Shrewsbury Colleges Group’s Higher Education programmes were inspected by the national Quality Assurance Agency last month with the review team awarding the College the highest possible ratings.
QAA is the equivalent of Ofsted for universities and higher education in colleges and the recognition of the excellent work at the College is proof that Shrewsbury’s Higher Education students receive a fantastic experience at the College.
The College has been offering a range of higher education courses, including honours degree, foundation degree, HNC/HND and higher level professional qualifications in accountancy and counselling for over 20 years. Higher Education reviews takes place around every four years.
Reviewers from the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) visited the College’s London Road Campus in May and spent two days interviewing students, academic staff and governors, as well as carefully scrutinising the courses, systems and policies.
The results, which have just been published, found full confidence in the college’s Higher Education academic standards and student experience. The review panel found that “students spoke positively about their experience of the recruitment and admissions process” and on the “quality of teaching and the support they received.” Students were positive about the support and careers guidance they receive and felt that “their voice was heard and the College responds positively to their suggestions for change.”
Lead for Higher Education at the College, Helen Fellows, said: “We are thrilled with the outcome of the review, which looked at every area of our HE provision, leaving no stone unturned.
“We are running a mini-university here at Shrewsbury Colleges Group and need to meet all the standards a university would, including Oxford University! I want to thank all the staff who contributed to the review, it shows what a fantastic team we have here at the College delivering higher education.”
Principal of Shrewsbury Colleges Group, James Staniforth, said: “The QAA review is not an easy process for a College to go through and a huge amount of work goes into ensuring that the review team are fully aware of the excellence of our programmes and the deep commitment we have to providing all students with an outstanding experience.
“Our degree level provision is going from strength to strength and we already have nearly 150 applications for the next academic year. They will be able to take advantage of our new HE study centre – a dedicated space at our London Road campus which will be ready for this September.”
The College is currently recruiting for September 2018 and it’s not too late to apply. The College currently works with around 250 HE students and is offering 13 degree level courses in the next academic year, including a full BA Hons degree in Education and in subjects including Photography, Education, Counselling, Computer Science, Engineering and Sports.
To find out more about Higher Education courses at Shrewsbury College, come to the next Advice Event, on 30 August or 4 September from 5-7pm at London Road, call 01743 342342 or visit www.shrewsbury.ac.uk/higher_education
