Report on PSRB Activity During 2012-13

ASC14-12

UNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTON

ACADEMIC BOARD

ACADEMIC STANDARDS COMMITTEE

Report on PSRB activity during 2012-13

1 Architects Registration Board (Faculty of Arts, School of Art Design and Media)

1.1 The Architects Registration Board (ARB) approved a request from the University of Brighton to extend the prescription period for the PG Dip Management, Practice and Law in Architecture until September 2015 (prescription would have originally expired in September 2014).

Source; Letter from ARB.

2 Broadcast Journalism Training Council (Faculty of Arts, School of Art Design and Media)

2.1 Following a two year accreditation process, the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC) accredited the BA (Hons) Broadcast Journalism course, which is delivered at Hastings Campus.

Source; School Academic Health report.

3 Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (Brighton Business School)

3.1 In December 2012 the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) attended the periodic review of the MSc/PG Dip Human Resource Management, in order to re-approve the courses. Following the review event, the CIPD agreed that the courses were reapproved, subject to the course team completing actions identified in the report. The actions requested by the CIPD are summarised as follows;

·  to clarify within the programme specification that condonement will not be possible for certain modules, as part of the CIPD approval for the course;

·  to revise the course documentation so that it is clear students who register directly for PG Dip will meet CIPD requirements, whilst those students gain PG Dip as an exit award of the MSc course will not meet their requirements;

·  the course team was requested to create a separate course handbook for those students undertaking the PG Dip course;

·  to provide a copy of the 7SBL skills matrix and how the skills are developed and assessed.

The course team has completed the actions and a letter from the CIPD was received in April 2013 which confirmed that both the MSc and PG Dip Human Resource Management were successfully reapproved.

Source; Letter and report from CIPD.

4 Chartered Management Institute (Brighton Business School)

4.1 Following a visit from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) in February 2013 the Brighton Business School’s BSc (Hons) Business Management and MBA courses were successfully awarded Dual Accreditation, following a mapping exercise. Students who successfully complete MBA awards will also gain a CMI Level 7 Strategic Diploma in Management and Leadership, whilst students on the BSc (Hons) Business Management courses who undertake a work placement will be awarded a CMI Level 5 Diploma in Management and Leadership. Students on both courses will be entitled to affiliate level membership with the CMI. The CMI accreditation will be reviewed again in July 2015.

Source; Letter from CMI.

5 College of Occupational Therapists (Faculty of Health and Social Science, School of Health Professions)

5.1 The BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy course team is required to complete an annual monitoring report for the College of Occupational Therapists. The 2011/12 report identified a shortage of placement opportunities for students. The College has responded and hopes the increased use of role emerging placements will alleviate some of the pressures on traditional placements. The College also noted that they were satisfied with the annual report and evidence provided.

Source; Letter from College of Occupational Therapists.

6 General Pharmaceutical Council (Faculty of Science and Engineering, Faculty of Health and Social Science, School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences)

6.1 The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) accredited the MPharm course for two years following a visit to the University in May 2013. Although the GPhC agreed to accredit the MPharm, it raised concerns about staff resources and suggested that the current level of staffing was insufficient. The course team was given a year to address the comments from the GPhC, who will return in 2014 to review and reaccredit the newly developed MPharm course.

6.2 During 2013 some minor amendments were made to the Independent Prescribing modules offered by the Faculty of Health and Social Science. These were approved by the GPhC.

Source; School Academic Health Report (PABS) and letter from GPhC.

7 Health and Care Professions Council (Faculty of Health and Social Science, School of Health Professions)

7.1 A number of courses and modules were subject to Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) annual monitoring during the 2012/13 academic session. The Education and Training committee within the HCPC agreed that the following courses had provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate they meet the standards of education and training required by the body;

·  BSc (Hons) Podiatry (full time);

·  Clinical Pharmacology (module);

·  BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy (full time);

·  BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy (full time);

·  MSc Rehabilitation Science (full time);

·  PG Dip Rehabilitation Science (full time);

·  BSc (Hons) Paramedic Practice (full time);

·  Independent and Supplementary Prescribing (module);

·  BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy (full time).

The PG Dip Occupational Therapy also met the requirements of HCPC, however the Education and Training committee asked the course team to provide more information about the course leader (which had recently changed) so that they could ensure that they had appropriate qualifications and skills. The committee also requested that the course team ensure the course curriculum clearly reflects the HCPC’s standards of conduct, performance and ethics. In December 2013 the HCPC wrote to the course team to confirm that the course changes and new course leader were approved.

7.2 During 2012/13 the HCPC withdrew approval for the MSc/PG Dip Rehabilitation Science to reflect the School’s plans for withdrawing the current title and developing a new award, however approval remains in place for existing students on the course until completion of their studies and graduates of the course will remain eligible to register with the HCPC in the future. The course will not be required to participate in annual monitoring processes in future years.

Source; Letters from and reports HCPC

8 Institution of Engineering Designers (Faculty of Science and Engineering, School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematics)

8.1 During December 2012 the Institution of Engineering Designers (IED) visited the University of Brighton to reaccredit the following programmes;

·  BSc (Hons) Product Design;

·  BSc (Hons) Product Design Technology;

·  BSc (Hons) Sports Product Design;

·  BSc (Hons) Sustainable Product Design.

The IED agreed to accredit the courses for a five year period until 2017. The IED accreditation visit report included two requirements;

·  all course documentation, including the University of Brighton prospectus, should refer to the courses as being accredited by the IED;

·  to ensure that in the future all course changes and external examiner reports are forwarded to the IED.

Source; School Academic Health report and report from the IED.

9 Joint Board of Moderators (Faculty of Science and Engineering, School of Environment and Technology)

9.1 The Joint Board of Moderators (JBM) represents professional bodies associated with Civil Engineering (the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Institution of Structural Engineers, the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation, and the Institute of Highway Engineers). The JBM visited the University of Brighton in 2012/13 to renew accreditation for the MEng/BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering courses and MSc advanced study programmes (Civil Engineering, Water and Environmental Management), and to approve accreditation for a number of new courses (MEng/BEng (Hons) Civil with Environmental Engineering, MEng/BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering with Construction Management, MSc Construction Management, and MSc Highways Engineering).

As some of the courses were only recently validated, student work could not be reviewed and the undergraduate courses were initially accredited for 2 years with a further interim review planned for 2015. The established MSc courses were validated for 5 years. The accreditation team declined to recommend the MSc Highways Engineering for accreditation as it was concerned the course did not meet level 7 (MSc) outcomes and that it focussed too heavily on practical application without sufficiently considering underlying theory. The accreditation visit also identified the following conditions/recommendations;

·  the University web site should use approved text relating to accredited courses as provided by the JBM;

·  the course team should articulate clearly how the health and safety, sustainability and design threads are delivered in the undergraduate courses;

·  the University should seek to make a senior appointment (Chair/Reader level) in Civil Engineering to lead the subject team and research activities;

·  the reviewers expressed some concern about contact hours associated with the Civil Engineering courses (particularly at Level 7).

Source; Report from the JBM.

10 National Youth Agency (Faculty of Education and Sport, School of Education)

10.1 In April 2013 the National Youth Agency (NYA) visited the University in order to revalidate the BA (Hons) Youth Work course. The event was successful and the course continues to be endorsed by the NYA. However as part of the continuing endorsement the NYA requested that student transcripts state that the BA (Hons) Youth Work meets the requirements for professional validation by the NYA. The revalidation event also made some recommendations for the course team to consider which are as follows;

·  to consider developing guidance for placement supervisors which would clearly articulate what they are expected to undertake;

·  the course team consider reviewing the course curriculum to make the programme more innovative;

·  to consider increasing the number of links with networks and partnerships to grow the course numbers.

Source; Report from the National Youth Agency.

11 Nursing and Midwifery Council (Faculty of Health and Social Science, School of Nursing and Midwifery)

11.1 During the 2012/13 academic year the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) approved a number of minor modifications to modules on the following courses;

·  BSc (Hons) Nursing;

·  Independent and Supplementary Prescribing (modules);

·  PG Cert Health and Social Care.

All of the amendments were approved.

12 Quality Assurance Agency (Faculty of Education and Sport, School of Education)

12.1 The University of Brighton is part of a consortium led by the University of Chichester for the School of Education’s Early Years Professional Status provision, which is overseen by the National College for Teaching and Leadership and also subject to audits by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA). In October 2012 the QAA undertook an audit of the Early Years Professional status provision. The review had a very positive outcome, the audit report highlighted good practice which included;

·  effective quality assurance mechanisms across the provision;

·  the inclusive, collaborative culture within the consortium;

·  effective use of technology to enhance communication and candidate learning.

Areas which were highlighted for development included;

·  establishment of a procedure for disseminating and responding to the External Moderator’s report;

·  the development of a more consistent approach to the completion of moderation paperwork and paperwork recording the suitability of placement settings.

Source; Letter and report from the QAA.

13 Royal Institute of British Architects (Faculty of Art, School of Art, Design and Media)

13.1 During October 2012, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) visited the University to consider the PG Dip Management, Practice and Law in Architecture course. RIBA met with the course team, key staff within the University, students and external examiners for the course. A report on the visit was made available in February 2013 and it outlined no commendations, conditions or actions for the course team to respond to. RIBA has since confirmed that the PG Dip Management, Practice and Law in Architecture has been awarded continued validation for another 4 years.

Source; Letter from RIBA and School Academic Health report.

14 Royal Town Planning Institute (Faculty of Science and Engineering, School of Environment and Technology)

14.1 The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) conducted a mid-point accreditation visit to the University of Brighton during May 2013 to ensure the MSc Town Planning course still met the accreditation requirements and to consider when it might be appropriate for the course to receive full partnership status. Following the visit from the RTPI, the course team was commended for its progress on those areas highlighted for development in the accreditation report from 2010 (which granted accreditation for five years). The RTPI reported that the MSc Town Planning course continued to meet their requirements and that it was appropriate to anticipate a move to full partnership at the end of the five year accreditation period subject to fulfilment of the following conditions;

·  core teaching staff to be members of RTPI;

·  continued research-informed teaching;

·  maintenance of current student numbers;

·  continued articulation of how the course meets RTPI learning outcomes in course documentation;

·  promotion of the area of town planning at the University of Brighton and further afield by the course team;

·  continued long term planning to ensure sufficient resources and longevity of the course.

Source; Report from the RTPI and School Academic Health report.

15 Solicitors Regulation Authority (Brighton Business School)

15.1 In February 2013 the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) approved the validation of the new LLB (Hons) Law with Criminology course for a period of three years and the periodic review of the PG Dip Law course for five years. The SRA provided reports on both validation events.

15.2 The report from the SRA regarding the LLB (Hons) Law with Criminology validation noted the rigorous discussion between the validation panel and the course team about how the two schools involved in the delivery of the course would ensure a seamless student experience. The SRA report on the validation event also commended the course team for appearing unified, dedicated and committed to providing a good quality experience for students. The representative from the SRA noted that the combination of law and criminology was a strong distinguishing feature of the course.

15.3 The SRA report on the periodic review of the PG Dip Law commended the course team for their use of studentcentral, staff commitment to the course and the extra-curricular activity on the course. The SRA further commended the course team for improving admissions conversion rates during challenging economic times.

Source; Reports from the SRA.

16 The British Psychological Society (Faculty of Health and Social Science, School of Applied Social Science)