Assessment 1: Case Study (100%) 2,500 word Evaluative Report
Due: 16 September 2021
Eltham Heath Community College (EHCC)
Eltham Heath Community College (EHCC) is a community college serving the local town community of Eltham Heath and three smaller villages. The local economy is dominated by agriculture, tourism and the creative arts. The population has remained stable in the area although there is a rising age and falling school age demographic trend. Five years ago, EHCC embarked on a successful strategy to open its facilities to community groups and consequently there is a thriving and active programme of educational courses providing both educational qualifications and courses taken for interest or personal development. The reputation of the college is high on pastoral support but on its last inspection is was seen to need significant improvement in some key areas, in particular, on line, IT and digital delivery and development.
A new principal has been appointed to EHCC and due to funding changes, her first major task is to oversee the merger of EHCC with a larger establishment in Gracetown, twenty miles away. The Board of Governors envisage that to continue to support education access in Eltham Heath a strategy for digital learning will need to be developed. Gracetown has recently won a Digital Excellence award and part of the merger rationale is that Gracetown will support EHCC in their on line development. Gracetown is seen as administratively competent but in performance ratings scores below EHCC for pastoral support and warmth. EHCC employees 50 members of staff of whom 20 are full time workers. 35 of the staff are involved in teaching or educational support with the remaining staff operating in administrative and support functions.
The HR support was restructured on merger and there is now a shared resource between the two colleges although the strategy and operation of this is still under discussion. Between the two colleges there are currently 15 vacancies and the new IT Development post has recently been advertised for a second time.
At the meeting of the newly merged Board of Directors, there was concern that EHCC would lose its appeal to the community as a result of the merger and that its reputation as an educator and supporter of local people might be damaged. The principal explained that the greater success predicted by the partnership with Gracetown would generate more qualified and confident people. This would then support the strands of the local economy which were also becoming increasingly reliant on technology enabled processes.
Although funds had been allocated for training and development of the existing staff base and the purchase of equipment, there was a concern from EHCC members of the board that their culture and creativity would not survive the change and that the development initiatives would be too limited to allow long serving staff to find a place in the new environment being proposed. Some leaders felt that they lacked the confidence to develop into the new roles and deliver education in a technology enhanced environment.
The inability of HR to appoint a Head of IT Development had negatively impacted the strategic leadership in this area. The meeting agreed that the name of EHCC would continue to be used although recognised that many systems and procedures would now reflect the Gracetown position. The meeting ended recognising the need for some change but also the need to protect a warm and successful educational environment.
The new Principal and board are anxious to reassure that the range of educational options can be maintained even where the delivery methods are adapted. They have appointed you as a consultant and expert in theoretical knowledge on HR strategy to advise on the following:
Task – Students must answer all four questions. Each question contributes 25% to the overall grade of this assignment.
The strategic direction taken by the combined colleges to support the merger supported by an evaluation of academic models. Discussion should include an analysis of the data needed to support decision making during the merger.
Evaluation of the internal and external resourcing and talent strategy with recommendations
Development of a training and development programme to promote digital and IT literacy that is both staff and student facing
Recommendations on the development of cultural and behavioural strategies to support the sustainability of both colleges
Please submit a MS Word doc or docx file only.
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Rubric
6210 EHCC Case Study 20-21
6210 EHCC Case Study 20-21
Criteria Ratings Pts
This criterion is linked to a learning outcome Strategic direction for case organisation using academic models and showing understanding of data
25 pts
This criterion is linked to a learning outcome Evaluation of internal and external resourcing options relating to the case context
25 pts
This criterion is linked to a learning outcome Design of learning to support development in digital fluency
25 pts
This criterion is linked to a learning outcome Analysis of behaviours and culture in managing strategic HR development
25 pts
Total points: 100
