No 3 - December
This is the third edition of the Review of Scotland's Colleges (RoSCo) e-bulletin.
We would be grateful if you could draw attention to the e-bulletin through your own internal and external newsletters and websites. We are also keen to ensure that the e-bulletin is circulated more widely by building up a more comprehensive distribution list. If you would like to be added to the mailing list please let us know by e-mailing rosco@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
In this issue:
Update on the Review
Working Groups
Meetings with Stakeholders
Meetings with Students
Conferences
Further & Adult Education Division
Feedback Invited
Contacts
Over the past month the Review Team has been involved in a number of conferences. These conferences have included the Benchmarking in Practice Conference, the Professional Development Community of Practice Annual Conference, the Festival of Further Education and Scottish Further Education Unit Annual Conference. Further details about these conferences are contained later on in the bulletin.
As many of you may be aware the Foster Review recently published a report entitled Realising the Potential - a review of the future role of FE colleges in England. The launch of the report took place at the Association of Col leges Annual Conference on November 15.
At this conference presentations about the report were given by both Sir Andrew Foster and the Secretary of State for Education and Skills. Copies of the Foster Report, the presentation by Sir Andrew and the Secretary of State's speech at the conference can be found on http://www.dfes.gov.uk/furthereducation/fereview/
Minutes of Meetings and Associated Papers
Information about the Review can be found on the Executive's revised website address at
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/UniversitiesColleges/17135/RSC/Intro
Minutes and papers of the working groups and core group are available on the website.
Working Groups
The Difference Colleges Make
This Working Group held its third meeting on December 1 at Cumbernauld College.
· The Group heard from a former student who is now employed in the college nursery, and from a current student, about their experience of college and the difference it has made to them. The college was able to support the students from funding from the European Social Fund. The group also watched a DVD about the work colleges in the West of Scotland have been able to undertake as a result of this funding.
· The Group discussed the modelling of the economic benefit of colleges.
· The Scottish Funding Council presented a paper on the efficiency of Scotland's colleges. The Council was asked to provide further evidence to demonstrate the efficiency of colleges.
· There was a discussion about the possible format of the Group's final report and about the use of stakeholder platforms.
The next meeting of the Working Group will take place on January 19 at Elmwood College.
Accountability and Governance
There have been no meetings of the Group since the last e-bulletin
The next meeting of the Working Group will take place on 24 January at Forth Valley College.
The Executive is currently preparing a research specification which will enable the Group to identify best practice in accountability and governance by learning from the experience of other sectors and from current practice in Scotland's colleges. This research will inform:
- revisions to the ASC Guide for College Board members
- consideration of amendments to the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992
- the development of public policy, including funding decisions
A sub group has been established to manage the research project and it is hoped that the research specification will be put out to tender before the Christmas break.
Staffing, Learners and Learning Environment
The Working Group held its third meeting on December 1, at Elmwood College.
· Andrew Morrison, Assistant Principal, of Elmwood College gave a presentation on staffing, learners and learning environments in a rural context.
· The Scottish Funding Council gave a presentation on estates issues.
· A paper was tabled at the meeting on options for taking forward the group's remit and tasks. Members agreed that a sub group should be established to participate in the development of specific policy proposals and formulate action plans for implementing the Ministerial policies to support staff development. The sub group will consider the development of proposals for the training and development needs of all college staff.
· NUS Scotland presented a research proposal which would assist the Group in examining issues relating to learners and learning environments of Scotland's colleges to ensure quality learning experiences. The Group decided the research proposal requires further consideration and a sub group will convene a meeting before Christmas to discuss the research aims and objectives. This sub group will present a revised research proposal to the Group.
· The STUC provided the Group with information on the Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff's Framework Agreement for the Modernisation of Pay Structures.
The next meeting of the Working Group will take place on January 12 at Stevenson College.
Colleges' Long Term Strategic Future
A meeting of the Steering Group will be organised for early in the New Year to discuss the process for developing scenarios.
The Executive is arranging discussions with stakeholders to discuss their views on colleges' long term strategic future to help inform the development of these scenarios.
Meetings with Stakeholders
We have been continuing with their series of meetings with stakeholder organisations seeking their views on the difference colleges make. Over the past month the Team has met the following organisations:
- The Link Project
- West Lothian Economic Partnership
- learndirect scotland
- Centre for Research in Lifelong Learning, Glasgow Caledonian University
- Communities of Practice - Human Resource Practioners Forum
- BRITE Centre.
- Scottish Local Authority Development Enterprise
Col lege Visits
We visited Stevenson College on November 11 and discussed with students and staff the difference colleges make.
We also met with a group of students undertaking a Health and Safety Course, sponsored by the STUC, at Focus Group - Stow College to discuss their views on the difference colleges make.
Col Baird attended Langside College for two days as a student so that he could experience college life first hand. He is due to spend a further day at the college's Glenwood Campus on 19 December.
Conferences
Benchmarking in Practice
The conference, held on November 16, heard about Scotland's Rural Colleges Benchmarking Project. Rural colleges have close links and benchmark their activities with each other to drive quality improvement. Two workshops were held with Tony Jakimciw, principal of Dumfries and Galloway College and Christina Potter, principal of Elmwood College, about the benefits their colleges have derived from benchmarking.
Professional Development Community of Practice Annual Conference
The Professional Development Community of Practice (CoP) Annual Conference was held on 17 November at Westerwood Hotel, Cumbernauld. The aim of this latest CoP conference was to address key strategic issues for staff development professionals in the college sector. In particular the conference aimed to enhance the knowledge and understanding of the equalities agenda amongst staff development professionals and to provide an overview of the Review of Scotland's Colleges. A copy of the presentation on the Review is attached as an Annex.
Festival for Further Education
The Festival of Further Education held on 25 November was organised by the West of Scotland Colleges Partnership to highlight the success of European funded programmes delivered through colleges in recent years. The Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, Allan Wilson MSP, delivered the keynote address to delegates which touched upon the work of the Review and that of the four work streams.
SFEU Conference
The SFEU hosted its sixth annual conference and awards on 30 November at the Radisson Hotel, Glasgow. The theme of the conference was Sharing and Shaping The Mission of Colleges which ties in closely with the Review.
The key note speakers were:
- George Bright, Principal, Wiltshire College and member of the Foster Review Advisory Group
- Dr Kay McClenney, Adjunct Professor in the Community College Leadership Programme at The University of Texas, Austin and author of 'Keeping America's Promise' [1]: A Report on the Future of the Community College
- Robin Shreeve, Principal and Chief Executive, City of Westminster College (formerly Deputy Director-General TAFE and Community Education, New South Wales Department of Education and Training).
These speakers gave delegates an insight into how reviews in England, the US and Australia have addressed the future role of colleges and outlined some of the planned and unplanned consequences.
Information About Other Work of Further & Adult Education Division
The Division is currently analysing responses to our recent consultation paper on an Adult ESOL Strategy for Scotland, as well as continuing work on new professional standards for lecturers in Scotland's Colleges. The first meeting of the steering group established to take forward a refresh of the Adult Literacy Numeracy In Scotland (ALNIS) Report took place on November 24.
The consultation exercise on promoting fair access to students with complex needs recently concluded and we hope to have the analysis of responses completed by the end of the calendar year.
The first meeting of the School/College Stakeholder Forum took place on December 12 and was chaired by Allan Wilson, Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning. The Quality Assurance Review Report will be published shortly this is designed to improve quality assurance processes for the benefit of the learners.
Feedback
Feedback on any aspect of the Review is welcomed. Please send comments to rosco@scotland.gsi.gov.uk.
Contacts
RoSCo Project Leader - Col Baird
Tel 0141 242 0237
Email colin.baird@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
ROSCo Secretariat - Victoria Beattie
Tel 0141 242 0239
Email victoria.beattie@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Address Further and Adult Education Division
Europa Building
450 Argyle Street
Glasgow
G2 8LG
[1]http://www.communitycollegepolicy.org/pdf/KeepingAmericasPromise.pdf