From education to employment

UK Quality Mark for Solihull College

UK Quality Mark for Solihull College

The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) has confirmed the quality and standards of provision at Solihull College following its review in February 2016.

A team of QAA reviewers visited Solihull College and judged that its academic standards, the quality and enhancement of its student learning opportunities, and the quality of information about its learning opportunities all meet UK expectations.

The review identified some examples of good practice, which were:

  • course design, development and approval processes that enable the College to oversee standards rigorously and respond to local and regional need

  • the higher education peer observation system, which enhances approaches to teaching and learning and builds staff confidence.

The review made some recommendations for improvement, which were to ensure that:

  • the College takes account of students’ prior learning in a way that is appropriate for the demands of the course and is appropriately recorded

  • all website marketing information clearly and consistently identifies which body awards each qualification.

Solihull College Principal, John Callaghan, said: ‘We are extremely delighted with the results of the QAA review. The findings reflect the excellent higher education offer we have at Solihull College & University Centre.’

‘As the only University Centre in Solihull, it is vital that we meet the needs of students within the local area by offering a variety of university level courses across both of our campuses. We are pleased that the reviewers highlighted a number of areas which, as a College, we are successful in, including the creation of the new HE Centre to provide students with the desired HE learning environment; the positive feedback from students about how the programmes had been devised to improve their employability; and the fact our students feel well supported in developing their academic skills.

‘The results of the QAA review demonstrate how hard both our staff and students work to achieve whilst in higher education, something we are very proud of and will no doubt be reflected in our students’ results at the end of the academic year.’

QAA’s Higher Education Reviews are carried out by experts from other universities and colleges. Every review team includes a student reviewer, because QAA believes that students should be partners in the quality assurance of their education.

The team that reviewed Solihull College comprised Professor Alan Howard (associate professor at the University of Reading), Alexandra Day (Peter Symonds College), Christopher Maidment (student reviewer from the University of Sheffield) and Clive Turner (independent reviewer).

A successful review means that the College can display the QAA Quality Mark, indicating to UK and international students that it meets national requirements for standards and quality.

ENDS

Notes to editor

  1. For more information, please contact Rosalind Moore, Communications Officer at [email protected] or 01452 389643.

  2. The review carried out at Solihull College was a Higher Education Review (HER). More information on HER is available at www.qaa.ac.uk/reviews-and-reports/how-we-review-higher-education/higher-education-review.

  3. The report on Solihull College was published on 19 May 2016. It is available at www.qaa.ac.uk/reviews-and-reports/provider?UKPRN=10005946

  4. QAA safeguards the public interest in the quality and standards of UK higher education. We check how UK universities and colleges maintain their academic standards and quality. We review and report on how they meet their responsibilities, identify good practice and make recommendations for improvement. We publish guidelines to help UK universities and colleges develop effective systems to ensure students have the best learning experience. Further information is available at: www.qaa.ac.uk.

  5. Solihull College also provided the following quotations:

Sue McGregor, Dean of Higher Education and Curriculum Innovation at Solihull College, said: ‘An important part of a higher education institution is to ensure that our students feel involved in their learning and have the chance to feedback on their learning experience; this is something that we are extremely pleased the QAA report noted. The report stated ‘The students confirmed that they have a real say in directing and improving both the College as a whole and their own individual learning. They feel listened to, their input is taken seriously and their message makes a difference.’ This is something we are very proud of and will endeavour to continue.’

Scott Beasley, one of Solihull College’s Lead Student Representatives, who was involved with the review, said: ‘As a lead student representative, I am really pleased that the QAA report reflects the thoughts of students at the College. As students we feel well supported in developing our academic skills through a variety of processes including regular group tutorials, one-to-one sessions which can be requested at any time and more formal termly progress reviews. I feel that by achieving my university level qualification at Solihull College & University Centre, my employability prospects have increased, something which was reflected by alumni students and within the report.’


Related Articles

Responses