomes. Until 2004 these arrangements contributed to an overall monitoring report for the field as a whole, which, according to the SED 'led to an undesirable level of generality'. In 2004 subject-specific external examiners were appointed. They will feed into the 2004-05 annual monitoring report (AMR). Students contribute through module evaluation and through student representatives on the programme committee. AMRs are disseminated in colleges with college responses at programme level, and contain action plans and reports on the implementation of previous action plans. Scrutiny of AMRs is carried out by a subgroup of the Faculty Board of AIBS with regional college membership.
42 There is no formal mechanism for employer feedback into the AMRs, although some views are gathered from tutor links with employers and additionally through the Employer Advisory Group at WS. Formal arrangements are not in place for employers to contribute to monitoring and enhancement of WBL activities. Mechanisms to ensure consistency in the monitoring of assessment standards and the quality of student learning experience across all locations are not fully developed.
43 The self-evaluation identifies the generic design of the management suite of programmes to the common template as an example of good practice. There is both consistency in the structure and the opportunity to respond flexibly to sub-regional employer and student need. Different aspects of good practice are developing at each college within the delivery network, with innovations in the development and delivery of curriculum being identified particularly at WS. There is opportunity for the University to disseminate these practices more widely across the network of partner colleges.
44 The growing involvement of particular employers in the design, delivery and formative assessment of modules is leading to innovative ways of integrating WBL into the FD curriculum. These initiatives are at an early stage and restricted to particular college contexts, but are considered to have the potential for wider dissemination.
45 The self-evaluation claims the use of action learning sets have led to student self-facilitation of learning and promote student self-management. A good example is the programme of visits which students have organised to their workplaces. The use of such sets is considered to be representative of mainstream good practice in the management and hospitality fields.
The Foundation Degree in Management of Hospitality validated by Anglia Polytechnic University, and delivered at Norwich City College of Further and Higher Education, Colchester Institute and West Suffolk College was reviewed in the academic year 2004-05. Judgements were made about academic standards and achievement of students and of the quality of learning opportunities provided.
Overall, the reviewers have confidence in the standards and achievements of students.
Overall, the reviewers have confidence in the quality of learning opportunities.
Features identified as good practice and innovation include:
Strengths of the programme include:
Areas for development include: