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The UK Quality Code
for Higher Education
Jenny Beaumont
LTC February 2012
The UK Quality Code for Higher Education
• 3 parts
o Part A – Setting and maintaining threshold academic
standards
o Part B - Assuring and enhancing academic quality
o Part C - Information about higher education provision
• Replacing the Academic Infrastructure
• Chapter B7 is new; so far all others are imported
from the AI
• Launched in December 2011
Overarching themes
to be considered in all chapters
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communication of information
employability
equality and diversity
the diverse needs of students, in particular:
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non-traditional learners
work-based learners
part-time students
international students
postgraduate taught students
disabled students
• the responsibilities of awarding bodies
• European and international HE reference points
• good practice and enhancement
Chapters of the Quality Code
Part A – Setting and maintaining threshold academic standards
New chapter
• A1: National level
• A2: Subject and qualification level
• A3: Programme level
• A4: Approval and review
• A5: Externality
• A6: Assessing achievement of
learning outcomes
replaces / incorporates
- FHEQ and FQHEIS
- Subject benchmarks inc. FD
- Programme specifications
- Parts of CoP 7
- Parts of CoP 7 and 4
- Parts of CoP 6
Chapters of the Quality Code
Part B – Assuring and enhancing academic quality
New chapter
• B1: Programme design and approval
• B2: Admissions
• B3: Learning and teaching
• B4: Student support
• B5: Student engagement
• B6: Assessment and APL
• B7: External examining
• B8: Programme monitoring and review
• B9: Complaints and appeals
• B10: Collaborative arrangements
• B11: Postgraduate research programmes
replaces / incorporates
- Parts of CoP 7
- CoP 10
- CoP 2b and 9 and new material
- CoP 8 and 3
- Nothing – this will be new
- Parts of CoP 6
- CoP 4
- Parts of CoP 7
- CoP 5
- CoP 2a
- CoP 1
Chapters of the Quality Code
Part C – Providing information about higher education
• Not divided into chapters
• New – not replacing a discrete section of the Code of Practice
• Structured around the purposes of information and the need to
serve a range of audiences
• Draft currently out for consultation – closes 24th February
QAA timetable
B7
C
B11
B5
B3
B10
External examining – published December 2011
Information – consultation Jan./Feb.; publication June 2012
PGR programmes – consultation Jan./Feb.; publication June 2012
Student engagement – consultn Feb./Mar.; publication June 2012
L&T – consultation May-July; publication September 2012
Collaborative provision – consultation ?; publication December 2012
QAA target for completion of the whole Quality Code:
Summer 2013
The Quality Code will inform institutional reviews from
September 2012
The UK Quality Code for Higher Education
• Expectations - we are required to meet these
“express key matters of principle that the higher education community has
identified as important for the assurance of quality and academic standards”
e.g. Higher education providers make scrupulous use of external
examiners.
• Indicators (fka precepts) – show how we meet Expectations
HE providers have “agreed that these reflect sound practice”
e.g. Institutions include the name, position and institution of their
external examiners in module or programme information provided to
students.
18 expectations; 171 indicators
The UK Quality Code
for Higher Education
Jenny Beaumont
LTC February 2012