Certificate of Personal Effectiveness and Entry to Higher Education

2. Certificate of Personal Effectiveness and Entry to Higher Education A Perspective from the University of Ulster

3. The “Educated” Person • In recent years, there has been increasing concern that our “education system” may not be producing “educated people”…..! • Many worry that pressure to produce “industry-ready” students may have commercialised our education system • It has become more difficult to resist the pressures to “educate strategically” to ensure that students gain employment

4. The Missing Pieces of the Jigsaw • As the post-16 curriculum came under more pressure (from initiatives like Curriculum 2000), something had to give • It would appear that the main casualties were enrichment studies and extra-curricular activities – there simply was not enough time left in the school day…….. • ………….nor any hard currency in terms of university entrance or employment • Few would argue that the loss of these components of the pupils’ education benefitted anyone – including higher education

5. The HE Retention Problem • Universities have recognised that for many students, top A level performance is not the only factor necessary for success in HE • Many lack the personal skills and independent learning styles necessary for surviving the challenges – particularly of 1st year study • Unfortunately, many of these attributes are the very things which, in some cases, may have been largely displaced from their education to date

6. Enter CoPE • Many of the skills and enrichment attributes which lave leached from the education system appear to have been incorporated within the CoPE qualification • Not only does CoPE have the potential to address these specific deficits, it now has hard currency in terms of HE entry • Successful completion of CoPE at level 3 earns the applicant 70 UCAS Tariff Points (only 10 points less than a grade C in a GCE A level )

7. CoPE and the University of Ulster • For a number of years, Ulster has adopted UCAS Tariff Points in most of its offer-making • We do not “cherry pick” the Tariff Points framework – all qualifications in the tariff are recognised and points awarded (subject to any specific course entrance requirements) • Therefore, applicants with CoPE have 70 points to add to their profile (sometimes even in cases where the applicant may only have two GCE A levels in the rest of their profile)

8. CoPE entrants – a look at progress? • Ulster’s newly formed Admissions Policy & Practice Group has on its inaugural agenda to: “consider whether a more comprehensive evaluation of the [CoPE] qualification would be appropriate” • This may involve cohort-tracing CoPE entrants to compare their performance (especially their resit/failure/drop-out rates) as compared to other entrants

9. Future policy towards CoPE ? • If it is agreed to carry out an internal study at Ulster, and if this shows that CoPE entrants demonstrate improved performance/retention rates then……………. • It would be logical to assume that future course offers may specify CoPE as “desirable” ……or possibly even as “essential” …….for entry to specified degree courses • For CoPE to be specified as “essential” would require Ulster to be satisfied that no applicants were disadvantaged because they did not have the opportunity to study CoPE in their school/college

10. CoPE and Widening Participation ? • CoPE may have an additional benefit in that it may help to empower those who are less suited to a purely academic pathway • Because CoPE enables achievement in non-academic activities to be recognised and rewarded (with UCAS Tariff Points), this goes some way towards levelling the playing field for non-traditional applicants to HE • This potential benefit may also appeal to the HE sector, where Widening Participation has become an important factor