School Standards and Quality Report template Reporting year

(1)

Nottingham Trent University Quality Handbook Supplement School Standards and Quality Report Template

September 2014 page

1 QHS

6B

School Standards and Quality

Report template

Reporting year 2014-15

School information

 Name of School;

 List of courses considered in School Standards and Quality

Report (SSQR);

 Date of most recent Periodic School Review (PSR);  School ‘sign off’ process for SSQR;

 Date.

Executive summary

The purpose of this summary is to draw the reader’s attention to key issues reported in the document. For example, these may be significant developments or initiatives, concerns about aspects of collaborative provision, or specific challenges associated with University systems that have been thought to compromise the quality of the courses being provisioned. While the report draws on evidence from the 2013-14 academic session, it should be

forward-looking with actions for future years. Currency and subject health

This section requires the School to confirm that its courses remain current. This section will draw on the range of evidence presented in course standards and quality reports as well as additional evidence that may not be reported at course level. Evidence may include, for example:

 staff development activity, consultancy, scholarship;

 course review;

 PSRB accreditation;

 employability and student destination;

 staff research (and its impact on the curriculum);  learning resources;

 staff feedback;

(2)

September 2014 page

2 QHS

6B

Developments and initiatives

Here the School reports on significant initiatives which have taken place during the reporting year that have led to, or have the potential to lead to, practice or process enhancements which may be shareable across the School or University.

Consideration of student data (including equality and diversity monitoring) This section requires the School to reflect on data relating to:

 student progression;  student achievement.

These will be analysed and discussed with respect to patterns and trends over the previous three years and with respect to gender, ethnicity (white / non-white) and disability (no disability / declared disability) and with reference to the University annual overview report. There is no requirement to re-present data tables in the SSQR. Schools should ensure that all colleagues have access to the data provided by Student Planning via a shared drive. SASQCs will provide a draft version of this section to course teams early in term 2 to inform their reflection on course-level data.

Consideration of external examiner reports

This section serves to assure the University that issues raised by external examiners are being reflected on or acted upon.

Consideration of specific issues relating to collaborative provision SSQRs should include the following:

 A list of collaborative relationships – indicating the type and

location of provision;

 Summary details of any collaborative reviews, multi-school frameworks and new collaborative approvals which have taken place within the reporting year;

 Reflection on the health of the relationship between the School and its collaborative partners;

 A discussion of key themes, challenges and future focus emerging from collaborative courses. This would include

information about arrangements for teach-out of courses. This might include reference to any local or national issues affecting courses, for example, legal constraints, accreditation

arrangements, etc. Key reflections in relation to the progression and achievement of students at collaborative centres would also be included in this section;

 A summary of good practice identified at collaborative centres;

 Evaluation of the quality management of collaborative CSQRs,

(3)

September 2014 page

3 QHS

6B

 Consideration of the process for receiving, considering and reporting on collaborative CSQRs received both within and outside the ‘standard’ reporting cycle;

 How well the collaborative course team has responded to EE comments and is engaging with QA processes generally;

 How well collaborative courses have gained and acted upon (or will seek to act upon) student evaluation;

 Examples of staff development opportunities at the collaborative centre(s);

 Any significant changes or developments that the School intends to introduce in managing its collaborative provision;

 Clear action points derived from the above (transferred to the

School Rolling Action Plan as appropriate). Consideration of issues relating to online learning

SSQRs should provide the following information:

 A summary of current and planned future provision of fully online courses, (including number of courses and data on enrolment and completion rates), together with an analysis of any substantive issues affecting the quality and sustainability of these courses;

 A summary of school-initiated developments in the use of the NTU Online Workspace (NOW) to support course online delivery, or specific uses of other technologies that are being implemented on a school-wide basis;

 A description of any innovative uses of technology to support

teaching, learning and assessment practice. Consideration of issues relating to PSRBs and other external agencies

SSQRs should provide a synopsis of the salient issues in respect of the School’s engagements with PSRBs and other external agencies, arising out of its analysis of Course Standards and Quality Reports (CSQRs). The synopsis should not repeat individual course relationships, but should evaluate the School’s overall standing with respect to these outside agencies.

Evaluation of progress of any relevant learning, teaching and enhancement strategies

The SSQR should report on significant or innovative actions taken in respect of the School’s learning, teaching and enhancement, and state the reasons why those actions might be useful for wider for wider dissemination; the SSQR does not need to provide a commentary on all aspects of the action plan.

(4)

September 2014 page

4 QHS

6B

Note

 It is anticipated that evaluation approaches should be proportional and fit for purpose. Evaluation of the School’s learning, teaching and enhancement strategies is an on-going process and the approach adopted will reflect local priorities and timeframes.

School response to specific reporting requirements from University

This section is completed in response to specific requests from the University in any one year. It provides a formal reporting route from the School to ASQC.

The University is aware that throughout the 2013/14 academic year, Schools have been required to report progress and challenges associated with a range of University-wide initiatives. These include specifically the roll-out of Grade-based Assessment (via

representation on the GBA task-group), NTU Course Tutorials (via QBRs) and the outcomes of curriculum review changes (via SMT meetings). If there are any remaining issues that the School considers are continuing to impact on the standards and quality of its provision in relation to these activities, these can be discussed in this section.

Points for ASQC or wider University consideration

Derived from the above sections, Schools are invited to put forward quality assurance or enhancement related matters for consideration by ASQC – these may be points for consideration or points of good practice. This is likely to be in the form of bullet points, cross-referenced to the main sections of the SSQR.

School Rolling Action Plan

An action plan should be included in the form of a table indicating the actions to be taken, the dates for completion, and the person or group responsible for taking that action or anticipated enhancement forward. If an action from the previous year’s report is ongoing, it should be included in the new plan. The action plan should be a standing item on SASQC agendas.

 Note: There is no longer any need to include a table on the

fulfilment of the previous year’s action plan. It is anticipated that those actions will be captured in other sections of the current SSQR. If the previous year’s plan included any action points of a more operational nature (and these were implemented without note) there is no need to report on these as it is expected that the outcomes of these types of actions will be recorded

elsewhere, e.g. in SASQC minutes. Appendices

(5)

September 2014 page

5 QHS

6B

2. Progress report: Understanding and Narrowing the Student Progression and Achievement Gap. This appendix should provide an evaluation of the progress made on the School E&D Action Plan that was submitted on 1st_{September 2013.}