Learning & Teaching and Student Services …...3 Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee...

Board of ManagementLearning & Teaching and Student Services Committee

Meeting of 18 November 2014


Notice

Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee

NOTICE OF MEETING

There will be a meeting of the Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee on Tuesday 18 November 2014 at 1400 hours in G10, Aberdeen City Campus.

MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF MANAGEMENTMs. A BellMs. S CormackMr. B DunnMr. D Duthie (Chair)Ms. K GravellsProf. J HarperMs. C InglisMr. D RennieMs. A SimpsonMr. S SmithMr. R Wallen

IN ATTENDANCEMr. N Cowie, Vice Principal Organisational ServicesMs. S Walker, Vice Principal CurriculumMr. P Sherrington, Depute PrincipalMs. P May, Secretary to the Board of ManagementMs. P Kesson, Minute Secretary


Agenda

Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee


Agenda

1. Apologies for Absence

2. Minute of Previous Meeting 2.1 Minute of 16 September 2014

3. Matters Arising3.1. Matters to be raised at the meeting

4. Report to the Committee by the Principal (paper enclosed)

5. Matters for Decision5.1. Student Support Strategy (paper enclosed)

6. Matters for Discussion6.1. Report on Work of Academic Board and its Sub-committees (paper enclosed)6.2. Report on non-SFC Funded Activity (paper enclosed)6.3. Quality Assurance Arrangements (paper enclosed)6.4. Students’ Association (paper enclosed)

7. Papers for Information7.1. Education Scotland Annual Engagement Visit May 2014 (paper enclosed)7.2. Performance Indicators – standing Item (paper enclosed)7.3. Student Support Funds (paper enclosed)

8. Summation of Business and Date and Time of Next Meeting

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Learning & Teaching and Student Services CommitteeMeeting of 18 November 2014

Agenda Item 2.1

Draft Minute of Meeting of 16 September 2014

The meeting commenced at 1430 hours.

PRESENT – S Cormack, B Dunn, D Duthie (Chair), K Gravells, J Harper, C Inglis, D Rennie, S Smith, R WallenIN ATTENDANCE – P Sherrington, P May, P Kesson

1. Apologies for AbsenceApologies were received from A Bell and A Simpson. Mr Wallen informed Members that Mr Cowie and Mrs Walker were not present to talk to their papers as they were attending Education Scotland Associate Assessor training.

2. Minute of previous MeetingThe Minute of Meeting held on 15 July 2014 was approved.

3. Matters arising from previous MeetingThere were no matters arising.

4. Report by the PrincipalThe Committee noted a report providing information on Partnership with Enterprise North East Trust; College Development Network (CDN) and Colleges Scotland (CS); good practice in Student Services; looked after and accommodated young people and care leavers; Students’ Association; Napier University and University of the West of Scotland; Skills Scotland 2014; online student enrolment; Skillsdrive 2014; and the CDN Annual Awards 2014.

Mr Wallen provided additional information on the new post of Students’ Association Manager, online enrolment, and the CDN Annual Awards 2014.

Members noted that “Bridge2Business” coordinators are in College two days per week and not one day as stated in the paper.

5. Matters for Decision5.1 Students’ Association Budget The Committee considered the proposed budget for the Students’ Association for 2014-15.

ItwasnotedthattheAssociationwillcontinuetobenefitfromaccesstotransformationfunding in the current year but that this funding will not be available in future years. Mr Rennie was therefore advised to ensure that the Association gets the best value for money from the fund this year.

Mr Rennie informed the Committee that Ms Sophie Brooks, North Area President, had resigned from her post and that consideration would being given as to how these duties couldbenowbefulfilled,perhapsonapart-timebasis.

The Committee noted the importance of sustainability for the Students’ Association in future years in terms of a balanced budget and an affordable and robust structure, and agreed that the new Manager of the Association would play a key role in addressing this. MrDuthieadvisedMrRenniethathewouldneedtoconsidereconomiesandefficienciesafter the current year.

Professor Harper commended the Association on their sustainable core structure and the Committee endorsed his comments.

After some consideration Mr Duthie commented that it is in the College’s interests to have a viable and robust Students’ Association and asked that the Committee approve the budget for 2014-15 as presented. The Committee agreed.

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Agenda Item 2.1

6. Matters for Discussion6.1 Full-time Student Applications 2014-15 The Committee noted a paper providing information on the level of full-time student

applications for academic year 2014-15.

Mr Wallen provided updated information on the number of students enrolled, and applications currently being processed. He advised that the full-time enrolment target was proving harder to achieve this year but that work was being undertaken to reduce the current shortfall, including an agreement with the SFC in relation to additionality.

The Committee agreed that changes to the conversion rate of applications to offers and other factors such as the impact of Curriculum for Excellence and the buoyant employment market need to be considered and analysed from a strategic point of view.

6.2 Developing Employability Skills through Curriculum Design The Committee noted a paper providing information on the College’s approaches to

developing employability skills through curriculum design.

Information was provided on developing employability skills through work experience placements; enterprise activity and client-designed projects; enterprise initiative for 2014-15; developing employability skills through volunteering; and examples of curriculum design to support employability.

Mr Smith drew Members’ attention to the paragraph on the BP Tutoring Scheme and pointed out that not all students on the scheme intended to apply for teacher training or youth work.

The Committee commended the College’s approach to developing employability skills and thanked Mrs Walker for her very comprehensive report.

6.3 Modern Apprenticeships – 2014-15 Recruitment The Committee noted a paper providing information on recruitment to Modern

Apprenticeship (MA) programmes for academic year 2014-15.

Mr Sherrington provided updated information on enrolments and applications for the current year.

Mr Rennie informed Members that discussions were currently being held with the National Union of Modern Apprentices regarding the establishment of a partnership with the College. Members commended Mr Rennie on this initiative.

6.4 The North East Scotland College Curriculum The Committee noted a report providing information on key curriculum developments

for 2014-15 and progress with the 2015-16 curriculum.

Mr Sherrington provided further information on Merchant Navy training.

Members commended the College’s Prospectus for 2015-16 which had recently been published.

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Agenda Item 2.1

6.5 Learner Progression – First Destinations and Progression Pathways 2013-14 The Committee noted a paper providing information on the progression pathways of the

College’slearnersandtheirfirstdestinations.

Informationwasprovidedonfirstdestinationstatistics;progressiontoUniversityDegreeLink Programmes; and internal progression opportunities in the College.

Ms Cormack suggested that consideration be given to a follow-up leaver destination survey and to new approaches for capturing leaver destination data.

Mr Dunn suggested that HND Social Science students could assist with surveys as part of their work experience.

6.6 Students’ Association The Committee noted a report provided by the Students’ Association.

Mr Rennie provided further information on the report with regard to Freshers’ Week and the student card system. He said that the Association was hoping to build relationships with the two local universities to discuss transport, accommodation and other issues. Mr Rennie also informed Members that the Association are now to be given a regular monthly slot on RadioActive.

Mr Duthie commended the Association on the amount of work that is being undertaken.

7. Papers for Information7.1 Student Activity 2013-14 The Committee noted a paper providing information on the outturn level of student

activity for academic year 2013-14.

MembersnotedthattheScottishFundingCouncilhasconfirmedthat,althoughthereisa shortfall of 0.4% against target set, the College will not be penalised and no funding will be clawed back.

7.2 Key Quality Performance Indicators The Committee noted a paper providing information on key performance indicators

relating to the Quality function. Members were advised that the historic data relate to activity undertaken in the former Aberdeen College, and data for 2013-14 has been combined for the regional College.

In response to a query regarding an increase in the number of complaints on the delivery ofcoursesMrWallenclarifiedthatthiscanbeattributedtothedatafor2013-14includingall NESC campuses rather than just former Aberdeen College campuses. Members noted that the category of delivery of courses could cover various issues and that it could be helpful to consider a breakdown of the complaints.

The Committee asked that consideration be given to a more formal process for recording compliments and thanks. Mr Rennie commented that information from peer led reviews could be passed to the Committee.

7.3 Student Support Funds The Committee noted a report providing information on amounts allocated for various

support funds and comparative spend of academic years 2013-14 and 2012-13.

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Agenda Item 2.1

8. Summation of Business and date and time of next MeetingThe Secretary gave a summation of the business conducted. The next meeting of the Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee is scheduled to take place on Tuesday 18 November 2014 at 1400 hours.

The meeting concluded at 1525 hours.

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Agenda Item 4

Report to the Committee by the Principal

1. Introduction1.1 The purpose of this report is to informmembers of theCommittee about significant

developments.

2. Board Visit To Craibstone and Clinterty 2.1 Members of the Board of Management visited Craibstone and Clinterty Campuses on

29 September and were shown round the Animal Care and Horticulture facilities at Craibstone, followed by a tour of the Clinterty Campus.

3. Education Scotland National Aspect Task on Curriculum for Excellence3.1 Education Scotland is carrying out an Aspect Task on Curriculum for Excellence throughout

2014-15, spanning regions and different types of colleges. The Vice Principal Curriculum is a member of the Review Team tasked with reviewing how Scotland’s colleges plan and deliver the Senior Phase in partnership with schools, universities and employers. This task will benefitNorthEastScotlandCollegeinrelationtolinksbetweenCurriculumforExcellence,Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce and developments in work with youth groups. Goodandinnovativepracticeidentifiedthroughthisworkwillbedisseminatednationally.

4. STV Partnership4.1 STV has applied for a local TV license in Aberdeen called AROUND ABERDEEN. The aim

is to provide a news-based local TV service for Aberdeen and surrounding area with a viewtoreflectingandpromotingtheinterests,concernsandaspirationsofthepeopleliving and working in the licensed area.

4.2 STV approached Robert Gordon University and North East Scotland College with a view to forming a partnership. This three way partnership offers NESC students from a wide range of disciplines the opportunity to gain real time experience within a live television environment. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by STV, Robert Gordon University and North East Scotland College on 17 October 2014.

5. Lord Provost Event 5.1 The Lord Provost of Aberdeen has asked students of the College to organise an event

that would link to their academic studies. 5.2 The College has been asked to organise, on behalf of the Lord Provost, the Community

Stars event which runs in conjunction with the Lights Parade on 23 November 2014. The students have been asked to suggest a theme and format for the evening and will visit theofficesoftheLordProvosttodiscusstheirideas.Inaddition,thestudentshavebeentasked with identifying more Community Stars in the City and to create and send out invitations. This task will count toward the graded unit where Tourism and Events students have to research a topic and plan for a live event.

6. Visit from Cultural Ambassador to City Campus6.1 Aberdeen City Campus was delighted to welcome Alan Bissett recently to talk to students.

Alan is a very successful novelist and playwright who led a creative writing workshop with Media and PR students. Alan has written four novels as well as writing plays and contributing to a number of anthologies. He has also found time to write an award winning documentary, write songs and teach creative writing in a number of universities throughout the UK. Alan is also Cultural Ambassador for the National Collective.

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Agenda Item 4

7. Techfest Setpoint Science Festival7.1 FirstyearEventManagementstudentshadanexcellentchancetoexperienceatfirst-

hand the complexities of organising an event with lots of logistical challenges. The Techfest Setpoint Science Festival held in September involved many events in the City. The primary school festival involved a multitude of challenges and strict timetabling in order for it to be successful. Students of North East Scotland College were involved in a number of roles including co-ordination of lunches, facilitation of demonstrations, guiding school groups and assisting in the various shows. Techfest attracts over one thousand primary children per day from Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire schools.

8. Visit of Hairdresser “to the rich and famous”8.1 Hairdresser to the rich and famous, Patrick Cameron, visited the College on 29 September

2014 and demonstrated 10 hairstyles to employers, staff and students in the Drama Studio at Aberdeen City Campus. The event was a great success.

9. Provision and Progression Routes Event9.1 A presentation event to showcase provision and progression routes available to school

pupils who have participated in school/College links courses has been arranged for school Guidance Tutors on 11 November 2014. Industry representatives have also been invited to this event which is intended to raise awareness of the range and extent of vocational opportunities available in North East Scotland College. Representatives from each partner school from both Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire have been invited to attend the event at the Aberdeen City Campus. If successful a similar event will be held at the Fraserburgh Campus later in the year.

10. Scottish Student Sport10.1 Students from across the College have signed up and trialled for teams in Football, Rugby,

Basketball and Volleyball, led by the Sport Team. Teams will take part throughout the year in Scottish Student Sport national events.

11. Recommendation11.1 It is recommended that the Committee note the contents of this report.

Rob WallenPrincipal

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Agenda Item 5.1

Student Support Strategy

1. Introduction1.1 The purpose of this paper is to provide the Committee with an opportunity to consider

the Strategy governing Student Support at North East Scotland College.

2. Background2.1 All College strategies and the policies related to them are the responsibility of the Board

of Management, appropriate Committee of the Board, the Principal or a Senior Manager, depending on the purpose and status of the strategy.

2.2 Responsibility for the implementation of each strategy depends on who has overall responsibility for it and this is typically a member of the Senior Management Team.

2.3 In order to ensure that the aspirations and aims for Student Support at North East Scotland College are implemented, a strategy covering this important aspect of the College’s work has been developed.

3. Student Support Strategy 3.1 The Student Support Strategy is supported by the Information, Advice, Guidance and

Support Policy (IAGS) which is attached at appendix 2.

3.2 The aim of the Student Support Strategy is to ensure that students and applicants with additional learning and/or support needs are provided with the information required to enable them to fully consider their study options and where appropriate to be supported to achieve their career goals.

3.3 North East Scotland College is committed to inclusion and participation and will ensure the delivery of high quality support services that assist students to complete their studies and access appropriate progression routes to positive destinations.

3.4 In relation to applicants who, due to the nature of their disability or additional support needs, cannot independently access College courses, external partners responsible for facilitating access have agreed through “Partnership Matters” to make the necessary arrangements to provide the required support, if course entry requirements are met.

3.5 The internal College strategies related to the Student Support Strategy are:

• Access and Articulation Strategy;

• Learning and Teaching Strategy;

• Student Engagement Strategy.

4. Recommendation4.1 It is recommended that the Committee:

4.1.1. Consider and, if so minded, adopt the Student Support Strategy attached at appendix 1.

Rob Wallen Sandra Walker Principal Vice Principal Curriculum

NORTH EAST SCOTLAND COLLEGE

STUDENT SUPPORT STRATEGY

Version Date: November 2014

Agenda Item 5.1 Appendix 1

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STUDENT SUPPORT STRATEGY 1.0 Introduction 1.1 The aim of the Student Support Strategy is to provide clarity and direction in relation

to students and applicants with additional learning and/or support needs so that they may fuller consider their study options and, where appropriate, be supported to achieve their educational and career goals.

1.2 The College is committed to inclusion and participation and will ensure the delivery of high quality support services that assist students to complete their studies and access appropriate progression routes to positive destinations.

2.0 The Strategy 2.1 The College’s provision for student support has been developed over time to meet

the needs of an increasingly diverse student body. Student support can involve delivery of:

2.1.1 accurate and impartial information, advice, guidance as well as support;

2.1.2 appropriate internal and external referral; 2.1.3 access and transitional support; 2.1.4 robust needs assessment processes and implementation of reasonable

adjustments; 2.1.5 a continuum of additional learning support interventions appropriate to

the individual. All of the above may involve partnership working with external agencies.

2.2 The College will provide student support services that operate consistently across all campuses.

2.3 This work will be undertaken by support and academic colleagues, with external involvement as appropriate, keeping the applicant/student at the centre of processes and decision making.

2.4 In relation to applicants/students who, due to the nature of their disability or additional support needs, cannot independently access courses, a range of external partners have agreed through the local Partnership Matters Agreement to work with the College to make the necessary arrangements for participation, if the entry requirements are met.

2.5 The College expects that all students will travel to College independently. (Responsibility for support with transport lies with a Local Authority, details of which are contained within the local Partnership Matters Agreement).

2.6 The College will provide a range of high quality student support services by:

2.6.1 offering impartial, accurate information, advice, guidance and support at the pre-application, pre-entry stage, on-programme and pre-exit stage;

2.6.2 ensuring clear information on courses, pre-entry criteria, progression and support services is contained in all publicity and marketing materials;

2.6.3 enhancing the accessibility and consistency of information relating to support across all electronic formats;

2.6.4 working in partnership with applicants/students, their families and/or representatives, external agencies and other college professionals to

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ensure people are placed on the most appropriate course and are achieving their educational goals, regardless of entry point;

2.6.5 having clear and transparent procedures that outline admissions processes relevant to mainstream and supported educational programmes;

2.6.6 having clear and transparent procedures that outline support processes to all stakeholders;

2.6.7 actively demonstrating a commitment to the promotion of equality, diversity and inclusive practice;

2.6.8 working with the Students’ Association and wider student population to review support procedures and services;

2.6.9 developing the knowledge and skills of staff providing support through relevant CPD opportunitites as appropriate;

2.6.10 having a clear internal referral and intervention process to identify students requiring support at any stage during their studies;

2.6.11 ensuring across academic and support services that anticipatory adjustments are made which people with additional learning/support needs are likely to require in advance of any specific request being made;

2.6.12 having a needs assessment process that is adequately resourced; 2.6.13 ensuring prompt feedback to relevant individuals following any needs

assessment; 2.6.14 ensuring reasonable adjustments have been implemented and are

effective; 2.6.15 providing appropriate study aids, high quality learning resources and

learning environments; 2.6.16 offering support for learning through the development of study and

essential skills on a 1-1, small group or whole class basis; 2.6.17 developing on-line additional study skill materials via the VLE; 2.6.18 engaging with students to evaluate the range of support services

received; 2.6.19 disseminating good practice in delivery of student support across all

college campuses; 2.6.20 promoting positive and respectful working relationships between all

stakeholders involved in the provision of support including additional learning support.

3.0 Responsibility for the Strategy 3.1 Strategic responsibility for the Student Support Strategy lies with the Vice Principal

Curriculum. 3.2 Responsibility for implementing the Strategy lies with the Head of Student Services. 4.0 Related Documents 4.1 Internal Documents:

Learning and Teaching Strategy. Student Engagement Strategy. Access and Articulation Strategy. Information, Advice, Guidance and Support Policy.

4.2 External Documents:

Partnership Matters. Review date: November 2015

© NESCol College. All rights reserved

Review Date: June 2015

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1.0 Commitment North East College Scotland aims to provide accurate, impartial and confidential Information, Advice, Guidance and Support (IAGS) tailored to suit the needs of individuals who wish to access our courses or services. This includes any potential student or those already studying at college. This commitment is underpinned by the College’s approach to promoting Inclusion, Equality and Diversity. Staff across North East Scotland College have a role to play in providing IAGS services which are outlined in the appendices attached. For the purposes of this policy: Information involves the provision of details about the College such as contact details, opening times and location of staff/services, how to make appointments, signposting learning and extra-curricular opportunities and funding application processes, without any in depth discussion on these. Information can be provided through: • Electronic means such as the College website and the Virtual Learning

Environment • Printed materials • Face to face meetings / oral communication

Advice involves the explanation of information provided, how to access and use information and an understanding of where more in depth or a different intervention may be required. This aspect of work often involves greater levels of responsibility and accountability if recommendations are being made. Guidance involves interaction that enables students and prospective students to access the right course and college services for their needs and aspirations. The guidance process also involves monitoring attendance and progress and initiating appropriate interventions so that students achieve their educational goals. Support involves the provision of practical and motivational intervention when needed. Relevant staff will take an anticipatory and proactive approach in meeting additional learning and/or support needs of students who meet the pre-entry criteria. In combination or in total, IAGS at North East Scotland College will offer a full range of coordinated processes and services that students need in order to manage their own learning experiences. This will include access to academic staff, Guidance Tutors, and specialist IAGS staff in Student Services and other staff who can encourage learners to make informed and sustainable decisions. 2.0 Entitlement The College recognises that the processes involved in delivering IAGS begin before a learner enters the College and that they continue throughout the learning experience in preparation for employment, further study or training. These IAGS processes will be evident at:



• Pre-entry (before joining the College) • On-entry/induction (on joining the College) • On programme (whilst enrolled at College) • Pre-exit (when progressing within or moving on from College)

It is acknowledged that learners and prospective learners will have varying and diverse IAGS needs. The provision of IAGS is therefore conducted through collaborative working between support and academic staff with external agency involvement as required. Appendix 1 outlines a student’s entitlement to IAGS at North East Scotland College.

3.0 Responsibility Provision of IAGS is an integral part of the role of teaching and support staff

and as such, elements of IAGS are defined in job descriptions. It is the responsibility of the relevant line managers to ensure that staff reporting to them fulfil their obligations in this regard. Responsibility for the delivery of specialist cross-college IAGS mainly rests with the Head of Student Services and the staff who report to this role. All roles within Student Services have a clear and specialist IAGS remit. Responsibility for IAGS arrangements rests with the Academic Board and any Sub-Committee that it may form for this purpose. Overall responsibility for the provision of IAGS services rests with the Vice Principals Curriculum and Organisational Services.

Appendix 2 sets out the IAGS infrastructure and staff responsibilities.

4.0 Monitoring and Reflecting on Learning The emphasis of IAGS must be on the individual needs of each student. It is important that within this process individual students get the opportunity to reflect on their own progress. Whilst a standard learning plan can be used as the vehicle for this it is accepted that where other robust arrangements exist for reflection these can also be used. At given times in each block of teaching Guidance Tutors will lead on progress review coordinating input from students, teaching and support staff. In some cases where a disability has been declared or additional learning requirement have been identified, following a needs assessment the learning plan may take the form of or be supplemented by a more detailed Personal Learning and Support Plan. For other categories of student an alternative progress review will be offered as an option as will the opportunity to communicate electronically with a designated Guidance Tutor (e-guidance).



5.0 Approach to Confidentiality

The aim is to provide a professional IAGS service to students and prospective students of the College. Information disclosed by students and prospective students that has a direct impact on enrolment, learning, retention and attainment will be shared between College personnel on a strict need-to-know basis within the terms of the Data Protection Act (1998).

Status: draft for consideration by Learning & Teaching and Student Services

Committee Date of version: June 2014 Responsibility for Policy: Learning & Teaching and Student Services

Committee Responsibility for Implementation: Vice Principal Curriculum Responsibility for Review: Vice Principal Curriculum

Date of equality impact assessment: March 2009

Review date: June 2015

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21


Agenda Item 6.1

Report on the Work of the Academic Board and its Sub-committees

1. Introduction1.1. The purpose of this report is to provide the Committee with information on progress with

the work of The Academic Board of North East Scotland College and its Sub- committees.

2. Background and Context2.1. At the meeting of the Learning and Teaching & Student Services Committee (LTSSC) of the

College Board of Management on 26 November 2013 it was agreed that the Committee would receive regular reports on the work of the Academic Board and its Sub-committees.

2.2. TheNovember2014meetingwasidentifiedasatimewhenareportontheworkofNorthEast Scotland College’s Academic Board would be provided.

3. The Academic Board of North East Scotland College3.1. The third meeting of the Academic Board was held on 09 October 2014 at the Aberdeen

City Campus.

3.2. The Academic Board agreed the Social Media and e-Safety Policies and these were submitted to the Principal who approved them. These Policies are attached at appendix 1a and 1b. A summary of the key aspects of these Policies will be provided for staff, together with training on their implementation. In addition Faculty Managers discussed the College’s approach to social media at their Good Practice Event on 29 October 2014.

3.3. ThenextmeetingoftheAcademicBoardwillbeheldon26February2015withthefinalmeeting for academic year 2014-15 scheduled for 11 June 2015.

3.4. ThereportsfromeachofthefiveSub-committeeswerediscussed,theprogressofeachwas monitored and actions agreed in relation to their work.

4. Summary of the Work of the Sub-committees4.1. The following Sub-committees report to the Academic Board

• Learning and Teaching Development, incorporating ICT in the Curriculum;

• Quality Improvement and Assurance;

• Curriculum Approval Panel;

• Inclusiveness and Guidance.

4.2. The schedule of the Academic Board Meetings and its Sub-committees for 2014-15 is attached at appendix 2.

5. The Learning and Teaching Development Committee5.1. The Learning and Teaching Development Committee, chaired by the Vice Principal

Curriculum, brings together key areas for learning and teaching and curriculum management, including:

• Enterprise and Employability;

• School/College Links;

• University Articulation Links;

• Core and Essential Skills;

• ICT in the Curriculum;

• Good and Innovative Practice;

• Work of the Students’ Association.

22


Agenda Item 6.1

5.2 Following actions agreed by the Learning and Teaching Development Committee, The Head of School of Creative Industries, Computing and Business Enterprise provided an update for the Academic Board on Enterprise across the College, including the work of the recently established Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Steering Group:

5.3 The Project Manager at Enterprise North East Trust is an external member of the Steering Group and is based at the College two days a week through the “Bridge 2 Business” partnership with Young Enterprise Scotland.

5.4 Planned future Enterprise initiatives include:

• AECC Enterprise Conference (November 2014);

• Aberdeen Business Network will pair 30 businesses with 30 students across all campuses in February 2015, following the success of this initiative earlier this year at Robert Gordon University;

• Be Your Own Boss Day (March 2015);

• Business planning seminars for students throughout the year, facilitated by Enterprise North East Trust/Business Gateway.

5.5 The Academic Board noted the work of the School/College Links team and was updated on the work of the Wood Commission Steering Group. There was a discussion about the emphasis placed in Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce on providing vocational opportunities for pupils of all abilities. This led the Academic Board to consider how Modern Apprenticeships could be developed with clear pathways from school to University.

5.6 The Schools/College Liaison Manager reported positive outcomes in relation to participation ofschoolpupilsinthecurrentyearandonrecentresearchintothefirstdestinationsofSchool/College link pupils.

5.7 A series of Good Practice dissemination events, chaired by the Vice Principal Curriculum are held throughout the year. Approaches to the dissemination of Good Practice in the curriculumacrossallCollegecampusesaresharedattheseevents.ThefirstCurriculumand Quality Managers’ Good Practice event (attended by 33 of the 35 CQMs from all campuses) was held on 08 October 2014. This was a successful event with those present requesting longer Good Practice events in future. There will be a further event on 11 March2015withthefinaloneofthecurrentyearscheduledfor3June2015.

5.8 A Good Practice Dissemination Event for Faculty Managers was held on 29 October 2014, with a similar schedule to that of CQMs timetabled well in advance to facilitate attendance.

5.9 Good Practice events with staff and students are held across all College campuses throughout the year.

5.10 Reports were provided on university articulation. The increase in articulation numbers from 600 last year to 642 this year was welcomed and a discussion took place about the impact of merger on progression pathways from school to College and university.

5.11 The Students’ Association President provided the Learning and Teaching Development Committee with an informative update on the work of the Students’ Association. It was agreed that a standing item on the agenda of this Group would be a Students’ Association report on learning and teaching.

5.12 Future meetings of the Learning and Teaching Development Committee will be held on 22 January 2015 at the Aberdeen City Campus and 08 May 2015 at the Fraserburgh Campus.

23


Agenda Item 6.1

6 The Quality Improvement and Assurance Committee6.1. The Academic Board was advised of the progress of the Quality Improvement and

Assurance Committee.

6.2. It was reported that the Committee is considering approaches to improving student retention and that the self-evaluation documentation will include evidence of quality improvementandofmonitoringfirstdestinationsandreasonsforearlywithdrawal,includingprogression to employment.

6.3 A Quality Improvement and Assurance Strategy for North East Scotland College is currently beingdevelopedandwillbefinalisedwhenthereisgreaterclarityaboutthenewexternalSelf-evaluation Framework.

6.4. The Vice Principal Organisational Services led a discussion about the new SFC Action Learning Project. The following matters were considered:

• The continuous nature of self-evaluation in the new model was welcomed and ways of recording this, including ICT were noted;

• Ways of ensuring staff motivation in relation to the new Framework;

• Involvementofexternalstakeholdersinthefinalreview;

• Different approaches to lesson observations, including manager and peer reviews;

• Criteria to govern self-evaluation, using the current Education Scotland model as appropriate;

• The key role of Curriculum and Quality Managers in developing and implementing the new Framework;

• Student engagement in the new arrangements.

6.5. The Vice Principal Organisational Services was asked to provide the February meeting of the Academic Board with a paper on progress toward establishing the new Quality Cycle.

6.6. The approved Quality Policy was tabled and noted.

7. The Curriculum Approval Panel (CAP)7.1. The work of the Curriculum Approval Panel was noted, particularly in relation to changes

to the standard reports and attendance at the CAP for staff development purposes.

7.2. The Academic Board endorsed the Committee’s plans to include a mandatory section in the course approval form detailing the arrangements for using digital technologies in learning and teaching.

7.3. There was a discussion about online assessments in relation to the use of technology and it was noted that the Learning Resources Manager will brief teaching teams on these matters.

7.4. The Academic Board welcomed the strengthened role of the CAP in challenging Group AwardModifications. Thepurposeof this is toensure thatchanges tocompositionofcoursesare justified intermsofstudentsatisfactionandthatthechangeswill result inimproved performance overall.

24


Agenda Item 6.1

8. Inclusiveness and Guidance Committee 8.1. The Academic Board endorsed the Information Guidance and Support Policy, prepared

by the Committee.

8.2. The Academic Board also approved the changes to the composition of the Committee, to include Guidance Tutors from each campus and a representative from the Health and Safety Team.

8.3. It was agreed that a Student Support Strategy to drive this key area forward was essential andtheVicePrincipalCurriculumadvisedtheAcademicBoardthatthiswasbeingfinalisedand would be submitted to the LTSSC of the Board of Management for approval at the November meeting. Once approved, the Strategy together with the Policy and revised Procedures to support it, would be made available to staff.

8.4. The Academic Board noted that the new Student Services staff structure is now in place and is working effectively.

9. Recommendation9.1. It is recommended that the Committee note the contents of this paper.

Rob Wallen Sandra WalkerPrincipal Vice Principal Curriculum

© North East Scotland College All rights reserved

Review Date: October 2015

Soc

ial M

ed

ia P

olic

y

Social Media Policy

This policy has made substantial use of resources made available by JISC Legal. © Jisc Legal – www.jisclegal.ac.uk – used under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 unported licence

Agenda Item 6.1 Appendix 1a

of 20 © North East Scotland College. All rights reserved.

Social Media Policy

1. Position Statement

North East Scotland College recognises the numerous benefits and opportunities which a

social media presence offers. Social Networking Sites such as Instagram, Twitter and

Facebook are just a few examples of communications technologies that are now widely

used by students. Consequently, such resources have the potential to become a valuable

resource to support their learning experiences and indeed research shows that learners who

engage with their course work through social media are more likely to remain on their

course for the duration of the year and complete the course successfully

In addition the College aims to build relationships and work with the academic and

business communities to share news, information and successes. Social media can provide

an effective mechanism for this to occur and the college endeavours to support the use of

such resources to supplement the VLE in helping to interact appropriately with learners in

new and exciting ways, enhance the College profile within the community and engage

with industry partners.

Social media networks allow prospective students, current students, staff and key

stakeholders, such as employers and colleagues at partner institutions to interact in an easy

and efficient manner. They are informal, instant and freely available to anyone with an

internet connection through their home computer, Smartphone or Tablet so it is essential

that the College establishes a safe, clear and responsible approach to the use of such

technology to staff and students.

1.1 Blackboard Learn

North East Scotland College has invested heavily in its very own Learning Management

System, Blackboard Learn, which incorporates a range of internal social media tools

including:

• Journals

• Blogs

• Wikis

• Instant messaging


Social Media Policy

• Discussion boards

These tools mirror many of the features of external web based social networks but have the

added benefit of being more secure, as users are required to log in via the College

network. In addition, College staff are able to moderate and oversee all activity that is

undertaken and remove any inappropriate material quickly.

Please see Appendix 1 for detailed advice on using Blackboard social media tools.

For all teaching teams, Blackboard should form the integral communication hub of each

course with all key course announcements, correspondence, hosting of teaching material,

marking of online assessment and recording of student progress carried out through the VLE

However, staff at North East Scotland College are free to publish or comment via social

media and use social media resources as a teaching tool, on condition that the following

policy is adhered to. Prior to deciding to use external social media within a course, please

carefully consider whether using an external resource is necessary or whether Blackboard

may be the more appropriate tool to use.

In order to provide clarity and consistency for staff, while recognising the corresponding

challenges for the College we have in place procedures to manage the use of social

media. Our approach is therefore to support Staff to engage with colleagues, learners and

the wider community, while providing appropriate guidance on best practice.

Staff are expected to refresh their knowledge of relevant NESCol policies which apply in this

context, particularly the e-Safety Policy, Communications Policy, Acceptable Use Policy

and Copyright Policy.

2. Authorisation and Review

The Social Media Policy was recommended for approval by the Academic Board in

October 2014.

Any questions relating to this policy should be addressed to the Head of Learning

Resources.


Social Media Policy

The impact of this policy will be monitored regularly to reflect the changing online

environment and technologies. The policy may also be amended where particular

concerns are raised or where an incident has been recorded.

3. Scope of the Policy

For the purposes of this policy, social media is defined as any online interactive

communication tool which encourages participation and exchanges. Common examples

include; Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Skype, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.

This policy applies to all staff and to all communications which directly or indirectly,

represent the College. It applies to online communications posted at any time and from

anywhere, whether to an individual, a limited group or the world.

North East Scotland College respects privacy and understands that staff may use social

media forums in their private lives. However, personal communications likely to have a

negative impact on professional standards and/or the institution’s reputation are within the

scope of this policy.

Professional responsibilities apply regardless of the medium being used. All social media

communications which might affect the College’s reputation, whether made either in a

private or professional capacity, must comply with relevant College policies which address

staff conduct.

There is additional guidance on content hosted on institutional web pages available at:

NESCol Policies

Professional communications are those made through official channels and/or using the

college name. All professional communications are within the scope of this policy.

Personal communications are those made via a private social media account, such as a

personal blog or wiki. In some (limited) circumstances these communications are subject to

this policy. In all cases, where a private account is used which clearly identifies the College


Social Media Policy

it must be made clear that the member of staff is not communicating on behalf of the

College. An appropriate disclaimer should be included, such as:

“the views expressed here are my own and in no way reflect the views of North East

Scotland College”

Private communications which do not impact upon the College are outside the scope of

this policy.

Digital communications with learners are also considered. Staff must consider whether the

use of social media (external to the college’s own VLE) is appropriate and pedagogically

beneficial to the learners. Teaching Staff must ensure that a rationale for using a particular

external tool is provided in the course overview, that permission for its use is granted by the

relevant faculty manager and that details of the college account being used are sent to

the Head of Learning Resources.

Staff should not under any circumstances use their own personal logins or IDs to facilitate

contact with students via external social media sites or facilities. It is important that staff and

students keep their personal accounts separate from College activities. Separate accounts

should be created solely for use with College courses. Staff should refrain from ‘friend’

requests from learners without line manager approval except where the member of staff

has a connection with the learner beyond the context of the institution.

Only once authorisation to use a College social media account for teaching and learning

purposes has been granted, can the tool be deployed with a group.

When using social media tools for teaching purposes Staff in charge of the account always

“like”, “Follow” or “Friend Request the official NESCOL account. This will allow the Publicity

and Marketing Team to track and monitor any relevant news and events for dissemination

throughout the college

4. Roles and Responsibilities

There are clear lines of responsibility for social media use within North East Scotland College


Social Media Policy

The Head of Learning Resources is responsible for:

• Keeping up to date with technology developments through appropriate CPD;

• Reviewing and updating all relevant documentation;

• Providing access to training and guidance on social media;

• Taking a lead role in responding to and investigating any reported incidents;

• Making an initial assessment when an incident is reported and involving appropriate staff

and external agencies as required; and

• Maintaining a directory of College social media accounts.

Staff are responsible for:

• Knowing the contents of the policy and its procedures;

• Ensuring that any use of social media is carried out in line with this and other relevant

policies;

• Attending appropriate training;

• Informing their Faculty Manager where an institutional account is to be used;

• Seeking relevant authorisation for official postings prior to publication;

• Regularly monitoring, updating and managing content he/she has posted via the

College account;

• Ensuring that all learners have read, understood and agreed to College’s acceptable

use and copyright policies, before accessing and posting content via College social

media accounts;

• Adding an appropriate disclaimer to personal accounts when naming the institution;

and

• Reporting any incidents in line with section 11 below.

Line Managers are responsible for:

• Informing the Head of Learning Resources where an institutional account is to be used;

• Addressing concerns or questions regarding posts or comments via official and personal

accounts;

• Reporting outcomes to the Head of Learning Resources, or escalating the matter to

involve appropriate agencies;

• Authorising posts, where designated; and


Social Media Policy

• Attending additional relevant training.

5. Behaviour

North East Scotland College requires that all staff using social media adhere to the standard

of behaviour as set out in this policy and other relevant policies.

Staff will not use social media for the purposes of recruitment selection. Staff will not use

social media to infringe on the rights and privacy of colleagues or make ill-considered

comments or judgments about staff.

Digital communications by staff must be professional and respectful at all times and in

accordance with this policy. Where an incident is reported, refer to section 13 below.

Unacceptable conduct, (e.g. defamatory, discriminatory, offensive, harassing content or a

breach of data protection, confidentiality, copyright) will be considered extremely seriously

by the College and will be reported as soon as possible to the Head of Learning Resources,

and escalated where appropriate to a relevant senior manager. The College will take

appropriate action when necessary.

Where conduct is found to be unacceptable, the College will deal with the matter

internally. Where conduct is considered illegal, the College will report the matter to the

police and other relevant external agencies, and may take disciplinary action.

The use of social media by staff while at work may be monitored, in line with the North East

Scotland Quality Audit policy http://www.abcol.ac.uk/abnet/policy/files/2924.pdf

North East Scotland College permits reasonable and appropriate access to private social

media sites. However, where we suspect excessive use, and consider this use to be

interfering with relevant duties, we may take disciplinary action.

The following general guidelines apply to staff posting content via social media:

The Do’s


Social Media Policy

• Check with a line manager before publishing content that may have controversial

implications for the institution;

• Use a disclaimer when expressing personal views;

• Make it clear who is posting content;

• Use an appropriate and professional tone;

• Be respectful to all parties;

• Ensure you have permission to ‘share’ other peoples’ materials and acknowledge the

author;

• Express opinions but do so in a balanced and measured manner;

• Manage your social media presence on behalf of North East Scotland College;

• Think before responding to comments and, when in doubt, get a second opinion;

• Set up a shadow system i.e. a colleague who can edit, authorise & access posts; and

• Seek advice and report any mistakes to your line manager.

The don’ts:

• Don’t make comments, post content or link to materials that will bring the College into

disrepute;

• Don’t assume students know how to use social media

• Don’t use the College logo/branding on personal accounts;

• Don’t publish confidential or commercially sensitive material;

• Don’t breach copyright, data protection or other relevant legislation;

• Consider the appropriateness of content given the age and capacity of the learners,

and don’t link to, embed or add potentially inappropriate content;

• Don’t post derogatory, defamatory, offensive, harassing or discriminatory content; and

• Don’t use social media to air internal grievances.

6. Security

Staff are responsible for ensuring that passwords and other access controls for College

social media accounts are of adequate strength and kept secure. Passwords should be

regularly changed and under no circumstances, should passwords be shared. Staff should

be familiar with privacy settings and ensure that these are appropriate for both content


Social Media Policy

and intended audience.

Every effort will be made to keep security software up to date. Appropriate security

measures will include the use of enhanced filtering and protection of firewalls, servers,

routers, work stations etc. to prevent accidental or malicious access of IT systems and social

media accounts. Digital communications, including via social media sites, over the college

network, will be monitored in line with College policy.

Vulnerable groups and individuals, such as under-18s and vulnerable adults must not be

asked to make use of any external social media site unless you are sure that the tools

chosen are appropriate for them to use. Please contact the Learning Technologies (ILT)

Manager for advice and further guidance.

7. e-Safety

North East Scotland College takes e-safety and its duty of care seriously. The College will do

all that it reasonably can to ensure that learning and working environments, including online

forums, are safe for staff and learners. Whenever a new learning and teaching

environment is being considered, staff must complete the relevant risk assessment form

available in the e-Safety Policy. This is retained on file & checked by the e-Safety Officer.

Where staff are working with younger and/or more vulnerable learners, extra safeguards

may be required such as a moderating content prior to publication. This aspect is

addressed in the College’s e-Safety guidelines for staff and students.

All staff should visit the e-safety area on Blackboard before being granted use of College

social media accounts involving interaction with learners. Line managers should ensure that

this occurs.

All staff must ensure that learners have read, understood and agreed to the e-safety

rules/code of conduct and e-safety guidelines before permitting access to College social

media accounts.


Social Media Policy

8. Student Knowledge

It is dangerous to make the assumption that students properly understand how to use social

media sites. Consider how to prepare a group for the work they will be undertaking and

ensure that clear guidelines are established. It is essential to create a clear delineation

between work which is College related (professional) and the student’s social activities.

Opportunities should be taken to provide straightforward advice on safe internet usage. The

SQA Digital Passport NPA provides good guidance for both staff and students. It is

recommended that, wherever possible, students should undertake the SQA unit F0H510

Internet Safety as part of their studies.

9. External Social Media

This Guide highlights the factors that staff must consider before embarking on the use of any

externally hosted social media website as a learning tool with a class.

Each individual social media site has its own rules and terms of us. In order to check that

the terms of any site are acceptable, you should refer to the advice given in Appendix 2.

If you are unsure in any way, please contact the Learning Technologies Team, who will

provide further advice and guidance, if necessary. Details of common current social media

tools are available in Appendix 2.

Students must be advised that they do not have to post any details about themselves on a

social media site. If they elect to do so, then they alone are responsible.

Students should be told if the use of a social media site may involve data transfer out with

the European Economic Area (being the European Union Member States, Norway,

Liechtenstein and Iceland (EEA)) and, if it does, they should be asked whether they wish to

do this and their consent recorded in accordance with the procedures outlined in

Appendix 3.


Social Media Policy

Staff and students must not post specific information about individual students or about staff

on an external social media site unless they have explicit written, signed, dated

authorisation from each student or staff member. In fact, this must be avoided in all but

exceptional circumstances

College staff must not negotiate any special relationship with a service provider. Any

negotiated arrangement may imply that the College absorbs some of the responsibilities

which legitimately and legally rest with the provider.

10. Copyright - Use of Other Peoples’ Materials

Sharing content such as images, photographs and video is extremely popular and easy to

do via social media sites. While this may have value in an educational context, there is a

real risk of breaching the rights of individuals who own the different media e.g. images

rights, patents, copyright in a blog, or rights associated with collaborative outputs. All staff

should ensure they have permission or other justification to share content in this way.

Content is particularly risky where it is commercially valuable, confidential and/or sensitive.

Staff will not post any images, photographs, videos, text etc. via social media sites without

appropriate permission from the rights holders. If unsure, staff are advised to check

permissions attached to digital content prior to posting via social media.

The requirements of these policies apply to any use of College machines which provide

access to social media.

The student policy can be read at http://www.abcol.ac.uk/abnet/policy/files/450.pdf

The staff policy can be read at http://www.abcol.ac.uk/abnet/policy/files/449.pdf

Further information and guidance is available from the Quality Compliance Manager.

11. Personal Information


Social Media Policy

Personal information is information about a particular living person. No personal information

will be shared via social media sites without consent, unless it is in line with the College Data

Protection Policy http://www.abcol.ac.uk/abnet/policy/files/725.pdf

Authorised staff posting content or setting up accounts are responsible for ensuring

appropriate informed consents are in place. Members of staff should include their name,

email and job title where possible. It is at their discretion whether they wish to post

additional contact information.

Staff must keep learners’ personal information safe and secure at all times. When using

social media sites, staff should never publish learners’ or staff members’ personal

information.

12. Education and Training

North East Scotland College wishes to make it clear to staff what our policy contains and

the reasons behind it. The College will provide staff with additional guidelines and training

on e-safety and effective practice, and the Head of Learning Resources will be available to

answer any queries and address any comments.

Staff authorised to use College social media accounts, will have access to training materials

on relevant safeguards and acceptable practice before access is granted. New, or

temporary members of staff, will also receive this training as part of the induction process.

13. Incidents and Response

Any breach of this policy could lead to disciplinary action. Where a breach of this policy is

reported to the college this matter will be dealt with seriously and in line with the College

Disciplinary and Acceptable Use policies

http://www.abcol.ac.uk/abnet/policy/files/2904.pdf

The College will act immediately to prevent, as far as reasonably possible, any damage to

an individual, their rights or the institution’s reputation. Any stakeholder or member of the


Social Media Policy

public may report an incident to the institution. This should be directed immediately to the

Head of Learning Resources and/or relevant line manager. Where it appears that a breach

has taken place, the Head of Learning Resources and/or relevant line manager will review

what has happened and decide on the most appropriate and proportionate course of

action. Where the Head of Learning Resources considers the incident to be serious, this will

also be reported to the Head of School.

Where staff are in receipt of offensive, unacceptable content via social media, this should

be reported to a relevant line manager immediately. Procedure 42: Removing identified

unacceptable material from

Where questionable content has been received by the institution, the Head of Learning

Resources must be informed prior to any response being submitted.

14. Further Guidance

The list of tools in Appendix 1 & Appendix 2 represents a small sample of further guidance

available. The information given on these tools was correct at the beginning of March 2012.

Please contact the Learning Technologies (ILT) Manager for advice and further guidance.

These disclaimers could be made available in Blackboard.

Status: approved by: Date of version: October 2014 Responsibility for Policy: Head of Learning Resources Responsibility for Implementation: Teaching Staff, CQM, FM and Head of Learning Resources Responsibility for Review: Head of Learning Resources Review date: October 2015

P

ag

e 14 o

f 20 ©

No

rth Ea

st Sco

tlan

d C

olle

ge

. All rig

hts re

serve

d.

Soc

ial M

ed

ia Po

licy

Ap

pe

ndix 1 – Inte

rnal so

cia

l me

dia

too

ls

Soc

ial

me

dia

D

esc

riptio

n o

f wh

at it d

oe

s Re

leva

nc

e to

Co

lleg

e w

ork

Rec

om

me

nd

ed

Use

Jou

rna

l P

rovid

es a

priva

te “b

log

” for e

ac

h stu

de

nt o

n a

Bla

ckb

oa

rd c

ou

rse site

. Ca

n b

e vie

we

d o

nly b

y the

stu

de

nt a

nd

co

urse

Instru

cto

rs. A

ttac

hm

en

ts an

d m

ulti m

ed

ia c

an

be

use

d.

• A

very g

oo

d to

ol fo

r rec

ord

ing

ac

tivity or

evid

en

ce

.

• V

ery su

itab

le fo

r rec

ord

ing

refle

ctio

n o

n w

ork in

p

rog

ress o

r co

mp

lete

d

In Bla

ckb

oa

rd c

ou

rse site

s. Ca

n b

e a

cc

esse

d in

th

e C

olle

ge

ne

two

rk or e

xtern

ally.

Blog

P

rovid

es a

foru

m visib

le to

all stu

de

nts a

nd

In

struc

tors o

n a

Blac

kbo

ard

co

urse

site. En

tries a

re

listed

ch

ron

olo

gic

ally b

ut c

an

be

filtere

d b

y diffe

ren

t se

arc

h te

rms.

Atta

ch

me

nts a

nd

mu

lti me

dia

ca

n b

e u

sed

.

• A

go

od

too

l to fa

cilita

te g

en

era

l disc

ussio

n

aro

un

d a

top

ic.

•

A g

oo

d w

ay to

intro

du

ce

stud

en

ts to b

log

s, b

efo

re m

ovin

g to

an

exte

rna

l too

l.

• C

an

be

use

d a

s a w

ho

le c

lass o

r gro

up

too

l

In Bla

ckb

oa

rd c

ou

rse site

s, Ca

n b

e a

cc

esse

d in

th

e C

olle

ge

ne

two

rk or e

xtern

ally.

Wiki

Pro

vide

s an

are

a w

hic

h a

ll stud

en

ts an

d In

struc

tors

ca

n vie

w a

nd

ed

it. A

ttac

hm

en

ts an

d m

ulti m

ed

ia c

an

be

use

d.

• P

rovid

es a

n o

nlin

e sp

ac

e w

hic

h fa

cilita

tes

co

op

era

tion

an

d/o

r co

llab

ora

tion

• C

an

be

use

d a

s a w

ho

le c

lass o

r gro

up

too

l •

Ca

n b

e u

sed

to d

eve

lop

stud

en

t cre

ate

d

“we

bsite

s” (ind

ividu

al o

r gro

up

)

In Bla

ckb

oa

rd c

ou

rse site

s, Ca

n b

e a

cc

esse

d in

th

e C

olle

ge

ne

two

rk or e

xtern

ally.

P

ag

e 15 o

f 20 ©

No

rth Ea

st Sco

tlan

d C

olle

ge

. All rig

hts re

serve

d.

Soc

ial M

ed

ia Po

licy

Blac

kbo

ard

d

iscu

ssion

b

oa

rds

Pro

vide

s a th

rea

de

d d

iscu

ssion

foru

m in

side

Bla

ckb

oa

rd c

ou

rse site

s •

A ve

ry go

od

too

l to fa

cilita

te stru

ctu

red

d

iscu

ssion

on

spe

cific

top

ics

In Bla

ckb

oa

rd c

ou

rse site

s, Ca

n b

e a

cc

esse

d in

th

e C

olle

ge

ne

two

rk or e

xtern

ally.

Ap

pe

nd

ix 2 - Exam

ple

s of e

xtern

al so

cia

l me

dia

– NB th

is list is no

t exh

au

stive.

Soc

ial

me

dia

D

esc

riptio

n o

f wh

at it d

oe

s Re

leva

nc

e to

Co

lleg

e w

ork

Possib

le U

ses

Sign

ifica

nt te

rms a

nd

c

on

ditio

ns

Fac

eb

oo

k U

sers c

an

co

mm

un

ica

te w

ith frie

nd

s an

d o

the

r u

sers th

rou

gh

priva

te o

r pu

blic

me

ssag

es a

nd

a

ch

at fe

atu

re. Th

ey c

an

also

cre

ate

an

d jo

in

inte

rest g

rou

ps a

nd

"like p

ag

es", so

me

of

wh

ich

are

ma

inta

ine

d b

y org

an

isatio

ns a

s a

me

an

s of p

rom

otio

n/m

arke

ting

.

• Fo

r ma

ny stu

de

nts, th

is is the

ir ma

in fo

rm o

f c

om

mu

nic

atio

n w

ith frie

nd

s. Use

in C

olle

ge

m

ust b

e re

stricte

d to

tha

t wh

ich

is esse

ntia

l fo

r cle

arly d

efin

ed

ed

uc

atio

na

l pu

rpo

ses.

• M

an

y ind

ustrie

s no

w u

se Fa

ce

bo

ok fo

r m

arke

ting

an

d P

R.

• To

pro

vide

rea

l wo

rld

exa

mp

les o

f ho

w

ind

ustrie

s use

this to

ol.

• To

pra

ctic

e u

sing

the

too

l fo

r co

mm

erc

ial / in

du

strial

pu

rpo

ses.

Full te

rms

• G

ove

rne

d b

y the

law

s o

f the

state

of

De

law

are

, USA

. •

Co

nte

nt is sto

red

in U

SA.

• A

ge

limit: 13+

on

ly •

Co

nte

nt b

elo

ng

s to

use

rs an

d th

ey c

an

c

on

trol w

ho

see

s it by

use

of p

rivac

y an

d

ap

plic

atio

n se

tting

s Tw

itter

A m

icro

blo

gg

ing

site th

at e

na

ble

s use

rs to

sen

d ‘tw

ee

ts’ or m

essa

ge

s of 140 c

ha

rac

ters

or le

ss.

• It a

cts a

s an

info

rma

l ch

an

ne

l to e

xch

an

ge

vie

ws, n

ew

s an

d q

ue

stion

s on

an

ythin

g.

• C

ou

ld b

e u

sed

as a

n in

form

al c

olla

bo

rative

to

ol.

• To

he

lp d

eve

lop

a g

rou

p

ide

ntity in

cla

sses w

hic

h

do

no

t me

et fa

ce

to fa

ce

ve

ry ofte

n.

• To

ol to

allo

w stu

de

nts to

a

sk qu

estio

ns a

nd

sha

re

info

rma

tion

qu

ickly– c

ou

ld

bu

ild u

p FA

Qs.

Full te

rms

• G

ove

rne

d b

y the

law

s o

f the

state

of

Ca

liforn

ia, U

SA.

• C

on

ten

t is store

d in

USA

. •

Ag

e lim

it: 13+ o

nly

• Tw

ee

ts are

co

mp

lete

ly p

ub

lic b

y de

fau

lt

P

ag

e 16 o

f 20 ©

No

rth Ea

st Sco

tlan

d C

olle

ge

. All rig

hts re

serve

d.

Soc

ial M

ed

ia Po

licy

• C

on

ten

t be

lon

gs to

the

u

ser b

ut Tw

itter c

an

m

ake

you

r Twe

ets

ava

ilab

le to

the

rest o

f th

e w

orld

an

d to

let

oth

ers d

o th

e sa

me

. •

Ad

vertisin

g m

ay a

pp

ea

r a

lon

gsid

e tw

ee

ts Y

ou

Tub

e

A vid

eo

sha

ring

we

bsite

wh

ere

use

rs ca

n

up

loa

d a

nd

sha

re vid

eo

co

nte

nt. It a

lso

pro

vide

s soc

ial n

etw

orkin

g to

ols, su

ch

as

co

mm

en

ting

an

d su

bsc

riptio

n.

An

yon

e c

an

view

co

nte

nt b

ut yo

u n

ee

d to

c

rea

te a

Go

og

le a

cc

ou

nt to

up

loa

d c

on

ten

t.

• Fo

r ma

ny yo

un

g p

eo

ple

, Yo

uTu

be

is use

d in

p

refe

ren

ce

to se

arc

h e

ng

ine

s, suc

h a

s G

oo

gle

•

The

re is n

ow

a to

ol in

Blac

kbo

ard

(ma

sh u

p

too

l) wh

ich

fac

ilitate

s sea

rch

ing

an

d

de

plo

yme

nt o

f Yo

utu

be

reso

urc

es fro

m

with

in Bla

ckb

oa

rd.

• C

ou

ld b

e u

sed

to sh

are

stu

de

nt w

ork o

utsid

e th

e

Co

lleg

e, if e

ssen

tial fo

r e

du

ca

tion

al p

urp

ose

s •

Co

uld

be

use

d to

fa

cilita

te g

rou

p w

ork, if

the

Blac

kbo

ard

too

ls are

n

ot a

pp

rop

riate

. •

Co

uld

pro

vide

rea

l life

exa

mp

les o

f ma

ny

ind

ustria

l ac

tivities.

Yo

uTu

be

- Full te

rms

Go

og

le – Fu

ll Term

s •

Go

vern

ed

by th

e la

ws

of th

e sta

te o

f C

alifo

rnia

, USA

. •

Co

nte

nt is sto

red

in U

SA.

• A

ge

limit: 13+

on

ly •

Co

nte

nt b

elo

ng

s to th

e

pe

rson

wh

o u

plo

ad

s it b

ut Y

ou

Tub

e c

an

do

p

retty m

uc

h w

ha

t the

y like

with

it. See

sec

tion

8 o

f the

term

s. •

Oth

er u

sers c

an

ma

ke

use

of yo

ur c

on

ten

t w

itho

ut fu

rthe

r p

erm

ission

.

Flickr

An

ima

ge

an

d vid

eo

ho

sting

site w

he

re

ind

ividu

als c

an

po

st an

d sh

are

co

nte

nt.

An

yon

e c

an

view

un

restric

ted

co

nte

nt b

ut yo

u

• U

sefu

l as a

dig

ital a

sset m

an

ag

em

en

t too

l fo

r sha

ring

me

dia

ac

ross a

nd

ou

tside

the

C

olle

ge

.

• To

sho

wc

ase

stud

en

t wo

rk o

utsid

e th

e C

olle

ge

Fu

ll term

s •

Go

vern

ed

by U

K la

w.

P

ag

e 17 o

f 20 ©

No

rth Ea

st Sco

tlan

d C

olle

ge

. All rig

hts re

serve

d.

Soc

ial M

ed

ia Po

licy

ne

ed

to c

rea

te a

n a

cc

ou

nt to

up

loa

d m

ed

ia.

• Th

ere

is no

w a

too

l in Bla

ckb

oa

rd (m

ash

up

to

ol) w

hic

h fa

cilita

tes se

arc

hin

g a

nd

d

ep

loym

en

t of Flic

kr reso

urc

es fro

m w

ithin

Bla

ckb

oa

rd.

• C

on

ten

t store

d in

Eu

rop

e

• A

ge

limit: 13+

on

ly •

Co

nte

nt b

elo

ng

s to u

ser

bu

t un

restric

ted

co

nte

nt

ma

y be

sha

red

with

o

the

r use

rs iTu

ne

s U

An

Ap

ple

led

initia

tive w

hic

h a

llow

s for

ed

uc

atio

na

l co

nte

nt to

be

sha

red

ac

ross th

e

ac

ad

em

ic w

orld

.

• Th

e C

olle

ge

ha

ve a

pre

sen

ce

on

iTun

es U

a

nd

pro

vide

on

line

co

nte

nt fo

r stud

en

ts. •

Co

nte

nt o

n ITu

ne

s U c

an

b

e e

asily in

co

rpo

rate

d

into

tea

ch

ing

ma

teria

ls in

Blac

kbo

ard

• C

on

ten

t ca

n b

e

do

wn

loa

de

d w

itho

ut

cre

atin

g a

n Itu

ne

s a

cc

ou

nt, a

s it is free

. Blo

gg

er

This is G

oo

gle

’s blo

gg

ing

too

l. Y

ou

ne

ed

to h

ave

a G

oo

gle

ac

co

un

t to

cre

ate

a b

log

in Blo

gg

er.

The

re a

re m

an

y oth

er b

log

gin

g to

ols a

vaila

ble

o

n th

e in

tern

et.

• A

llow

s stud

en

ts to c

rea

te a

blo

g, w

hic

h

ca

n b

e se

en

thro

ug

ho

ut th

e in

tern

et

• C

ou

ld b

e u

sed

to

fac

ilitate

co

nta

ct w

ith

stud

en

ts in o

the

r in

stitutio

ns

• C

ou

ld b

e u

sed

to

fac

ilitate

disc

ussio

n w

ith

ind

ustry p

rofe

ssion

als /

exp

erts

Full te

rms

• G

ove

rne

d b

y the

law

s o

f the

state

of

Ca

liforn

ia, U

SA.

• C

on

ten

t is store

d in

USA

. •

Ag

e lim

it: 13+ o

nly

• G

oo

gle

cla

ims n

o

ow

ne

rship

or c

on

trol

ove

r an

y co

nte

nt

sub

mitte

d, p

oste

d o

r d

ispla

yed

W

ikispa

ce

s Th

is is a w

ell-kn

ow

n w

iki too

l. The

re a

re fre

e

an

d p

aid

for ve

rsion

s. In

divid

ua

ls ca

n c

rea

te a

free

ac

co

un

t, wh

ich

is visib

le to

all u

sers.

Pa

id fo

r ac

co

un

ts ca

n b

e h

idd

en

from

oth

er

use

rs.

• A

llow

s stud

en

ts to c

rea

te a

wiki, w

hic

h c

an

b

e se

en

thro

ug

ho

ut th

e in

tern

et

• C

ou

ld b

e u

sed

to

fac

ilitate

co

llab

ora

tion

w

ith stu

de

nts in

oth

er

institu

tion

s •

Co

uld

be

use

d to

fa

cilita

te d

iscu

ssion

an

d

co

llab

ora

tion

with

ind

ustry

Full te

rms

• G

ove

rne

d b

y the

law

s o

f the

state

of

Ca

liforn

ia, U

SA.

• C

on

ten

t is store

d in

USA

.

P

ag

e 18 o

f 20 ©

No

rth Ea

st Sco

tlan

d C

olle

ge

. All rig

hts re

serve

d.

Soc

ial M

ed

ia Po

licy

pro

fessio

na

ls / exp

erts

•

Ag

e lim

it: 13+ o

nly


Social Media Policy

Appendix 3 – Wording for Student Disclaimers Social Media site with content stored inside the EEA. As part of our course, we will be using a social media site called <name of site>. This is a site, which is not part of the College Virtual Learning Environment but it will be a good tool for the work we will be doing. You should understand a few things about this site:

• You do not have to make use of this site.

• If you agree to use this site, you are responsible for the content you upload. Please remember that the College Acceptable Use Policy applies to any content you upload.

• You must not upload any personal information about fellow students or your

lecturers. Social Media site with content stored outside the EEA. As part of our course, we will be using a social media site called <name of site>. This is a site, which is not part of the College Virtual Learning Environment but it will be a good tool for the work we will be doing. You should understand a few things about this site:

• You do not have to make use of this site.

• If you agree to use this site, you are responsible for the content you upload. Please remember that the College Acceptable Use Policy applies to any content you upload.

• You must not upload any personal information about fellow students or your

lecturers.

• The information you upload will be stored outside of the European Economic Area (being the European Union Member States, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland). By using the site, you agree to storage and processing of the information you provide (which may include personal information) out with the European Economic Area. The countries processing personal information may not afford the same level of protection of privacy and data protection as provided in the European Economic Area.


Social Media Policy

These disclaimers are available in Blackboard in the BYOD toolkit Status: Approved by Principal Date of version: October 2014 Responsibility for Policy: Head of Learning Resources Responsibility for Implementation: Teaching Staff, CQM, FM & Head of Learning

Resources Responsibility for Review: Head of Learning Resources Review date: October 2015

© North East Scotland College All rights reserved

Review Date: October 2015

E-S

afe

ty P

olic

y

E-Safety Policy This policy has made substantial use of resources made available by JISC Legal. © Jisc Legal – www.jisclegal.ac.uk – used under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 unported licence

Agenda Item 6.1 Appendix 1b


E-Safety Policy

1. Introduction North East Scotland College recognises the benefits and opportunities which new technologies offer to teaching and learning. We provide internet access to all learners and staff and encourage the use of appropriate technologies in order to enhance skills, promote achievement, allow effective collaboration and enable lifelong learning.

However, the accessibility and global nature of the internet and different technologies available mean that we are also aware of potential risks and challenges associated with such use. The College’s approach is to implement appropriate safeguards within the College while supporting staff and learners to identify and manage risks independently and with confidence. We believe this can be achieved through a combination of security measures, training, guidance and implementation of our policies.

In furtherance of our duty to safeguard learners and the Every Child Matters agenda, North East Scotland College will do all that it can to make our learners and staff stay e-safe and to satisfy our wider duty of care. This e-Safety policy should be read alongside other relevant College policies e.g. Safeguarding, Acceptable Use, Social Media, Disciplinary and Child Protection.

2. Creation, Monitoring and Review

This e-Safety policy was created following consultation with a range of appropriate staff and key stakeholders, including the Vice Principal Curriculum, the Head of Learning Resources and the Head of Student Services, before the policy was approved by the Academic Board in June 2014. The impact of the policy will be monitored regularly with a full review being carried out at least once a year. The policy will also be reconsidered where particular concerns are raised or where an e-Safety incident has been recorded. 3. Policy Scope

This e-Safety policy applies to all staff, students and visitors of the College who have access to the College network, both on the premises and remotely. Any user of College IT systems must adhere to the Acceptable Use Agreement available at: http://www.abcol.ac.uk/abnet/policy/files/2904.pdf The e-Safety Policy applies to all use of the internet and forms of electronic communication such as email, mobile phones, social media sites and the VLE. 4. Roles and Responsibilities

There are clear lines of responsibility for e-Safety within the College. The first point of contact for all e-Safety and social media enquiries should be the Head of Learning Resources. All staff are responsible for ensuring the safety of learners and should report any concerns immediately to their line manager. All teaching staff are required to make learners aware of the e-Safety resources available on Blackboard and to read through and adhere to the incident reporting procedure as contained in appendix 1. When informed about an e-Safety incident, staff members must take particular care not to guarantee any measure of confidentiality towards either the individual reporting it, or to those involved.


E-Safety Policy

All learners must know what to do if they have e-Safety concerns and who to talk to. In the first instance, this will be their Curriculum and Quality Manager or Guidance Tutor. Where any report of an e-Safety incident is made, all parties should know what procedure is triggered and how this will be followed up. Where management considers it appropriate, the Safeguarding Coordinator may be asked to intervene with appropriate additional support from external agencies. 5. Individual e-Safety Responsibilities

5.1 e-Safety Officer (Head of Learning Resources) The e-Safety Officer is responsible for keeping up to date with new technologies and their use, as well as attending relevant training. They will be expected to report on e-Safety developments to the Academic Board, review and update the e-Safety Policy, contribute to staff development and training, record incidents, report any developments and incidents to a Safeguarding Coordinator and liaise with the local authority and external agencies to promote e-Safety within the College. 5.2 Learner: Learners are responsible for using the College network and IT systems and their own mobile devices in accordance with the College’s Acceptable Use Policy. Learners must act safely and responsibly at all times when using the internet and/or mobile technologies. They are responsible for completing e-Safety training at induction and are expected to know and act in line with other relevant College policies e.g. the Student’s Disciplinary Code. They must follow reporting procedures where they are worried or concerned, or where they believe an e-Safety incident has taken place involving them or one of their peers. 5.3 Staff:

All staff are responsible for using the College network, IT systems and their own mobile devices in accordance with the College Acceptable Use Policy. Staff are responsible for completing staff training on e-Safety and displaying a model example to learners at all times through embedded good practice. All digital communications with learners must be professional at all times. Online communication with learners is restricted to the College network and official College email addresses where possible. External platforms not hosted by the College, such as social media sites, may be used only where approval has been provided by the relevant Faculty Manger and a rationale for the use of the technology has been provided in the unit/course overview. This policy will, however, be monitored and kept under review. All staff should apply relevant College policies and understand the incident reporting procedures. Any incident that is reported to or discovered by a staff member must be reported to the e-Safety Officer and/or line manager without delay.


E-Safety Policy

6. Security The College will do all that it can to make sure the College network is safe and secure. Every effort will be made to keep security software up to date. Appropriate security measures will include the use of enhanced filtering and protection of firewalls, servers, routers, work stations etc. to prevent accidental or malicious access of College systems and information. Digital communications, including email and internet postings, over the College network, will be monitored in line with College policies. Learners and staff are responsible for their own passwords for access to the College’s network and internal systems such as Blackboard. Passwords should not be disclosed to anyone. Any concerns regarding passwords should be reported as an e-Safety incident in accordance with this policy. 7. Risk Assessment In making use of new technologies and external online platforms, all staff must first carry out a risk assessment for e-Safety as contained in appendix 2. This consists of a series of questions for the requestor to answer as well as a section in which they can record any relevant comments or evidence. A risk assessment must also be carried out where a learner is learning off site e.g. on work placement. All forms must be submitted to the e-Safety Officer for their consideration and approval. 8. Behaviour North East Scotland College will ensure that all users of technologies adhere to the standard of behaviour as set out in the Acceptable Use Policy. The College will not tolerate any abuse of IT systems. Whether offline or online, communications by staff and learners should be courteous and respectful at all times. Any reported incident of bullying or harassment or other unacceptable conduct will be treated seriously and in line with the student and staff disciplinary codes Where conduct is found to be unacceptable, the College will deal with the matter internally. Where conduct is considered illegal, the College will report the matter to the police. 9. Communications North East Scotland College requires all users of IT to adhere to the Acceptable Use policy which states clearly when email, mobile phones, social media sites, games consoles, chatrooms, video conferencing and web cameras may be used during the College day. 10. Use of Images and Video College teaching staff will provide information to learners on the appropriate use of images as detailed in the copyright policy. This includes photographs of learners and staff as well as using third party images. Our aim is to reinforce good practice as well as offer further information for all users on how to keep their personal information safe. No image/photograph taken in class can be copied, downloaded, shared or distributed online without permission from the class lecturer. Photographs of activities on the College premises should be considered carefully and have the consent of the relevant Faculty Manager before being published.


E-Safety Policy

Approved photographs should not include names of individuals without consent. 11. Personal Information

Personal information is information about a particular living person. North East Scotland College collects and stores the personal information of learners and staff regularly e.g. names, dates of birth, email addresses, assessed materials and so on. The College will keep that information safe and secure and will not pass it onto anyone else without the express permission of the learner/staff member/parent/carer. No personal information can be posted to the College website unless it is in line with our Data Protection Policy. Only names and work email addresses of staff will appear on the College website. No learners’ personal information will be available on the website without consent. Staff must keep learners’ personal information safe and secure at all times. When using an online platform, all personal information must be password protected. No personal information of individuals is permitted offsite unless the member of staff has the permission of the individual and the relevant Faculty Manager. Every user of IT facilities is required to log off on completion of any activity, or where they are physically absent from a device for any period. All College mobile devices such as a laptop, USB (containing personal data) require to be encrypted, password protected. Where the personal data is no longer required, it must be securely deleted in line with the Data Retention Policy: http://www.abcol.ac.uk/abnet/policy/files/1923.pdf 12. Education and Training With the current unlimited nature of internet access, it is impossible for the College to eliminate all risks for staff and learners. It is our view therefore, that the College should support staff and learners in staying e-safe through regular training and education. This will provide individuals with skills to be able to identify risks independently and manage them effectively. For learners: Learners will receive information relating to e-Safety at induction. This will cover issues associated with e-Safety which apply across the curriculum and learners will receive guidance on what precautions and safeguards are appropriate when making use of the internet and technologies. Learners should also know what to do and who to talk to where they have concerns about inappropriate content, either where that material is directed to them, or where it is discovered as part of a random search. A link to the College e-Safety Rules will be available via StudentNet and these rules are highlighted in posters and leaflets around IT areas and work stations. Within classes, learners will be encouraged to question the validity and reliability of materials researched, viewed or downloaded. They will also be encouraged to respect the copyright of other parties and to cite references properly. Information on this can be viewed at: http://www.abcol.ac.uk/abnet/policy/files/450.pdf


E-Safety Policy

For staff: Staff will take part in mandatory e-Safety training before beginning a new College year. This training will be accessible via Blackboard. Further resources of useful guidance and information will be available via the College Intranet. 13. Incidents and Response The College expects all learners and staff to report any e-Safety incident in accordance with this policy. Examples of potential e-Safety incidents the College would expect to be reported include: • inappropriate or bullying comments about any learner or staff on any forum either within the

College’s internal systems or accessed via the College network on third party social networking sites; • access to inappropriate content (for example, hate sites) using the College network; • any breach or hacking into of College network account (including Blackboard or College email

account); • suspected or actual identity theft; • suspicious emails received via College network that may contain viruses; • improper use of personal information; and • loss of any College mobile devices with a connection to the College network. Where an e-Safety incident is reported to the College this matter will be dealt with very seriously. The College will act immediately to prevent, as far as reasonably possible, any harm or further harm occurring. If a learner wishes to report an incident, they can do so to their Curriculum and Quality Manager, Guidance Tutor or to the College e-Safety Officer. Where a member of staff wishes to report an incident, they must complete the form in Appendix 1 and contact their line manager as soon as possible. When the matter is regarded as a Child or Vulnerable Adult Protection issue, the incident should be reported to a Safeguarding Coordinator. Following any incident, the College will review what has happened and decide on the most appropriate and proportionate course of action. Sanctions may be put in place, external agencies may be involved or the matter may be resolved internally depending on the seriousness of the incident. This is in line with the College Acceptable Use Policy. Serious incidents will be dealt with by senior management, in consultation with appropriate external agencies.


E-Safety Policy

Appendix 1 e-Safety Incident Reporting Form (1) Reporting Persons to complete.

(2) Site Receptionist to forward to Immediate Line Manager and Head of Learning Resources. 1 Name

2 Department

3 Incident Date and Time

4 Social Media Platform

5 Description: Please give a brief description of the Incident

Signature: Date: N.B. To be completed by e-Safety Officer (Head of Learning Resources): Subsequent action taken/to be taken/recommended by e-Safety Officer


E-Safety Policy

Appendix 2: E-Safety Social Media Risk Assessment Form Could my proposed use of Web 2.0 technology... [General Considerations] • Harm the reputation of my institution, or any partner organisation?

o Where there are grounds for judging particular sensitivity or risk, it is important to ensure that there is appropriate consultation before the adoption of the technology. For certainty, it may be beneficial to seek the approval of relevant senior management beforehand.

• Breach the technology’s terms and conditions?

o Breach of the terms and conditions of the site will give rise to some level of legal liability, will introduce uncertainty as to whether the use of the tool or site could be withdrawn with disruption to the students’ learning, and may prevent dissemination of what would otherwise be a good example of teaching and learning innovation.

o put me in a difficult situation if the externally-hosted technology is withdrawn during term? Students may have an action against the institution if their learning is disrupted through the negligence of the institution or its agents, or in breach of a contract. A judgment may need to be made as to the durability of each particular technology.

[Intellectual Property Law] • Lead to any dispute over the ownership of what is going to be created using the technology?

o Particularly in the case of collaboration, or the creation of resources for re-use or with a potential commercial value, it is important to make clear who is to own intellectual property in the output created using Web 2.0 technologies. Particular care will be need where the tutor requires students to ‘hand over’ their intellectual property rights to the institution – this may be invalid in law. Copyright in materials created by staff in the course of their employment will belong to the institution, unless there is an agreement otherwise.

• Involve me putting copyright material online without permission or statutory exception?

o The member of staff may be liable for copyright infringement, and the institution liable for the acts of its employee. It may also mean that innovative activity needs to withdrawn or hidden due to copyright infringement, whereas it could otherwise be hailed as an example of good practice.

• Incite students to put copyright material online without permission or statutory exception?

o At the very least this will be bad practice and a bad example to set, and it’s possible that there might be institutional liability where students are acting under the direction or instruction of the College or university.

• Involve the copying of designs, a database or other intellectual property protected resources?

o It’s not just copyright and patents. Designs may be subject to intellectual property rights, as might databases. Also, remember that there may be a number of rights involved – a CD involves copyright in the disc’s cover, copyright in the musical composition and the lyrics, performance rights, and rights in the recording. These all need to be cleared where relevant, and may not be held by one person or body.


E-Safety Policy

• Lead to details of a potentially patentable invention being made known to the public?

o This could be a very dangerous situation, as a patent will not be granted if details are made public prior to the patent application. A slip in releasing details on a discussion list could prevent your institution or a partner body getting a valuable patent, and that could mean a big loss or damages.

[Data Protection Law] • Mean that personal information is accessible by unauthorised persons?

o The Data Protection Act 1998 requires your institution to take care of personal information. This could be your students’ personal data, or perhaps research data about other people. In either case, there is a duty only to process or release the data in compliance with the act, and to keep it secure otherwise. Ensure that you treat the personal data with respect, and consider whether the information could be made anonymous instead.

• Require students to sign up to an externally-hosted technology?

o If you let students know about a Web 2.0 tool that might assist them, they will have the choice as to whether they submit personal information to that site. However, where you require them to use a technology as part of their course, it may be difficult to say that they have given ‘consent’ where they’d have to drop out of the course otherwise.

• Involve the holding of external information where public release would be an issues?

o By virtue of freedom of information legislation, institutions must release information held by them upon request, unless non-release is justified by a narrowly-interpreted exception under the legislation. This includes other people’s information that you hold, so be careful when sensitive information might be received from third parties, and you don’t want to lose their trust.

[Liability Issues] • Be used as a tool for bullying, harassment, or defamation?

o Where the institution is negligent in allowing Web 2.0 facilities to be used inappropriately, it may be liable for harm to the victim. It is important therefore to set out limits as to permissible behaviour, and to provide moderation and a means for users to complain.

• Leave uncertainty as to what should be done in the case of a complaint being made?

o Where the use of a Web 2.0 technology involves setting up a means for communication, you should ensure that there is a clear mechanism for dealing with complaints, and know what needs to be done if it used.

• Allow the posting, storage, or dissemination of inappropriate and possibly illegal content?

o Where there is the capacity for mischief, you should ensure that you set out what behaviour is acceptable, consider moderation of content, and consider what steps would be reasonable to prevent misuse.

• Prevent the taking down of illegal or inappropriate content under the institution’s name?


E-Safety Policy

o Where a Web 2.0 tool is hosted externally, you may wish to consider whether you have sufficient control over the content should inappropriate use arise, linked with your institution’s name.

[Accessibility Law] • Place students with disabilities at a disadvantage?

o The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (as amended) places a duty on institutions to be proactive in meeting the needs of users with disabilities. Ensure that any technologies adapted can meet the needs of all users.

• Prevent me from making reasonable adjustments to accommodate particular needs?

o The law requires institutions to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate the needs of users with disabilities. It is best to consider in advance what adaptations could be made to a Web 2.0 technology to be adopted in order to ensure compliance, and to ensure accessible learning for all.

If you answered yes to any of these questions you must contact the e-Safety officer (Head of Learning Resources) to discuss your use of social media prior to implementing it.

This policy has made substantial use of resources made available by JISC Legal. © Jisc Legal – www.jisclegal.ac.uk – used under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 unported licence

Status: Approved by Principal Date of version: October 2014 Responsibility for Policy: Head of Learning Resources

Responsibility for Implementation: Teaching Staff, CQM, FM and Head of Learning Resources

Responsibility for Review: Head of Learning Resources Review date: October 2015

Agenda item 6.1 Appendix 2

MEETINGS SCHEDULE – AUGUST 2014 – JULY 2015 ACADEMIC BOARD Dates of meetings: Time/Venue/

Campus Deadline for papers to reach Sandra Walker

Papers to be circulated to Committee

Thursday 9th October 2014

8.45 am Room: CPD

(G10?) ACC

25th September 2nd October

Thursday 26th February 2015

8.45 am Room: G25

ACC

12th February 19th February

Thursday 11th June

8.45 am Room: G25

ACC

28th May 4th June

LEARNING AND TEACHING DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE (SW) (incorporating IT in the Curriculum Committee) Dates of meetings: Time/Venue/



Thursday 25th September 2014

10.00 am Room: M111

Altens

12th September 19th September

Thursday 6th November

9.00 am Room: CPD

ACC

23rd October (Half Term)

30th October

Thursday 22nd January 2015

9.00 am Room: G25

ACC

8th January 15th January

Tuesday 5th May

10.00 am Room:

Boardroom Fraserburgh

21st April (Easter break)

28th April

INCLUSIVENESS AND GUIDANCE COMMITTEE (SW) Dates of meetings: Time/Venue/



Thursday 18th September 2014

9.00 – 10.30 am Room: CPD

ACC

8th September 12th September

Thursday 15th January 2015

9.00 – 10.30 am Room: G25

ACC

7th January 12th January

Thursday 14th May

9.00 – 10.30 am Room: G25

ACC

4th May 8th May

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT AND ASSURANCE COMMITTEE (NC) Dates of meetings: Time/Venue/

Campus Deadline for papers to reach Neil Cowie


Tuesday 30th September 2014

2 – 4 pm 24th September 26th September

Tuesday 28th October

2 – 4 pm 22nd October 24th October

Tuesday 25th November

2 – 4 pm 19th November 21st November

Tuesday 27th January 2015 2 – 4 pm

21st January 23rd January

Tuesday 24th February

2 – 4 pm 18th February 20th February

Tuesday 31st March 2 – 4 pm

25th March 27th March

Tuesday 28th April 2 – 4 pm

22nd April 24th April

Tuesday 26th May 2 – 4 pm

20th May 22nd May

Tuesday 30th June 2 – 4 pm

24th June 26th June

CURRICULUM APPROVAL COMMITTEE (NC) Dates of meetings: Time/Venue/

Campus Deadline for papers to reach Neil Cowie


Friday 10th October 2014

10.30–12.00 1st October 6th October

Friday 28th November

10.30-12.00 19th November 24th November

Friday 30th January 2015 10.30-12.00

21st January 26th January

Friday 27th February 10.30-12.00

18th February 23rd February

Friday 27th March

10.30-12.00 18th March 23rd March

Friday 1st May 10.30.12.00

22nd April 27th April

Friday 29th May 10.30-12.00

20th May 25th May

S. Walker (02.07.14)

57


Agenda Item 6.2

Report on non-SFC Funded Activity

1. Introduction1.1. This paper provides the Committee with an update in relation to critical activity relating

to Business and Community Development.

2. Update on European Project “Making Progress on Mobility”.2.1. It was reported at the Board Meeting on 10 February 2014 that the College had submitted

a project to research approaches into social mobility. This project was supported by community planning partners.

Unfortunately the College has been informed by the relevant European Directorate that the bid was unsuccessful. The only feedback received to date is as follows:

“Good quality of the proposal, in line with the objectives and priorities of the call, however with some weaknesses related to the limited grographical coverage and to the cost-effectiveness i.e. high staff costs.”

2.2. Given the extremely tight timescales, the delay by Europe in notifying bidders and other ongoing priorities, delivering this bid would have been a challenge.

2.3. Whilst the College should not rule out re-applying to Europe in the future, it may be worth considering a smaller scale project relating to how we might provide a route into this region for students from less prosperous parts of Scotland.

3. Part-time and Open Learning 3.1. Collectively the area of part time, open, and e-learning is anticipated to deliver 20,375

wSUMs. This is 9% more than the 18,664 delivered in 2013-14.

3.2. The wSUMs already in the system are where we would expect to be with the exception of those being delivered in partnership with Tribal, with whom we have a contract to source learners and provide the learning materials. We need this partnership to deliver 13,000 wSUMs.

3.3. Tribal is a new contract as of August 2014 and we are starting from scratch. Progress has beenslowbutTribalremainconfidentthatwewillachievetarget.TheCollegeismonitoringprogress closely.

3.4. The activity is changing regularly therefore an update on enrolments against targets will be tabled at the meeting.

4. Scottish Maritime Academy4.1. Following a positive recruitment exercise in October 2014, two new lecturers are expected

to take up post in January 2015 at which point the Academy will be at full strength.

4.2. This will enable not just the delivery of the existing portfolio but also the expansion into Merchant Navy Cadets.

58


Agenda Item 6.2

4.3. Four companies (led by Vroon and North Star) have requested that the Academy seek approval from the Merchant Navy Training Board (MNTB) to deliver merchant navy cadet training from January 2015. Cadets are employed or sponsored by a shipping company/agency. The programme lasts three years and covers NC Shipping and Maritime Operations: An Intro, HNC Nautical Science and additional short courses. In addition, written and oral examsarerequiredforMCAOfficeroftheWatchCertificateofCompetency.Cadettraining is funded by Government via SMarT funding (Support for Maritime Training Scheme), which is paid direct to shipping agencies and the College would then invoice shipping agents for courses undertaken. It is anticipated that College income in year 1 would be £2,000 per cadet plus income generated from SUMS. This would gradually build up as all years/phases were running concurrently.

Cadet Phases

Stage Phase Duration Content

Year 11 – College

2 – Seatime

18 weeks

34 weeks

Induction, Basic short courses, NC

Year 2/33 – College4 – Seatime

28 weeks50 weeks

Short courses, HNC

Year 3 5 – College 17 weeksShort courses, SQA written/oral prep + exams

5. Recommendation5.1. It is recommended that the Committee note the contents of this paper.

Rob Wallen Paul SherringtonPrincipal Deputy Principal

59


Agenda Item 6.3

Quality Assurance Arrangements

1. Introduction1.1. The purpose of this paper is to provide information to the Committee on the development

andimplementationofqualityassuranceandimprovementarrangementsoverthefirstyear of North East Scotland College (NESC).

2. Background 2.1. Prior to the merger of the former Aberdeen and Banff & Buchan Colleges, work on

developing and implementing quality assurance and quality improvement approaches for the new College had been undertaken by the Quality Work-stream of the Interim Leadership Group (ILG).

2.2. Post-merger, the work of the ILG activity was subsumed into the work of the College’s Senior Management Team. The overall responsibility for leading, developing and implementing of quality arrangements for NESC has resided with the College’s Vice Principal – Organisational Services (VP - OS).

2.3. Since 01 November 2013 much work has been undertaken to develop, implement and embed a single quality framework NESC. In the main this work has been carried out by the Vice Principal – Organisational Services, Head of Quality and members of the Quality Improvement and Assurance Committee (QIAC), a sub-committee of the College’s Academic Board.

3. Quality Improvement and Assurance Committee (QIAC)3.1. Since its inception the QIAC has, through monthly quality meetings, created and

implemented a single quality framework for the College, attached as appendix 1. QIAC membershavesoughttobuildonthebestqualitypracticeidentifiedwithintheformerAberdeen and Banff & Buchan Colleges. These areas of best practice include:

• A course approval process;

• A robust, self-evaluation process;

• Themed quality audits;

• Lesson observations;

• Internalverification;

• Student feedback mechanisms;

• Complaints handling;

• Enhanced PI analysis.

3.2. The work of the QIAC continues beyond the implementation of this quality framework as it seeks to evolve quality assurance and improvement practice in order to improve, year-on-year, student experiences and student outcomes. Some of the QIAC’s on-going quality projects are noted below:

3.2.1. Student Retention and Progression – As part of evolving self-evaluation practice the QIAC has been focusing on both student withdrawal and progression. QIAC members, in particular Heads of School, are currently working towards developing a consistent and standardised process to best track and evidence student withdrawal and progression.

60


Agenda Item 6.3

3.2.2. A Single PI Analysis/Prediction Process – Members of the QIAC are also seeking to standardise in-year, continuous self-evaluation through a more in-depth and more frequent PI analysis/prediction process. Prior to merger staff from both the former Aberdeen and Banff & Buchan Colleges had, separately, developed an in-year analysis/prediction process aimed at identifying those students ‘at risk’ of withdrawal or failure. The QIAC is now looking to implement one single mechanism which encompasses the best practice from both former approaches. Such a mechanism will assist both curriculum and support colleagues to develop earlier, bespoke invention strategies for vulnerable learners.

In agreeing a move towards a single and standardised approach to in-year PI analysis/prediction further agreement has been reached that self-evaluation for curriculum teams needs to be a ‘live’ process and that self-evaluation reports should be updated routinely throughout the session rather than at the end point of anygivenacademicyear.Accordingly,QIACmembersareworkingonfinalisingan in-year, on-going self-evaluation process that allows staff to focus, at key times in the academic year i.e. November, February and May, on PI data and actions for improving student experiences, retention and attainment.

3.2.3. Student-led Quality Reviews – The QIAC is currently considering how best to developstudentengagementinself-evaluation.Specificallytheimplementationof student-led quality reviews is being investigated. Such reviews had been, pre-merger, established successfully in the former Banff and Buchan College and QIAC members are exploring how such a process could be developed, implemented and embedded across all centres as a means of generating student-centred, qualitative information for self-evaluation reporting.

3.2.4. SQA Quality Framework – The QIAC is considering its response to the implication of changestotheSQAQualityFramework.Atatimewhennewnationalqualificationsare developed and implemented SQA external verification practiceswill alsoevolve in line with the proposed changes. The QIAC has been made aware that SQA will be conducting a systems visit at NESC during AY 2014-15. Accordingly, there will need to be assessment consistency and a cohesive IV procedure across all centres. The Head of Quality will be working with curriculum staff to support and implement this.

3.2.5. Proposed Future QIAC Activity – Whilst work continues on several quality assurance and improvementapproaches theQIAChasalso identifiedadditionalquality-related projects for 2014-15. These include:

• The development and implementation of a revised Quality Strategy that reflectstheon-goingchangestoqualityapproachesexternalandinternalto the College;

• The implementation of a revised approach to students’ inclusiveness, equality and diversity through the College’s newly-convened Equality Strategy Group;

• A review of lesson observation practice;

• A review of digital practice and the development of Technology Enhanced Learning across all centres;

• The deployment of the Quality Team’s Senior Lecturers (Quality Development) to better support quality improvement practice in curriculum teams.

61


Agenda Item 6.3

The following section of this report documents some of the outcomes that have emanated from the quality approaches adopted and implemented over the previous year.

4. Quality Assurance and Improvement Arrangements – Outcomes4.1. Lesson Observation During 2013-14 almost all observations planned were carried out (98 on permanent staff

and 32 on Protocol National (PN) visiting lecturers). The College’s Quality Improvement and Assurance Committee is currently reviewing the lesson observation approach in order to build in greater capacity within the College to conduct more observations.

The results of observation undertaken this year indicate that the quality of learning and teaching remains high although the overall proportion of lessons being delivered by lecturing staff graded “very good” fell to 61% compared with 70% in the previous year. This, in part, can be explained by the exemption of eight additional staff who have consistently been graded “very good” - when observed. Their inclusion – assuming they continued to be graded “very good” - would have increased the percentage of those attaining the highest possible grade.

PN observation was carried out on a similar number of staff this year (32 compared with 34 in 2012-13). A range of sites and subject areas were sampled. Many of the visiting lecturers observed were relatively new to the college and so were in a good position to benefitfromtheconstructivecriticismobservationoffered.AnumberwerereferredtoSLQsfor assistance with teaching practice and a few were referred to multimedia technical support for assistance with use of available learning technologies.

4.2 Student Focus Groups 56 scheduled student focus groups were carried out over 2013-14. Focus groups were

undertaken on the agreed themes of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device); Learning Technologies; TimetablingandGeneralCourseQuality.Individualactionswereidentified(56instances)andallocatedtoappropriateindividuals.Nomajorcross-collegeissueswereidentified.ThevastmajorityoffeedbackconfirmedlearnersatisfactionwiththeirCollegeexperience.Measuresweretakentoensurethatfeedbacktolearnerswasmoreefficientlyrecordedandtracked. This meant feedback was delivered more promptly whilst still being appropriately personalised.

4.3 Themed Internal Quality Audits 21 planned internal quality audits were completed, 15 of which related to compliance with

internalverificationprocedures.Revisionstointernalverification(IV)documentationandtracking systems have improved the planning and recording of pre-delivery checks. The qualityofthedocumentationwascommenteduponpositivelybyasignificantnumberofexternalverifiers.Further,thisshouldimprovetherobustnessofassessmentfortheCollegeandreducetheriskofverification‘holds’inthefuture.

4.4 Student Satisfaction Surveys In order to improve student response rates the College now delivers its student satisfaction

survey in two parts, part one in February/March and part two in May. For the session 2013-14 response rates were high with 3,055 for the ‘First Impressions’ survey and 3,410 for the firstpartofthelearningandteachingsurvey.Responserateswere,however,abitlower(1,949) for the second part of the satisfaction survey, perhaps due to the time of year or possibly survey fatigue. The survey and its deployment are to be further discussed with curriculum colleagues and representatives of the Students’ Association. A breakdown of survey results was provided for self-evaluation reporting at programme, team and school levelinorderthatqualityimprovementscouldbeidentifiedandbuiltintoactionplans.

62


Agenda Item 6.3

4.5 Complaints Management A new complaints management approach was adopted for 2013-14 in order to comply

with the College’s statutory obligations in relation to the SPSO procedure for all FE Colleges in Scotland. Complaints now need to be categorised according to their seriousness. Responsestocomplaintsalsonowcarryspecificdeadlinesofeither5or20workingdaysrelating to their categorisation of seriousness. Across all centres the number of complaints recorded for 2013-14 was 120. 73% were responded to within designated timescales. This islowerthanexpectationsbutwasinfluencedbytheresponsetimesofinvestigatorsandthe approval process. The need to categorise complaints (with associated gradation of responsetimes)alsoinfluencedtheresultandsotheeffectivenessofthatprocessneedstobe reviewed. Further work is to be undertaken to improve this process and the outcomes associated with it. That said, no complaints were, during 2013-14, referred to SPSO.

4.6 Self-evaluation Reports During the early stages of 2013-14 self-evaluation reports were reviewed by the College’s

Quality Assurance Sub-Committee. These included:

• 89 Annual Programme Reviews;

• 10 Teaching Team Reviews;

• 8 Support Team Reviews;

• 2 Subject Reviews.

Weaknessesidentifiedinthereviewswerereportedandtrainingwasthendevelopedanddelivered to assist authors to address these. Training included sessions delivered by the College’s HMI Dr Janet Davidson on approaches on evaluating learning and teaching.

As a result of further quality improvement measures revisions were made to self-evaluation reporting templates for both curriculum and support teams and were distributed to staff prior to the end of the 2013-14 academic session. Further work is also underway to ensure that self-evaluation becomes an on-going, ‘through-the-year’ process rather than one contained to the year end.

4.7 Approval and Validation During 2013-14 there were no instances of issues being raised by awarding bodies with

regard to approvals. 79 programme/unit change submissions were considered by the College’s Curriculum Approval Panel (CAP) throughout the year with almost all being satisfactorily concluded within the academic year. The CAP itself has begun to increase the depth of its work and some consideration has been given to the type of information required by the panel and how this could be connected to the work of other planning and quality activities. As a result submission forms have been redesigned and some additional activity has been planned for 2014-15 to allow more effective scrutiny of curriculum changes and their impact on students.

4.8 Examinations Management The Examination Team (part of the Quality Team) has been active and effective in

preparing for the various examination requirements of the College and its students. Examinations Board changes were implemented where necessary, including ever more rigorous checks required for external candidates sitting ESOL assessments for residency purposes.ThreeExaminationsBoardsconductedinspectionsthisyearandallweresatisfiedwith the College’s arrangements.

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Agenda Item 6.3

5 SFC’s Action-Learning Project5.1 As part of its quality-related Action-Learning Project the Scottish Funding Council (SFC)

has sought to develop a new college-led process for reviewing the quality of College provision in Scotland. North East Scotland College (NESC), along with South Lanarkshire and AyrshireCollegeshavebeenidentifiedtopilotanddevelopanewapproachtoqualityimprovement. This clearly has implications for future quality assurance and improvement arrangements within the College.

5.2 The College’s Management Group for the SFC’s Action-Learning project has already commenced work on developing a bespoke College Quality Framework which will be used to establish the College’s effectiveness through agreed quality-related criteria and indicative sources of evidence. This draft framework document has been positively received by both SFC and Education Scotland representatives on the College’s Management Group.AfinalversionofthisdocumentisduetobecompletedbytheendofOctober,2014.

5.3 Work has also begun on revising the College’s approach to lesson observation. The proposed model is currently subject to on-going consultation. Education Scotland Inspector Dr Janet Davidson and the members of the College’s QIAC have also to consider further Education Scotland’s future role in the College’s lesson observation approach. A move to this proposed lesson observation model will allow the College to build the capacity to enhance further the quality of learning and teaching at NESC in partnership with Education Scotland.

5.4 Imminent Management Group discussions will also focus on:

• Confirmingevidencesourcesfortheproposedqualityframework;

• Establishing a quality planning cycle for enhanced self-evaluation;

• Supporting student engagement in the new quality processes, and

• Developing a communication strategy for staff, students and stakeholders.

6 Recommendation6.1 It is recommended that the Committee note the contents of this paper.

Rob Wallen Neil CowiePrincipal Vice Principal Organisational Services


North East Scotland College Quality Framework

Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement Activities The College implements a range of quality assurance and quality improvement activities to measure the quality of different aspects of its service and together they make up a framework which follows an annual cycle as detailed below: Activity Timescale Suggested Update Course approval - the College implements a formal process for the validation, approval and review of programmes and this is managed by the Curriculum Approval Panel.

CAP meets monthly from January to May and also twice between August and December

To continue with revised panel composition

Self- evaluation - each College team reviews its own performance on an annual basis through a process of self-evaluation both of teaching programmes and key College functions.

To continue – format to be determined

Internal quality audit - an annual Internal Quality Audit Schedule is developed and approved by the Senior Management Team. Audit topics range from Teaching Master Packs to specific key College processes and are representative of activities and resources College-wide.

Ongoing throughout the year, reviewed annually

To continue – perhaps needs to be on smaller scale but care to make sure SQA and awarding body standards are still being met

Lesson observation - the College measures the quality of teaching by observing lecturers and instructors. New staff are observed with their early development in mind to enable them to adopt good teaching practice from the beginning of their careers. Once they are more experienced, they are observed (these are unannounced observations) from a critical but supportive viewpoint by one of the College’s Senior Lecturers (Quality Improvement). Lessons are graded on a 4 point scale (Very Good, Good, Fair and Unsatisfactory) and feedback is also sought from learners as well as the individual being observed. Exemptions from observation are given to staff who achieve three consecutive Very Good grades. Staff who fall short of the Good grade are required to follow an agreed development plan to address identified areas for improvement.

Ongoing throughout the year, reviewed annually

To continue – perhaps a more risk-based approach could be considered

Activity Timescale Suggested Update Internal verification - it is a condition of approval to offer qualifications by award bodies that the College will internally verify assessment instruments to ensure their fitness for purpose and will internally verify a sample of assessments to ensure that marking schemes have been applied rigidly and that agreed standards have been met. The College has devised robust and award body-accredited procedures for the management of internal verification which have been favourably commented upon by visiting external verifiers acting on behalf of award bodies. Procedures and standard forms are made available to staff on the College intranet.

Ongoing throughout the year

Common system to be agreed to met regional needs and awarding body standards

Student discussion groups - the Principal and members of the Senior Management Team (and other staff in key roles) each chair a number of Student Discussion Groups per year. The purpose of these is to provide students with the opportunity to give feedback on their learning experience at the College to senior staff who are responsible for the services delivered. The Vice Principal and Director of Human Resource Management and Development also meets groups of students who are under-represented in different areas of the College, for example, women in male dominated areas, men in female dominated areas, students with disabilities and international students. Information gained from these groups then informs the College’s equality action plans.


To be agreed by SMT

Student focus groups - at the beginning of the academic year themes are agreed for focus groups and a sample of groups are identified. Focus groups are then arranged with these class groups which are facilitated by members of the Quality Team and other identified staff e.g. timetablers. Issues identified by students are collated and circulated to managers for action. Also, on occasion if students have issues of concern relating to their learning experience, managers may ask for a focus group to be convened. A Senior Lecturer (Quality Improvement) will facilitate discussion and pass the information to the manager for action.

Ongoing throughout the year, feedback from themes is collated annually and any relevant cross-college actions identified

A combination of these and peer reviews would provide a range of feedback

Activity Timescale Suggested Update Client surveys - The views of students and employers are actively and regularly sought to assist the College to identify improvements based on client feedback. Surveys of student opinion on induction and on the whole student experience are carried out by the Quality Team. An annual Employers’ Survey elicits employer opinion at the end of the academic year. Most surveys are conducted online. Data and findings are analysed and reported within self-evaluation reports, to the Quality Assurance Sub-Committee, the Academic Board and the Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee of the Board of Management. Where shortfalls are identified an action plan is agreed and enacted to ensure that issues of possible concern are improved or corrected. Internal support team satisfaction surveys are also carried out and used to inform support team self-evaluation.

First Impressions Survey – October Student Satisfaction Survey – March Employers’ Survey – June Internal support team Survey - May

Learner surveys already in operation Employer survey to be agreed Support team internal customer satisfaction survey to be reviewed and agreed

Complaints – the College monitors all complaints and these are managed by the Quality Manager who ensures they are logged and receive a response within standard response times. Details of complaints are reported to the Board of Management.

Ongoing throughout the year, a summary is prepared at the end of the Academic Year and forms part of the Customer Care Report

Now combined to meet SPSO standards

Suggestions – the College invites suggestions from students, staff and visitors and suggestion boxes are located throughout College buildings. All suggestions are responded to by the Quality Manager.

Ongoing throughout the year, a summary is prepared at the end of the Academic Year and forms part of the Customer Care Report

Could continue across region but is utilised infrequently

External awards and standards - a commitment to quality improvement underpins the College’s approach to the delivery of services. As well as meeting the requirements of award bodies and Education Scotland the College actively promotes the achievement of external quality standards. In this way it can demonstrate to the public that it has achieved nationally recognised quality standards across the range of its services.


To be agreed by SMT

Course Committee Meetings – teaching teams hold meetings with student representatives at least twice annually to discuss the learner experience and outcomes on each course. Any identified actions are noted and progress recorded as appropriate at the next meeting.

Twice annually – usually November and March

These/Liaison Panels to continue. Agenda to be agreed

Activity Timescale Suggested Update PI Analysis – 3 year PI data is provided for each course prior to the completion of self-evaluation reports each year. PI data is also collated and analysed at a number of levels such as team, sector, level and mode of attendance in order to inform quality improvement actions relating to student outcome. Live data on learner withdrawals is also available via the Dashboard facility to facilitate early intervention.

Annually at end of the Academic Year.

Frequency and availability to be agreed – Dashboard and other methods.

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Agenda Item 6.4

Students’ Association

1. Introduction1.1. The purpose of this paper is to provide the Committee with information about the work

of the Students’ Association.

2. Papers from Students’ Association2.1. Attached at appendix 1 is a report submitted by the Students’ Association.

2.2. The President has advised that future reports to the Committee will comprise a single report on the activities of the Association across all North East Scotland College campuses.

3. Recommendation3.1. It is recommended that the Committee considers the report provided by the Students’

Association.


Agenda item 6.4 Appendix 1

Learning & Teaching and Student Services Committee 18th November 2014 Report of the Students’ Association North Area Report It has been an exciting month for the Students’ Association. With all the executive officers now in place, we can focus on more important issues such as student engagement and representation. In the north Campuses we have an even split of males and females and representation from all three sectors of the College. In the south the majority of Executive Officers are female but again we have representation from all the Schools of the College. In the north we have lost Area President Sophie Brooks. However this has opened up funding for a part-time Vice President in both Altens and Fraserburgh. This will give us the opportunity to increase engagement in areas that are typically hard to engage. Of late at the Fraserburgh Campus this has not been the case, as Engineering School has become very proactive The North has had an effective campaign to reopen the smoking shelter. While this campaign was requested by the student council, the Students’ Association agreed to support the students on the following conditions:

1. The Students would also promote non-smoking as well; 2. The reasons for the campaign were fair and a benefit to students and the

College; 3. That the students were responsible for the campaign.

To date these conditions have been met. From the Students’ Association’s point of view the campaign has been a success, as it has helps with engagement. Students who would normally be very hard to engage with have become involved with the Association. The Executive Officers have been assisting with the election preparation and the Halloween event South Area Report In the south area, our Aberdeen Freshers was very successful. We held a few competitions involving some of the participants at the stalls. Our Altens Freshers event was equally successful. We also produced an opinion poll during the event in City campus. The poll we did was to find out the opinion of the up and coming referendum, 236 students took the poll and 72% said that they would be voting for an independent Scotland, 8% said that they were still undecided about the vote. We are currently focusing on the two campaigns we are running during the academic year, "more than just a card" and the "liberation for all". We had the first of

two events for our liberation for all campaign on the 11th November where students could get information about issues and campaigns that organisations dealt with. We had NUS Scotland LGBT and disabled committees, along with “gay mans health” and interconnect. The next event on this campaign is on 13th February. Since the last Board Meeting, South Area has gained a full executive committee and the majority of our equality and diversity members. Within both committees, we have had an increase in members from social sciences from the previous year and interest from departments that haven't been active in previous years.

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Agenda Item 7.1

Education Scotland Annual Engagement Visit May 2014

1. Introduction1.1. The purpose of this paper is to provide the Board of Management with an opportunity to

considerthefindingsoftheCollege’sAnnualEngagementVisitbyEducationScotlandon 12 and 13 May 2014.

2. Background2.1. As part of the Education Scotland Quality Review Framework, Education Scotland Inspectors

(HMI) and/or Associate Assessors visit Colleges each year to review their progress and to keep up-to-date with developments.

2.2. The Annual Engagement visit involves Education Scotland spending two days in each College interviewing staff and students and analysing performance indicators.

2.3. ThefindingsoftheAnnualEngagementVisitarethencommunicatedtotheCollegeinthe form of a report.

2.4. ThefirstAnnualEngagementVisittoNorthEastScotlandCollegetookplaceon12and13 May 2014.

3. Context3.1. North East Scotland College is now participating in the Action Learning Project led by

the Scottish Funding Council which is tasked with establishing a new Self-evaluation Framework, suited to the new regional colleges.

3.2. It is not yet known whether Annual Engagement Visits by Education Scotland will continue to be part of the new arrangements, although the three pilot Colleges continue to participate in National Aspect Tasks.

4. The Report4.1. The Report of the Visit was sent to the College on 16 October 2014. A copy of the Report

is attached at appendix 1.

4.2. Statements include: “The process of merger and creating the new college is proceeding to plan and is on

target.”

“The college is further developing its existing positive relationships with stakeholders, particularly schools in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire and local universities.”

“Learners are aware of the college merger but believe that it has not had any direct impact on their learning or programme of study.”

“Overall learners are happy with the provision, feel the standard of learning and teaching is high, have raised no major issues and feel that the college listens to their views and is responsive”

5. Recommendation5.1. It is recommended that the Committee note the contents of this report.


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Annual engagement: main findings Name of college: North East Scotland College Date of visit: 12-13 May 2014 Contextual information: North East Scotland College came into being on its vesting date of 1 November 2013 following the successful merger of Aberdeen College and Banff and Buchan College. The college is the sole provider of further education within the areas of Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire. The process of merger and creating the new college is proceeding to plan and is on target. The overall management structure has been agreed and most staff are in post. New managers have undergone induction training. Team working between support services and teaching teams is proceeding on the basis of identifying what was good practice in each of two legacy colleges and building on this. The college is further developing its existing positive relationships with stakeholders, particularly schools in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire, and local universities. The college has well-advanced arrangements for developing its ICT infrastructure across all campuses, particularly in relation to the college VLE. The college’s estates strategy is aiming to ensure quality provision across all campuses and also parity in provision in the main campuses. For example, there are plans to reconfigure learning spaces in the Aberdeen City campus and also work is underway to develop the engineering and construction space in the Fraserburgh campus. The college experiences challenges in maintaining the levels of teaching staff in the buoyant North East economy. Staffing in engineering areas is particularly vulnerable, due to the demand and considerably higher salaries available in industry. In addition, staff find it challenging to meet the higher costs of accommodation in Aberdeen. The college is served by the Board of Management of North East Scotland College. Although the college vesting date was not until November 2013, the college has taken fully into account the targets agreed under the Regional Outcome Agreement (ROA) for 2013-14 in its planning and delivery. These targets within the ROA for 2013-14 are incorporated into the planning for the merged college. Update on previous Education Scotland evaluative activities Aberdeen College was externally reviewed by Education Scotland in November 2011 and Banff and Buchan College was externally reviewed in January 2013.

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Subsequent Annual Engagement Visits (AEV) have taken place for both colleges since these reviews and reported significant progress in addressing all main points for action and areas for development. Learner Progress and Outcomes College senior managers are aware of legacy issues around learner retention and success within a few FE programmes. The college has plans in place to address these throughout academic session 2013 -14 and beyond. Although trend data on performance indicators (PI) is not available for North East Scotland College, a composite trend figure drawn from Aberdeen and Banff and Buchan Colleges demonstrates where progress has been made. However, for the purposes of establishing trend data for North East Scotland College, PI figures for 2013-14 will be the baseline. Early and further withdrawal trends Early withdrawal in full-time FE has improved and is better than sector performance level. Early withdrawal in full-time HE increased marginally in 2012-13 and remains in line with the sector average. In full-time FE, further withdrawal has remained at 18% over three years, while rates have improved across the sector year on year. Within full-time HE, further withdrawal has improved but remains slightly above the sector level. Within part-time modes, early withdrawal rates have tended to fluctuate but have improved slightly overall. Within part-time FE and part-time HE, early withdrawal rates are low and further withdrawal has improved over the four year period. Rates are half the sector levels. Successful outcome trends In 2012-13, 65% of learners on full-time FE completed their programmes successfully with a further 9% completing with partial success. Success rates have improved by 4 percentage points since 2010-11 when success was below sector average and are now in line with sector performance levels. In 2012-13, 70% of full-time HE learners completed their programme successfully. These rates have increased year on year in line with sector performance levels. Part-time success rates in both FE and HE are high and above or well above the sector performance levels. In part-time FE, 86% of students completed their programme successfully. In part-time HE, 78% of students completed successfully with a further 18% completing with partial success. With the exception of part-time HE, partial success rates are lower than sector levels and have improved over the four year period. In part-time HE, partial success in is 18% and this is four percentage points above the sector level. .

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Trends in student success The tables below show the proportion of learners who completed their FE or HE programme successfully, over the last four sessions. The PIs discount those programmes not leading to a recognised qualification. Full-time FE

North East Scotland College

Early withdrawal

Further withdrawal

Partial Success

Completed successfully

2009-10 10% 19% 13% 58% 2010-11 7% 18% 14% 61% 2011-12 9% 18% 12% 61% 2012-13 8% 18% 9% 65% National sector performance

Early withdrawal

Further withdrawal

Partial Success


2009-10 10% 18% 13% 60% 2010-11 10% 17% 11% 62% 2011-12 9% 16% 11% 64% 2012-13 9% 15% 11% 65%

Full-time HE


Early withdrawal

Further withdrawal

Partial Success



Early withdrawal

Further withdrawal

Partial Success


2009-10 7% 15% 14% 64% 2010-11 6% 14% 13% 67% 2011-12 6% 12% 12% 69% 2012-13 6% 12% 12% 70%

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Part-time FE


Early withdrawal

Further withdrawal

Partial Success



Early withdrawal

Further withdrawal

Partial Success


2009-10 4% 7% 13% 76% 2010-11 4% 7% 12% 77% 2011-12 3% 6% 12% 79% 2012-13 4% 6% 12% 77%

Part-time HE

North East Scotland College Early

withdrawal Further

withdrawal Partial

Success Completed

successfully 2009-10 2% 5% 20% 73% 2010-11 3% 6% 17% 74% 2011-12 3% 4% 19% 74% 2012-13 1% 3% 18% 78% National sector performance

Early withdrawal

Further withdrawal

Partial Success


2009-10 5% 6% 16% 73% 2010-11 4% 6% 15% 75% 2011-12 4% 6% 14% 75% 2012-13 4% 6% 14% 76%

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Summary of subject areas Full-time FE Programmes under the subject areas of art and design, construction, land-based industries and nautical studies performed below or well below the sector performance levels. In art and design, high further withdrawal contributed significantly to low attainment. In land-based industries and in nautical studies, partial success was particularly high. The proportions of learners completing their programmes successfully in the subject areas of social subjects and special programmes were in line with success in the top performing colleges. Full-time FE social subjects learners represent 3% of SUMs provision at North East Scotland College. Full-time HE Most programme areas in full-time HE performed well, with marked exceptions in land-based Industry programmes and in performing arts. In land-based Industry programmes, high withdrawal rates contributed significantly to low attainment. In performing arts, partial success rates were high. The proportion of learners completing their programmes successfully in the subject area of computing and ICT is in line with success in the top performing colleges. Computing and ICT learners represent 4% of SUMs provision at North East Scotland College. Part-time FE Programmes under the subject areas of performing arts and science performed below or well below sector performance levels. The partial success rate within performing arts was particularly high at 43%. In science, 38% of learners withdrew before completion. The proportion of learners completing their programmes successfully in the subject area of art and design, at 93%, is in line with success in the top performing colleges. Part-time HE Only one programme area in part-time HE performed significantly below the sector performance level. Within education and training, 64% of learners completed successfully. The proportion of learners completing their programmes successfully in the subject areas of business, management and administration, computing and ICT, and science performed in line with the top performing colleges in the sector. Computing and ICT performed particularly well at 92%. The college aims to reduce withdrawals and increase attainment, reducing partial completion rates. Effective measures taken by teaching teams in 2013-14 to improve learner success and retention rates, particularly within FE, have included:

• Ensuring that learners are at the correct level to succeed on their programme through improved recruitment and selection procedures;

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• Providing better information to learners about the nature and content of the programme, in order to inform decision-making by learners about programme choice more effectively;

• Using core skills screening to ensure learners are studying at the appropriate level for their ability and the requirements of their programme;

• Having different levels of programmes to meet learners’ needs, especially offering suitably attractive programmes at SCQF level 4 that aid progression on to national certificate or modern apprenticeship programmes;

• Putting in place a calendar of interesting and engaging events for learners at points in the year where they are more likely to withdraw;

• Ensuring learners are better prepared for progression. One notable success story is in science with Maths and Physics introduced at level 5 in order to prepare learners better for level 6.

At the Fraserburgh campus, specific actions have been taken to address main points for action reported in the recent external review of Banff and Buchan College. Improvements made at subject team level following the 2012-13 self-evaluation included revised recruitment and induction activity within care and computing particularly; the purchase of new updated resources within technology and art & design; and changes to programme design in care, ESOL and construction. At subject level, programme teams identified several good examples of improvements in retention. For instance, within computing, staff developed activities aimed at keeping a better link with applicants and learners at the early stages of their programme, such as treasure hunt tour using QR codes. This provided an interesting introduction to the building and facilities. These teaching areas had a high level of confidence that they would maintain the resulting improvements in PIs or improve further. The college has made changes which have improved both retention and attainment, including an improved monitoring system, so that absences or concerns are picked up and acted upon faster. The college has also introduced a PI predictor tool which programme teams have used well to help identify and address issues, to ensure improved retention and success. Curriculum managers carried out a particularly effective analysis of programmes and this identified that learners do better in units where they take ownership and where learning is well contextualised. This is an important point to share across the college and within teaching teams. High quality learning Over a three year period, the proportion of learners aged 16 to 19 years who attended the two legacy colleges has increased from 27% to 37%. Teaching and support staff recognise the diversity of challenges that 16 to 19 year old learners present. Staff have identified an increased incidence of learning difficulties and more challenging behaviours and recognise that learners need support to fit into an adult learning environment. The college has established very good practice in meeting the needs of care leavers and young carers and has appointed a looked after and

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accommodated children (LAAC) coordinator to facilitate this. The LAAC Coordinator has been an important point of contact for social work and key partners and has been helpful in ensuring appropriate referrals and sharing of information. The college’s recruitment and selection process provides appropriate opportunities for learners’ needs to be assessed and for learners to identify any additional support they may require. The recruitment and induction processes highlight to learners the types of additional support that could be available and how to access this support. There is a particular focus on links with schools and the specific needs of young learners on the Learning Opportunities programmes. The college Inclusiveness Coordinators are also involved in speaking to applicants about their needs and identifying appropriate support. The college offers a wide and growing range of introductory programmes across the curriculum. Programme teams in areas such as care and social science have introduced lower level programmes as a result of reflecting upon the difficulties that learners had encountered. College staff recognise that in planning for younger learners, retaining a certain amount of flexibility is important for learners who are unsure of career direction, securing help where appropriate from SDS Careers. The college is bringing together two different approaches to guidance arrangements. Clearly both approaches have had a positive impact on many learners. Learners are encouraged through surveys to share their views on the initial support given, and this is quick and helpful in understanding levels of satisfaction regarding their support. Further analysis on risk factors and reasons for leaving may help the college prioritise its actions. Teaching staff are the primary providers of most support for learners within the class. This is supported well by helpful staff development activity and links with central support services. The college has high success rates for learners on part-time programmes. Staff recognise the value that such learners bring to the college in terms of a variety of life and work experiences and also employer contacts. There is a comprehensive programme of Modern Apprenticeships which links very well with local partners and industry across different sectors and at different levels. Mechanical engineering is especially buoyant because of the demands of the oil and gas sector. There is high demand from employers, who utilise both college programmes and private provider provision. Overall, there is very good engagement of part-time learners with their own learning despite the constraints of time. Teaching staff recognise the importance of the college VLE and other ICT support to enable learners to participate and maintain pace of learning, whatever their circumstances. Most teaching staff use ICT effectively and the college has a range of software and hardware that enhances the learner experience. The college is making significant strides in its learning technologies and has established positive practice in developing a model for learners’ use of their own devices (‘bring your own device’, BYOD). One important point that staff stress to learners is the sustainability aspect of this. However, not all teaching staff are confident in the use and application of ICT. The college requires to ensure that effective CPD allows staff to engage fully in this development and continually improve their learning and teaching practice. Most learners use the college VLE effectively and find it serves their requirements well.

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However, a few learners complain that the VLE is not kept updated and does not always enable learners to keep track of their progress. The college has very effective progression links for a wide variety of programmes which allow potential learners to see distinct pathways to employment. This allows learners to make clear and informed decisions at the start of their college journey. The college has developed particularly close links with Robert Gordon's University that allow learners to move between the two institutions easily. The close collaboration also ensures learners progress more easily into employment. The college encourages and supports volunteering activities for learners as a means of facilitating wider learning. A number of learners have taken up opportunities, for example ESOL learners in particular value the opportunity to use and develop their language skills. For some learners who are not fully prepared for more commercial work placements, volunteering activities provide good opportunities for structured work experience. Teaching staff use a variety of data sources to analyse retention and attainment and are developing strategies to implement change on a team basis. There is strong evidence of good practice being shared through various channels across teams and some departments. The establishment of the Curriculum Quality Managers’ Best Practice Forum should ensure effective dissemination across all areas. As the college continues through the merger process, it recognises the need to ensure consistency in the adoption and daily application of policy and procedures in order to ensure that all learners have a similar and equitable experience. Provision of STEM subjects The withdrawal and success rates in STEM subjects varies by particular area and level. For example, HE provision in science is working well and a new award is soon to be offered. However, teaching teams have encountered more challenges with FE programmes and changes are being made to improve the level 6 programme in particular. Programme teams acknowledge that many learners undertake a full-time Highers programme that includes science when they require only one or two additional Highers for university entrance. Accordingly, the college intends to offer key Highers only in part-time evening provision. This may meet the needs of learners better. Performance indicators for learner withdrawal and success related to the college’s engineering provision are not as strong as other subject areas in the college. Programme teams recognise that there is a particular challenge in this subject area, in that many learners leave to take up employment, particularly from HN programmes. Programme teams have adjusted programme design where this is practical, in order enable learners to continue learning on a part-time basis. In common with the rest of the college sector, female learners tend to be under-represented in many STEM programmes. Programme teams have undertaken a number of activities through linking with schools and other establishments in order to attract more female learners and create a more gender-balanced profile. The college has had a measure of success in attracting more female learners into engineering programmes. The college also has good links with the national Science,

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Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Network (STEMNET) and 35 college learners have registered as STEMNET ambassadors. Clear progress has resulted from this and a female learner at the college recently achieved a World Skills Gold Medal in web design. However, schools do not routinely promote these programmes well to under-represented learners. There is a need for the college to extend its work promoting STEM subjects to under-represented groups, particularly in the subject areas of computing, engineering and science. While retention and success levels of under-represented groups are consistent with college averages, enrolment levels are low. the challenge is attracting people to the programmes. Learner Engagement Generally, learners across the college are well motivated and feel strongly that staff are supportive and approachable. Learners are engaged in their own learning through a blend of classroom approaches, practical activities and work experiences. They enjoy their learning and view the opportunity develop employability skills as a fundamental reason for attending college. However, learners in a few areas feel that there is a lack of consistency in assessment arrangements and that some learning and teaching methods require to be updated. Learners do not always contribute to shaping their own learning at college. Learners have positive engagement in wider learning through such activities as working in schools, running events, coaching and helping with health and wellbeing events. All learners are aware of the class representative system and almost all classes have active class reps. Class reps are recruited early in the academic year and are given timely and helpful training which prepares them well to understand their role and discharge their duties. They communicate well with each other through a dedicated social media page. The college ensures time is available for class reps to collect learners’ feedback and to provide feedback to the classes from staff. This works very well. Learners are informed about the work of the class reps and of the students association through emails. However, not all learners are aware of the purpose, role or activities of the students association. Learners are engaged effectively in providing feedback and suggestions that enhance the college self-evaluation processes. The college has piloted peer led reviews sessions that are led by class reps. These are based on a standard agenda and provide valuable feedback to both the teaching team and the college. This approach has proved effective and influential in self-evaluation processes. The recruitment and induction process allows opportunities for learners to raise any matters regarding particular needs or additional support. The college responds very well to these and this helps learners stay on programme and succeed. Where appropriate, learners have regular tutorial time with staff which they value highly. Learners are aware that their attendance and progress is monitored well and staff provide practical support and encouragement. There are many positive examples of

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tutor support and intervention which helped learners deal with difficulties. Many learners, particularly in Fraserburgh, make effective use of the SDS web resources My World of Work and value the help it provides. However, a few learners are not clear about the nature and purpose of personal learning plans. Learners at the Fraserburgh campus value the support of staff, and the modern facilities. However, they have some concerns over the ICT arrangements, particularly the limitations of the Wi-Fi and amount of electronic storage available to them. The college has plans to address this for 2014-15. Learners are aware of the college merger but believe that it has not had any direct impact on their learning or programme of study. The few changes in structure and staff that learners have noticed have been well received by them and learners feel that there has been some improvement in the levels of resourcing. Overall, learners are happy with the provision, feel the standard of learning and teaching is high, have raised no major issues, and feel the college listen to their views and is responsive. The student association executive members are working well together to plan out the role the student association will play in 2014-15 and how it will operate. A clear role is emerging in the work and life of the college via:

• representation on key committees; • planning college-wide events and campaigns that allow learners opportunities

for wider learning; • playing a positive role in the evaluation of learning and teaching through

peer-led review; and • identifying alternative means of gathering learner views and contributions.

However, the student association is considering how to better inform and engage learners who are not full-time and mainstream, especially school, distance and on-line learners. Quality culture The college works very well with its industry partners and with sector bodies such as CITB. Their support ensures that the college provision is relevant and up to date. In order to capitalise on these positive relationships, the college is establishing employer advisory groups, particularly for areas such as auto, electrical and mechanical engineering. These will be used to inform the development of the curriculum and the learner experience.

For 2013-14, the college has continued the legacy arrangements for self-evaluation and internal review. Managers are developing new college-wide approaches and this work is being led through one of the five committees supporting the Academic Board. However, across all college campuses, effective internal review processes are in place which are supported well by feedback from staff and learners. Although there are useful periodic meetings to consider progress, most teams take prompt action as they become aware of any concerns. More rigorous and structured team meetings ensure that staff reflect more systematically on matters such as equalities.

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The college is developing mechanisms for identifying college-wide issues for action and for ensuring systematic processes across the college for self-evaluation and internal review. Overall, staff are confident that the developing approaches for the coming year are built on good practice, and will fully engage support and teaching areas in effective self-reflection and action. To enable the college to establish consistency learning and teaching, quality improvement and enhancement will be overseen by the Quality Improvement and Assurance Committee. The college recognises the value in having formal procedures such as audit and classroom observation under the control of a small team. This allows better sharing of good practice across teaching teams but also links well to CPD. The college has a very strong and effective culture of teaching observation and this has encouraged the development of less formal peer sharing arrangements. However, the college does not yet have a readily and easily accessible platform for the sharing of good practice across the college, particularly within learning and teaching. Schools partnerships The college makes varied and extensive provision for schools. This is well-led from a strategic perspective reflects a more comprehensive provision across the city and region. The college ensures that there are very good support arrangements in place for individual school learners which is important from a learning perspective but also for safeguarding. The college has good arrangements in place to introduce potential new learners to the college, particularly in encouraging parents in to the college to secure their support. Examples of excellent practice 1. University articulation 2. Hair and Beauty festival 3. Helpzone College HMI Jan Davidson Date 01 June 2014

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Agenda Item 7.2

Student Performance Indicators

1. Introduction1.1. The purpose of this paper is to provide the Committee with information on high level,

student-related withdrawal rates and success outcomes for 2011 to 2014.

1.2. This information is gathered from draft Further Education Statistics (FES) data generated bytheCollegeacrossallcentres.Specifically, thishigh leveldatafocusesonstudentwithdrawal and attainment data within the College’s full-time and part-time, non-advanced and advanced provision.

2. Student Withdrawal and Attainment2.1. Prior to merger both the former Aberdeen and Banff& Buchan Colleges collected student

withdrawal and attainment data in order to monitor progress of students and, where appropriate, to take actions to address any concerns that may have emerged.

2.2. This data has been created by combining data sets derived from the two different MIS systemsusedintheformerColleges.Thefigureshavethenbeenprocessedthroughaspart of a permanent data migration exercise to one MIS system (Unit-E) for North East Scotland College (NESC).

2.3. During, and at the end of, each year the withdrawal and attainment data are analysed by all faculty and curriculum teams as part of the respective course management and self-evaluation processes. This helps to identify strengths, weaknesses and any necessary quality improvement actions that may be required to improve both student experiences and student success outcomes.

2.4. Student withdrawal and attainment data are also reported and published by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) on an annual basis.

2.5. Attainmentismeasuredusingadefinitionof‘CompleteSuccess’.Thismeasuresthenumberof students achieving a successful outcome from their programmes as a percentage of all students enrolling on the programmes.

2.6. Table 1 shows both the student withdrawal rates and success outcomes for NESC from 2011 to 2014.

3. Key Points3.1. Early Withdrawal – Over the three year period early student withdrawal rates have decreased

for both full-time FE and all HE provision but have increased for part-time FE provision.

3.2. Further Withdrawal – Similarly, over the three year period further student withdrawal rates have also decreased for full-time FE and all HE provision but increased for part-time FE provision.

3.3. Completed: Successful – Over the three year trend success rates for students have increased by nearly 5% for full-time FE students, 3% for full-time HE students and 7% for part-time HE students. Success rates for part-time FE students have reduced by 1%.

4. Recommendation4.1. It is recommended that the Committee note the information provided in this paper.


Table 1 – NESC Student Data (2011-14)

Early Withdrawal

Further Withdrawal

Completed: Partial Success

Completed: Successful

Session 2011 2012 2013 2011 2012 2013 2011 2012 2013 2011 2012 2013

FT FE 8.45% 8.14% 6.53% 18.21% 17.98% 15.28% 12.31% 9.55% 12.42% 61.03% 64.32% 65.77%

FT HE 5.42% 5.76% 4.06% 15.06% 13.66% 12.65% 10.69% 9.97% 11.03% 68.83% 70.61% 72.26%

PT FE 1.34% 5.25% 5.76% 3.12% 3.19% 3.85% 10.73% 8.63% 11.11% 84.82% 86.91% 83.81%

PT HE 2.29% 0.99% 1.05% 4.18% 3.48% 2.58% 18.35% 18.59% 14.40% 75.17% 76.94% 81.97%

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Agenda Item 7.3

Student Support Funds

1. Introduction1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide the Committee with information on amounts

allocated for various support funds and comparative spend for AY2014-15 and AY2013-14.

2. Background2.1 Funds allocated directly to the College The College receives a range of student support funds mainly from the Scottish Further

and Higher Education Funding Council (SFC) but also from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS). These funds can be grouped as follows:

• bursary funds to support eligible Further Education (FE) students;

• discretionary funds to support both eligible FE and Higher Education (HE) students;

• childcare funds to support both eligible FE and HE students, now incorporating the Lone Parent Childcare Grant.

2.2 Funds controlled centrally by SFC (as opposed to being allocated directly) but administered by the College on their behalf:

• Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) programme.

3. Bursary Funds – general rules3.1 Both the student and their course of study must be deemed eligible before they can be

considered for an award.

3.2 The amount of any award shall be determined by the college and would normally cover the student’s maintenance costs, travelling expenses and study costs (within the limits set in national policy).

3.3 The Bursary Fund is cash limited, students who are eligible for support are not automatically entitled to this support.

3.4 Spend on overall study costs must not exceed 15 per cent of the college’s initial bursary allocation for AY 2014-15.

3.5 Bursary awards should only be made available automatically for attendance above 90 per cent of planned classroom hours.

3.6 Colleges may use their bursary funds to meet some or all of an eligible student’s travelling expenses where they are eligible for inclusion in a travel allowance by securing a transportation agreement with a local transport provider.

3.7 College’s may spend Bursary Funds on childcare.

3.8 Where SFC have given permission, shortfalls in Bursary allocations can be offset by using FE / HE Childcare Funds or FE Discretionary Funds.

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Agenda Item 7.3

4. Discretionary and Childcare Funds – general rules4.1 The range of discretionary and childcare funds is as follows:

A. Further Education Discretionary Fund (FEDF) (SFC) – for eligible non-advanced level students to be used primarily for emergency use to cover general living expenses but not for fees where there is a risk to the students continuation on their course.

B. Further Education and Higher Education Childcare Fund (FE / HE CCF) (SFC) which will have two elements as follows:

i) The Lone Parents Childcare Grant (LPCG) element which will be an entitlement payment of up to £1,215 per year to all eligible further and higher education students who are lone parents and who have formal registered childcare expenses while studying. The LPCG is not income assessed.

ii) The Discretionary Childcare Funds which all students may apply to for financialhelpwithformalregisteredchildcareexpenses.Paymentsfromthe Discretionary Childcare funds will be made at the discretion of the institutions and based on an assessment of need.

C. Higher Education Discretionary Fund (HEDF) (SAAS) – for all eligible advanced level students to be used for general living expenses but not for fees (may be used for registered/formal childcare costs).

5. Childcare Reserve5.1 The College’s Board of Management had set aside a reserve childcare fund in 2011-12

only to allow the previous Voucher Scheme to be phased out yet make an allowance should childcare funds be fully committed. Given both Bursary Funds and FEDF can be used to supplement any shortfall in FE / HE CCF then the reserve would only be committed when other funds were fully exhausted.

6. Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) Programme6.1 EMAs form a part of the Scottish Government’s agenda of encouraging access to, and

participation in post-16 learning by young people from low-income families.

6.2 They are intended to encourage learners to stay on in post-compulsory education i.e. after they are legally eligible to leave.

6.3 Recipients will normally be aged between 16 and 19 years (inclusive).

6.4 EMA funds do not form part of the grant-in-aid to SFC, but are claimed in arrears based on recorded activity in the sector.

6.5 Eligibility for £30 per week will be for those in households of income of up to £20,351 and income of up to £22,403 for households with more than one dependent child.

6.6 Payment is dependent on 100 per cent weekly attendance and progress towards agreed learning targets. Students are however allowed up to 10 authorised absences over the course of the year without this impacting on their 100 per cent target.

7. Disbursement of Funds in Academic Year 2014-157.1 Information on the disbursement of funds up to 30 September 2014 is given in the tables

inappendix1.Comparativefigureshavebeenprovidedfortheyeartodatefor2014-15with full-year data for 2013-14.

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Agenda Item 7.3

8. Recommendation8.1 It is recommended that the Committee note the information provided in this paper.


Table 1 – Funds Available

Funds Available £000



Support Funds 2014-15 2013-14 2012-13

FE Bursary 6,908 6,873 6,804

FE Discretionary 498 500 494

FE / HE Childcare (incl LPCG) 1,006 997 1,005

Total 8,412 8,370 8,303

HE Discretionary 210 205 210

EMA 611 604 623

Totals 9,233 9,179 9,136

Table 2 – Committed Funds

2014-15 2013-14

Support FundsFunds

Available £000

Funds Committed

£000s

Funds available

not yet committed

£000s

Funds Available

£000s

Funds Committed

£000s

Funds available

not yet committed

£000s

FE Bursary 6,908 4,000 2,908 6,873 5,915 958

FE Discretionary 498 105 393 500 167 333

FE / HE Childcare (incl LPCG)

1,006 227 779 997 480 517

Total 8,412 4,332 4,080 8,370 6,562 1,808

HE Discretionary 210 22 188 205 50 155

EMA 500 500 0 604 604 0

Totals 9,233 4,854 4,379 9,179 7,216 1,963

Table 3 – Supported Students

2014-15 2013-14

FE Bursary + Fee Waiver 2,075 3,090

FE Discretionary + Loans 289 166

FE Childcare 16 57

FE / HE LPCG 46 63

HE Discretionary + Loans 24 31

Childcare 6 9

EMA programme 101 345

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