QUALITY ASSURANCE: UPDATE & FUTURE DIRECTIONS Anthony McClaran Chief Executive, QAA Wednesday 6 February 2013

Session outline 10.30Refreshments, followed by welcome (Jon Renyard) Presentation (Anthony McClaran) Q&As following presentation Break-out groups Group feedback and discussion Closing remarks Lunch

Presentation i)Update on QAA ii)The UK dimension iii)Higher Education Review: a more risk-based approach to quality assurance iv)Internationalisation Followed by Q&As

QAA TODAY Some of QAA’s main UK activities today:  Review and audit programmes for universities, further education colleges and alternative providers of higher education  Adviser to Privy Council on applications for degree-awarding powers and university title  Provider of Educational Oversight, on behalf of UK Border Agency, for ‘Highly Trusted Sponsor’ status for independent providers with overseas students  UK Quality Code for Higher Education

THE UK DIMENSION

SCOTLAND  Enhancement-Led Institutional Review 3 ( ):  Review judgements – ‘Effectiveness’ now replaces ‘Confidence’  Annual monitoring  2014 referendum  International Enhancement Themes Conference, Glasgow (11-13 June 2013)

WALES Further & Higher Education (Wales) Bill expected later in 2013 QAA Development Review of Foundation Degrees Revised Institutional Review ( ) QAA office presence in Wales QAA 2013 Annual Reception at The Senedd, Cardiff

NORTHERN IRELAND New higher education strategy published in April 2012 – ‘Graduating to Success’ QAA to work with DELNI to introduce a single quality framework by 2016 'The Department will continue to support QAA in reviewing the quality of HE provision in Northern Ireland...'

ENGLAND & THE REGULATORY PARTNERSHIP GROUP

A COMMON UK FRAMEWORK  A UK-wide framework of quality assurance  Applied to all providers in the higher education market  Adapted in different countries  Recognising the value of enhancement “All UK higher education, irrespective of how it is funded, should be underpinned by the same quality assurance framework.”

HIGHER EDUCATION REVIEW: A MORE RISK-BASED APPROACH TO QUALITY ASSURANCE

THEMES EMERGING FROM HEFCE CONSULTATION RESPONSES Building on existing Institutional Review method Reducing unnecessary burden and achieving better regulation Greater transparency Tailoring reviews to individual circumstances Continued emphasis on enhancement Students as full partners in the process

KEY OUTCOMES FROM HEFCE CONSULTATION Six or four year interval between reviews Publication of a rolling programme of reviews Review of all provision in a single exercise End of mid-cycle follow-up reviews Tailored intensity of individual review according to provider track record Consideration of nationally published data Greater weight to PSRB reports

ENHANCEMENT & STUDENTS AT THE CENTRE Continued focus on enhancement:  Student learning opportunities  Thematic element of review  Sharing good practice Students remain at the heart of the quality assurance and review process

ABOUT HIGHER EDUCATION REVIEW Will be offered to: QAA subscribers in England and Northern Ireland Providers with access to funding from HEFCE or DELNI who are not subscribers to QAA Higher Education Review will be launched in the next academic year ( ) and will succeed two current review methods:  Institutional Review in England and Northern Ireland (IRENI)  Review of College Higher Education (RCHE)

FOCUS OF THE QAA CONSULTATION  Areas of judgement  The new Initial Appraisal stage  Proposed pilot introduction of international reviewers  Judgements about ‘Managing Higher Education with Others’  Determining review intensity  Using professional support staff as reviewers  Future evaluation of the new method

CURRENT TIMETABLE DateActivity 28 Jan – 22 April 2013 QAA holds consultation on Higher Education Review Handbook May 2013 Handbook published Summer 2013 onwards Institutional briefings and reviewer training Autumn 2013 Implementation of the new method Early 2014 First reviews begin, under the new method Independent evaluation

INTERNATIONALISATION

OVERSEAS STUDENTS IN THE UK

TRANSNATIONAL EDUCATION (TNE) Students studying wholly overseas: 72,025 students within the EU 431,565 outside the EU Source: HESA

FUTURE INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS & CHALLENGES  2013: publication of EU strategy for internationalisation of higher education  Shaping the development of higher education internationally  Safeguarding quality, standards and the global reputation of UK higher education  Ensuring robust processes and adequate funding for future transnational education quality assurance  Being well-placed to take advantage of future opportunities (for example, membership of EQAR – European Quality Assurance Register)

‘Government supports foreign student recruitment by promoting the UK HE abroad and activity to assure the UK's world class reputation for education and research. ‘Quality in higher education is assured through the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education which reviews and reports on how well UK HE institutions maintain quality and standards in accordance with the UK Quality Code for Higher Education. This system has a global reputation for success and has influenced parallel developments overseas.’ David Willetts, 22 January 2013

Session outline 10.30Refreshments, followed by welcome (Jon Renyard) Presentation (Anthony McClaran) Q&As following presentation Break-out groups Group feedback and discussion Closing remarks Lunch

BREAK-OUT GROUP QUESTIONS GROUP ONE What are the likely impacts of new alternative providers on quality and reputation in UK higher education? GROUP TWO How do we ensure that a more risk-based system can still nurture innovation? GROUP THREE Transnational education (TNE) – how could QAA best help to safeguard quality and reputation? GROUP FOUR QAA subscriber services – what should you expect from QAA? What would you like from QAA? GROUP FIVE Are students now really ‘at the heart of the system’?