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 Performing Arts is an award of London Metropolitan University (the University) where it is the responsibility of the Department of Humanities, Arts and Languages. It was validated in 2003 to be delivered by WAC Performing Arts and Media College (WAC or the College) based in the Old Hampstead Town Hall, Belsize Park and the Thanet Community Centre in Camden Town. WAC, originally the Weekend Arts College, is the largest department in the Interchange Trust, a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity. The College was established 26 years ago as an initiative to provide training for young people from low-income families. The FD was developed to provide a progression route into higher education (HE), particularly students from black ethnic minority groups. It seeks to address the lack of trained interdisciplinary artists, particularly those trained in the skills required by non-Western arts companies. The award is one of a number that the University has developed collaboratively with the intention to widen participation to HE and increase the opportunities for vocational education within the London region.
2 The FD is intended to provide students with a qualification that will enable them to enter the performing arts industry, or go on to honours-level awards. This is to be achieved by providing a grounding in the practical aspects of performance in dance, drama and vocals while also developing critical and analytical skills through written work. The programme was developed with funding and support from EQUAL, a European Social Fund Community Initiative, and Metier, a national equality and diversity agency working in the creative industries. This funding enabled the development team to take advice from a wide range of organisations. Consultants were engaged from within the HE sector to support the writing of modules.
3 The articulation arrangement for the FD is with the BA (Hons) in Performing Arts at the University. The University also has a tutor with responsibility for academic liaison to support WAC in the management of the programme.
4 At the time of the review, no students had yet graduated from the FD. A total of 32 students were registered in two cohorts, 29 of whom were black and ethnic minority students drawn from the local and Greater London areas.
5 The programme is coordinated by a full-time manager, supported by a part-time administrator, and is taught by freelance tutors who are also creative arts professionals. These are typically directors of arts and performance companies. The work-based learning (WBL) element of the FD involves students working in the College on modules with these industry professionals, rather than having a separate placement. At both Certificate and Intermediate levels there is an Integrated Project module. The Integrated Project enables the student cohort, with professional direction, to create a public performance in a professional venue.
6 The main educational aims of the course are to offer:
i a two year full-time course comprising three routes - Dance, Drama and Vocals, of which students select two
ii a distinctive range of content, focusing on an interdisciplinary approach to training in the performing arts
iii intensive skills acquisition in two out of three disciplines: Dance, Drama and Vocals; experience in culturally diverse art forms combining with the whole cohort on two integrated projects
iv support to non-traditional entrant to HE including work directly with a range of cultural industries in the local area
v support for a range of professionals to teach on the course
vi an FD to students who have successfully passed 16 modules
vii an opportunity for successfully completed students to move on to an HE institute honours degree.
7 The FD also aims to promote the following range of knowledge and understanding skills specific to the performing arts (non-Western art forms) as written into all the individual modules:
i provide students with the knowledge and understanding to perform effectively
ii develop students' knowledge of the history of a variety of world art forms
iii develop original performances using improvisation, song writing and choreography
iv develop understanding of the relationships between arts practices and the broad social and cultural environment
v knowledge of Dance, Drama and Vocal technique in different contexts
vi develop students' understanding of performance management
vii provide an understanding of the cultural impact of non-Western arts traditions
viii demonstrate the ability to analyse, manipulate and create musical, dramatic and dance materials
ix show an understanding of the relationship between music, drama and dance theory and practice.
8 The aims and intended learning outcomes (ILOs) of the programme are clearly expressed in the self-evaluation and the course literature, and reflect the defining features of an FD. These include the intention to facilitate access to students from low-income backgrounds and ethnic minorities. Entry to the FD is carefully linked to the other programmes and educational projects run by WAC. The programme has been outstandingly successful in its intention to widen participation among a group who would otherwise not have entered HE.
9 The FD aims to provide a sound understanding of interdisciplinary performance in its three specialist routes of dance, drama and vocals. It sets out to do this by promoting an understanding of non-Western art forms, and locating intensive skills acquisition into a wider context of cultural analysis and performance management. The programme was developed with reference to the Trinity Performance Standards.
10 The aims and ILOs are clearly expressed in the programme specification. They are understood by the students and enthusiastically endorsed by the industry professionals who deliver the programme as associate lecturers. However, the staff team who deliver and manage the programme do not understand the requirements or processes involved in relation to the Academic Infrastructure. There is a lack of understanding about setting the programme in the context of key external reference points, the FHEQ, the Foundation degree: qualification benchmark (final draft) (FDQB) and the relevant subject benchmark statements. This has been recognised as a weakness in the annual review of the programme and is being addressed through the University staff development sessions. There is still a need for the aims and curriculum to be revised to take full account of the external reference points to secure the correct standard for this award.
11 The development of essential skills is well reflected in the aims and ILOs of the modules. In a number of modules, this development is located appropriately within a critical analysis of the cultural context of the art form. This is evident, for example, in Afro Cuban Dance, History of Jazz and Irish Traditional Singing. However, the relationship between academic study and practical skills development is unclear in the aims and ILOs of a large number of the modules. This is the case in all of the technique modules, Improvisation, Urban B Boy, and Capoeira.
12 Students are aware of the articulated progression routes into an honours degree at the University, through an articulation agreement with them, or elsewhere through entry by the accreditation of prior learning. It is the view of the programme team that students progressing to other programmes, where the emphasis is more clearly on Western art forms, will not be disadvantaged. This perception is based on the fact that the FD will have provided the generic basis in skills and practice-based knowledge necessary for success at honours level. However, while skills development in the FD is clearly appropriate for entry to honours, the programme may not, at present, provide students with a sufficient basis in academic knowledge and critical and analytical skills to succeed at this next level. The external examiner raised this point in 2004.
13 The FD is a two-year full-time programme consisting of 27 modules, of which students must complete 19. The programme carries 240 credits with 120 of these being at Intermediate level. The FD offers intensive skills development to students in two out of three disciplines, dance, drama, and vocals. It also provides experience in the practical and theoretical aspects of culturally diverse and non-Western art forms. Technique is taught throughout the programme and this is intended as the core that provides students with the knowledge and understanding of the relationships between art practices and their cultural context. Students also select Style modules, which specialise in a particular practice-based art form together with the core technique modules. These are intended to combine over two years, to provide a map of the academic and practical skills needed for professional performing arts training.
14 The particular combination of practical skills focused on culturally specific and contemporary popular art forms is designed to appeal to the target student population of non-traditional entrants to HE. The Integrated Project at each level, in which the students develop a performance to be given at a public venue, facilitates a sense of purpose and progression within skills acquisition. Students report that the distinctive content of the curriculum is the main attraction when they apply for the programme. The acquisition of professional skills is well founded within the curriculum and includes consideration of related issues like health and safety and risk assessment. However, the contextual studies needed to provide the integration of academic and practical learning is given insufficient emphasis in curricular design. This conflicts with the range of knowledge and skills embodied in the FD aims and militates against the full achievement of the ILOs.
15 Students who complete the FD successfully may be considered for selected entry to level 3 (honours level) of the BA in Performing Arts at the University. This progression does not form part of the formal agreement between WAC and the University. WAC is also a recent partner in a two-year EQUAL-funded project called Last Mile. This aims to break down barriers to black and ethnic minority workers in the cultural industries between training and employment. WAC, with UK and European partners, is working to provide support and training options that will enable students to gain employment on graduation from the FD.
16 The assessment strategy is set out in the programme specification and the assessment arrangements for the modules appear in the module specifications. Assessment is described as summative within the Style modules and formative for the Technique modules, where students receive regular feedback on their personal development. Assessment generally involves students presenting their work to tutors and peers, both individually and in teams. This process culminates in the Integrated Project at the end of each level. Assessment makes use of professional criteria for performance standards.
17 The assessment strategy is organised around the progressive development of performance skills. The assessment tasks allow students to demonstrate cognitive skills, but they are not capable of systematically testing the integration of work-based skills with academic. This weakness is evident in the assessment arrangements for individual modules, such as Urban B Boy, Afro Cuban Dance, Ritual Song/Blues, Improvisation, and Mask.
18 Students report that what is required in assessment is explained to them in the individual modules and that the tasks are generally clear to them. However, the module specifications and assessment briefs lack clear assessment criteria. This point was not identified at validation. Overall, the approach to assessment is reliant on informal arrangements between staff and students, with no clear criteria being provided for individual tasks. In particular, the methodology for awarding individual grades to students for their role in the collective Integrated Project is unclear in the formal documentation of the process. This is a significant gap since the project represents a major element in the programme's approach to WBL. The College's approach to assessment is based upon the University assessment framework.
19 Students receive oral feedback from staff and report that this is of good quality. Students are also supplied with end-of-module written feedback. This is full and helpful for first-year modules. However, much of the written feedback for those individual assessment tasks scrutinised by the reviewers was brief and offered little guidance. It often lacked a direct relationship to the ILOs of the module or a clear indication of how students might improve their academic performance.
20 The University has comprehensive procedures for assessment and these are in operation as part of the partnership agreement. These are not fully understood by the staff team delivering the programme. For example, the reviewers found variable practice across modules for second-marking. This point was recognised at the most recent annual review conducted by the University. It has been recognised by the partnership that the staff team lack experience in assessment in HE and that this is an area for development. As a result, a programme of assessment training for WAC staff was provided by the University in October 2004.
21 Similarly, while University procedures exist for the accreditation of prior experiential and/or certificated learning, there is no reference to these in the course documentation nor are students aware of these opportunities.
22 The reviewers sampled 12 assessments across a range of modules drawn from all three of the specialist areas of study. These included videos of student individual and group performance and student written work. They also observed rehearsals for, and the public performance of, the Integrated Project for both levels. Internal markers had passed all the work seen by the reviewers.
23 The reviewers identified problems with the standard of written work in eight of the samples and over-marking in a further two modules. The standard of written work is not in line with that expected at Certificate or Intermediate levels, lacking the appropriate level of contextual understanding and critical evaluation. The written work does not demonstrate achievement of the module ILOs that relate to the historical, social and cultural context of the art form under study. The external examiner made this same point in 2003-04.
24 The external examiner also reported that the marks were generally higher than would be expected in equivalent courses elsewhere, 'leading to significant distortion of academic attainment'. The College acknowledges that work was over-marked, and staff development sessions for assessment training have been organised with the University to address this issue. At the time of the review, this had not yet had an identifiable impact on the marking of student work.
25 A significant number of students fail the year-one Study Support module. In 2003-04, seven out of 19 failed, with 12 out of 18 failing in 2004-05. The College has identified low-level reading skills as the cause of the low standard of text-based work and is introducing a diagnostic literacy test as part of the selection process for future cohorts. This enhanced literacy screening will include a provision to identify students with dyslexia.
26 The performance work observed in rehearsal and in the Integrated Project was of a very high standard, and certainly reflected professional expectations of a public performance. However, there is little evidence that students' practical work is underpinned by research or theory, as intended in the programme ILOs. Nor is it evident that the programme succeeds in the integration of academic and practical work, which is an expectation of the FDQB.
27 In the design and development of the FD, the College undertook a wide range of consultation within the creative arts industries. This established the skills gap that the FD would fill, specifically that of artists with a capacity in interdisciplinary performance. The development team also drew on the Eclipse Report published by the Arts Council England in 2002, drawing attention to the lack of opportunities for black and ethnic minority artists working in English theatres. This sensitive process of development is reflected in the clear relevance that the FD has to the needs of the contemporary creative arts industry. WAC maintains contact with the profession through a regular series of 'industry specialist' meetings.
28 The FD is taught entirely by industry professionals, all of whom are also employers within the creative arts. Typically, a director of an arts company will be contracted to deliver a module or series of modules. As a result, the FD is characterised throughout by a commitment to professional values and standards. The entire programme focuses on the student as a potential and likely entrant to the profession. The teaching process is focused on supporting students to develop an understanding of the world of work and developing the confidence to enter it. The Integrated Projects at the end of the first and second years are carefully placed in public theatres, for example, the Albany Empire in Greenwich. These public performances encourage attendance by professional agents and other interested parties who might assist students in their future careers. The reviewers consider that this represents a highly innovative approach to the WBL, which is a defining characteristic of an FD. It is also an example of good practice.
29 The industry professionals delivering the modules lack experience of HE and its teaching. This has particular implications for the curriculum and assessment requirements of a programme that is intended to integrate academic and practical learning. The programme team is aware of this difficulty and is working hard with the University to address the issue through staff development, particularly in the area of assessment. While the staff development is a valuable initiative for the future, the current focus on practical skills is often achieved at the expense of contextual study in the curriculum, assessment and the academic attainments of students.
The reviewers have no confidence in the emerging academic standards and emerging achievements of students.
30 The range of learning and teaching approaches is well matched to the development of performance skills. Most teaching takes place in workshops and this provides opportunities for students to work individually or in groups and for tutors to demonstrate their skills as exemplars. The workshops are supported by the use of video and recorded material and by one-to-one tutorials. Students also attend public performances given by their tutors. At each level, the practical work culminates in the Integrated Project that enables the students to work together, under professional direction, to create a publicly performed show. In this process, students develop clearly devised roles for themselves. The Integrated Project demonstrates the success of the teaching team in the integration of the three contributory performance disciplines of dance, drama and vocals. However, some students express concerns about the lack of teaching experience among staff although they also report that the quality of teaching is high in respect of performance skills. In particular, they value the emphasis on professional standards and the creation of a realistic work-based environment.
31 It is a clear strength of the programme that the learning and teaching is devised to encourage the progressive development of interdisciplinary skills to professional standard in non-traditional entrants to HE. Students are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning. They are consistently encouraged to analyse their skill base critically and to strive to improve the quality of their performance. This encourages students towards lifelong learning in their practical abilities.
32 The self-evaluation claims that learning and teaching 'promotes an appropriate mix of practical and conceptual abilities'. However, the reviewers could find no evidence of a strategy for ensuring the delivery of the conceptual framework set out in the ILOs. Furthermore, students reported that theory is generally not integrated into the teaching of practical skills. These shortcomings in learning and teaching undermine the achievement of some key aims. In particular, they impact on the aim to develop understanding of the relationships between arts practices and the broad social and cultural environment, and the aim to show an understanding of the relationship between music, drama and dance theory and practice. The reviewers also noted a lack of teaching materials to support an understanding of the cultural context for non-Western art forms.
33 The programme has been successful in its intention to widen access to HE. Of the 32 students currently taking the programme, 22 have been recruited from the Greater London area and consist almost entirely of black and ethnic minority students. Around two-thirds of the students are female. All are taking the programme full-time, and around a half were mature on entry. The staff at WAC have been able to build on excellent community links to provide progression from the College's part-time programmes, for example, the ARCO Plus project. Students reported that they would have been unlikely to have entered HE but for the FD.
34 The retention level is high, with only three withdrawals from the first cohort of 20 and two withdrawals from the second cohort of 16 students. This is a significant achievement which reflects the strong sense of identity that students have with the programme and the College, as well as the industry professionals and course managers who deliver the programme.
35 Students are auditioned prior to acceptance onto the programme and a judgement is made on their capacity to complete the programme successfully. Currently, the assessment of applicants' literacy/reading skills is limited to a scrutiny of the application form and personal statement. The selection process does not include a fit-for-purpose diagnostic literacy test. The weaknesses in students' written work provide evidence that the present arrangements are not fully effective in identifying shortcomings and associated support needs. WAC does not have a formal admissions policy and there are no mechanisms in place for the University to monitor the admissions process at WAC and the extent to which it meets the recommendations of the Code of practice for the assurance of academic quality and standards in higher education (Code of practice), Section 10: Recruitment and admissions, published by QAA.
36 On joining the programme, students are provided with a copy of the programme specification with aims and ILOs, a student handbook and module handbooks. Personal development planning (PDP) features strongly in the students' intensive skills development. The University reports their intention to work with WAC to formalise this approach to PDP to cover all aspects of the programme. Students reported the close tutorial contact that they enjoy with the dedicated and committed staff. They also confirmed the high levels of individual academic and pastoral support identified by the external examiner. From 2004, a Learning Support tutor has been available to work individually with students, who report positively on the impact of this recent innovation.
37 Students confirmed that their views are fully considered in the development of the programme. Elected student representatives meet with the course team on a termly basis. Meetings are held twice a year between the course team and each year group to elicit feedback and exchange information. Both sets of meetings are formally minuted.
38 The FD is taught by a wide range of staff, with a high level of expertise in their specialist areas. Most of the staff teaching the FD have first degrees in subject-related areas and all are appropriately qualified and experienced in their professional fields of work. Students have a high respect for the professional expertise of staff, although they also express concerns about the lack of teaching experience. These views are supported by the curricula vitae of teaching staff. Staff are given a full induction, including a pack which covers issues of health, risk assessment, complaint procedures. Some staff development sessions have been held to support those staff who are industry professionals and who are new to teaching. WAC operates a system for the peer observation of teaching. This is clearly designed to support the delivery of practical skills but is not effective in promoting their integration with theoretical content.
39 WAC has access to high-quality teaching accommodation and resources at its base in Belsize Park. These include well-equipped arts and media studios, two information technology (IT) rooms, two fully-fitted dance studios, four soundproofed music rooms and three multipurpose teaching rooms for use for all subject areas. There are also digital arts and video editing studios, a recording studio and musical instruments. The space is shared with other users and there have been difficulties of access to the specialised dance space. Students also commented on the poor state of the facilities at the Thanet Community Centre. The reviewers visited the Centre and considered the large space that is available to be appropriate for teaching and rehearsals. A well-equipped studio theatre at North Westminster School is used for the performances of the Integrated Project at level 1. The level 2 performances take place at the Albany Empire Theatre, a high status and well-equipped performance space.
40 The current arrangements for students to access books and articles to support academic study are unsatisfactory. The validation of 25 June 2003 raised concerns that students do not have access to key course texts. It identified the need to develop a resource base at the College, as a matter of some urgency. It was noted at annual monitoring in 2004 that there was, as yet, no library on site but it was expected that fundraising would allow the purchase of sufficient books to support the module booklists. A small library is in process of being formed at WAC and funds are being sought to extend the facility. This development is in its early stages and is currently insufficient for the needs of the programme. Students have only reference rights at the University library.
41 All staff involved in teaching and assessment are themselves industry professionals and most are employers. They are engaged as associate lecturers to deliver particular modules or groups of modules. As such, they are able to provide constant contact with the creative industries that are relevant to the FD.
42 A striking feature of the provision is the extent to which the part-time teaching staff share the core values of the College. They display a high level of commitment to the achievement of its mission to widen participation. Students confirm that the employers' central contribution to the course is well designed to introduce them to the nature of the creative arts workplace. In particular, they value the currency of the contemporary practice and the emphasis on the professional ethic that this approach brings to their studies. This is an innovative approach to the requirements for WBL and a highly-effective method for ensuring the development of vocational skills.
43 The employers who deliver the programme are coordinated by a full-time Programme Manager and supported by a full-time administrative assistant. Increasingly, these industry professionals are engaging in staff development sessions provided by the University. The sessions are intended to address the lack of experience in the delivery of HE programmes. This lack of experience is most evident in the difficulties experienced in integrating the development of academic learning with that of intensive skills acquisition. This integration is essential for the ILOs of the programme to be achieved in full.
The reviewers have no confidence in the quality of the students' learning opportunities.
44 The partnership between WAC and the University is underpinned by a Memorandum of Agreement and an annually reviewed Administrative Schedule which outline the responsibility of the partners. The delivery and management of the programme, including the provision of academic and pastoral support, is the responsibility of WAC. The University, as the awarding institution, has ultimate responsibility for the academic standards and quality of the programme and operates quality assurance procedures as laid out in the Partnerships and Collaborative Provision Handbook. These include procedures for validation, minor modifications, annual review, periodic review, the constitution of a staff student committee and the application of the University's assessment and admissions regulations. The self-evaluation describes the partnership as 'still developing slowly'. The annual review for 2003-04 identified early difficulties of communication and support. The University has subsequently addressed these difficulties by establishing a formal link between the FD and the University's School of Humanities, Arts and Languages.
45 The system for annual review, operated by the University, represents an effective means of identifying operational difficulties. The report of 2003-04 identifies a number of shortcomings that reflect the findings of this review. They include the lack of HE experience amongst WAC tutors and the need for staff development to support them. It also drew attention to difficulties with accessing some dance spaces and the need to develop students' written and research skills. At the time of the review there was insufficient evidence to indicate that these issues had been resolved satisfactorily. Access to books and articles was identified as a problem both at validation and in annual monitoring the following year. This matter has still to be adequately addressed.
46 The reviewers verify the claim in the self-evaluation that the programme is an example of good practice in widening participation and access. This feature is worthy of national recognition for its achievements. The claim for good practice in terms of the location of the curriculum within the creative industries is also substantiated. Employers from within the creative arts industry successfully develop vocational skills through teaching and assessment. This practice-based approach is innovative and effective in achieving the intensive development of vocational skills required for work in the creative industries. As the self-evaluation claims, it is particularly well suited to entrants from non-traditional backgrounds. The approach is seen at its best in the Integrated Project that is used to showcase students' professional skills at the end of each level. While these points confirm claims to best practice made in the self-evaluation, the reviewers do not confirm the claim made that the integration of WBL and academic learning is also a strength.
The Foundation Degree (FD) in Performing Arts validated by London Metropolitan University (the University) and delivered at WAC Performing Arts and Media College (WAC or the 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.
The FD has been successful in identifying a skills gap in the well-documented shortage of performers, with interdisciplinary skills, from a black or ethnic minority background. It has been successful in recruiting students from non-traditional backgrounds and has adopted an innovative and successful approach to the development of intensive performance skills, with a focus on non-Western art forms. The impressive development of interdisciplinary skills is best seen in the Integrated Projects. The projects conclude study at each level and take the form of public performances to a professional standard. These positive features and impressive achievements have grown from the long and distinguished history that WAC has in providing pre-vocational training for young people from low-income families. However, the FD is WAC's first higher education (HE) award. In moving from a training agenda to an HE agenda, the provider has paid insufficient regard to the theoretical aspects of the students' education appropriate to the Intermediate level of the award. In particular, the programme has not succeeded in achieving the integration of academic and practical learning that is a feature of the Foundation degree qualification benchmark (final draft) (FDQB) and is necessary for achieving the knowledge and understanding described as part of the degree aims. Students' written work consistently fails to meet the standard required at this level. The learning and teaching do not provide students the opportunities or the resources to demonstrate their full achievement of the learning outcomes. This is clearly evident in relation to the contextual aspects of the art forms studied in the practical elements of the programme.
Overall the reviewers have no confidence in the emerging academic standards and emerging achievements of students
Areas for immediate development include:
Other areas which would benefit from development include:
Strengths of the programme include:
The quality of students' learning opportunities
Overall, the reviewers have no confidence in the quality of learning opportunities provided for students
Areas for immediate development include:
Other areas which would benefit from development include:
Strengths of the programme include:
The partnership between the University and WAC for the delivery of the FD is underpinned by an appropriate framework at institutional level. This did not take into account the College's lack of experience with HE-level work. Early difficulties in communication between the two organisations have been addressed by locating the locus of responsibility within a compatible academic school in the University. The annual review process has identified issues that the partnership has not yet addressed.