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This is the November 2009 eBulletin from FACE (the Forum for Access and Continuing Education), offered to practitioners, policy-makers, researchers and others with an interest in access, widening participation and lifelong learning. The eBulletin is sent to colleagues in the sector, members and non-members alike. If you would prefer not to receive it, please contact Jim at James.Tate@uwe.ac.uk and your details will be removed from the circulation list.
National body seeks advice from FACE members
The Admission of Part-time Students
An invitation from Leslie Currie, Senior Project Officer, SPA.
SPA, the Supporting Professionalism in Admissions Programme, is a national centre of expertise on admissions issues, working to enhance and support good practice in admissions, recruitment and widening participation. We are independent and autonomous, funded directly by all of the UK’s four funding councils; our Steering Group includes representatives from the funding councils, from the UK’s four administrations, UUK, school and college bodies and admissions practitioners. Full information about SPA is at www.spa.ac.uk.
Our work includes producing good practice statements for the guidance of colleagues in institutions and organisations and one of our priorities for this year is to issue a good practice statement on the Admission of Part-time Students. We have written an initial paper looking at some of the issues and it is now on our site at http://www.spa.ac.uk/good-practice/part-time.html. The statement is intended to offer good practice guidance on key areas including the many definitions of ‘part-time’, considering the demand for part-time study, the availability of information for applicants on HE opportunities, advice and guidance offered to potential applicants, and application procedures and organisation.
We are now seeking the advice and comment of experts in the field and the input of FACE and its expert members would be very valuable. Please look at our draft issues paper – is there anything that has been omitted, that should be clearer, or that you disagree with? Are there examples of good practice that you can tell us about that would be of help to others?
If you or any of your colleagues have any questions I’d be very happy to answer them. I would appreciate comments by the end of December if possible but if that is not convenient I am happy to receive them after that.
Many thanks,
Leslie
Tel: 01242 544757 Email: l.currie@spa.ac.uk
Supporting Professionalism in Admissions is an independent programme, supported by the UK HE funding councils, based at: Rosehill, New Barn Lane, Cheltenham, Glos GL52 3LZ
Next meeting of the FACE Executive - all members welcome
The next meeting of the FACE Executive will be from 11am to 2pm on Monday 7th December 2009. The venue, as usual, will be the University of Westminster, 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1W 6UW (room to be advised at reception).
All FACE members are welcome to attend Executive Sessions.
The speaker for the Executive Briefing Session 11:00 – 12:00 will be Kath Dentith, Head of Access at the QAA. Kath Dentith joined QAA in 1998. She is responsible for managing all work relating to Access to HE at QAA, as well as being involved in a number of other QAA projects. Her work includes management of QAA's development work for Access to HE; oversight of the review and monitoring of access validating agencies (AVAs); co-ordination of the analysis and publication of national data about Access to HE; and liaison with other national bodies.
The agenda for the Executive Business Session 12:00 – 14:00 will include items on the research and development scheme, membership, next year's conference, and future FACE events and seminars.
Speaker's Corner
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As a member-oriented organisation FACE would like to invite individual colleagues to have their say on any issue of concern in UK education policy and practice. This is a purely personal point of view and should not be thought to represent any institution, organisation, or official body. To have your say, email Jim at James.Tate@uwe.ac.uk This month's contribution is from Liz Garton on the issue of learner progression, the place of attainment, and the incremental nature of aspiration. |
Learner Progression: learners achieving their potential
Leaders and practitioners in education understand the significance of self esteem, aspirations, expectations, and study and planning skills for learner success. The government’s continued focus, however, appears to be on attainment; schools and colleges are judged on qualification outcomes.
It’s a challenge for schools and colleges to find accessible and useful ways of working that support learner progression and not just learner attainment. The Action on Access publication Higher Education Progression Framework Guide (June 2008) has triggered a first wave of development in this.
There is a need to further develop a progression-focused model that will enable:
- senior leaders in Local Authorities, schools and FE colleges to monitor whole school/college progression and identify priorities; and
- practitioners to plan curriculum, map provision and address identified gaps.
Aimhigher Coventry and Warwickshire uses a simple progression matrix to help strategic and operational education leaders get to grips with the progression needs of their learners. It is based on the following assumption:
Aspiration + Awareness + Attainment = Progression
The Matrix clearly puts attainment in its place: as one essential component of learner progression alongside aspiration and awareness rather than the primary aim.
What the Matrix highlights for me is how little we know about the incremental nature of aspiration, the factors that can help or hinder its development and its relationship to awareness and attainment. There are curriculum frameworks that break down the developmental stages to qualification achievement. And the Careers Education and Guidance standards begin to address the sense of an IAG journey. Where are the standards for developing aspiration and self-esteem that show the incremental stages involved in developing these essential attributes? If they are so critical to progression they need to be given much more prominence and fully developed in their own right.
Liz Garton
Partnership Manager
Aimhigher West
Aimhigher Reports published online
Aimhigher in the East Midlands have recently completed two evaluation reports focusing on the perceived impact of Aimhigher Leicestershire's Boys into Higher Education using Football project and Aimhigher Nottinghamshire's Aimhigher Personal Adviser programme.
The reports provide details of the research methodologies adopted to investigate the impact of the specific Aimhigher interventions on their young beneficiaries. Please contact Chris Carpenter (c.j.carpenter@lboro.ac.uk) or Mike Kerrigan (m.d.kerrigan@lboro.ac.uk) for further information.
Some Other Events
Heritage, Regional Development and Social Cohesion
International Conference
22 to 24 June 2010, Östersund, Sweden
Call for Proposals
Conference Theme
Cultural and natural heritage is a resource for development in many different ways for regional and local stakeholders. Tourism, leisure and out of classroom experiences come to mind naturally, but the possibilities and challenges go far beyond that. The agendas of social inclusion, lifelong learning for all and place management have a lot to gain from constructive use of heritage.
Sub-themes
- Lifelong learning through heritage and other cultural engagement
- Heritage and social inclusion in development of cultural capital
- Heritage tourism and sustainable development – a contradiction?
- New expectations from stakeholders on heritage organisations in the 21st century
Proposals
Abstracts should be sent to pascal@jamtli.com by 15 February 2010. Download full details (word)
The Widening Participation Dividend: Learners, Communities and Universities
10th Action on Access Annual Conference
Thursday 10th December 2009
Russell Hotel, Russell Square, London, WC1B 5BE
The aim of this conference is to affirm the widening participation dividend and to explore the widening participation contribution to other national agendas, including raising educational attainment, improving social mobility, stimulating regeneration, and aiding economic competitiveness. The conference will explore: fair access to higher education; widening participation supporting an economic recovery and promoting social cohesion and mobility; the particular contribution of cross-sector partnerships; schools, colleges and universities working together.
Speakers include Nicola Dandridge, Chief Executive, Universities UK; Bev Thomas, Deputy Director for Widening Participation & Teaching Quality, DBIS; Professor Sir Deian Hopkin, Chairman of the HE Progression Board, DCSF; the Honourable Geoffrey Vos, QC
Widening Participation Research Centre, Edge Hill University,
3rd Annual Conference, 14th – 15th April 2010
Mainstreaming Equity, Opportunity and Success in Higher Education
Call for institutional case studies - deadline 11th December 2009
The WPRC are looking for a limited number of institutional case studies from the UK and abroad to reflect on and critically examine mainstreaming equity, opportunity and success. They are looking for case studies from institutions that have made considerable progress with regards to mainstreaming WP and/or equity. They are interested in issues such as what mainstreaming WP or equity, opportunity and success means in your institution and how this has been achieved, including the enabling factors, challenges encountered and recommendations for other institutions.
They will require a short paper (2500-4000 words) to be prepared in relation to a set of headings and made available to delegates prior to the conference. During the second day of the conference participants will critically engage with the case studies to challenge and develop their own understanding of these issues. Analysis of the papers will inform ongoing research by the WPRC about embedding WP. The case studies will be published as part of the final research report and, with authors’ permission and acknowledgement, may be used in other future publications.
If you feel your institution has made positive progress towards mainstreaming equity, opportunity and success and you would be willing to prepare an institutional case study, please email the following information to Liz Thomas, (liz.thomas@edgehill.ac.uk) by 11th December 2009.
- Institution name
- Your name
- Your role
- Brief explanation of why you think your institution would make a good case study. In particular, the approach you have taken to mainstreaming equity, why you think you have made good progress and future priorities. (No more than 600 words).
- Ability to produce a 2500-4000 word case study paper by 12th March 2010 and to attend the conference on 14th and 15th April 2010 in Liverpool.
For further details of the conference contact Angela Daly angela.daly@edgehill.ac.uk
What else is in the News?
For the latest UK Education headlines and stories go to the FACE News Feeds page where you'll find the online news feeds of several of the sources listed below gathered together on one page for easy access.
The Guardian http://education.guardian.co.uk
The Independent http://news.independent.co.uk/education
The BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/default.stm
The Times http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education
The Times Higher Education http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk
DCSF News Centre http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/newslist.cgi
LSC News http://www.lsc.gov.uk/News
If you wish to respond to anything in this eBulletin or contribute to the December 2009 issue, please email Jim at James.Tate@uwe.ac.uk