Hereford College of Arts is committed to widening participation in the arts by developing links between colleges and other FE providers, locally, regionally and nationally. By developing our partnership links we aim to provide activities and events for students from visiting partner/progression colleges to raise awareness of Higher Education and widen progression onto our Higher Education courses at Hereford College of Arts (HCA) particularly students following vocational level 3 courses at FE. 

HCA have Progression Agreements in place with the following schools and Colleges:

New College Telford
Telford College of Arts and Technology
Evesham College (South Worcestershire College)
Malvern Hills College (South Worcestershire College)
Worcester 6th Form College
Stroud College in Gloucestershire
Royal Forest of Dean College 
Cirencester College
City of Bristol College
Hereford Sixth Form College
Ludlow College 
Newent Community School Sixth Form
Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College
Stratford-upon-Avon College
New College Swindon
Coleg Gwent (Pontypool Campus)

Objectives of a Progression Agreement:
• Establish closer links with students and staff at the named institution
• Ensure clarity and transparency of information and guidance given to prospective HE students
• Widen the criteria for selection at 18+ and to give credit for achievement in areas of experience additional to the traditional examination performance

Aims of a Progression Agreement:
• Students will be able to identify appropriate progression pathways
• Students will know what to expect from the key stages in the application process
• Students will be able to identify grants, bursaries and scholarships that they can apply for to support their studies in HE
• Students will be able to apply their understanding of entry requirements to guide their work and prepare appropriately for the course application process e.g. the portfolio requirements to the production of their portfolio
• Students will be able to apply their understanding of the interview process to preparing appropriately for the interview

What HCA will guarantee for students applying from progression partner institutions:
Any applicant from our progression partners will be guaranteed an interview and portfolio review or audition. We will normally guarantee to offer a place to any suitable student from the named college who is formally proposed in their application by their tutor and predicted to achieve the following:

• FdA entry: 160 – 200 UCAS points

• BA entry: 200 UCAS points

This offer is conditional to their portfolio or audition being judged to be of an acceptable standard. If the course applied for is considered inappropriate for the student, dialogue with the student and their tutor will be undertaken in order to reach agreement on a suitable alternative course of study.

What we offer students visiting us from our progression partners:
We offer students from participating institutions a range of experiences and activities to support them in selecting and applying for appropriate courses
• Annual Visits by designated staff to the named college to run awareness raising sessions
• Subject specific taster days
• Portfolio surgeries and advice on how to prepare for the interview process
• Bridging and orientation courses for prospective students
• Parents’ Evenings and Open days for information, advice and guidance on the range of courses open to them and how to enrol plus information on grants, bursaries and scholarships available to support their studies in HE
• A contribution of up to 50% of the cost of bringing your final year students as one group to visit the College in the Autumn or Spring terms if they have not visited us previously
• Students successfully progressing to a course on our Higher Education Programme will be entitled to enhanced bursary support in their first and second years. We welcome applications from mature and disabled students

What we ask of progression partners:
We ask that they guarantee to
• Be responsible for the selection of students for entry to HCA and that students selected meet our entry criteria
• Notify HCA of proposed students entered for progression by 1st March of each year to ensure that places can be reserved
• Be responsible for regularly advising the Progression Manager at HCA about progress towards meeting the commitment
• Ensure that students receive support in achieving their goals
• Ensure that student records are made available to HCA staff to confirm students’ attainment and personal development
• Distribute and circulate all HCA literature and course specific material to students and relevant members of staff
• Encourage your students to visit the College to attend workshops, taster days, open days and awareness raising events
• Give our designated member of staff the opportunity to visit your institution at least once a year and meet relevant groups of students
• Publicise and promote the Progression Agreement with HCA within your College literature for the duration of the agreement. Click here for a detailed description of all our courses.

Contacts for progression:
If you are interested in talking to us about becoming one of our Progression Partners please contact Helen Vine, Progression Manager: 01432 262121 or h.vine@hca.ac.uk or contact Becky Ashman, Marketing and Progression Assistant: 01432 262122 or r.ashman@hca.ac.uk