This half-day event is to offer support and guidance to Further Education Colleges to meet the expectations of the QAA for Higher Education delivery in the UK, as well as demonstrate how the QAA expectations are reflected in Pearson’s Quality Assurance processes for BTEC Higher National Qualifications.

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Date: 29 June 2017
Time: 09:00-12:45
Location: Birmingham
Cost: £125 + VAT pp

The first part of the session will be presented by Siobhain O’Mahony, a Quality Specialist at the QAA who leads teams in the QRV process, and Yasmin Pitter, Deputy Director at Pearson’s Higher Education Qualifications team. At this session delegates will have the opportunity to:

  • look at the best ways to monitor continuous programme improvement,
  • how to evidence enhancement of the student experience, sharing best practice across the HE provision and consider the responsibilities for Awarding Organisations; and
  • find out how the QAA expectations are reflected in Pearson’s Quality Assurance processes. 

The second part of the session will be presented by Professor Diana Laurillard, who teaches Learning with Digital Technologies at UCL and University of Surrey. The session will focus on ways of enriching the online and distance learning experience for the learner and provide a roadmap of how FE Colleges can successfully deliver a viable online programme.

There will be opportunities for questions and answers after each session. Delegates can also submit questions via twitter so please bring smart phones.

This event can count as 3 hours CPD

Space for this event is limited so book your place today.

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Speakers

Siobhain leads review teams in the Quality Review Visit process and in the Higher Education Review (Alternative Providers) method.  Other responsibilities include liaison engagement with higher education providers providing guidance and support around quality assessment developments. 

Siobhain holds a first degree in English and European Literature. She has worked in the higher education sector for 12 years and joined QAA in 2014, having worked in quality assurance with particular focus on UK and international collaborative partnerships. 

Yasmin was appointed as the Deputy Director of the Higher Nationals Unit in July 2015. Her key responsibilities are Quality Assurance, Qualification Design and Higher Nationals Training. 

Before joining Pearson, Yasmin qualified as a solicitor in August 2000 and practised Criminal Law until joining BPP Professional Education in October 2004. Whilst at BPP Yasmin lectured and tutored on the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL), the Legal Practice Course and the Bar Vocational Course. Yasmin then went on to manage the full and part time GDL programmes from 2007-2010. From January 2009 - March 2015, she sat as a Magistrate in the criminal adult courts. Yasmin has an upper second class degree in Law as well as Postgraduate Diplomas in both Legal Practice and Criminal Justice Studies. 

Professor Laurillard specialises in developing interactive online digital design tools for teachers and lecturers to adopt, adapt and share designs with respect to effective innovation with learning technologies. She is also currently leading externally-funded research projects on learning design, online learning, and developing software interventions for learners with low numeracy and dyscalculia.

Prior to working at the UCL, Professor Laurillard was Head of the e-Learning Strategy Unit at the Department for Education and Skills, and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for learning technologies and teaching at The Open University.

Currently (2014-15) President of the Association for Learning Technology, and a Trustee of the Learning Foundation; Member of the FE Learning Technology Action Group reporting to BIS, and the Educational Technology Action Group reporting to DfE.

Along with being a published author of the book Teaching as a Design Science: Building Pedagogical Patterns for Learning and Technology, Professor Laurillard was formerly on the Boards of the UNESCO Institute for IT in Education, the Fern Universitet in Germany, the Observatory for Borderless HE, and a founding member of the Visiting Committee on IT at Harvard University.

Agenda

09:00 - Welcome, Tea & Coffee and Registration

09:30 - QAA (Quality Review Visit)
Siobhain O'Mahony, QAA Quality Specialist

10:30 - Pearson’s Quality Assurance Processes
Yasmin Pitter, Higher Education Qualifications Deputy Director

11:15 - Coffee Break

11:30 - Online / Distance Learning
Diana Laurillard, Professor of Learning with digital technologies at UCL (Q&A will be via tweets)

12:45 - Close