Review for Educational Oversight: report of the monitoring visit

of Zaskin College, May 2013

Section 1: Outcome of the monitoring visit
1
From the evidence provided in the annual return and at the monitoring visit,
the review team concludes that Zaskin College (the College) has made acceptable progress
with implementing the action plan from the May 2012 Review for Educational Oversight.

Section 2: Changes since the last QAA monitoring visit

2
At the time of the visit 168 students were enrolled at the College, a slight decline
from 190 enrolled at the 2012 review. The pattern of provision remains generally unchanged.
In the past year the College has been reaccredited by the Institute of Administrative
Management, the London Centre of Marketing, and the Association of Business Executives.
It has also received accreditation as an examination centre for Association of Chartered
Certified Accountants computer based tests. The College is in active discussion with several
universities to formalise progression routes.

Section 3: Findings from the monitoring visit

3
Students met during the visit are enthusiastic about the education they receive,
and feel the College management is responsive to the issues they raise and that they are
well supported by their teachers. The College understands the importance to students of
feedback on their work, although much of this is given verbally rather than in writing.
4
The Accreditation Officer works closely with students and staff to ensure they are
aware of, and comply with, the requirements of the College's awarding organisations.
The current postholder regularly attends workshops relevant to her work and attends
Students' Union meetings to ensure students are fully informed of relevant rules and
requirements. Overall results have shown a significant improvement in the period since the
2012 review.
5
Teachers are expected to acquire a relevant postgraduate certificate in education,
and are given help to do so. Peer observation of teaching is well established. A Tutor
Development Committee looks after staff development matters.
6
Programme specifications have been amended and now contain most of the
required information. However, the relationship between module learning outcomes and
assessment is still unclear. There is no reference to subject benchmark statements or other
external reference points apart from awarding organisation programme information. Students
indicated that they are aware of the programme specifications and find them very useful.
7
A Quality Assurance Manual has been prepared which collects together the
relevant policies developed by the College. Some of the material in the manual has been
taken from other sources and does not appear to be immediately relevant to the College's
programmes. The Quality Assurance Manual is not yet entirely fit for purpose.

8
The College has made some progress in developing a consolidated annual review
and action plan. However, the annual review report for 2011-12 provides only general
information about College provision and is not yet suitable for use as part of an annual
review process. It does not include data on areas such as enrolment, retention, progression
and achievement broken down by programme and with comparisons to previous years.
While student satisfaction data is included, this is not broken down by programme or cohort.

Section 4: Progress in working with the external reference points to

meet UK expectations for higher education
9
The College observes the requirements of its awarding organisations and has
developed its programme specifications accordingly. In addition, it recognises the
importance of examining its internal policies and procedures in the light of the UK Quality
Code for Higher Education (the Quality Code) and considers that its Quality Assurance
Manual is a product of this process (see paragraph 7). The College does not currently use
the Quality Code as extensively as it could as part of a continuous process of quality
enhancement.

Section 5: Background to the monitoring visit

10
The monitoring visit serves as a short check on the provider's continuing
management of academic standards and quality of provision. It focuses on progress since
the previous review. In addition, it provides an opportunity for QAA to advise the provider
of any matters that have the potential to be of particular interest in the next monitoring visit
or review.
11
The monitoring visit was carried out by David Taylor (Coordinator) and Millard
Parkinson (Reviewer) on 15 May 2013.

The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education 2013

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