Policy and practice update for college higher education
| Date: | November 8 - 2021 |
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95 delegates from across England, Wales and Northern Ireland attended the third meeting of QAA's College HE Policy and Practice Network on 2 November 2021.
Dr Ailsa Crum - QAA's Director of Membership, Quality Enhancement and Standards - hosted the first part of the network meeting aimed at college higher education principals and senior leaders. It covered a UK-wide policy update and its impact on college higher education, from QAA's Policy team - Gareth Crossman (Head of Policy and Communications), Luke Myer (Policy and Public Affairs Officer) and James Harrison (Lead Policy Officer, Nations and Europe). Colleagues discussed proposed legislative and policy developments across the UK, including the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill and academic integrity legislation, the Spending Review, and proposed reforms to tertiary education funding, regulation and quality approaches in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The practice session - hosted by Dr Kate Mori, QAA's Academic Engagement Manager, and Jo Green, QAA's Quality Specialist - then explored support for college higher education staff members transitioning between the delivery of further and higher education, through the lens of quality assurance and enhancement. The discussion featured insightful contributions from the following panellists:
- Roberta Hall, Acting HE Manager, Derby College
- Jane Nickisson, Head of Quality for HE, Salford City College
- Leon Annett, Dean of Higher Education, Cardiff and Vale College
- Alastair Wilson, Head of Higher Education and Academic Registry, South Devon College
- Carolyn Davison, Assistant Director HE and Quality, Southern Regional College
- Chris Evans, Head of Quality and Pedagogy, Southern Regional College
- Mairead O'Malley, Teaching and Learning Advisor, Southern Regional College
- Helen O'Connor, Employee Development Manager, Southern Regional College
Some feedback from the session:
‘Incredibly useful insight into the constantly changing HE landscape. It can be difficult to establish a clear HE ethos in a College environment - it was good to hear a variety of perspectives and pick up ideas.’
The Network is part of QAA Membership and currently has 89 Member Colleges. It is only available to QAA Members. To find out about becoming a QAA Member, please contact membership@qaa.ac.uk