Mike are you still there?
Just heard rumour that Huntingdonshire have indeed gone ahead and made the exams office and its staff redundant. Teaching teams now responsible for all exam functions.
Morbid curiosity about the ensuing train wreck.
Ben
-----Original Message-----
From: The FE Exams Network mailing list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Fi Taylor
Sent: 03 April 2013 14:03
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Exams department made redundant
Speechless...
Regards
Fi
Fi Taylor
Cross College Examinations Manager
Sussex Downs College
Mountfield Road
Lewes
BN7 2XH
Telephone: 030 300 38357
Mobile: 07932028097
Email: [log in to unmask]
please consider the Environment - do you really need to print this E mail?
-----Original Message-----
From: The FE Exams Network mailing list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jon Brown
Sent: 03 April 2013 08:14
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Exams department made redundant
Hi Mike,
Your news is very concerning indeed. For you and your team it must be devastating, for the College a major set back and a sign of significant problems to come and for the rest of us a warning about the world in which we now live. Most of those that have responded to you are long serving Exams Officers who know the detail of the work and the responsibilities that it brings. I'm from an MIS background (actually Business in the private sector), however I have responsibility for Exams in the College and I know that the complexity, knowledge and work involved in running a successful exams department sits at the top of the list when comparing skills and work pressures across the College. I am also acutely aware of the risks involved in getting it wrong in any way. The penalties in terms of loss of reputation, accreditation, money and student satisfaction are massive, but allied to that is the impact on the curriculum staff. Most Colleges are trying to remove additional burden from teachers and to free them up to focus on what they are best at which should be teaching. My experience is that they are not good administrators at all and certainly don't begin to understand the complexities of the exams and accreditation systems.
No doubt the College management Team has good reasons for this move, however, I also agree that it is often the case that they have little understanding of what actually is needed in exams. Perhaps as a group, exams staff have become too isolated from the main College and as a result taken for granted. I think your way forward will be to find opportunities to explain clearly and coherently the actual work and responsibilities that the team has. If this can be done to the Governors and SMT then this will have the greatest impact. I suspect that you need to create a dialogue where both sides can begin to understand the other rather than being too confrontational. In the end it is important that the correct decision is made for the College - one that works and works well for students and staff alike.
I hope and trust that you are able to accomplish this and wish you every success. It is heartening to read of the support from the sector as a whole.
Jon
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