@ South Thames College, London Dr. Kwasi Darko-Ampem

 One of the largest general FE colleges in South London, following its recent successful merger with Merton College  Largest provider of post-16 education and training in the London Boroughs of Merton and Wandsworth  Enrolled over 3312 full-time year olds learners and 5150 adult learners in 09/10, on a mix of accredited and non-accredited programmes ranging from pre-entry to degree level H E in STC, London2

 FE colleges can provide ‘prescribed’ HE with funding from HEFCE  Often been taken to be HEFCE-funded (directly or indirectly) provision  Or, funded through the LSC (now SFA and YPLA), student or employer fees  Providers of locally accessible (geographically and culturally), work related and niche HE aimed to encourage participation by students who might not otherwise access higher education H E in STC, London3

 Smaller classes and greater intimacy in teaching and learning groups  More student-centred delivery  Individual support and tutorial- in class and learning support  FE ethos derived from the smaller classes, contained space, pedagogy and support  Described as ‘widening participation’ students, mature, from backgrounds with no tradition of HE, with lower entry qualifications and needing a high level of input on skills for learning, and ‘local’ H E in STC, London4

 Partnerships form a central plank of policy for HE and its expansion  Formed between colleges and HEIs, with employers, and through regional groupings and networks  Kingston university July 2010 Partnership Meeting brought together all college partners in their annual gathering for update on Institutional Audit, introduction to Partner website and other resources H E in STC, London5

Partner InstitutionHE provision Edexcel HNC Computing HNC Media Production HNC Music Production Kingston HND Business and Finance BA Business and Management FD Business and Professional Administration FD IT in e-Business FD Early Years FD Pharmaceutical and Chemical Science Christ Church Canterbury Diploma in Teaching in the LLS London South BankHNC Construction St George’s UniversityFD Long Term Conditions H E in STC, London6

 Collaboration between central support services and teaching staff, library and ITS  HE User group that regulates courses and monitors quality  A dedicated portal on its VLE for information and documents, including IQER documents on the HE School homepage, news and information on HFCE publications and useful links to universities and HE, enhancement themes, QAA news, etc H E in STC, London7

 Library resource provision includes appropriate books and journals, learning materials on the VLE to support generic study and subject specific knowledge and skills, and other aids to learning  As part of the external and internal validation processes, HE teams are required to order appropriate resources  Links with HEI partner LRC staff is seen as an invaluable part of the validation process and ongoing relationships with the HEI H E in STC, London8

 A convincing argument for making libraries more effective is the need for students to become proficient users of the library  Librarians can help teachers carry out their responsibility much more efficiently and at the same time enhance it  Areas of librarian/teacher collaboration cover staff and student inductions, IL teaching, team teaching, and collection development H E in STC, London9

 Course teams design of teaching and learning activities and assessments must include a range of academic skills: critical analysis, academic discourse, research, referencing, awareness of plagiarism, and examination skills  It can be helpful to develop a grid on which all skills are mapped and to see whether they are assessed H E in STC, London10

 There is a growing number of students choosing college instead of university.  Of the 353 colleges in England, 270 now offer higher education course, representing 178,000 or around 10% of all HE students  A recent (November 2010) AOC report has confirmed that on average students graduate with £17.5K less debt than university peers  A combination of greater opportunities to work part-time while studying, the ability to live at home and reduced travel costs are all key factors in minimising the overall debt levels of HE college students H E in STC, London11