Praise for Higher Education Offering
Cornwall College is celebrating after successfully completing its first Integrated Quality and Enhancement Review (IQER) Developmental Engagement, conducted by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) - the OFSTED equivalent for Higher Education in Further Education colleges.
The process provides independent scrutiny of the quality and academic standards of Higher Education courses delivered in colleges.
The review highlighted a number of areas of good practice including the robustness of the quality assurance processes, the range and standard of student assessment, the variety of methods used to provide feedback to students, recent staff development activities, and developments in the use of virtual learning environments.
As part of the process students were able to offer their thoughts about the College. Darryn Richards, Divisional Director at Brewin Dolphin studying towards an MA in Management, said: "I found the process very positive as the questions asked caused a diverse debate amongst the various students present. I was vocal throughout the meeting and offered a lot of feedback about my course. The thoughts I gave were wholly positive in all areas, from the assessment structure and time lines to the first class support and direction offered throughout.
"IQER seems like a highly valuable quality tool - quality in all that we do is essential whether it be in the private or public sector."
Cornwall College has over 2000 students studying towards Higher Education qualifications across all seven campuses in Camborne, Newquay, Saltash and St Austell, as well as Duchy College in Stoke Climsland and Rosewarne, and Falmouth Marine School. All of the College's undergraduate courses are approved by the University of Plymouth.
Dave Linnell OBE, Principal of Cornwall College, said: "At Cornwall College we aim to provide a high level of education to our learners. We are very pleased with the outcome of the first stage of IQER. The findings reflect the quality of our Higher Education provision and provide an excellent basis for the next part of the process."