Post on 01-Feb-2016
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QUALITY ASSURANCE:UPDATE & FUTURE DIRECTIONS
Anthony McClaran
Chief Executive, QAA
Wednesday 6 February 2013
Session outline 10.30 Refreshments, followed by welcome (Jon
Renyard)
10.45 Presentation (Anthony McClaran)
11.15 Q&As following presentation 11.35 Break-out groups
12.10 Group feedback and discussion
12.35 Closing remarks 12.45 Lunch
Presentation
i) Update on QAA
ii) The UK dimension
iii) Higher Education Review: a more risk-based approach to quality assurance
iv) Internationalisation
Followed by Q&As
QAA TODAY
Some of QAA’s main UK activities today:
Review and audit programmes for universities, further education colleges and alternative providers of higher education
Adviser to Privy Council on applications for degree-awarding powers and university title
Provider of Educational Oversight, on behalf of UK Border Agency, for ‘Highly Trusted Sponsor’ status for independent providers with overseas students
UK Quality Code for Higher Education
THE UK DIMENSION
SCOTLAND
Enhancement-Led Institutional Review 3 (2012-2016):
Review judgements – ‘Effectiveness’ now replaces ‘Confidence’
Annual monitoring
2014 referendum
International Enhancement Themes Conference, Glasgow (11-13 June 2013)
WALES
Further & Higher Education (Wales) Bill expected later in 2013
QAA Development Review of Foundation Degrees
Revised Institutional Review (2012-13)
QAA office presence in Wales
QAA 2013 Annual Reception at The Senedd, Cardiff
NORTHERN IRELAND
New higher education strategy published in April 2012 – ‘Graduating to Success’
QAA to work with DELNI to introduce a single quality framework by 2016
'The Department will
continue to support QAA
in reviewing
the quality of HE
provision in
Northern Ireland...'
ENGLAND & THE REGULATORY PARTNERSHIP GROUP
A COMMON UK FRAMEWORK
A UK-wide framework of quality assurance Applied to all providers in the higher education
market Adapted in different countries Recognising the value of enhancement
“All UK higher education, irrespective of how it is funded, should be underpinned by the same
quality assurance framework.”
HIGHER EDUCATION REVIEW:
A MORE RISK-BASED APPROACH TO QUALITY
ASSURANCE
THEMES EMERGING FROM HEFCE CONSULTATION RESPONSES
Building on existing Institutional Review method
Reducing unnecessary burden and achieving better regulation
Greater transparency
Tailoring reviews to individual circumstances
Continued emphasis on enhancement
Students as full partners in the process
KEY OUTCOMES FROM HEFCE CONSULTATION
Six or four year interval between reviews
Publication of a rolling programme of reviews
Review of all provision in a single exercise
End of mid-cycle follow-up reviews
Tailored intensity of individual review according to provider track record
Consideration of nationally published data
Greater weight to PSRB reports
ENHANCEMENT & STUDENTS AT THE CENTRE
Continued focus on enhancement:
Student learning opportunities Thematic element of review Sharing good practice
Students remain at the heart of the quality assurance and review process
ABOUT HIGHER EDUCATION REVIEW
Will be offered to:
QAA subscribers in England and Northern Ireland
Providers with access to funding from HEFCE or DELNI who are
not subscribers to QAA
Higher Education Review will be launched in the next academic year (2013-14) and will succeed two current review methods:
Institutional Review in England and Northern Ireland (IRENI)
Review of College Higher Education (RCHE)
FOCUS OF THE QAA CONSULTATION
Areas of judgement
The new Initial Appraisal stage
Proposed pilot introduction of international reviewers
Judgements about ‘Managing Higher Education with Others’
Determining review intensity
Using professional support staff as reviewers
Future evaluation of the new method
CURRENT TIMETABLEDate Activity
28 Jan – 22 April 2013
QAA holds consultation on Higher Education Review Handbook
May 2013 Handbook published
Summer 2013 onwards
Institutional briefings and reviewer training
Autumn 2013 Implementation of the new method
Early 2014 First reviews begin, under the new method
2015-16 Independent evaluation
INTERNATIONALISATION
OVERSEAS STUDENTS IN THE UK
TRANSNATIONAL EDUCATION (TNE)
Students studying wholly overseas:
72,025 students within the EU
431,565 outside the EU
Source: HESA
FUTURE INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS & CHALLENGES
2013: publication of EU strategy for internationalisation of higher education
Shaping the development of higher education internationally
Safeguarding quality, standards and the global reputation of UK higher education
Ensuring robust processes and adequate funding for future transnational education quality assurance
Being well-placed to take advantage of future opportunities (for example, membership of EQAR – European Quality Assurance Register)
‘Government supports foreign student recruitment by promoting the UK HE abroad and activity to assure the UK's world class reputation for education and research.
‘Quality in higher education is assured through the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education which reviews and reports on how well UK HE institutions maintain quality and standards in accordance with the UK Quality Code for Higher Education. This system has a global reputation for success and has influenced parallel developments overseas.’
David Willetts, 22 January 2013
www.qaa.ac.uk
Session outline 10.30 Refreshments, followed by welcome (Jon
Renyard)
10.45 Presentation (Anthony McClaran)
11.15 Q&As following presentation 11.35 Break-out groups
12.10 Group feedback and discussion
12.35 Closing remarks 12.45 Lunch
BREAK-OUT GROUP QUESTIONSGROUP ONEWhat are the likely impacts of new alternative providers on quality and reputation in UK higher education?
GROUP TWOHow do we ensure that a more risk-based system can still nurture innovation?
GROUP THREETransnational education (TNE) – how could QAA best help to safeguard quality and reputation?
GROUP FOURQAA subscriber services – what should you expect from QAA? What would you like from QAA?
GROUP FIVE Are students now really ‘at the heart of the system’?