QAA - delivering responsive quality assurance across the UK
Publication date: 17 Feb 2020
9 April 2019
James Harrison
Policy Officer, QAA
The term ‘UK HE’ is used a lot but, in a devolved system, what does it actually mean when it comes to quality assurance?
QAA was founded in 1997 and, today, we’re the independent quality body for the UK, across its four nations. In the years since 1997, there have been fundamental shifts in how higher education policies and practices work, as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland became devolved from central government.
For example, because of a decision made by the devolved Scottish Government and Parliament, Scottish-born students who study at a Scottish university have their tuition cost funded, whereas this isn’t the case for English-born students in England.
These divergences also apply to quality approaches. In England, for instance, the new regulatory framework uses a risk-based and outcomes-focused quality system designed to minimise regulatory burden, and where providers do not routinely undergo formal review. In Scotland, on the other hand, every university has a cyclical review visit every four or five years by QAA.
As the UK quality body, we therefore deliver tailored approaches for each of the four nations, underpinned by our UK-wide work under an inter-connected system of quality assurance. So, how do we do this?
One of the main cornerstones is the UK Quality Code. The Code is a key reference point for UK HE: it protects public and student interests, and champions the UK’s world-leading reputation for quality.
We manage the Code, which was recently revised in partnership with the sector. A number of elements make up the revised Code: Expectations and Core practices required of all providers; Common practices with a focus on enhancement; and additional advice and guidance on 12 Themes to further support providers. There were more than 1,670 individual contributions to this process by colleagues from around the UK, to streamline and improve the Code to ensure it remains our UK sector’s shared expression of quality and standards, and meets the needs of the four nations.
There are several key values in which all four UK nations are united in their support. These are:
There are also baseline regulatory requirements to which the higher education sectors adhere. While some are focused on specific nations within the UK, most requirements are UK-wide. The UK-wide baseline requirements are:
In light of the many recent policy changes around the UK, we’ve created a poster to explain what happens where, and what unifies us as ‘UK HE’. This also responds to feedback we’ve had from international colleagues, expressing confusion about these changes.
Publication date: 17 Feb 2020
We’re encouraging colleagues around the UK and beyond to use and share this poster, to demonstrate the responsive and interconnected approach to quality assurance across the UK. We’ll keep it updated because, as experience tells us, there may be further changes down the road…