Programme Leaders from the University of Hertfordshire Conduct Annual Review at Hertfordshire College

To ensure the full implementation of the UK QAA quality assurance requirements at Hertfordshire College and further enhance students’ learning experience, Emilio Mistretta, Programme Leader for Mechanical Engineering (ME), and Lily Meng, Programme Leader for Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) visited Hertfordshire College from 30 March to 3 April to conduct the annual review. During the visit, representatives from both sides conducted comprehensive reviews and in-depth discussions om a wide range of areas, including programme curriculum, teaching staff development, staff training, academic integrity management, laboratory construction and management, digital resource development, student support services, continuous enhancement of teaching quality, classroom teaching, and final-year project planning. Four plenary meetings and three student engagement sessions were held, with participation from College leadership, relevant programme leaders, and student and staff representatives.

On the morning of 1 April, a seminar on programme development was held. Both sides conducted in-depth discussions on a range of topics, including UH teaching platform resources, optimisation of teaching schedules, faculty development and training plans, student support services, laboratory development, and guidelines for the application of AI tools. In the afternoon, the UH programme leaders delivered a training session for all College teaching staff, focusing on module delivery practices, final-year project planning and assessement, with the aim of further enhancing teaching quality across multiple areas.

During the visit, the two UH programme leaders observed classroom teaching across seven modules, namely Analog Circuits and Devices, Real-Time Systems and Programming, Principles of Communication Systems, Artificial Intelligence, Electrical and Electronic Technology, Structural Mechanics, and Control System Theory and Applications. They also completed a series of activities, including reviewing the operation of the student support system, examining the module plan and implementation of programme induction, discussing laboratory resource provision and development plans, reviewing the CVs of newly recruited teaching staff, confirming the upcoming module delivery schedules, and holding meetings with students.

Furthermore, the two UK programme leaders attended the Programme Academic Experience Group (PAEG) meetings for the two programmes in the current semester on 31 March and 2 April. The meetings were attended by College management representative Wayne Yao, Programme Leaders Luna He and Peggy Wang, module leaders, student representatives, laboratory technicians and teaching secretary. During the meetings, participants discussed and exchanged reviews on a range of topics, including the teaching progress of joint degree modules in the current semester, practical teaching arrangements, student learning experience, and continuous improvement plans.

（Text and Photo by Laura Lu; Reviewed by Wayne Yao and Kim Jin, Hertfordshire College）