Application Assessments
Take a closer look - our assessment process
Every application submitted to Gloucestershire College is assessed against an initial set of criteria - including yours! This makes sure applicants are provided with the appropriate information, advice and guidance specific to their application and personal circumstances.
Sometimes we may need to assess an application further to ensure you are suitable for the course you have applied for.
Further assessments only take place when one of the following needs to be investigated
- Age Criteria: Your age and circumstances
- Home Student Status Criteria: Your nationality or residency status
- Student Conduct Criteria: Why you left/did not finish a course with us in previous years
- Practical and Technical Knowledge Criteria: Your experience, qualifications and entry requirements.
Should your application need a further assessment, we will communicate the progress and outcome to you as soon as we can. We may need to contact you during the assessment to check the information provided in your application, so please check your email and phone regularly for updates.
T Level Assessments
T Level applications require a detailed assessment due to the demands of the course, some of which include varied assessment methods and substantial work placement elements. We assess your application for a T Level application in two ways:
Completion and review of pre-interview activity
Once we receive your T Level application you will be sent an email communication to complete our T Level pre-interview activity. The activity allows us to take a look at your achieved/predicted qualifications as well as understand why you are applying for a T Level and what you know about the new T Level qualification.
We will then contact you to arrange a virtual interview date and time that is convenient and use the information and answers you provide to have an informal chat about your suitability for the T Level. After we have confirmed your interview date and time you will receive an interview notification email and a separate Microsoft Teams meeting invite.
You can also find the link to our T Level Pre-interview activity here: T Level Pre-interview Activity Form
T Level Virtual Interview
T Level interviews are designed with you in mind. We want you to have the information and support you need to decide if the T Level is the right fit for your future ambition and career. We appreciate that you may not be used to being interviewed, so we will guide you through the interview step by step - try and remember that this an exciting opportunity to talk about why you are interesting and suited to our T Level courses.
The interview will be conducted by a relevant academic from the study area you have applied for as well as representatives from the Admissions and Student Experience Teams. During the interview, we will use a standard set of questions that all our T Level applicants will be asked. The content and course information of the interview may vary based on your responses and also any existing knowledge you have about the T Level course.
Please be aware that Gloucestershire College records our T Level interviews so that we can monitor and review best interview practices to ensure a fair and transparent process for all applicants. We want to ensure our virtual interview is accessible and inclusive for all, so please let us know in advance if you consider yourself to have a learning difficulty or disability, any specific requirements and may need assistance or support with the event.
Higher Education Assessments
Higher education applications require a detailed assessment due to the higher level of the course you have applied for and, typically, the higher entry criteria associated with the course. We assess your application in two parts:
Review of achieved/predicted qualification grades
We use the UCAS tariff to inform academic offers and decisions for higher education applications and will allocate the number of UCAS tariff points for each achieved/predicted qualification grade. We use the UCAS tariff to ensure that our assessment decisions are consistent with a national standard and fair.
For some courses, specific qualifications may need to be achieved from specific exam awarding bodies to meet the entry criteria. This is typically due to the nature of qualifications and may relate to very specific practical and theoretical elements that prepare students for a higher level of study.
This review ensures that your set of qualifications meets the entry criteria for the course. The entry criteria for your course can be found on the specific course page on our website.
Review of your personal statements
We will review your personal statements to establish your aspirations and motivation for studying the course. This also tells us if any previous experience you have in the course sector is relevant and can be used to meet elements of the course entry criteria.
Higher education interviews/briefing sessions
Applicants may be invited to a formal academic interview as part of the course entry criteria. In these instances, the Admissions Team will schedule an interview/briefing session on behalf of the applicant with a Head of School or Course Leader from the academic department.
Applicants will be clearly and fully informed about the rationale for the interview and all requirements. We will try our best to be flexible in making alternative arrangements to remove barriers and support an applicant to attend an interview. We may use discretion to use an alternative assessment.
Other Application Assessments
Applicants may be required to complete a formal assessment as part of the course entry criteria. Assessments can include, but are not limited to, face to face/virtual briefing sessions, questionnaires, online tests and portfolio evidence.
In these instances, we will notify the applicant of the assessment criteria and inform them about the requirement for the assessment.
We will ensure that all assessments as part of course entry criteria are fit for purpose and relevant to the course applied for. Assessment results will be evaluated by an appropriately qualified individual. We may use discretion to use an alternative assessment method if extenuating circumstances dictate.
Virtual Event Guidance
Once you have confirmed your attendance at a virtual event the Admissions Team will send you further details about how to access Microsoft Teams or ZOOM depending on the course you have applied for.
IMPORTANT SAFEGUARDING NOTE: Please be aware any information communicated to you about a virtual event is for your sole use only and should not be passed on to any third party without the formal agreement of Gloucestershire College.
ZOOM FAQ's and Guidance
- What is ZOOM?
Zoom is a cloud-based video conferencing service that you can use to meet with others in a virtual space. This can be either by video or audio, or both, and also gives you the ability to conduct live chats.
You can find out more about ZOOM by visiting their website https://zoom.us/about.
- How to download ZOOM
As this virtual event will be held on Zoom it is important you are able to easily access the software. We recommend that you download the app to your mobile, tablet, laptop or PC before the talks take place to avoid any delay on entry. You can download the free app via the relevant app store on your mobile device or tablet. Alternatively, for laptop and PC, use the link: https://zoom.us/.
- How to join a meeting through ZOOM
Click the “Zoom Meeting Link” above to be redirected to ZOOM ready for the host to start the meeting. Enter any details from above, as required, to join the meeting. The video link here will explain how to join a meeting CLICK HERE: Zoom Tutorials - Join a Meeting.
- Everything you need to know about the ZOOM Virtual Briefing Session
On the virtual event day we would recommend getting your equipment ready approx. 10 minutes before the talk begins to minimise the risk of any issues arising just before the session.
Once the host starts the meeting you will be held in a virtual waiting room. The lecturer will then admit you into the talk. Please do not worry if this does not happen immediately as the lecturer will have to admit each applicant individually to the session.
Upon entering into the talk, your devices inbuilt microphone may automatically be muted, this should enable you to hear the lecturer more clearly and to eliminate any background noise. If this isn’t the case than please mute your mic using the controls on the bottom of your screen. Equally, we appreciate that you may not want to be seen via your webcam, so please also feel free to turn this feature off.
If you have a question, please do not hesitate to ask the lecturer when prompted. You can do this by turning your microphone on to speak or by using the chat function and typing out your question which is located at the bottom of the screen.
Depending on the course you have applied for you may have already been supplied with some documentation. Please ensure that you read these as they may answer some of your questions.
We hope that you stay for the full duration of the briefing, however if you wish to leave at any stage, simply click "Leave Meeting" and confirm.
If you would like further information about the assessment, specific to your application and personal circumstances, please contact the Admissions Team.