Learner Comments & Responses

Comment

Response

There are people regularly parking on the pedestrian paths which could cause inconvenience / potential danger to any partially sighted / blind or disabled clients

Bollards and cones now in place (February 2008)

Separate Internet and Email courses - A recent review of the Internet & Email course showed that longer or 2 separate courses might be more beneficial. 

As a pilot next term a separate Internet course will be trialled and further trials will take place in the autumn term to see if longer or separate courses will recruit, run and improve skills and confidence. (February 2008)

It would be helpful if there was a detailed published syllabus before booking.

A course information sheet is available for all the courses and should be sent out to the learner when they book on the course.  This gives details of the entry requirements and course content. (February 2008)

Less content overlap with the introductory course (Create Letters, Posters and Newsletters)

Whilst some recap from the previous course may be advisable the course syllabus should mean that this is kept to a minimum (February 2008)

It would be better if the same tutor teaches a course all the way through.

Agreed that it is better to have one tutor for the whole of the course, however due to staff sickness this is not always possible.  (February 2008)

Learners requested a large screen to demonstrate to all in the class.

There is a large screen in some venues and it is possible to take in a portable screen and projector in order to be able to demonstrate, however this is not possible in all venues. (February 2008)

I was disappointed I could not enrol on the next course (Mouse and Keyboard - Free 3 week taster).

These courses have been very popular and the follow on courses get booked up very quickly in some locations.  We offer the follow on course in a variety of different locations but sometimes another location is not convenient for the learner. (February 2008)

Uninterrupted internet connection.

we gave 3 extra free sessions to try and compensate for the internet connection problems (February 2008)

The car park at St Georges is a Health and Safety issue.  It would be an improvement if the security light timer could be adjusted to be left on for longer at the beginning and end of the class, it is very disconcerting to be half way across the car park when the lights go out and it is then impossible to see the potholes.  This is an issue that I think you should strongly address with the Church authorities to mitigate the possibility of a serious accident occuring.

We have spoken to the caretaker at St Georges (20th Feb 08 ) The car park is going to be resurfaced in the very near future and the security light will be adjusted.  (February 2008)

Learners have asked whether certain courses can be made longer

Length of courses is due to funding and tutor availability, so each case will be assessed individually. Lancashire College is very aware that increasing the price of courses by extending the length of them may make courses less accessible for some learners. Many courses have follow on courses for learners to progress to if they wish. (January 2008)

A learner stated that though the tutor was very knowledgeable, there wasn't enough structure to the course and he misinterpreted the level and content of the course.

Curriculum frameworks are being developed to add more structure to courses. Course content information is sent out prior to courses to help learners understand the level and content of that specific course. (January 2008)

Some learners complained that their class wasn't in the same room each week.

Every effort is made to keep courses in the same room, but on rare occasions this is not always possible and a suitable alternative has to be found. (January 2008)

One learner asked for internet access to be avaialble all through the college.

Public internet facilities are available in the college lounge and there are a number of Wifi hot spots in the college. (January 2008)

Learners asked for earlier notification of follow on courses.

This has been noted and every attempt will be made by tutors and college staff to alert learners to possible courses the can progress on to. (January 2008)

One learner asked for courses to be available for retired people.

Lancashire College welcomes adults of all ages to its courses. Specific courses are also available for the over 55's, such as "Computers for the Over 55's". (January 2008)

Learners asked for more courses to be held in Digmoor

Lottery funding has been received for development of a new community centre in Digmoor and this will lead to more courses being made available. (December 2007)

A learner commented that the members of the group were from a variety of levels and this made learning difficult

This particular course has been changed to a workshop to enable learners to progress at their own pace. (December 2007)

Some learners commented that selected tutors could benefit from a better understanding of how to work with people with disabilities.

This has been addressed through staff training. (December 2007)

One resident complained that their room was too warm

There is a thermostat in each room to allow guest to control the temperature in each room. (December 2007)

There was a complaint about an overhead projector not working

Unfortunately we do have problems with equipment from time to time however we do our best to resolve any problems/repairs immediately. (December 2007)

A resident complained about pipes making noise in the middle of the night

Sometimes an air lock occurs in the pipes which we cannot prevent, however we try to ensure that any repairs are carried out immediately otherwise we will do our best to re-locate residents to another room. (December 2007)

One visitor complained about the college's no smoking policy

This policy is in place on all Lancashire County Council premises and so is out of the college's control. (December 2007)