1. ON-LINE TOPIC RECORD KEEPING

2.  Before moving on to the next slides, spend a few minutes making notes on the kinds of records that you think need to be kept in an educational setting

3. Although everyone’s list may have some differences depending on the organisation they work for, your list is likely to have included most of the following: attendancecontact detailstutorial records retentionmarks for assignments enrolment figuresgenderageethnicity details of learning difficulties/disability (including dyslexia)

4.  Most organisations keep records of how many learners are recruited onto their courses. This tells them which courses are most popular (& may need additional classes) and which may not be sufficiently popular to run. In some settings courses come in and out of fashion. For example, in Adult & Community education about 10 years ago the most popular classes were in Salsa which were regularly oversubscribed. Now very few organisations run Salsa classes but Nail Art is very popular.

5.  Retention records are important as they show organisations how many learners are dropping out of courses. There may be a range of reasons for this:  The publicity & marketing of the course may be misleading so learners find that the course is not what they expected  The pre-course information may not have been clear about the level of the course and learners may find that they do not have the previous knowledge required or that they need a course at a higher level.  In a small number of cases there could be a problem with the way the class is being organised and delivered by the tutor

6.  Achievement records show us how many learners have actually achieved what they wanted to achieve, have completed their learning aims.  If a large number of learners are not successful it is possible that the initial information about the course is not accurate & people are enrolling onto courses at the wrong level.  Low achievement may also show that the initial assessment procedures for the course need to be revised.  If a significant number of learners are not passing a particular assignment this helps the tutor identify the need to concentrate more on that aspect of the course & revise their delivery.  In many instances funding for course sis linked directly to success rates.

7.  Attendance: many courses have an attendance requirement (e.g. PTLLS = 80%) and for some learners, having a record of their attendance is a requirement to be able to claim financial support or benefits such as Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA).  Age/gender/ethnicity: records of figures for these aspects allow a college to ensure that they are meeting the needs of all the community and that the learning opportunities they offer meet the requirements of an equal & diverse provision. This is particularly in areas which may have traditionally been seen as the province of a particular group of learners e.g. predominantly male learners in Motor Vehicle Maintenance. Some organisations nowadays also record sexual orientation.  Contact details may be kept in case of emergency and, in some situations, organisations may keep details of medication although access to this information may be limited.  Information about specific learning difficulties/disabilities may also be kept depending on the organisation

8.  The learner: accurate & transparent record keeping allows learners to track their progress through the course and helps them identify any areas where they may need additional support or to undertake further work  The tutor: record keeping allows us as tutors to identify how well individual learners are progressing and to identify learners who may need additional input/support before the situation becomes critical  The organisation: record keeping helps an organisation gauge the success of its course, access funding and ensure that they are meeting the needs of the local community. For example, if an organisation is situated close to an area where there are large numbers of economic migrants but few appear on the organisational records, then they may not be meeting these needs.

9.  Although many of the records we have been discussing have traditionally been paper-based, there is an increasing move towards electronic record keeping.  Here at Abingdon & Witney College our registers, Individual Learning Plans and records of tutorial meetings are generally now kept electronically – certainly for long and full-time courses. This means that the information is readily available to both the learner and all the tutors involved in their learning.  You will need to find out how records are kept for your own organisation including records for aspects that you as a tutor might not be responsible for.

10.  Explain the need for keeping records and describe the types of records you would maintain.  Word count: 200-400

11.  For this assignment you will need to outline the general importance of record keeping saying why various types of records are important and who benefits from them.  You should then go on to describe the types of records you would maintain as a tutor. For example, it is unlikely that you would keep the records on age/gender/ethnicity for your group – although obviously you will be aware of these factors – as they are likely to be kept by a management information system so figures can be seen for the college as a whole.  You should also discuss here HOW you would keep the records e.g. electronic registers, paper-records?