The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) has confirmed the quality and standards of provision at Solihull College & University Centre following its review in February 2016.
A team of QAA reviewers visited Solihull College & University Centre and judged that its academic standards, the quality and enhancement of its student learning opportunities, and the quality of information about its learning opportunities all meet UK expectations.
The review identified some examples of good practice, including the course design, development and approval processes that enable the College to oversee standards rigorously and respond to local and regional need as well as the higher education peer observation system, which enhances approaches to teaching and learning and builds staff confidence.
John Callaghan, Principal and Chief Executive of Solihull College & University Centre commented “We are extremely delighted with the results of the QAA review, the findings reflect the excellent higher education offer we have at Solihull College & University Centre. As the only University Centre in Solihull it is vital that we meet the needs of students within the local area by offering a variety of university level courses across both of our campuses.
“We are pleased that the reviewers highlighted a number of areas which, as a College we are successful in, including the creation of the new HE Centre to provide students with the desired HE learning environment, the positive feedback from students about how the programmes had been devised to improve their employability and the fact our students feel well supported in developing their academic skills.
“The results of the QAA review demonstrates how hard both our staff and students work to achieve whilst in higher education, something we are very proud of and will no doubt be reflected in our students results at the end of the academic year.”
QAA’s Higher Education Reviews are carried out by experts from other universities and colleges. Every review team includes a student reviewer, because QAA believes that students should be partners in the quality assurance of their education.
The team that reviewed Solihull College comprised Professor Alan Howard (associate professor at the University of Reading), Alexandra Day (Peter Symonds College), Christopher Maidment (student reviewer from the University of Sheffield) and Clive Turner (independent reviewer).
A successful review means that the College can display the QAA Quality Mark, indicating to UK and international students that it meets national requirements for standards and quality.
Dean of Higher Education and Curriculum Innovation at Solihull College & University Centre, Sue McGregor commented “An important part of a higher education institution is to ensure that our students feel involved in their learning and have the chance to feedback on their learning experience; this is something that we are extremely pleased the QAA report noted. The report stated ‘The students confirmed that they have a real say in directing and improving both the College as a whole and their own individual learning. They feel listened to, their input is taken seriously and their message makes a difference.’ This is something we are very proud of and will endeavour to continue.”
The College is keen to focus on the viewpoints of students throughout their studies and appoints Lead Student Representatives to share the viewpoints of students and share suggestions about the College and courses. One Lead Student Rep, Scott Beasley commented on the outcome of the review: “As a lead student representative I am really pleased that the QAA report reflects the thoughts of students at the College. As students we feel well supported in developing our academic skills through a variety of processes including regular group tutorials, one-to-one sessions which can be requested at any time and more formal termly progress reviews. I feel that by achieving my university level qualification at Solihull College & University Centre my employability prospects have increased, something which was reflected by alumni students and within the report.”
For more information on the courses available at Solihull College & University Centre visit courses page or call 0121 678 7000.
