The Higher Education Achievement Report: the story so far Rob Ward The Centre for Recording Achievement

The authorised account…

Steering Group Report (2007)… Honours Degree Classification No Longer Fit for Purpose Case for Change (Why Develop a HEAR?) Summative System at Odds with Lifelong Learning. Wider Recognition of Achievement. Recognising Achievement at all Levels. Employability Skills. Employers have clearly defined qualities they are looking for in graduates. Greater financial investment than ever before.  Students require more than just a certificate.  All stakeholders should have detailed information on what is behind a particular class of degree.

The wider context… ‘a need to do justice to the full range of student experience by allowing a wider recognition of achievement.’ ‘the present system cannot capture achievement in some key areas of interest to students and employers.’

The HEAR Proposals (2007)… By …2010/11… a Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) will be the central vehicle for recording all university-level undergraduate higher education student achievement in all UK higher education institutions. The HEAR will be a single document, based on, and developed from, the current academic transcript, and incorporating the European Diploma Supplement (so first and foremost an academic record...) The HEAR will contain information which the institution is prepared to verify. Further work should be done on how to measure and record skills and achievements gained through non-formal learning…

The story so far… An unfinished account, practice still evolving but much clarified… A varied range of initial trial institutions, purposefully chosen to reflect diversity… Second wave of institutions now involved (30 in total, plus many working on implementation outside the trial group…)

What is the HEAR? Core template framework reflecting a more detailed and rounded view of a student’s experience and achievements. Key building blocks (sections): 1.Information identifying the holder of the qualification 2.Information identifying the qualification 3.Information on the level of qualification 4.Information on the contents and results gained 5.Information on the function of the qualification 6.Additional information 7.Certification 8.Information on the national HE System

HEAR Components = Academic Transcript (module marks and grades). Diploma Supplement. Additional information esp. section a ‘richer picture’ of student achievement, verified additional achievements recorded under one of three headings: –University, Professional and Departmental Prizes; –measured or assessed performance in non-academic contexts accredited by, or with external accreditation recognised by the University, e.g. awards concerned with employability; –additional recognised activities undertaken by students which demonstrate achievement but for which no recognition is provided in terms of academic credit, e.g. Course Representatives or Students’ Union Officers.

‘Going with the grain’… Transcripts… 64% (45 out of 70 institutions) were achieving the objective of providing a transcript meeting the minimum data set requirements for undergraduate students. (Brennan and Shah, CHERI, 2003). Diploma Supplement…74% HEIs currently issue the Diploma Supplement (DS), over half automatically – an increase of 14 percentage points to the proportion issuing the DS in 2007 (59% response rate, UUK Europe Unit survey, 2009/10).

Wider learning: survey evidence from the sector (2008)… 62 responses (from 44 institutions). Key points: –22 responses related to nationally recognised schemes; 40 to Institutional provision; –29 formally Assessed; –24 Credit Bearing; –21 included within the current Transcript.

The direction of travel… A shift from ‘why should we’ to ‘how can we’… Broad agreement on the framework and Guidelines for implementation approach… Significant visibility for the initiative within trial institutions… Emphasis on value in supporting learning and employability…

Wider achievements and the HEAR (6.1)… Within a clear guidance framework…‘authorised statements of student achievement not included elsewhere, whether: –assessed and/or accredited by the University; –verified by appropriate and authorised University personnel; –approved by the University for inclusion on the basis of criteria confirmed under the relevant quality assurance procedures of the institution.’ Emphasis upon approaches which seek to maximise student inclusion…

The emerging account…

The second story… A richer summative record produced by Registry, but with links to employability: –Where outcomes from extra-curricular processes are assessed, (e.g. within an extra-curricular award) these will, subject to institutional processes, be reported in appropriate parts of the HEAR. –HEAR’s provide a (re)source for students to draw upon in articulating and evidencing their achievements to employers and postgraduate tutors; Or/and a context for engagement with broader institutional issues, including student employability.

More than a Record… Links to learning and teaching…including more holistic appreciations of learning and achievement (revisiting graduate attributes) Links to demonstrating achievement away from the curriculum (and the active role of students unions/representatives in this, including discussions about the nature of life-wide learning and achievement).

renewed consideration of the relationship between institutionally-managed and learner managed information, the latter as held in e- portfolio systems for example. This has been a particular feature of trial work in areas where portfolios may contain assessed or presentational work, in areas of graphic design, for example; evolving HEAR’s may provide a context for recognising learning and informing choices… –‘As part of the HEAR pilot The University of Manchester is exploring formative HEARs to be produced annually for students in order to inform their academic and extra-curricular choices. The ‘HEARing Student voices’ project will focus on the formative, development aspects of the HEAR initiative and will run alongside the development of graduate HEARs.’

Key employer messages so far… Simplicity of format and concise content, though not at the extent of removing the individual and personal focus. Primary value in enabling students to be ‘more choiceful’; highlighting the importance of thinking and acting to develop a range of experiences and achievements beyond academic programmes, and in providing a richer record they could use to articulate and evidence achievements. Substantial preference for an electronic HEAR, and for this to be available for scrutiny in respect of applications for internships or - in the final year of undergraduate study - for employment opportunities. Institutional verification of wider achievements seen as a new and welcome development.

And small employers… ‘We have found that the CVs of applicants who have applied for jobs we have advertised are very formulaic and standardised and contain little actual information about the people themselves. The expanded sections in 4.3 and 6.1 would be most helpful as this personalised “soft facts” content gives the prospective employer a much more rounded picture of a potential employees abilities.’

Timetable for implementation… The Implementation Steering Group has agreed that the default position is that there should be sector-wide rollout with incoming students at the beginning of the academic year Voluntary take up could occur from if all continues to go well with the current trial.