Shrewsbury Colleges Group celebrates inspection rating
Bosses at Shrewsbury Colleges Group are celebrating a successful inspection by the Quality Assurance Agency.
The college - formed by the merger of Shrewsbury Sixth Form College and Shrewsbury College of Arts and Technology in 2016 - was given the highest possible rating by the QAA, the equivalent of Ofsted for universities and higher education colleges.
Reviewers from the QAA visited the college’s London Road Campus in May and spent two days interviewing students, academic staff and governors, as well as scrutinising the courses, systems and policies.
In their report, which was only published last week, the review panel said they left with "confidence that the quality of the student academic experience meets baseline regulatory requirements."
The review panel found that “students spoke positively about their experience of the recruitment and admissions process” and on the “quality of teaching and the support they received.”
Students were positive about the support and careers guidance they receive and felt that “their voice was heard and the college responds positively to their suggestions for change.”
The panel identified three areas for development - the college's annual monitoring process, its recognition of prior learning policy and how the college deals with plagiarism - but noted no need for specific improvements.
Lead for Higher Education at the college, Helen Fellows, said: “We are thrilled with the outcome of the review, which looked at every area of our HE provision, leaving no stone unturned.
“We are running a mini-university here at Shrewsbury Colleges Group and need to meet all the standards a university would.
"I want to thank all the staff who contributed to the review, it shows what a fantastic team we have here at the college delivering higher education.”
Principal of Shrewsbury Colleges Group, James Staniforth, said: “The QAA review is not an easy process for a college to go through and a huge amount of work goes into ensuring that the review team are fully aware of the excellence of our programmes and the deep commitment we have to providing all students with an outstanding experience.
“Our degree level provision is going from strength to strength and we already have nearly 150 applications for the next academic year."
The college - which has campuses by the English Bridge and Welsh Bridge as well as on London Road - has around 3,200 students enrolled and delivers a range of programmes in collaboration with Staffordshire University.
Courses include A levels, honours degrees, foundation degrees, apprenticeships, professional courses and access courses.
