Association of Colleges

 

 

 

 

The Chief Assessor writes a report on the assessment of the Awards which summarises the key features of applications, improvements in submissions, the quality assurance of the assessment process and the proposals for improvement to the assessment process

  Chief Assessor's Annual Report on AoC Beacon Awards 2012/13

Each year, the assessors are asked to complete selection analysis forms. These are useful for a number of reasons:

• It means that the Manager can give individual feedback to all Colleges that applied for the Awards
• It means that the assessors can identify key trends within each award and it means that the Chief Assessor can have an overview of all of the awards
• It ensures that they are each assessed to the same standard

Some of the recurring themes that the feedback forms identify are as follows:

Overall strengths of AoC Beacon Award applications

• Effective and wide ranging partnership work
• College and senior management support for activities and programmes
• Good attention to equality and diversity
• Determination to improve and widen current provision
• Good use of ICT as a marketing and information tool
• Sharing best practice with other providers
• Technological solutions enabling and encouraging professional development
• Good dissemination through national and regional groups
• Use of commercial, real working environments in the College
• Regular monitoring to ensure success of the project
• Collaboration with schools, sector skills councils, HE and employer organisations
• Promotion of exemplary teaching and learning

How AoC Beacon Award applications could be improved

• More detailed evidence to support statements of why teaching is of high quality
• More detail of the promotion of equality and diversity
• More evidence from students on their view of the programme
• More information on how the use of quality assurance has influenced and improved the project
• More information on features which actively promote exemplary teaching and learning
• Clearer data to support assertions in the submission
• Avoid the excessive use of acronyms
• Ensure the inclusion of testimonials from staff and/or students
• More information on progression/achievement data for learners

Personalised feedback
Please contact Alice Thiagaraj, AoC Charitable Trust Director, on 020 7034 9917 who can provide personalised feedback on unsuccessful submissions. Feedback is only available over the telephone. Please contact Alice to arrange a mutually convenient time.

The AoC Beacon Awards Steering Group and its team of assessors are extremely keen to contribute towards the continuing development of all initiatives that are put forward for the Awards which is one of the reasons why this feedback is available.