Colleges lecturers professional standards

Initial Professional Standards for Quality and Standards

Context and Rationale

Lecturers and colleges are committed to assuring, improving and enhancing the quality of all of the services that impact on the learner experience. Effective internal quality processes are essential for compliance with external partner standards and regulations; they ensure standardisation and consistency of decision making internally. Arrangements include self-evaluations, audits, operational and course provision reviews, professional development and career reviews, validations, approvals and verification, intelligence of practice elsewhere and participation of learners and other stakeholders in contributing to these processes. Lecturers have a responsibility to uphold the college's standards of service and have a key role in maintaining, improving and enhancing the quality of the learning experience.

Standards

The lecturer should be able to:

1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the principles, purposes and processes of quality assurance and improvement, enhancement and sector good practice.
2. Implement effectively college arrangements for quality assurance and improvement and enhancement as an individual and as a member of a team.
3. Contribute effectively to the quality functions of curriculum teams by agreeing targets, formulating action plans (individual and team), following through and evaluating their impact.
4. Use an appropriate range of evidence to identify strengths and areas for enhancement, weaknesses and areas for improvement at individual, team and college levels.
5. Agree targets, formulate individual action plans and contribute to team plans to address identified areas for improvement and enhancement.

Indicative Content

• definitions of quality
• college quality standards, systems and frameworks
• external quality standards, e.g. Universities and Colleges Climate Commitment for Scotland, Professional Standards for Lecturers, SFC, Education Scotland, ISO and EFQM
• quality standards relating to partnership agreements, e.g. with colleges, partner schools, CLD, higher education institutions and businesses
• quality roles and remit
• processes, procedures and pro-formas
• evaluative modes of thinking and writing
• self-evaluation, audit, review and benchmarking
• identification and sharing of best practice
• sources of evidence
• quantitative and qualitative data
• data collection methods, e.g. questionnaires, observations, surveys, discussion groups and interviews
• analysis of performance indicators ( PIs) and benchmarking data e.g. attainment, achievement, retention and progression, equalities and under represented groups
• feedback from learners and other key stakeholders, e.g. partner schools, employers and community organisations
• target setting, action planning, monitoring and reviewing progress
• link to CPD/reflective practice
• impact on overall college evaluation.