City of Glasgow College - College Ambassador Update

Background

Anthony O’Reilly, Qualifications Manager, Frances Chisholm, Corporate Communications & Media Officer, and Lisa Hardy, Student Support & Wellbeing Manager, met with Fiona Garry, Development Officer from the SCQF Partnership, to discuss future plans as well as the developments and impact that the college has made since it gained its Ambassador status.

Developments

City of Glasgow College is Scotland’s largest technical and professional skills college offering a diverse range of professional and technical training across the Glasgow area and its communities. Due to the central location of the College students travel from a wide area to access the training on offer. Use of the SCQF has engaged staff and supported learners to recognise wider achievement and further develop their learning journeys. In the first year as an SCQF Ambassador college staff have:

• • Worked to ensure that learners are aware of the SCQF level and credit allocated to their qualifications by raising awareness of the Framework among lecturing staff using a range of SCQF resources
• Continued to engage fully with the SCQF Partnership team to arrange bespoke workshops for teaching and support staff
• Used the SCQF logo and brand to promote the Framework across the college
• Actively credit rated third party provision, allowing more learners to gain credit for their learning at every opportunity. Some key organisations the College has provided credit rating services for include:
  • London Management Institute
  • Maltese Government Department of Health
  • The Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland (REHIS)

Roy Gardner, Vice Principal Corporate Development & Innovation at City of Glasgow College, said: “As part of our credit rating services, City of Glasgow College is supporting the delivery of non-technical skills training for 6,000 healthcare professionals in Malta. Our ongoing relationship with the SCQF Partnership sees us continually looking for innovative ways to ensure the Framework is seen as a vital tool for progression, while having SCQF Ambassador Status means employers can be confident in the standards that we work to.”

Impact

It is clear that being an SCQF College Ambassador means that everyone involved benefits!

The added distinction of Ambassador status with the SCQF Partnership demonstrates to employers and organisations seeking third party credit rating that the College is committed to using the Framework to develop and widen the pathways available to learners on their lifelong learning journey.

The closer partnership working that exists between City of Glasgow College and the SCQFP means that both organisations will continue to look at new and innovative ways of working together to ultimately improve the learner journey for every student that enters the College.

Future plans for using and promoting the SCQF

Going forward the College would like to look at how it can use the SCQF in curriculum planning and developing learning within the College. It would also like to continue training more teaching staff to increase engagement with the Framework.

Future development workshops with colleagues in Student Support and Organisational Development at college events to maximise opportunities for the promotion of the SCQF have been arranged to widen college staff understanding of the SCQF, RPL and ways in which they can best use the Framework in their day-to-day work.

“It was a very productive meeting and I look forward to working with the College in future projects to promote the SCQF framework to staff and students to assist the community it serves.” Fiona Garry, SCQFP Development Officer.