Courses and Cultural Exchanges Sector
Operating Guidelines
for the
Courses and Cultural Exchanges Sector
Introduction
This standard should be read in conjunction with the Code of Practice and the Introductory Note to the Operational Guidelines. It should be noted that within this sector there are two types of organisation; some offer their own educational courses, over which they have considerable control, while others arrange for students to join other institutions as a cultural exchange, over which they have less direct control. There are therefore elements of the guidelines below that are more appropriate to some member organisations than others. It is also assumed that organisations follow statutory regulations (e.g. the travel regulations or health and safety, where appropriate) and the Year Out Group Code of Practice.
Definitions
'Participant' means the participant in an exchange / course; 'organisation' refers to the YOG member, and 'institution' means the place or the programme to which a YOG member sends a student.
Basic Elements
There are three elements:
- Plan the exchange / course
- Monitor / measure the exchange / course
- Refine the exchange / course in the light of experience and customer feed back
Plan the exchange/course
1. Define the objectives of the exchange/course for both the participant and the hosting institution.Essential
Consider the suitability of the participant to meet the objectives of the exchange/course. Essential
Select the providers of the exchange/course in order to meet the objectives of the exchange/course while bearing in mind statutory regulations (e.g. health & safety) of the country concerned. Essential
Provide preparation or orientation to the participant before the exchange/course. Desirable
Provide participant support throughout as appropriate to the exchange/course. Essential
Monitor/measure the exchange/course
Monitor, and where reasonable, measure the delivery of the exchange or course (e.g. correspondence, interview or questionnaire). Essential
Where appropriate on an exchange, monitor or measure the participant's contribution in line with responsibility of the student to the providing institution. Desirable
3 Measure the participant’s satisfaction of the exchange / course in some detail and overall. Essential
Refine the exchange/course in the light of experience and customer feedback
Collect data (e.g. questionnaires) which shows trends of participant satisfaction as part of a continuing improvement of member organisations’ processes. Essential
Feedback to be used for the improvement of courses where members have control or, in the case of cultural exchange, feedback to be recorded for future selection processes of institutions. Essential
How would Year Out Group members show compliance with the standard?
Written assurance from the Chief Executive that factors listed as essential are in place and progress.
Willingness to demonstrate systems in the event of a query, i.e. if a public or private complaint is received.