ACADEMIC INFRASTRUCTURE

1
ACADEMIC INFRASTRUCTURE

• Framework for Higher Education Qualifications
• Subject Benchmark Statements
• Programme Specifications
• Code of Practice
• (for the assurance of academic quality and
  standards in higher education)
• Personal Development Planning

2
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN COMPONENTS OF THE ACADEMIC
INFRASTRUCTURE
Code of Practice
Setting Standards
Framework for HE qualifications (national
agreement)
Programme Specification (institutional staff)
Subject benchmark statement (subject community)
3
FRAMEWORK FOR HIGHER EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS

• http//www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/FHEQ
• One element of the QAA Academic Infrastructure
• The framework describes outcomes of the five
  levels of HE qualifications Certificate,
  Intermediate, Honours, Masters, Doctoral. It
  consists of descriptors of expected achievement,
  not credits accumulated.

4
FRAMEWORK FOR HIGHER EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS

• FHEQ levels HE levels EWNI levels
  Qualification
• Doctoral D 8 Doctorate
• Masters M 7 Masters degree,
  Postgraduate
• Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma
• Honours 3 6 Bachelors degree with
  Honours,
• Graduate Certificate, Graduate
  Diploma
• Intermediate 2 5 Foundation degree,
  Ordinary Bachelors degree,
  Diploma of Higher Education
• Certificate 1 4 Certificate of Higher
  Education
• England, Wales and Northern Ireland levels
  system

5
FRAMEWORK FOR HIGHER EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS

• Qualification descriptors are in two parts
• a statement of generic outcomes which students
  who achieve the award should be able to
  demonstrate.
• a statement of the wider abilities that the
  typical student could be expected to have
  developed.

6
FRAMEWORK FOR HIGHER EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS

• For example, the Certificate level descriptor
  states
• Certificates of Higher Education are awarded to
  students who have demonstrated
• i knowledge of the underlying concepts and
  principles associated with their area(s) of
  study, and an ability to evaluate and interpret
  these within the context of that area of study
• ii an ability to present, evaluate, and interpret
  qualitative and quantitative data, to develop
  lines of argument and make sound judgements in
  accordance with basic theories and concepts of
  their subject(s) of study.

7
FRAMEWORK FOR HIGHER EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS

• Typically, holders of the qualification will be
  able to
• a evaluate the appropriateness of different
  approaches to solving problems related to their
  area(s) of study and/or work
• b communicate the results of their study/work
  accurately and reliably, and with structured and
  coherent arguments c undertake further training
  and develop new skills within a structured and
  managed environment

8
FRAMEWORK FOR HIGHER EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS

• and will have
• d qualities and transferable skills necessary for
  employment requiring the exercise of some
  personal responsibility.

9
FRAMEWORK FOR HIGHER EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS

• The FHEQ at Portsmouth
• Simple tool for institutional management of
  academic standards it is a framework not a
  regulatory tool
• Informs all course approvals and reviews of named
  awards at Portsmouth
• Integral part of our QA procedures- Programme
  teams and approval/review panels refer to the
  FHEQ so that they can be satisfied that, for any
  programme, the curriculum and assessments provide
  all students with the opportunity to achieve, and
  to demonstrate achievement of, the outcomes.

10
FRAMEWORK FOR HIGHER EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS

• Future QAA plans
• Include more guidance
• Be more explicit about how the FHEQ links with
  programme specifications and subject benchmark
  statements
• Alignment of FHEQ qualification level descriptors
  with European descriptors

11
SUBJECT BENCHMARK STATEMENTS

• are statements of what the relevant academic
  communities consider to be valid subject
  frameworks within which an honours degree in a
  discipline should be offered
• are not definitive regulatory criteria for
  individual programmes or awards
• do, however, provide authoritative reference
  points, which students and other interested
  parties will expect both to be taken into account
  when programmes are designed and reviewed and to
  be reflected, as appropriate, in programme
  specifications.

12
PROGRAMME SPECIFICATIONS

• QAA
• A programme specification is a concise
  description of the intended outcomes of learning
  from a higher education programme
• University of Portsmouth
• A programme specification provides essential
  information on the curriculum and teaching
  learning strategies for a course. The use and
  consideration of many external reference points
  are also communicated through them, for example,
  employability strategies were recently added.

13
CODE OF PRACTICE

• Identifies a comprehensive series of principles
  (precepts) covering matters related to academic
  quality and standards in higher education
  management
• an authoritative reference point for institutions
  as they assure the quality and standards of their
  awards

14
CODE OF PRACTICE

• 10 Sections
• Postgraduate research programmes
• Collaborative provision and flexible and
  distributed learning
• Students with disabilities
• External Examining
• Academic appeals and student complaints
• Assessment of students
• Programme design, approval, monitoring and review
• Career education, information and guidance
• Placement learning
• Admissions to higher education

15
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

• Part of the QAA requirement for a Progress File
  consisting of
• a structured and supported process to enable
  students to reflect on their learning, and plan
  for personal, educational and career development
  (PDP)
• a transcript, providing a record of learning and
  achievement
• the University believes that an effective PDP
  process supports students from diverse
  backgrounds through an individual and reflective
  approach.

16
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

• Helps students take responsibility for their own
  learning by
• helping them reflect on their progress, identify
  ways of improving their performance and plan how
  they can achieve their goals
• through a framework of activities that will help
  students and tutors to work together to identify
  areas for development.

17
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

• At Portsmouth there are 3 main strands of PDP
• Developing skills to support learning, personal
  development and employability
• Reflecting on current skills, areas for
  development, planning how to develop any
  necessary skills and assessing achievement
• Recording mechanisms (paper-based or online) to
  help develop a portfolio of evidence

18
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

• PDP activities and documents are in place for
  all levels, including those for postgraduate
  students.
• Level 1 Individual Learning Profile ILP,
  Action Plan and Review All other
  levels Action Plan and Review

19
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

• Looking in more detail at Level 1 (handout)
• Induction week ILP questionnaire completed by
  students
• Mid-October In personal tutorial session ILP
  used to identify any actions, Action Plan
  completed and retained by student
• Mid-February In personal tutorial session
  Semester 2 Review Form completed and retained by
  student.

20
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

• The QAA minimum outcomes are that
• students will have participated in PDP in a range
  of learning contexts at each stage or level of
  their programme
• demonstrated that they can access and use the
  aids and tools provided by the institution to
  help them reflect upon their own learning and
  achievements and to plan for their own personal,
  educational and career development
• with support, created their own learning records
  containing information on the qualities and
  skills they can evidence which can be drawn upon
  when applying for a job or further study.

21
ACADEMIC INFRASTRUCTURE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO
AUDIT/REVIEW

• The Academic Infrastructure is key
• In Course Approval
• In External and Internal Audit and Review