1. External examiners with partner institutions
External Examiners’ Workshop, 13 March 2017
Tanya Izzard
Quality & Standards Manager, Partnership Office
EEs from
LUCY BROWN Brighton Film School BA (Hons) Digital Film (UoBH) / BA (Hons) Film Production (top up) (BFS)
TIM BENNETT-HART East Surrey College FdA Music and Sound Production
ANDREW JONES East Surrey College FdSc Internet Software Development
JIM BUICK Northbrook FdEng Motorsport Engineering
ROS SIMMS Northbrook Undergraduate Communication Design / Graphic Design / Illustration courses
CLIVE GARLAND SCCH BA (Hons) Fine Art Practice
NORMA JAMES SDC BSc (Hons) Person-Centred Counselling (top up, FdSc Person-Centred Counselling
GRANT MCCAIG Plumpton FdA Creative Metalworking

2. In this session
overview of Brighton’s provision delivered in partnership
Information on individual partners
quality assurance management and structures
examination board operation
how we use your report
administrative arrangements, contacts and sources of information

3. Brighton’s partnership provision – taught courses
UK partners
Brighton Film School
Central Sussex College, Crawley
City College Brighton & Hove
East Surrey College, Redhill
KLC School of Design, London
Northbrook College, Worthing
Plumpton College, Lewes
Sussex Coast College Hastings
Sussex Downs College, Lewes and Eastbourne
International partners
Angell Akademie Freiburg, Germany
Ecole de Savignac, France
Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences, NL
Mauritius Institute of Education
Partnership working is predominantly with UK institutions in terms of student numbers. The majority of our relationships with further education colleges are now validation, ie the College owns the student numbers and students do not enrol with Brighton. City College Brighton and Hove and Northbrook College will merge on 31 March to form the Greater Brighton Metropolitan College.
Our overseas partnerships are all offered on a flying faculty, shared delivery basis.

4. Partnership provision – size and shape
1900 students on programmes delivered in partnership, about 9% of total student body
1500 at FECs, 250 at UK specialist providers, 100 overseas
60 degrees, 70 foundation degrees, 4 masters programmes and 2 ITE courses validated for delivery at partner institutions
City College Brighton & Hove
209
East Surrey College 68
Northbrook College
644
Plumpton College
316
Sussex Coast College Hastings
137
Sussex Downs College
186
Brighton Film School 24

5. Students at partner institutions
Compared with the University, partner institutions recruit:
older students - around 50% over 21, 35% over 25
more students who declare a disability
more students from low participation neighbourhoods (at FECs)
more students from state schools (at FECs)
Compared with the University, partner institutions have
slightly lower rates of progression/retention
same or higher achievement rates
mostly same or higher employability rates
But also note that data can be limited – small cohorts, low response rates
Generally partners, even specialist providers, recruit older students and they are more likely to recruit students who declare a disability. However, it should be noted that a lot of our partnership offer is in the art, design and media subject area which recruits higher number of students with dyslexia and similar disabilities. FECs recruit slightly more strongly than the University from LPNs and from state schools.
Limited differences in progression – generally 1-2% lower than at the University, but achievement and employability rates are generally at or above the University’s rates.

6. Types of partnership Validation partnership
College has own contract with HEFCE
Students enrol only with college
Sub-contractual partnership
Numbers franchised from University
Students enrol with college and University
individual partner institutions may have a mix of validation and sub-contractual programmes but the majority now are validation
In , 1800 students on validation courses, 235 on sub-contractual and this will decrease again in
There are two types of partnership, defined by HEFCE:
Validation – students have no access to the University’s resources – can lead to misunderstandings about what the University should be providing
Sub-contractual – full access to the University’s library and information resources, VLE, and student support but not School-level resources such as studios or labs
in both cases, the college has primary responsibility for provision of teaching on the programme
More information on entitlement in a later slide

7. Funding and student entitlements
For validation partnership programmes:
borrow from college library, reference access only to books in University library
access to online learning resources provided by college only
access to college VLE only
student support provided entirely by college
may be members of Brighton Students’ Union
For sub-contractual provision
can borrow from University library
access to University online library and VLE
some student support provided by University
automatically members of Brighton Students’ Union
This slide lists the main entitlements for students for each model of partnership.

8. Types of course Foundation degrees 3 year degrees (10 in 2017-18)
normally 2 years, full time
work-related element
Progression route to Level 6
3 year degrees (10 in )
1 year top-up degrees (34 in )
MSc degree at Plumpton
PGCE/CertEd Further Education and Training
Consortium courses – delivered at number of partners or partner(s) and University
Much of the college provision is the 2+1 FD plus top-up model and this works well for many markets.
BUT there is increased demand for 3 year degrees now, especially in Art and Design subject areas. 3 of the 7 colleges are now offering 3-year degrees.
FDs – Brighton works mainly with a work-related model of these so students tend to address the vocational element through placements, live projects, and simulation.
Some FDs (esp in the Education subject area) use the work-based model and provide professional development for students already in the industry.
Progression from FDs is normally available direct to Level 6
4 consortium courses: different management arrangements help to ensure consistency of practice and parity of student experience across all sites of delivery
A Consortium Programme Leader from the relevant University School is appointed and each college site of delivery appoints a Course Leader
There is usually a collective course management group, cross-institutional moderation arrangements and collective assessment planning.
Always a single exam board and the same external examiner(s) across all sites of delivery.

9. East Surrey College Based Redhill Smallest FEC partner
68 students, also offers HN provision
Cohort tends to be local, mature and quite small
All courses offered on validation basis
Courses:
FdA Early Years Care and Education
FdA Event and Tourism Management
FdSc Internet Software Development
FdA Music and Sound Production
FdA Travel & Tourism Management

10. Greater Brighton Metropolitan College
Will be formed from City College Brighton and Hove on 31 March 2017
2 campuses in Brighton, 1 in Shoreham, 2 in Worthing
Recruits regionally as well as locally
800+ HE students post-merger
All courses except ITE in Brighton offered on validation basis
Courses include:
Brighton: business, tourism, hospitality, photography, ITE
Shoreham: automotive engineering
Worthing: fine art, photography, media and computing, fashion, theatre arts, music

11. Plumpton College
Land-based College with substantial learning resources near Lewes
Recruits regionally and internationally on some courses
Also strong internal progression
Some subject areas recruit younger cohorts but also considerable interest from mature students and career change
All courses offered on validation basis
Courses include: agriculture, forestry, horticulture, animal science, equine science, veterinary nursing, wine production and business, outdoor adventure education, creative metalworking

12. Sussex Coast College Hastings
2 campuses in Hastings
Developing University Centre Hastings with Brighton’s support
Strong local recruitment, strong recruitment from LPNs
Substantial new provision for
QAA Quality Review Visit in May 2017
Changing from 2+1 model of FD and BA top-up to 3 year degrees
Intake has been sub-contractual but will be validation from entry
Provision mainly focused on art and design and ITE at present, expanding into business, computing, engineering from

13. Sussex Downs College 3 campuses in Eastbourne, Lewes, Newhaven
Quality Review Visit March 2017
Strong local recruitment and some courses recruit regionally
All courses except ITE now offered on validation basis
Diverse HE offer: counselling, music production, ITE, sport coaching, public and emergency services management, complementary healthcare, digital media

14. Brighton Film School
Smallest and newest partner, first intake in , 25 students on one course
BA (Hons) Film Production offered on sub-contractual basis
Quality and Standards oversight through School of Media at University of Brighton
Link tutor (Philip Connelly) appointed by School of Media

15. Partner responsibilities
all teaching, assessment and other aspects of programme delivery
appointment of course leader
provision of teaching accommodation
provision of learning resources and student support
liaison with external examiner
staff recruitment, deployment and development
organisation and servicing of HE Board
organisation and servicing of exam boards
implementation of University policy and regulations
administrative support
University does not normally contribute to programme delivery except on a contingency basis.
The same for teaching accommodation and learning resources.
Sub-contractual students have automatic access to University libraries and online resources as well, but not to School-managed resources like labs and studios.
We approve staff CVs before appointments are confirmed.

16. University responsibilities
oversight of academic standards, quality of student learning opportunities
course validation and review
maintaining definitive programme and module information
appointment and remuneration of external examiners
chairing examination boards
approval of staff appointments
access to learning resources and student support (sub- contractual)
academic and administrative support
These are the responsibilities we don’t delegate. They are set out in legal agreements.
There are additional. shared responsibilities in respect of marketing and public information.

17. University academic support
Subject representative
provides academic guidance and leadership for programmes in subject group
chairs annual subject group meeting
supports and attends periodic review of programmes
Consortium programme leader
same responsibilities as subject representative
also responsible for management of consortium delivery
chairs consortium meetings, organises cross- consortium activities
produces annual monitoring report

18. Communication with external examiner
Course leader at partner has primary responsibility for liaison with external examiner in respect of:
provision of information about programme
moderation of assessment briefs/exam papers
dates and times of visits and exam boards
arrangements for moderation of assessed work
access to college VLE if required
responding to external examiner report
FEC manages administration of visits – accommodation and travel
Consortium Programme Leader may also liaise with external for consortium programmes
Your primary contact will be the course leader at the college.

19. Exam boards for partnership courses
normally held at partner institution
chaired by a member of University staff
attended by a member of Quality and Standards team
serviced by college staff (except Brighton Film School)
normally held June/July and September (referral boards, external examiners not required to attend)
Small number of courses have February exam boards
student results documentation:
validation courses: College produces
sub-contractual courses: University produces
The Chair will not necessarily be from your subject area but will be an experienced exam board chair.
The documents differ depending on funding route (UoB and colleges have different software), but should all have the appropriate information to enable the board to make decisions

20. Management and oversight of quality and standards
FEC provision
Specialist provision
Course boards
course report
EE report
FEC HE Boards
course report
EE report
School Academic Scrutiny Commitee
School report
FEC Sub-committee
college annual report
Specialist & Overseas Partnership Sub-committee
School report, Course reports
EEs submit a report after the summer exam boards, feeds into the University’s quality assurance processes:
Course boards include student reps:
provide an opportunity to discuss external examiner reports in detail
review course monitoring reports which contain response
monitors actions
Other committee levels on separate slides
Academic Standards Committee

21. Consideration of external examiner reports
submitted directly to Brighton:
all reports are read by Quality and Standards staff, VC or Deputy VC and passed on to college Course Leader, HE Manager and Principal
Course Leader prepares response and identifies actions through course monitoring report early in Autumn term
Monitoring report received and reviewed by relevant committees, action plan endorsed and monitored
Students have access to external examiner reports through course boards and Studentcentral and are advised of actions taken in response to these
There is a report template on the website.

22. Responding to External Examiner reports
Course Leader should routinely send a copy of annual course monitoring report which outlines response to external examiner report and action planning
Partner institutions may also choose to reply separately
Partners can refer reports to the University if the issues raised are beyond the scope of their responsibilities – University will reply in consultation with partner
Matters of serious concern: Partnership Office manages an investigation and advises the Deputy Vice-Chancellor on response and actions required, partner institution involved as required
You should always receive a copy of the annual course monitoring report which shows how the course has responded to your comments.

23. Emerging issues from 2015-16 academic health process
Supporting the HE culture in non-University settings:
Consistency of practice
Isolation of course teams
Benchmarking and standardising assessment, feedback
Securing the staffing resource – turnover, capacity to deliver
Supporting staff development – informal keeping abreast of subject, formal academic and pedagogic development
Small, disparate courses within a larger FEC can get isolated from each other and it can be difficult to ensure consistent practice across all courses. This is exacerbated in small institutions who have few points of reference. University supports with subject group activities but attendance can be patchy.
Staff turnover and appointments are increasingly challenging in the FE sector. Loss of key staff at important points in the academic year have left courses and academic processes such as marking and moderation vulnerable. The University will step in if required, but we are also working with partners to try to ensure that we are not needed.
Staff development – there is a substantial and generous offer made by the University of fee waivers and free access to Centre for Learning and Teaching activities – but FECs at least find it difficult to enable staff to attend.

24. Further information
Partnership Staffcentral pages for contacts, more detail of quality assurance processes