A qualification in a class of its own

Cornwall College and BCS

Case study from Cornwall College 

Key points:

The BCS ITQ has proved a hit with students and their employers alike, says Cornwall College, one of the UK’s leading centres for IT education

The college says the qualification’s flexibility and adaptability are key strengths. The integration between the BCS ITQ and the new e-skills Passport has also been central to its popularity with both candidates and teaching staff

Online assessment of a candidate’s progress is facilitated by the Candidate Administration System (CASy). The BCS has proved a highly effective partner for Cornwall College as it has refined its ITQ courses.

Introduction

Cornwall College is one of the largest further education institutions in the UK, with a number of centres across the county.

The college is a Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) in a number of key industry areas, including IT which is one of its principal specialisms. It has won several awards in the last few years, both for the quality of its teaching and its work in partnership with external organisations.

Cornwall College is a popular institution with individuals seeking to attain one of a number of vocational qualifications and improve their employment prospects, as well as with a range of local employers wanting their staff to benefit from practical training that they can bring back into the workplace.

Cornwall College and the BCS ITQ

Cornwall College was in the first wave of training providers in the UK to pilot the ITQ technology qualification when it was introduced five years ago.

The college chose to offer the BCS ITQ, the only ITQ that is fully integrated with the new e-skills Passport, providing a highly effective way of assessing the skills of candidates and of recording their progress in a way that benefits candidate, employer and college.

“We’ve had a great deal of success with our ITQ courses, with many employers now sending people to us,” comments Anita Symons, Virtual Learning Shop Manager with the college. “It’s a popular course with students too. With students so engaged, completion rates are very high.”

She believes local employers have also been major beneficiaries: “We had one learner last summer who achieved ITQ Level 2, and went back to an office that had no Internet access, and indeed no computers,” she says. “They have been able to transform their workplace."

Why the BCS ITQ has proved a winner

"The BCS ITQ is a highly adaptable qualification,” says Symons. “Its flexibility is its real strength. You don’t need to learn all about databases, for example, if that is not of value to you."

She says it also offers a clear route for candidates to follow: “Candidates may choose to study a qualification such as ECDL and then take the ITQ at the appropriate level to provide them with proof of their ability to use their new skills in a work situation.”

Cornwall College offers a fast-track route for those who already hold ECDL or an equivalent qualification, and it also offers the full ITQ, customised to suit the work role of the candidates.

Integration with the e-skills Passport

The integration between the BCS ITQ and the new e-skills Passport has proved particularly valuable for both teaching staff and candidates says Judith Venning, Cornwall College’s NVQ Assessor.

“Also useful is the way the qualification process can be managed online with the Candidate Administration System (CASy),” she says. “We have worked closely with the BCS on the development of CASy. They have been very responsive.”

She says students benefit from being able to work in their own time from anywhere they like: “CASy offers them simple guidelines, and the system makes life easy for us too, emailing us to let us know when there’s work to be assessed,” she says. “It offers a smooth process for all parties and everyone can see what’s going on.”

Venning says the ITQ courses work well in a classroom situation, where there’s Internet access, but are not restricted to any one location: “You can study either in a classroom or at home,” she says. “I am not in the office the whole time, but I can hook up with students wherever I happen to be.”

She says integration with the e-skills Passport means that when staff are setting up the student enrolment at the beginning of the course, they can use the online skills-check to assess their current skills and highlight any areas of weakness.

”Students find it easy to log on to e-skills,” she adds. “The system is automated too, saving us time on manual tests. Once the student has added their details, this information is automatically passed to the CASy web site, and the administrator is notified. This sort of integration is a unique feature, and part of what makes it an easy system to use.”

The college and its relationship with the BCS

 
”When we learned that the BCS was offering ITQ, it was a no brainer for us,” says Symons. “We’ve worked with the BCS for years on our ECDL course, and have come to think of them as a very forward thinking awarding body. BCS is improving the qualification the whole time. Other awarding bodies are a lot more long-winded in, in our experience.”

She says the college has now been delivering the BCS ITQ for the last five years, during which time courses have been fine tuned.

”The BCS is highly reactive to the feedback we give them, and are very good at cutting down on unnecessary paperwork when things need to get done,” she says. “Once we knew they were an ITQ option, all others paled.”

She says the BCS has visited the college to provide training sessions. “And we can always get them on the phone or via swift email response if there’s a problem,” she says. “We have a very good relationship. Their support is very swift in the event of any glitches.”

She says that as the college grows and offers more courses, it will look to the BCS to grow with them: “We look forward to any new BCS qualification that might come out,” she adds.

Last modified: 24 Jun 2008