Dear Colleagues
We have started to prepare our strategic plan for 2015-2020. We have considered in some depth how undergraduate, postgraduate taught and research provision may develop over that period. One emerging theme is to develop postgraduate Continuing Professional Development (CPD) provision.
There are a number of issues associated with such provision such as effective administration and record keeping, and external reporting to HESA and HEFCE. Postgraduate CPD students tend to study a relatively small number of modules (sometime a single module) and have a small load or Full Time Equivalent (FTE) value. Students may embark on non-credit bearing study, for example undertake a module intending not to undertake the module assessment, but subsequently wish to transfer to credit-bearing study and undertake the module assessment.
For those of you who have experience in this area, are you able to offer advice on how to manage the student record and external reporting? In particular, what are the options for students who may embark on non-credit bearing study and subsequently transfer to credit-bearing study? Students on non-credit bearing study are not reportable to HESA and HEFCE and therefore require less data on the student record but this would change if they chose to switch to credit-bearing study.
The aim is to offer maximum flexibility to the student but this may result in a considerable administrative over-head and difficult questions relating to external reporting to HESA and HEFCE.
Kind regards.
Nick Dawson
Data Analyst Manager
Directorate of Planning and Academic Administration
Keele University
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