46th Annual Report - Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in ...

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Performance IndicatorsThe Commission takes its responsibilities towards both funding bodies and award-holders very seriously.Procedures are in place both to maintain contact with award-holders before, during and after their awards,and to monitor and evaluate individual programmes. These include:1009080706050%40302010019961997199819992000Fig 1: Doctoral Completionrates 1996-20001009080706050%40302010019992000200120022003Fig 2: Taught CourseCompletion rates five yearsMaintaining contact with award-holders● Each award holder is the responsibility of a namedofficer within the secretariat who, having arrangedplacement becomes the main point of referencefor subsequent dealings with the Commission.● Officers from the secretariat visit a number ofinstitutions per year, meeting with award holdersand their supervisors.● Staffs from both the secretariat and the BritishCouncil attend the annual Welcome Programmeto which all new award-holders are invited.● Access, as required, is provided to specialist servicesoffered by the British Council, which deals withmatters such as welfare and immigration issues.Putting award-holders in contact with each otherIn addition to ensuring award-holders are able tocontact staff at the secretariat and the BritishCouncil, the Commission also facilitates contact betweenaward-holders.This enables scholars and fellowsnot only to share their experiences but also to networkwith others in their field of study or from theirhome region. Procedures and activities include:● Those selected for study in the UK are given theopportunity to contact existing award holders byemail before their departure for the UK;● Award holders are subscribed to an email listthrough which they receive regular informationfrom the secretariat and can also post messagesto other award holders;● In addition to the Welcome Day the Commissionhosts a number of events for award-holders. In2004/5 these included events for those workingin the fields of Education and Public Health aswell as a series of skills enhancements events(See pages 8-9).● Scholars are invited to join the CSC Alumninetworks (See Pages 12-13).Monitoring progress● If necessary, contact is made with the prospectivesupervisor at the time of arrival, pointing out specialneeds and problems that may be encountered;● Award holders and, for research degrees, supervisors,are required to write a report at the end oftheir first term, enabling potential problems to behighlighted at an early stage;● Award holders and their supervisors/tutors arerequired to write a detailed report at the end ofeach year;● First term and annual reports are monitored foremerging issues – each report is read not only bysecretariat staff, but also by at least one memberof the Commission.Evaluation of the schemeIn addition to monitoring these reports, the Commissioncarries out regular surveys, using the data tomonitor the effectiveness of the scheme and to evaluateits strengths and weaknesses. These include:Award holders’ viewsAn annual anonymous survey asks award holdersabout their experiences and views of studying andliving in the United Kingdom and of the administrationof the scheme. In 2005, 443 award holdersreturned the questionnaire. As well as being giventhe opportunity to comment, award holders are askedto rate various aspects of their experience on a fivepointscale. As Figure 3 shows, satisfaction remainshigh and in most areas continues to increase slightlyyear on year. For the year ending September 2005,93% of respondents rated their overall academicexperience as ‘excellent’ or ‘good’. The proportion ofrespondents rating their academic facilities as ‘excellent’or ‘good’ has also increased although the numberrating their supervisors in these two categories wasdown slightly from last year. Nevertheless this stillrepresented 84% of respondents and was higherthan the figures for 2002 and 2004.The ACU’s administrationof the scheme continues to be the area withthe highest satisfaction ratings with 97% rating thisin the top two categories and 63% finding this to beexcellent, a 6% improvement on last year.The level of stipend generally attracts lower ratesof satisfaction. Many mention in particular the high16 Commonwealth Scholarship Commission
cost of accommodation. A rent survey carried out in2004 found that award-holders spent on average40-50% of their stipend on rent. Costs varied dependingon location and family circumstances but overallit is unsurprisingly the biggest area of expenditure forscholars. Despite this, 73%, felt that their allowanceswere at least ‘fairly adequate’, a level consistent withprevious years and, 73% of respondents, up slightlyfrom 2003, found the stipend to be at least ‘fairlysatisfactory’.Respondents’ comments on their experiences providea rich source of qualitative data. A large proportionof respondents list the academic environmentand particularly its international and multiculturalnature as the best aspect of their stay in the UK andfound their courses of study to be well-organised andstimulating. When asked how their experiences couldhave been improved, popular answers included beinggiven more time, more practical experiences/placementsand more opportunity for interaction with each other.Completion of coursesHost institutions in the United Kingdom are surveyedeach year to obtain information on progress, qualificationsgained, submission dates and, where studiesare still in progress, likely dates of completion. Thisenables the secretariat to compile data on completionand submission rates and in the case of PhDscompare them to those of the Research Councils.For taught courses, completion rates for CommonwealthScholars are consistently high at 93-98%.Full information on doctoral studies takes longer toachieve, but completion rates are also fairly high(between 80-90%). Figure 1 shows these for the lastfive years, covering studies commencing in 1996-2000. As Figure 1 shows, in the latest year for whichinformation is available, 81% overall have completedtheir doctorates with 70% submitting their thesiswithin four years. Completion and submission ratesvary considerably with field of study, with medicine,science and technology, of the larger fields, havinghigh percentages submitting within four years.Evaluating new programmes:Distance Learning Scholars and Professional Fellowshave distinct surveys, which look at issues specific tothese programmes. Distance Learning Scholars are senta questionnaire at the beginning of their courses andthen a follow-up survey after the first 12 months tosee how they are progressing. They are also requiredto complete and return a completion, or exit, questionnaireat the end of their awards. Skills mostcommonly referred to are knowledge-based skills,followed by skills in IT, research, analysis and reportwriting and communication. Professional Fellows completea similar questionnaire shortly after the end oftheir award and a follow-up questionnaire 18 monthsafter that. In addition to describing their acquired skills,respondents also submit a short report describinghow these skills will improve development in theircountry and give details of other funded projects inwhich they have been involved. These responses willform part of the detailed reviews of both the ProfessionalFellowship Scheme and the Distance LearningProgramme that the Commission will be carrying outover the coming months.2005 survey: ratings (%)ExcellentGoodSatisfactoryPoorVery PoorNo.Selection and placement procedures 59 36 4 0 0 251ACU’s Administration overall 63 34 3 0 0 438Standard of supervision/ teaching 49 35 14 2 0 435Access to Library 53 38 7 2 0 437Access to Computing Facilities 61 27 10 2 0 440Access to Laboratories 49 41 9 0 0 205Academic Facilities Overall 49 43 8 0 0 440Course of Study Overall 40 45 13 3 0 436Academic Experience Overall 44 49 6 1 0 433Institutions' Provision of Welfare Advice 18 51 23 7 1 427Overall Experience of living in the UK 40 49 10 0 0 439Fig 3: 2005 survey: ratings (%)2000-2005 surveys: combined ratings for excellent and good (%)2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005Selection and placement procedures 88 86 84 88 89 96ACU’s Administration overall 96 95 93 92 93 96Standard of supervision/ teaching 87 85 83 81 87 84Access to Library 86 84 86 87 89 91Access to Computing Facilities 79 83 88 88 87 88Access to Laboratories 87 89 90 89 91 91Academic Facilities Overall 91 86 87 88 88 92Course of Study Overall – 85 84 81 85 85Academic Experience Overall 89 89 90 90 91 93Institutions Provision of Advice 57 65 67 66 66 69Overall Experience of living in the UK 84 87 89 88 88 90Fig 4: 2000-2005 surveys: combined ratings forexcellent and good (%)Annual Report 2004 - 2005 17
Page 9 and 10: Table 1 - Factors Influencing Retur
Page 11 and 12: thanks are due to our hosts. In Wal
Page 13 and 14: Resources were obviously important
Page 15 and 16: needed from London, and that it sho
Page 17: “My CSC award has enabled me to w
Page 21: GenderWhile not practising positive
Page 24 and 25: 2005 Awards: Participation by UK In
Page 26 and 27: 2005 Awards: Participation by Overs
Page 28 and 29: Country CA CN CD CF TotalSree Chitr
Page 30 and 31: 2005 Awards: Scholars by Country an
Page 32 and 33: Awards held 2004-05: Participation
Page 34: Institution GS CA CN CD CF CP Total
Page 38 and 39: Commonwealth Shared Scholarships: P
Page 40 and 41: Qualifications Awarded*AustraliaSha
Page 42 and 43: Bharati JOSHI MSc taught Extension
Page 44 and 45: Liandre Frances VAN DER MERWE MSc t
Page 46 and 47: Panel of Advisers: Membership 2004-
Page 48 and 49: GibraltarDirectorDepartment of Educ
Page 50 and 51: Commission FinancesThe Commission
Page 52: Executive SecretaryCommonwealth Sch

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