the AGCAS Membership Quality Standard:
AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
A REMINDER IS RECEIVED
ANTONY COTTERILL, Student Employability Manager at the University of East Anglia (UEA), maps CareerCentral’s six-month journey towards achieving the AGCAS Membership Quality Standard (MQS). In contrast to expectations, it was an undeniably positive and valuable experience. From completion of the self-evaluation document (SED), the allocation of a Peer Reviewer, review meeting and subsequent report, the process was seamless and constructive, allowing the opportunity to surface and celebrate the many strengths of the service. CareerCentral is UEAs careers service, supporting all aspects of a student's careers experience. Like all careers services, we had rapidly adapted during the early stages of the pandemic, moving appointments, workshops and events online to support our student and graduate clients. The university was also undergoing change; in the previous autumn the institutional position of the service was moved from Research and Innovation to a newly-created Student Education and Experience Division. This involved a change in leadership and interim head(s) of service. The university also began a major campus development programme, which meant that the long-term location of CareerCentral was moved to a new home in the library.
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I had been back at UEA, the place I had begun my own ‘careers’ career, for about three months, following an eight-year stint at two other UK universities. The team (many of whom I had not met in person) had been creating new delivery methods, coping with changing engagement patterns, adapting to ever-evolving guidance, and working with a concerned student cohort who had received a university experience unlike any other. In early May we received a reminder; we were nearing the deadline to start the AGCAS Membership Quality Standard process. Very honestly, amongst the management team, there was little enthusiasm to embark on the journey.
A COMMITMENT IS CONFIRMED Six weeks passed. We had got through the academic year, student demand was dissipating and there was inevitable talk of summer projects. At this point we agreed that we would submit our SED (self-evaluation document) by the end of July. It was in writing, so we were committed. The SED involved providing evidence against three themes. These themes were broken down across nine pillars, with the requirement to write no more than 500 words against each. At points, the SED felt like writing an assignment for the CEIGHE qualification – a challenge to get started and then a challenge to contain the words. Gathering evidence involved meetings, Teams chats and e-mails with colleagues across all levels of the service. We sourced information and evidence and rooted out where and how we shared our messages and services with students. We had several management team meetings to reflect on what and why the service did what it did. The result: we submitted (slightly after deadline) and went on our holidays.
