Institutions in Scotland are responsible for reviewing their own academic subjects and professional services. This is known as institution-led review (ILR). Institutions have flexibility to design and manage ILR but they do need to meet the expectations of the Quality Code and the guidance published by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) on quality for higher education institutions.
This guidance identifies requirements for ILR including:
- reviewing all subject provision in a maximum of a six-year cycle
- using trained reviewers
- involving students at various stages of the process including as full members of review panels
- involving at least one reviewer from outside the institution
- making use of external reference points when evaluating and reporting on subject provision.
During Enhancement-led Institutional Review (ELIR) we examine how effective an institution's ILR processes are. We also discuss the outcomes of ILR with each institution during the ELIR annual discussions. These annual discussions take place between a senior QAA Scotland staff member and key staff and student representatives from each institution.