REVIEW OF SCOTLAND 'S COLLEGES
RoSCo e-Bulletin Issue 5 - May 2006
(You can also download a PDF version of this document here)
In this issue:
Welcome
Update on the Review
Core Group
Working Groups
Meetings with Stakeholders
Further & Adult Education Division
Feedback Invited
Contacts
Welcome
Welcome to the fifth edition of the Review of Scotland's Colleges (RoSCo) e-bulletin, which looks at the progress of the Review.
We would be grateful if you could draw attention to the RoSCo 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 .
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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.
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Core Group
The Core Group held its third meeting on Friday 5 May.
At the meeting, members were updated on the progress of each of the four workstreams. The Group was also informed that the Order removing Ministerial powers of direction came into force on 24 April 2006, and that its impact would be monitored.
The main item of discussion for the Group was the draft report from the Difference Colleges Make Working Group entitled 'Unlocking Opportunity' and its associated Economic Impact Paper. The Impact Paper provides for the first time a monetary value on the contributions that colleges make to enhancing the skills of the workforce in Scotland. The Core Group generally welcomed the report and was keen that the findings of the Working Group are widely disseminated. Members of the Core Group made suggestions on how to improve the report.
The next meeting of the Core Group will take place in late August.
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Working Groups
The Difference Colleges Make
This Working Group held its fifth meeting on 31 March at Elmwood College. During its visit, the Group was able to discuss with some international students their college experience.
The main purpose of the meeting was to discuss the Group's report - 'Unlocking Opportunity':
- It was acknowledged that the report is an important source of evidence for the 2007 Spending Review.
- The Group discussed the balance between the quantitative aspects of the report and the case studies.
- The Group suggested that statements in the report should be tied more closely to underlying data.
- The Group would have a further opportunity to comment on the report before it was presented to the Core Group on 5 May for its comment.
Other agenda items included:
- Members were informed that the Core Group had asked the Working Group to extend its remit to include consideration of the difference colleges could make if additional funding were allocated as a result of the next Spending Review. The Group concluded that further information was required on the work expected of it before any decisions could be taken.
- The Group discussed the best means of outlining the competitiveness of colleges and their efficiency.
- The Group discussed a draft report on the Economic Value of Colleges. There were concerns that the analysis excluded large groups of students who benefited from going to college, but did not increase their qualification level, (which is the basis for the calculation). The Group agreed the paper should explain in more detail that not all economic value was being caught in the analysis.
Accountability and Governance
This Working Group held its fifth meeting on 26 April at Europa Building, Glasgow.
The main agenda items were the Report on the Review of Colleges' Self-Evaluation of Management and research.
The Self-evaluation exercise was conducted by colleges and highlighted their success and improvements while looking at current challenges both as an individual institution and as a sector. It was concluded that the work would be helpful background for anyone undertaking research into college accountability and governance.
The Group discussed objectives for a research project. The Group decided to commission research to:
§ explore available evidence and current practice within colleges
§ describe and evaluate practice within colleges:
a) in the areas identified in the Good Governance Standards for Public Services issued by the Langlands Commission; and
b) in respect of the experience, support, and number of student and staff members on college boards
§ identify good practice
§ explore how best to disseminate good practice
§ comment on how college accountability and governance arrangements,
a) compare with common practice in the private sector, other post-school education providers, charities and the wider public sector;
b) can be further enhanced within a culture of continuous quality improvement.
The next meeting of the Working Group will take place in 13 June. Members will discuss further some of the issues considered by the 2003 Review of Governance and Accountability taking into account factors such as the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005.
Staffing, Learners and Learning Environment
The Working Group held its sixth meeting on 23 March at The Adam Smith College.
The meeting was opened with a presentation from Sandra Edmundson, President of the Jennie Lee Students' Association, on the purposes, nature and value of student representation. The other agenda items included:
o The SFEU updating members on the Profiling of Staff Interim Report. Members were advised that the actual report was still with the ASC and STUC for their consideration.
o The Executive provided members with a synopsis of the literature review on the student experience. Following some discussion it was agreed that the issues contained in the literature review paper, the HMIE Aspect Report and the SPARQS report on student representation should be discussed at the working group meeting in June.
The Professional Development of Staff Sub Group held its third meeting straight after the main working group meeting on 23 March.
Each of the four Associate Members: SFEU, LLUK, PDF and TEIs, gave a brief presentation on the work of their organisation and described how their organisations can provide advice and expertise on the tasks being undertaken by the sub group.
The other agenda items included:
- A discussion about the numbers of staff who are teacher trained. There was a recognition that the deadline contained in the letter had been too optimistic and therefore the Executive had extended the deadline for responses. The Executive promised to produce a full analytical analysis of responses for the next meeting in May.
- The Funding Council providing members with an update on the CPD pilot.
The Working Group held its seventh meeting on 11 May at the Funding Council Headquarters in Edinburgh.
The meeting was opened with a presentation from Claire Bell on the progress being made on the development of evidence to support the need for a sustainable capital-funding stream and for further capital funds towards Scotland's college's estates. Members then discussed:
- how the money has been spent to date and what has been achieved;
- what further needs there is for funds for capital projects for colleges; and
- the study into a sustainable capital-funding stream.
The Working Group will hold its eighth meeting on 2 June at Reid Kerr College, to discuss learner representation and the overall student experience.
The Professional Development of Staff Sub Group held its fourth meeting straight after the main working group meeting on 11 May. The agenda item for this meeting was the analysis of the responses to the number of staff who are teacher trained. The Funding Council also provided an update on the CPD Pilot.
The next meeting of Professional Development of Staff Sub Group has still to be arranged. However, members have agreed that the agenda items will include a draft code of practice for all staff and the cost implications for teacher training.
Colleges' Long Term Strategic Future
There has been some slippage in the original timetable as the current information gathering phase will not now end until the end of June. The Group is however still on track to deliver its report in January 2007.
Executive officials are holding discussions with college principals and other stakeholders exploring colleges' strategic future.
Two open space events examining the future of higher education and of Scotland's colleges also took place on 2 and 5 May. The first was aimed at representatives of colleges and universities. The second was aimed at representatives of learners, employers, professional bodies and others from the wider community. Notes of these events will soon be available on the Scottish Executive website.
The Working Group will examine the strategic future of Scotland's colleges through a scenario analysis. The Group has decided to undertake its work by defining drivers that influence the future, assessing the importance and the uncertainty of those drivers, selecting scenario logics, and outlining the scenarios.
The next meeting of the Steering Group will be held in June 2006. At this meeting, members will be discussing preparations for a workshop in July involving the full Working Group to discuss drivers for scenario development and whether to commission any 'think pieces'.
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Meetings with Stakeholders
As mentioned in the first e-bulletin, at the outset of the review, the Review Team visited several different stakeholders, who were identified by colleges, as being able to help the Team identify the difference colleges make. Minutes of these meetings are now available on the Scottish Executive website.
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Information About Other Work of Further & Adult Education Division
Further and Adult Education Division helps Ministers oversee the funding and activity of the further education sector. We work closely with the Scottish Funding Council to ensure that it understands and reflects Ministerial policies. We assist Ministers in fulfilling their role to appoint members of the Funding Council, and we keep Ministers briefed on the views and activity of colleges and others with an interest in the sector. We also have overall policy responsibility for Adult Literacy and Numeracy and Community Based Adult Learning.
The refresh of the Adult Literacy and Numeracy in Scotland (ALNIS) report is currently underway with 4 stakeholder events held in May and June. Individuals and organisations with an interest in this area were invited to come along and give their views on how the strategy for adult literacy and numeracy will be shaped to 2011.
We are currently involved in work with the Universities of Aberdeen, Dundee and Stirling designed to approve their updated Teaching Qualification in Further Education (TQ(FE)) programmes, all of which have been revised in the light of the new professional standards for lecturers in Scotland's Colleges.
We are in the process of appointing two new members to the board of the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council (SFHEFC). Applications were sought from people with experience of either the college sector or the health sector with a particular focus on workforce and skills needs. A short list of candidates has been drawn up and interviews will be held in June.
Other examples of current work include:
o preparing for appearances before Committees of the Parliament
o helping Ministers reply to lobbying and correspondence on college and other issues
o briefing Ministers on difficulties at specific colleges
o helping Ministers prepare for meetings with key organisations and people with an interest in Scotland's colleges
o looking at how the sector can support the Gaelic priorities of Ministers
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Feedback
We would welcome ongoing feedback on any aspect of the Review. Please send your comments to rosco@scotland.gsi.gov.uk.
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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
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