Post on 01-Jan-2016
description
Course Rep Conference
2014
Quality Street!
Today’s session: We will cover: What do we mean by Quality Assurance?Who are the Quality Assurance Agency? Why does ‘quality assurance’ matter to
Reps? How can I embed the idea of quality in my
work?
By the end of the session (hopefully!) you will:Know what we mean by quality assuranceUnderstand how it is relevant to your roleFeel confident in taking ideas forward to
improve quality in your subject area
Who am I? Clare PitkinRepresentation Assistant Student Voice TeamFormer UoP student Passionate about participationGlobe trotter Museum geek
Who are you?NameWhat made you choose Portsmouth?Who is your favourite Disney character?
Before we kick off…
First things first…
All universities are independent bodies, awarding their own degrees.
They manage the quality and standards of these awards.
Shout out…
What do you think we mean by ‘quality assurance’?
What do we mean by Quality Assurance?
Quality assurance relating to Higher Education quite simply means making
sure that students are getting the best out of their university
experience by monitoring and ensuring standards.
Exercise
With this definition in mind, what sort of areas do you think we might
need to look at related to quality assurance?
FEEDBACK
Quality Assurance
Teaching standards
Standard of feedback
Diversity of assessment methods
Communication Information available
Student engagement – action resulting from student feedback; representation
Learning resources and facilities
Organisation & Management
“Quality assurance is all about guaranteeing the standards and
quality of the education you get.”
Quality Assurance Agency, 2014
Quality Assurance Agency (QAA)
Think of them as Ofsted for Universities…
The QAA for Higher Education aims to ‘safeguard standards and improve the quality of UK higher education’.
They offer advice, guidance and support to help UK universities provide the best possible student experience of higher education.
They conduct reviews of institutions – Higher Education Reviews
Who are the QAA?
Although they don’t have the power to close Universities…
http://youtu.be/Jaq8b6mgg98?list=PLBCg761xnlfZiWdRGYCdoQ5sW3KUrUcBu
How does the QAA define ‘quality assurance?
As a student and especially as a Course Rep there are lots of opportunities for you to get
involved…We call this student engagement.
http://youtu.be/AVrRlAFH_3U?list=PLBCg761xnlfZiWdRGYCdoQ5sW3KUrUcBu
Filling out questionnaires about your course
Speaking at Student Staff Consultative Committees
Being a Course Rep!
You all already contribute to quality assurance by:
Student ReviewersFocus Groups
Meeting the QAA Reviewers
Lead Student Representative: Kayleigh Teague, VP Education &
Democracy
University of Portsmouth
The QAA produces the UK Quality Code for Higher Education.
This sets out expectations that all UK universities and colleges are required to meet.
How does the QAA review the University?
Part A: Setting and maintaining threshold academic standards
Part C: Information about Higher Education Provision
**Part B: Assuring and Enhancing Academic Quality**
Three parts…
Part B: Assuring and Enhancing Academic Quality
Each chapter of Part B will outline an expectation.
It will then outline indicators that the expectation is being met.
Your turn to use the Quality Code… Match the chapter, the
expectation and the indicator
Read the scenarios/examples and decide under which Chapter they might fall…
Having quality and standards means you and everyone you are representing can
have confidence in your education at the University of Portsmouth and your
degree.
So why should quality matter to you?
Any questions…?