Responsiveness to Learners
Learner Views
Q: Do colleges and providers need to question all learners for the Learner Views survey in Version 1?
A: No, but the LSC encourages colleges and providers to consider asking all LSC-funded priority learners to participate in the survey.
Colleges and providers can ask a representative sample of learners on LSC priority provision to undertake the survey. You can check the likely number of learners that you will need to obtain completed survey responses from by using the online tool available in the Guide for Colleges and Providers.
Although a sample can be undertaken for the reasons stated above, colleges and providers are encouraged to ask all of their LSC-funded learners on priority provision to participate in the survey. The LSC.will extract the responses from any learners that inadvertently undertake the survey that are not learners on LSC-funded priority provision for the calculation of the performance measure .
Groups of learners defined as being on LSC-funded priority provision are detailed in the Framework for Excellence Provider Guide 2008/09 (September).
Q: How does the Learner Views survey identify the different types of learners, for example learners with learning difficulties and disabilities?
A: As learners log in to the web-based survey they are asked for their learner number, which relates back to the ILR and allows analysis at provider-level of the responses by different types of learner.
Q: Can the Learner Views survey fit into existing surveys?
A: The LSC is working on developing the capacity for the survey to link with other provider surveys from Version 2. For Version 1, the LSC will supply all providers with the links and guidance necessary to enable their learners to complete the survey online, using a dedicated website, so that providers can facilitate the delivery of the survey in January and early February 2009. This will include the nine Framework for Excellence questions only.
Q: How do we ensure that the same questions apply equally to all learners across all provider types?
A: The questions have been developed and rigorously tested so that they apply to most learners in the majority of learning contexts and, taken together, also cross-reference the whole of the learner journey.
Q: Can surveys be completed off-line, and then uploaded, for example by those working on building sites?
A: No. However, the survey can be completed on any PC or laptop with an internet connection.
Q: What happens if learners are carrying out learning in an environment where there is no internet access?
A: Providers need to provide a 3G card to access the internet or advise their learners to complete the survey where they have internet access, for example at home or at their local library.
Q: How is the survey to be distributed to learners?
A: Details and passwords of how to access the system will be sent out in December 2008 .There will also be the opportunity for providers to test the system in late December 2008 before the start of the mandatory survey on 2 January 2009.
Q: Will the LSC use the information that was collected on a voluntary basis during April–June 2008?
A: Yes where providers submitted statistically representative data and do not choose to partake in the January–February 2009 survey. For more information, please see the Framework for Excellence Provider Guide 2008/09 (September).
Q: What will happen if a provider does not achieve the number of completed survey responses required for their institution for the Learner Views survey?
A: They will not receive a score for Learner Views.
Q: Why isn’t the survey anonymous?
A: The survey is confidential but not anonymous. The recording of learner reference numbers is essential to ensure that learners only complete the survey once, and also to ensure that the LSC can guarantee that achieved samples are free from bias. It also means that the LSC can make the questionnaire much shorter and less intrusive.
Q: What happens if a learner wants to opt out of the process?
A: Providers need to make provision for their learners to be able to opt out at any stage during the survey process. Providers will need to ensure that this learner will then not be contacted again about the survey. Participation in the survey is optional for learners but providers must make every attempt to ensure that learners have the opportunity to participate.
Q: How does the Learner Views survey and the National Learner Satisfaction Survey (NLSS) correspond?
A: The Framework for Excellence Learner Views survey is designed to capture responses to nine questions about the learners’ experience at provider level, whereas the NLSS captures a much broader set of information at a national level.
Learner Destinations
Q: Are learners who are employed at the time of learning and then continue in the same employment classed as having a positive destination?
A: Yes – provided that the learning has enhanced their career prospects.
Q: What happens where there are good reasons for ‘block-ticking’ the L27 field on the ILR, for example by a women’s centre?
A: The LSC will deal with such cases on an individual basis and work with providers to find a solution that may exempt them from this performance indicator.
Q: Can the Learner Destination survey be emailed, rather than carried out by telephone?
A: No. At the moment the survey can only be carried out by telephone, since only home address and telephone contact details are available from the ILR.
Q: Why is the high cost of operating the call centre justified?
A: At present, this is the most cost effective way to determine learner destinations, since only limited contact information is available from the ILR: the cost will reduce as data-sharing agreements and protocols are developed.
