Quality Matters

The role of the QAA and students in the assurance and enhancement of academic standards and the quality

of learning opportunities

Matthew Kitching November 2015

Who’s standing in front of us?

Session Aims• Understand what is meant by academic

standards, learning opportunities and quality assurance

• Understand the role and use of the UK Quality Code

• Understand the function of Higher Education Review and students role in the process

• Highlight ways in which students can influence quality assurance and enhancement at a local level

• Highlight some of the uncertainty surrounding

the future of quality assurance

• Highlight opportunities for further or deeper engagement

Standards, Learning Opportunities and Quality Assurance

The Quality Code

Higher Education Review

Summary of Quality Code & HER • HEIs are autonomous self-governing

institutions but QAA is responsible for upholding standards and quality across UK HE

• Quality Code developed in partnership with the sector and outlines Expectations which institutions must meet.

• 4 Chapters – Academic Standards, Learning Opportunities, Information and Enhancement

• External examiners, programme approval, monitoring and review, student engagement, teaching and learning and complaints and appeals all have dedicated Expectations in the Code

Summary of Quality Code & HER

• Institutions can use the Indicators of Sound practice as a guide when developing policies, practices and processes that enable them to meet an Expectation

• They are however NOT a checklist – i.e. it is ok to meet the Expectation another way

• Higher Education Review (HER) is currently QAA’s principal review method.

• Peer review teams study evidence and meet with staff and students to arrive at judgements which reflect whether the Expectations of the Quality Code have been met

• UEL’s next review is in 2016/17

Using the Quality Code as a Rep

• Relating your issues to the Quality Code can strengthen your argument as a Rep

• Quality Code discusses the extent to which students are aware of and involved in:

• Programme development and approval

• Curriculum review and annual monitoring

• The findings of external examiner reports

• Discussing ways in which the student experience can be enhanced

• Reviewing information produced by the institution to ensure it is and remains fit for purpose, accessible and trustworthy

Student Engagement & QAA

So…

• Hopefully at this stage you have a better understanding of:

•What we mean by academic standards, learning opportunities and quality assurance (if you didn’t already)

• The UK Quality Code

• Higher Education Review

• QAA’s take on student engagement

Time to put that understanding into practice…

With the caveat that…

• The HE landscape and quality assurance architecture is facing it’s most uncertain period in decades

• Government Green Paper - Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice

• Introduction of the TEF. Questions remain over detail

• Some definite changes - new Office for Students (merges HEFCE & OFFA)

• Some stability – OIA & UCAS remain

• Role of QAA? End of cyclical review (HER) as we know it?

Exercise

• Get yourself into groups of 4 or 5 – preferably a mixture of courses

• Read Expectation B5 of the Quality Code on Student Engagement

• Discuss between you the extent to which UEL meet the Expectation using the Indicators of Sound practice to guide your discussion

1. What do UEL do?

2. Where things are in place could they be strengthened? If so, how?

3. Is anything missing and what could you do as reps to help?

What else can you do?

Hopefully this presentation has highlighted that for those of you who are programme reps it doesn’t have to represent the start and the end. Other student engagement opportunities present themselves:

• School reps• UEL VP Education• Lead student rep/contributor to SWS• Education roles (elected and staff) at NUS• QAA Student Sounding Board• QAA reviewer• QAA Board• OIA Board• Increasing number of University staff roles

dedicated to student engagement • And the list goes on….

Questions

?