1. Northern Regional College ESCalate - JISC Conference Wednesday 26 May 2010

2. Dr Catherine O’Mullan Deputy Director Support and Development and Mrs Suzanne Kennedy Head of Quality Improvement

3. FE Sector NI

4. Main Heading Bullet Point 1 Bullet Point 2 Bullet Point 3 Bullet Point 4 Bullet Point 5 NORTHERN REGIONAL COLLEGE – September 2007

5. DEL Key Strategies of FE Sector NI FE Means Business A key driver of local, sub-regional and regional economic and workforce development – The Primary Strategic Objective An active agent of social cohesion A major promoter of lifelong learning Skills Agenda/14-19 Agenda Success through Excellence

6. Magherafelt

7. Ballymena Farm Lodge Centre of Excellence Construction and Engineering Toyota Academy

8. Ballymena Trostan Avenue

9. Ballymena Café Lamont

10. Newtownabbey Transport Skills Centre

11. Coleraine

12. The Aspiration 4 Campus Model

13. Estates Rationale Quality of student experience Optimum number of Campuses Strategically positioned within our region Quality accommodation: fit-for-purpose Concentration of investment in specialist equipment Maximise the use of available resources

14. NRC Characteristics 9 campuses £32 million turnover 1200 staff @ 24,550 enrolments: 4500 full-time 20000 part-time

15. 09/10 Further Education13,572 Higher Education 1,062 Training 2,048 Entitlement Framework 2,803 Essential Skills 5,072 Total24,557

16. Types of provision at NRC ApprenticeshipsNI/Training for Success Training Contract @ £4.5 m Further & Higher Education/Essential Skills FLU funded Entitlement Framework @ 1.5m Cost recovery Specialist provision for employers to meet their needs – bespoke training/externally funded projects @ £0.5m-£1.5m

17. Director Restructuring Process Executive Management Team Deputy Director Curriculum Deputy Director Support and Development Deputy Director Planning and Resources Director of Finance

18. Support and Development Deputy Director Student Services & Marketing Economic Engagement Quality Improvement

19. HE within NRC Historical Overview Full-time and part-time provision in a range of vocational areas HE - Level 4 and above Full-time HE provision within FE from @ 1990 HND Programmes/Awarding Bodies Associate Status of University of Ulster DEL funding MaSN allocation of f/t funded places across sector

20. HE within NRC 2009/10 Enrolments YearF/t P/t Total 07/082577811038 08/09194802 996 09/102608021062 NRC MaSN = 249

21. HE within NRC 2009/10 HNDs - Business, Manufacturing/Electronic Engineering, Building Studies, Health & Social Care, Advanced Practice in Work with Children and Families, Computing with Multi Media Level 4 Higher Professional Diploma in Early Years Foundation Degree in Building Technology and Management Foundation Degree in Sport Exercise & Fitness Campus location/specialist resources Planning process

22. HE within NRC 2009/10 Part-time HND (p/t) HNCs, Counselling provision (UU), ILM, IATA, C&G courses, Degree (UU) FD in Retail (p/t) – employer focus/UU FD – L&M development Local access; increased participation HE Graduations FE does not have Degree awarding powers

23. Quality Improvement Unit [QIU]~ Head of Quality Improvement. Continuous Professional Development Manager. Quality Assurance Manager.

24. Overarching Aims of the QIU~ to lead the college as it strives for excellence to guide the college as it strives for an ethos and culture where, the central focus for all staff is the learner to assist build capacity within all staff so that they have the knowledge, skills and understanding to effectively contribute to the total student learning experience

25. Guiding Principle for the QIU ~ Holistic approach to quality [ Develop and support the continuous improvement of the quality of the entire student experience.]

26. Case Study ~ My personal journey –Timeline –Initial challenges –Way forward –Keys to Success –Ongoing Challenges

27. Timeline ~ April 2008: Appointed as Head of Quality Improvement September 2008: QIU team in place May 2009: 1st QAA Developmental Review May 2010: QAA Follow-up to Developmental Review

28. Initial Challenges ~ Before quality improvement and enhancement we first had to develop robust quality assurance processes Legacy Colleges all had different approaches to quality assurance Due to range of provision [14 to 16; FE; Training; HE ~ full and part time] it was important to develop quality processes that were common across the provision

29. Initial Challenges ~ Developing processes that would meet the requirements of a wide range of Awarding Bodies that the College works with Developing processes that would fulfill the requirements of the Education and Training Inspectorate [Eti] Meeting the requirements of the Quality Assurance Agency [QAA]

30. The Way Forward ~ Development of clear strategies, e.g. –Quality Improvement Strategy –Retention Strategy –HE Strategy Robust quality assurance policies and procedures, e.g. –Assessment –Appeals

31. The Way Forward ~ Ensuring that the quality of learning and teaching is a key aspect of the work of the QIU –CPD focus on learning and teaching –‘modeling’ good learning and teaching Making use of the knowledge and expertise of other staff within the College Building on previous experiences and relationships e.g. –Local university

32. The Way Forward ~ Development of college wide Planning Cycle linked to; –Team based Self Evaluation Reports [SERs] Curriculum and Support Services –Departmental Operational Plans –Overall College Development Plan and Whole College Quality Improvement Plan, Corporate Targets and KPIs

33. The Way Forward ~ Quality Improvement Unit is a small unit only three staff hence it is really important to; –Establish ownership for ‘quality’ in all staff / teams across the College Director and Executive Management Team totally committed to quality improvement; –They allow the QIU the freedom to develop!

34. The Way Forward ~ Putting the learner at the centre of our service –Range of mechanisms to support the ‘student voice’ Continuous Professional Development as part of QIU –Can have a real focus on the total student experience –Real focus on quality learning and teaching

35. Keys to Success~ Building relationships –At individual and team level being approachable, responsive, supportive listening to ‘teams’ Interacting with staff ~ ‘getting out and about’ Being proactive –When asked a question, giving an answer –Teams now approach QIU for advice and help in problem solving

36. Keys to Success~ Being happy with ‘small steps’ Culture of being learner focused Staff Intranet as the central repository for all documentation Multidisciplinary teams –HE Committee Remit sharing of good practice Saying thank you

37. Keys to Success~ Leading by example –Quality of documentation produced –Central role of the QIU in external inspections with Eti and QAA –Timely response to issues raised Being creative and innovative Viewing ‘areas for improvement’ in a positive light

38. Keys to Success~ Interaction with curriculum managers Interaction with support services –Student support, Admissions, Finance, Marketing etc Being ‘passionate’ about improving quality Asking for feedback

39. Ongoing Challenges ~ Getting ‘buy in’ from all staff –Every little helps !! Embedding of quality policies, procedures and processes –Takes a lot of time to ‘filter down’ Acceptance of a standardised approach –QCF and QAA are really helping

40. Ongoing Challenges ~ Moving from quality assurance to quality improvement and enhancement Action planning resulting from external inspections –Making ‘action planning’, success and target focused –Instilling ownership for the ‘actions’

41. Ongoing Challenges ~ Ensuring that processes within the College comply with the QAA Academic Infrastructure –In particular the 10 Codes of Practice Developing an HE ethos Closing the loop

42. Questions

43. Thank you