Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at Skills and Education Group Access? It’s not simply about Final Awards Boards and certification, though these events are undeniably the important end product, a lot of hard work goes on in between. From the first breath of summer in July to the final chill of December, we’re busy ensuring that everything runs smoothly for students, moderators, and providers alike. So, grab a cuppa and join us as we take you through a year in the life of Access to HE.
July and August: Laying the Groundwork
While most people are jetting off on summer holidays, July and August are all about preparation for us. This is the time we knuckle down to update and review everything diploma specifications to policies and guidance. It’s like giving our system a good spring clean, making sure that every bit of documentation is in tip-top shape before the academic year kicks off.
We’re also busy finalising Centre and Diploma Moderator allocations and preparing their guidance. Moderators are a crucial cog in our machine, and getting them set up and ready is essential. This is also when we have our Centre Moderator Planning and Training Meeting, which sounds a bit formal, but it’s a chance to bring everyone up to speed and ensure that we’re all singing from the same hymn sheet.
By the end of August, we’re deep into planning the training programmes, not just for the centres but also for the moderators themselves. We review and update our moderation reporting annual moderation cycle. July and August is when the Diploma and Unit revalidations are considered for the next academic year. Much planning needs to take place and thinking about it now, sets up the year’s milestones and goals to ensure that revalidations run smoothly.
September: The Calm Before the Storm
September feels like the eye of the storm. The groundwork has been laid, and now it’s time to confirm that everything is in place. We send out a full list of Diplomas and AIM Codes, ensuring that all the necessary updates from providers are in before we finalise moderator allocations.
The Centre Moderators also book their annual review meetings, gaining crucial updates on provider developments and making plans for the year to come. These meetings are all about reflection, analysing what’s worked well over the past year, and what could do with a bit of tweaking. It’s our way of making sure that every diploma is delivered to the highest standard. It’s also a month for self-assessment, ensuring that the all-important confirmation of compliance and 2023/24 data is submitted to QA; we wouldn’t get far without that!
October and November: Full Steam Ahead
Once October hits, things really start ramping up. Moderator training begins in earnest, and we start preparing for standardisation events. These events are a key part of ensuring consistency across providers, and by now, we’re well into issuing dates and preparing samples.
Revalidation is also a big focus in these months. Diplomas that are due for revalidation need to be scheduled, and this requires consultation with providers to make sure everything meets QAA regulations. We even begin a thorough review of our units and diplomas to check their lifespan, utilisation and currency. It’s vitally important that units are as current and future facing as possible to enable students to have the best preparation for HE.
And let’s not forget initial moderations! Providers make use of SharePoint to supply moderators with evidence and information about plans for assessment and quality assurance. This ensures that, if there are any areas to address we can nip them in the bud, and also identify where it’s all going well. It’s a busy time, but it’s all about ensuring that every provider is supported and that every diploma meets the required standards.
Finally, and very importantly, November is the month where traditionally delivered courses generally register their students with us. There are QAA rules regarding this and not everyone is constrained to November, particularly if providers work on a roll-on roll-off basis, this month is generally the busy time, and our registration team beavers away dealing with all the Diploma registrations.
December and January: Wrapping Up and Starting Anew
As the year winds down, our work doesn’t. December is all about planning and finalising the year’s events, particularly around standardisation and Diploma and Unit work. Documentation and resources need to be collated ready for the standardisation events themselves. Early validation and revalidation panels are held whenever possible, and this requires input from our HE and FE colleagues as well as Centre and Diploma Moderators. We always need more HE input so finding new HE representatives is always a challenge. December gives us a time to try to engage with HEIs regarding panels.
January is a crucial month, not just for finalising events but also for preparing for February submissions to QAA. We’re still very much in the thick of it, with validation and revalidation panels taking place, unit reviews being undertaken, and approval processes being agreed upon. The Final Awards Board for students who do not follow the traditional academic year enrolment structure also takes place around about now, although they also take place throughout the year too, this month tends to be a hot spot. We also publish the next series of centre CPD events, including our Essentials programme, Hot Topics and Teach Meets.
February and March: Ready, Set, Validate
February might be the shortest month, but it’s packed with activity. Validation panels for new units and Diplomas and revalidation panels are held to ensure they meet regulations, and we review moderator report templates and training materials. It’s all about gearing up for the sampling visits, which take place throughout April and May. We also meet with our Access to HE Committee in March to update our members on the range of activities to date, and plans for the rest of the year; patterns of registrations, regulatory requirements, goals, themes and events.
April and May: The Home Stretch
As spring blooms, our focus shifts to final preparations for the academic year’s culmination. The UCAS deadlines loom large, with unit reference data submissions due in April Moderator sampling visits are in full swing, with reports being produced and confirmed.
We also hold another Access to HE Committee Meeting in May, where all the plans and outcomes are discussed, and strategies are mapped out for the rest of the year. The Committee also considers the recommendations from validation and revalidation panels about any new and modified units and Diplomas thus far, and approves them, or not, as appropriate.
The Access to HE Summit is another major event during this period, and preparations are in full flow.This summit brings together educators and moderators for discussions, workshops, and training that set the tone for the upcoming year.
June and July: The Final Countdown
The academic year might be winding down, but our work is far from over. June and July are dominated by Final Awards Boards and UCAS deadlines, with entry files and summer results being submitted. It’s a busy time, but it’s all about ensuring that students’ hard work pays off and that they have a smooth transition to higher education.
Additional sampling takes place as needed, and Centre Moderators liaise with centres to plan Final Awards Boards (FABs). These months are also when we process student achievements, upload HEI Results, and support students, providers and HEIs with their queries. By the end of July, we hold our final Access to HE Committee meeting and we’re planning for the next year, making sure that everything is in place for another successful cycle.
And There You Have It!
So, there you have it – a year in the life of Access to HE. It’s a whirlwind of planning, reviewing, and preparing, all to ensure that students have the best possible experience on their journey to higher education. It’s a lot of work, but seeing students succeed makes it all worthwhile. And now, with a fresh cup of tea in hand, we’re ready to do it all over again!