Ofsted to inspect marketing
Don’t panic. It may never happen. But how would Ofsted grade your marketing and admissions? At this time of year most colleges have plenty of applications…
Stefan Drew
Avoiding Ofsted intervention
“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes,” said Benjamin Franklin. Sadly he missed one other certainty: Ofsted. Ofsted.…
How can providers balance the budget?
Reducing budgets and VAT inequity vis a vis schools and sixth forms is now an established matter of fact. So how can providers balance their…
Are meetings helping you balance your FE budgets?
As FE budgets are increasingly hit by funding cuts the need to save money is imperative. But the low hanging fruit has already been harvested,…
The art of FE management
I’m told that Sun Tzu’s Art of War is required reading at Westpoint and Sandhurst. But can the 2500 year old lessons allegedly written by…
How medicine can heal FE quality and income problems
Reith lecturer and surgeon Dr Atul Gawande held me spellbound recently when he spoke about The Century of the System. As I listened I realised…
Lessons from the AoC Business Development conference
Businesses want colleges to speak to them in a language they understand, says the Federation of Small Businesses. That was one of the key messages…
Employer engagement: the secrets behind media coverage
Most providers obtain good media coverage on topics as diverse as student successes, new builds, Honours List surprises and student trips. This is laudable; but…
Marketing FE: Reducing marketing costs with free and low cost marketing channels
FE needlessly spends a fortune on marketing each year! It isn’t that it we shouldn’t market, it is that FE tends to focus on expensive…