International Programme Accreditation: Method Handbook for Higher Education Institutions Outside the UK
Publication date: 23 Nov 2023
International Programme Accreditation (IPA) has four key stages including analysing and evaluating your own processes, taking part in an external review by QAA’s peer reviewers and follow-up action planning.
If you are interested in undertaking IPA, you should submit an application and provide relevant evidence demonstrating that the eligibility criteria are met. This is scrutinised by a QAA panel that determines whether your programme could proceed to the review stage.
The Review is the opportunity for your programme to demonstrate how it meets each of the 10 Standards of the ESG. The review team conducts the review through analysis of the evidence submitted and a visit to the institution.
The QAA review team will undertake a desk-based study of the documentation and other evidence that you provide in advance. The team will then visit your institution for between 2-4 days to check your approaches to quality assurance against your self-evaluation document, the evidence provided and the 10 ESG standards.
There are three possible outcomes of the review:
- the programme meets all the standards for International Programme Accreditation
- the programme meets all the standards for International Programme Accreditation subject to meeting specific conditions
- the programme does not meet the standards for International Programme Accreditation.
The review panel will put forward a recommendation to the QAA Accreditation Panel on whether International Programme Accreditation should be awarded.
QAA considers the report and recommendation and determines if your programme should be awarded Institutional Accreditation.
QAA notifies you by letter of their decision. Where accreditation is awarded, QAA will share the International Programme Accreditation Badge with you, together with details on how and where it can, and cannot, be used. The IPA Badge can be displayed on programme and marketing material for the period of the accreditation.
The accreditation period is 5 years and is subject to a satisfactory mid-cycle review which must be completed for the full 5 years' accreditation to be granted.
The mid-cycle review takes place 2-3 years after a successful review and is a desk-based study. Your programme team will be asked to provide evidence that it is addressing any recommendations and other findings from the IPA review. Your programme team will also be asked to outline any changes in the programme that might impact on the extent to which the standards are being met. A QAA Review Manager, together with a QAA Reviewer, will evaluate your response.
A successful mid-cycle review is required to retain the QAA International Programme Accreditation Badge for the full 5 years.
Method Handbook
Full information about the IPA method is available in the handbook below.