Have your say on new Subject Benchmark Statements - consultation now open

Higher education staff and students, employers and professional, statutory and regulatory bodies (PSRBs) are invited to respond to a consultation on seven draft Subject Benchmark Statements, which have been reviewed by expert Subject Advisory Groups with the support of QAA.

Subject Benchmark Statements describe the nature of study and the academic standards expected of graduates in specific subject areas. They show what graduates might reasonably be expected to know, do and understand at the end of their studies.

They are intended to fulfil a range of purposes - including as reference points in the design, delivery and review of academic courses. They also sit alongside a suite of resources such as the UK Quality Code for Higher Education, Qualifications and Credit Frameworks and Characteristics Statements in supporting aligned approaches to quality across the UK nations.

QAA leads the development of Subject Benchmark Statements and reviews them on a cyclical basis to ensure they continue to serve as useful points of reference for their respective discipline communities. To ensure each review considers a diverse and broad spectrum of intelligence, opinion and experience, each Subject Benchmark Statement is reviewed by an Advisory Group comprising members of the academic community, employers, PSRBs and students.

Alongside discipline-specific information, the revised Statements consider the role of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), enterprise and entrepreneurship, accessibility for disabled students and emerging technologies within the context of the respective discipline area.

The Subject Benchmark Statements open for consultation are:

• Accounting 
• Education Studies 
• Finance 
• Librarianship, Information, Knowledge, Records and Archives Management 
• Music
• Philosophy 
• Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics. 

How to respond

The consultation documents are published on our consultation web page and responses should be submitted via the online survey for each Statement.

The closing date for responses is midday on Wednesday 20 November and we plan to publish the final Statements at our ENQUIRE Conference on 10 April 2025 - you can book your place now!

Call for expressions of interest for Chairs and Deputy Chairs for Subject Benchmark Statements to be reviewed in 2025-26

QAA recently opened a call for expressions of interest for Advisory Groups for the six Subject Benchmark Statements due to be reviewed in 2024-25.

• Architecture    
• Art and Design    
• History of Art, Architecture and Design    
• Social Work    
• Sociology    
• Social Policy.  

Find out more on the expressions of interest web page.