Quality Assessment for E-learning: a Benchmarking Approach (Third edition)

The primary purpose of this manual is to provide a set of benchmarks, quality criteria and notes for guidance against which e-learning programmes and their support systems may be judged. The manual should therefore be seen primarily as a reference tool for the assessment or review of e-learning programmes and the systems which support them. However, the manual should also prove to be useful to staff in institutions concerned with the design, development, teaching, assessment and support of e-learning programmes. It is hoped that course developers, teachers and other stakeholders will see the manual as a useful development and/or improvement tool for incorporation in their own institutional systems of monitoring, evaluation and enhancement

Plumpton College: report from the Inspectorate (FEFC inspection report; 04/95 and 02/99)

The Further Education Funding Council has a legal duty to make sure further education in England is properly assessed. The FEFC’s inspectorate inspects and reports on each college of further education according to a four-year cycle. This record comprises the reports for periods 1994-95 and 1998-99

Developing information architecture through records management classification techniques

Purpose – This work aims to draw attention to information retrieval philosophies and techniques allied to the records management profession, advocating a wider professional consideration of a functional approach to information management, in this instance in the development of information architecture. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws from a hypothesis originally presented by the author that advocated a viewpoint whereby the application of records management techniques, traditionally applied to develop business classification schemes, was offered as an additional solution to organising information resources and services (within a university intranet), where earlier approaches, notably subject- and administrative-based arrangements, were found to be lacking. The hypothesis was tested via work-based action learning and is presented here as an extended case study. The paper also draws on evidence submitted to the Joint Information Systems Committee in support of the Abertay University's application for consideration for the JISC award for innovation in records and information management. Findings – The original hypothesis has been tested in the workplace. Information retrieval techniques, allied to records management (functional classification), were the main influence in the development of pre- and post-coordinate information retrieval systems to support a wider information architecture, where the subject approach was found to be lacking. Their use within the workplace has since been extended. Originality/value – The paper advocates that the development of information retrieval as a discipline should include a wider consideration of functional classification, as this alternative to the subject approach is largely ignored in mainstream IR works

Fareham College: report from the Inspectorate (FEFC inspection report; 40/97 and 54/01)

Comprises two Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) inspection reports for the periods 1996-97 and 2000-0

Educating the global citizen in sustainable development: the influence of accreditation bodies on professional programmes

It is estimated that over 50% of UK CO2 emissions arise from the buildings and industry sector. Globally construction is estimated to be the world’s largest employer with 111 million employees. The Built Environment sector is therefore a major economic player with significant environmental, social and economic influence across the globe. Pressure on Built Environment degree curriculum partly comes from the professional bodies, with whom a large proportion of the School of the Built and Natural Environment’s programmes are accredited. Accreditation is in many cases a requirement in order for graduates to practice their profession while in others it is not a requirement but an expectation. As a result, accreditation is vital to the marketability of School degree programmes. This paper discusses the key competencies within professional accreditation requirements for three case study subject areas within the School. Through this case study analysis it was found that all three accreditation requirements analysed referred to the accepted three pillar model of sustainability (see for example Kates et al (2005); van Zeijl-Rozema et al (2008); Mackelworth and Carić (2010)). Guidance in all three disciplines referred further to ethics and social responsibility. However, the three professional body accreditation guidelines differ in the prescribed quantity, and the detail of guidance, on sustainability criteria. In ensuring compliance with accreditation guidelines, the three subject areas have taken differing approaches across a continuum. The authors consider that the approaches taken, and the extent to which sustainability criteria are explicit or implicit within the curriculum, are in part influenced by the pedagogic approaches typical of the subject discipline

Standards for teaching and supporting learning in further education in England and Wales

"This document presents a set of standards for teaching and supporting learning in further education in England and Wales. These standards have been developed following widespread consultation with further education managers, staff developers and teachers, and a series of trials in colleges" -- [page 1]

Reviews

P. Race, 500 Tips on Group Learning, London: Kogan Page, 2000. ISBN: 0–7494–2884–8. Softback, vii + 135 pages, £15.99