Global Opportunities

Background to articulation partnerships

A progression or articulation arrangement provides a student who has completed all or part of a programme of study at an overseas University with a route to join a University of Lincoln programme at an advanced point. The student is awarded credit for the study completed elsewhere and thereby becomes a direct entrant to the University of Lincoln, starting later than the usual commencement point for new students. This is sometimes referred to as joining the programme with advanced standing.

Due diligence

It is important to recognise that this is a partnership relationship and not just a recruitment activity. By allowing students to join a University of Lincoln programme at an advanced point we are associating our programme with that of the partner and therefore associating our University reputation with theirs. Articulation arrangements are therefore required to meet a quality threshold in order to be approved. This threshold can be established through different means:

• the programme can be checked through UK NARIC. Their information databases are the largest information bank of international qualifications in the world and provide confirmation about providers and their programmes. The Office of Quality Standards and Partnerships has full access and can check programmes on your behalf;
• national and international rankings and league tables;
• recommendation by our own International Office;
• accreditation and governmental sources of the provider country;
• UK agencies such as British Council, UUKi etc.

Selecting an articulation partnership

Our University of Lincoln International Office is proactive in seeking possible articulation partnerships. They might locate an opportunity that has arisen from their recruitment and relationship building activities. This type of arrangement is contributing an increasing proportion of our international recruitment. Working with institutions and building a deep relationship with their staff and students over time can lead to a dependable and predictable pipeline of recruitment. Please speak to the International Office if you want to work with them to develop a strategy around partnerships and recruitment through articulation agreements.

Often potential partners will present themselves to us asking if we will accept their students onto our programmes. As there is an overhead in maintaining an effective partnership it is important to choose a partner carefully. Apart from the essential reputation issues referred to above, it is worth thinking strategically – are there other benefits or issues to be considered such as:

• possible research collaborations;
• possible student or staff mobility programmes, work placements or summer schools that could spin off from the agreement;
• what other partnerships are already in place in the region – could this enhance and be complementary to existing activity, or might it be problematical if another, “better” opportunity comes along.

Sustaining an articulation partnership

To be a long term and effective source of recruitment, it is important to build a rich relationship with an articulation partner. Students will be more likely to want to progress to the University of Lincoln if they have already met our staff and students, or engaged in a joint project or an extra-curricular activity with our students at an earlier stage in their local programme before a progression decision is made. Similarly, staff at the overseas University will be more likely to recommend the University of Lincoln to their students if they have experienced a meaningful and beneficial relationship with our academics. In some countries, tutor recommendation is by far the single most important factor in student’s decision making about progression to an international programme. In summary, many articulation agreements are set up with good intentions but end up filed away and dormant; to be sustainable and generate recruitment over the longer term there must be mutual benefits for both partners as part of an active partnership.

Mapping the Curricula

In order to introduce an articulation partnership, a mapping between programmes is necessary to demonstrate that the curriculum offered by the overseas institution is sufficiently similar to that of the University of Lincoln to allow entry at the advanced point. There is a well established process of this at the University of Lincoln. This is normally done by mapping the modules of the precursor international curriculum against those of the University of Lincoln programme. In doing this we look at the learning outcomes of each University of Lincoln module and establish whether these can be found within the modules of the overseas University. Although some excellent matches will often be found, particularly in the early Year of each programme, and in the core modules of a subject, it is quite likely that in other modules the coverage will be found spread across several modules.

The mapping grid generated shows where a University of Lincoln module has matched either completely or partially with one of the international curriculum. In this way, in the table generated it is possible to derive those modules where outcomes are completely covered, those that are partially covered and those that are not covered. Where a University of Lincoln module has been completely covered then specific credit can be awarded.  Where a University of Lincoln module has been partially covered then general credit can be awarded.  Where a University of Lincoln module is not covered then general credit can be awarded, but only if the subject matter falls within the boundaries of the discipline of the University of Lincoln programme title.

Two programmes will rarely be identical. There are bound to be differences and it is not required to find an identity when mapping. Whilst it is important to ensure appropriate academic rigour, this doesn’t require total replication of the particular flavour of the University of Lincoln programme. The decision on whether a progression route can be accepted on not will be based on the following criteria:

1. Have all the modules which are identified as pre-requisite for the level of study at the University of Lincoln being applied for been appropriately covered by the precursor programme?
2. Where general credit has been awarded, is it sufficiently relevant to substitute for the missing learning outcomes and to prepare the student for study at the next level?
3. Is the quantum and level of credit being awarded equivalent to that of the University of Lincoln programme?

The mapping not only acts as a guarantee of the past academic performance of the student but also helps them plan and undertake their study at the University of Lincoln. One way to view this is to apply the survive and thrive approach. The incoming student needs to have the bare minimum, threshold competence to cope at the advanced stage on the University of Lincoln programme i.e. any prerequisite knowledge without which they will struggle to survive needs to have been covered in the preceding stages of overseas programme. The partner institution might cover material/topics that are different to the University of Lincoln in those earlier stages – that’s fine as long as student covers sufficient to survive. However we want all students to do better than just survive, so to thrive there needs to be the opportunity to achieve the top grades and excel. As an example the student might be much less well prepared than our on-campus students in topic X because it has a lower priority on their precursor programme. However they are perfectly well prepared in topic Y and maybe have been given a higher priority than our on-campus students in topic Z. If we are aware of these issues through the mapping process then students can be counselled to be aware of the weakness in X, or to channel their attention into topics Y and Z in terms of individual project work as they are better placed to achieve the highest grades in those areas. That way they can thrive.

Once approved and in place it is important that articulation partnerships are active and are monitored. This is normally carried out through the routine business of the College International Committees. There is an overhead to maintaining partnerships and those deemed to be inactive will be removed once the initial duration of the agreement as expired.

A link below allows you to download an example of a form that can be completed and then submitted to the College Academic Affairs Committee. This form contains the mapping spreadsheet. A further link below allows you to download an example version of that grid which you can use to construct the mapping. Once completed it is recommended that this grid is copied from the spreadsheet and pasted into the document using the “Paste special” command and pasting it in as a picture or a bitmap.

Articulation Mapping Form

Mapping Spreadsheet

Steps to follow

1. Complete the Partnership Proposal Form
   • The current version can be found on the OQSP Portal page. Make sure you explain how your proposed partnership is complementary to any existing partnerships or other regional activity. Take advice from OQSP and Global Opportunities – both have many years experience of  completing these and can be of great assistance.
2. Put the proposal to College Leadership Team
   • The easiest way is to submit the Partnership Proposal Form with a couple of paragraphs of explanatory text.
3. Send partnership proposal to the Officer of SLT (with optional MOU)
   • The MOU doesn’t commit you to doing anything – it is a wish list of possible future activities.
4. Put the mapping documentation to the College Academic Affairs Committee
   • Make sure your School rep on this Committee (if it isn’t you) is fully up to speed on the proposal so they can speak to it at the meeting and support it. You don’t have to wait for the steps above to do this. You can just present it to the College AAC and say it is subject to getting the SLT approval. It’s best to do this in parallel to keep the process moving along. Your College Director of Operations will know when your College AAC next meets.
5. Create Agreement Document
   • Phil Sawyer in the Office of Quality Standards and Partnerships can assist with this. He has previous agreements that can form the basis of this one
6. Agreement approved by central Academic Affairs Committee
   • The full set of documents goes to the University’s Academic Affairs Committee. This stage should be a formality if all steps about have been addressed thoroughly. Your College Director of Operations will know who to send this to.