HEPI conference, 12 May 2011

Great expectations: how can students gain a great deal from their HEI, and how can quality

assurance help?

Anthony McClaranChief Executive, QAA

The policy context

• Browne and changes to universities’ funding• Choice-driven student market• The White Paper• Impact of access agreements• Role of private providers / further education

colleges

UK Quality Assurance

• Four key principles:• Independent quality assurance• UK wide framework• Level playing field in a diverse market• Student-led quality assurance

Five key principles for QAA reviews:

• Flexibility• Clarity and simplicity• Clear recognition of importance of public

information• Greater public assurance about threshold

academic standards• Minimising the administrative burden

Flexibility

Clarity and simplicity

Public information

Public assurance on threshold standards

Minimising administrative impact

Institutional Review

• Student centred quality assurance

‘We have designed the process with students’ interests in mind, not only in the centrality of the student experience in the review judgments, but also in the way that students can participate in review.’

Operational description

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The challenge of expectation

• What do students expect?• Not just assurance but enhancement• Communicating good practice• Impact of Institutional Review on teaching

quality• A consumer revolution?

Student charters and public information

• Understanding and meeting student expectations:

• Charters will have real value and impact• Public information and its use to current

students

Consultation on public information

• ‘Whatever their preferences are, it is difficult for students to make the right choices if they do not have relevant, useful information at their fingertips. And sometimes the differences between courses are subtle, and prospective students find it difficult to discriminate between them. In this consultation we seek to resolve these problems.’

Professor Janet Beer, Nov 2010

The First Year Student Experience

• Theme chosen by the sector• The impact of the first year on retention• Drawing on lessons from across the UK

Student engagement

• Student engagement linked to listening, learning and quality information

• Institutional review will engage students in the quality of their education

• Students at QAA – progress so far• More to be done?

Private providers

• Report published last week by Hepi• Private and publicly funded institutions: a

level playing field?• A diverse HE system needs a common

framework• Common criteria for degree awarding powers

application and QAA review

Risk-based quality assurance

• Approach ruled out in the development of Institutional review

• Risk-based quality assurance is back on the agenda

• Proposed by David Willetts MP as a way of removing ‘unnecessary burdens’