Linking London Conference

Workshop 1: Strength in Partnership

http://www.lilianbaylis.com/

Priorities for 2012-13

• Access agreements and retention• Data - £40K work with Hugh Joslin and Sharon

Smith• HE in FE• Information, advice and guidance, (especially on

fees); and the benefits to be gained from partnership and collaborative working

• Progression from level 3 qualifications (focusing on vocational qualifications including Access to HE, BTEC, City and Guilds and Apprenticeships)

• Social mobility (including access to the professions)

Additional work for 2012-13

• The GLAS project (funded under the Erasmus programme) 2011 – 13 entered its second year, looking at access to lifelong learning through the lens of gender and class

• A BIS funded project on Credit Accumulation and Transfer (CATS) administered by the AOC, running this year

• Jointly working with the AOC London on an LSIS funded project on Building Learner Progression and Higher Level Skills in London

• A Pan London bid to the Catalyst fund and part of a Birkbeck bid also

External Changes 2012 – 13. Your starter for 10

• The biggest has been the raising of the fee level to £9,000

• Recruitment patterns and decline in part-time• Use of core and margin numbers• New ‘players’ entering the market • HEFCE losing its funding power to SLC and its WP

influence to OFFA• From ‘New Challenges New Chances’ to rigour and

responsiveness• Qualification reform• Funding changes for FE – SfA• Movement from access to success

Internal changes 2012 – 13. Your starter for 10.

• Repositioning of strategic intent by many universities• Response to recruitment patterns (only one year so

far) blip or something more permanent?• Need to be cost effective, looking for economies of

scale• New priorities, unique offering, how compete in a

crowded London market • Need for more information and data – targeting • Focus not just on recruitment and access - but

retention and successful achievement and employment

• 28 more for each of our partners….

Access Agreements, Retention and Student Success

-Should Linking London’s focus now shift from AAs to the student experience?

-Should Linking London have a role to play in supporting collaborative target setting or evaluation?

HE in FE

-Should Linking London work more closely with its FE partners to promote HE in FE as a separate entity?

-We have been working closely with the new AOC director of London, who now runs a HE co-ordinator’s group. Do you see advantages in this close working continuing? Are there joint agendas we could pursue? If so what are they? 

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Social Mobility

-Should Linking London focus its work on specifically under-represented target groups or is this covered elsewhere?

-Could we form useful alliances in this area for the future? If so who with? 

Data

-How should the key lessons learnt from the data inform Linking London’s work next year?

-How can we support both colleges and HEIs in their responsibility to Ofsted and Access Agreement requirements?

-What next for this work-strand? Should we engage in further research?   

Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG)

-Should Linking London be working with partners to identify and set targets relating to its collaborative IAG offer?

-How can we measure the impact of the collaborative IAG offer on learners?

-How might the collaborative IAG offer develop over time?  

Qualification Change

Linking London’s work has focussed on the following level 3 qualifications: Access to HE Diplomas, A-levels, Apprenticeships and BTECs.

-Should this work be broadened to include a wider range of qualifications, focus more narrowly or continue with its current approach?  

   

LL Priorities for 2013/14 – Board Feedback

Feedback from the extraordinary board meeting recommended that all priorities from current year should be retained, although the following areas were highlighted as issues to address:

 -part time learning due to drop in recruitment levels: issue of visibility of PT offer / is there a perception problem?

-transition of WP students – from both ends: more engagement with NUS / framing of LL offer from a learner perspective

-Funding changes for FE and impact of these changes

-Large increase in number of students with disabilities, but do not qualify for funding – impact of this on disability services

   

Next Steps

Discussion and feedback on our collective priorities

from the Special Board Meeting & conference

workshops will form the basis of our Business Plan to

be presented at the final Board meeting of this

academic year on 12th June