1. UK Quality Code for Higher Education
This is designed as a set of slides which can be used, some or all, as appropriate to the audience in question
The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. Registered charity numbers and SC037786

2. UK Quality Code for Higher Education
Setting and maintaining threshold academic standards
Part A
Assuring and enhancing academic quality
Part B
Information about higher education provision
Part C
Expectations:
Things higher education providers expect of each other and which the general public can expect of all higher education providers
QAA is responsible for the UK Quality Code for Higher Education (Quality Code for short). This was launched in December 2011 and will replace the Academic Infrastructure as the series of national reference points used by higher education providers to help them assure and enhance academic quality and set and maintain the standards of academic awards.
The Quality Code is a single code in three parts, as described on the slide. This structure reflects the desire of the sector to see a clearer distinction between those aspects which relate to academic standards and those relating to assuring and enhancing quality. Part C on providing information is a new feature (explained further below)
The purpose of the Quality Code is:
to safeguard the academic standards of UK higher education
to assure the quality of the learning opportunities that UK higher education offers to students
to promote continuous and systematic improvement in UK higher education
to ensure that information about UK higher education is publicly available.
The Quality Code applies to providers who deliver higher education reviewed by QAA in all four UK nations and overseas. It protects the interests of UK higher education students regardless of where they are studying or whether they are full-time, part-time, undergraduate or postgraduate students.
The slide highlights two important features of the Quality Code
(i) ‘Expectations’ – these are designed to reflect the sector’s call for clarity on what is mandatory within the Code. A number of Expectations – essentially one per chapter – have been created setting out what HE providers expect of each other and what students and the general public can expect of HE providers. These are the elements of the Quality Code which HE providers are ‘required to meet’, and reviews conducted by QAA will determine whether they are being met.
(ii) Indicators of sound practice. These are similar to the Precepts in the previous Code of Practice. They are designed to assist HE providers in determining how they will meet the Expectations. The Indicators are not mandatory and are not intended as a checklist. For example it is possible that there may be other ways of doing things which ensure the Expectations are met.
The logo [which will zoom in on a click] illustrates the three parts of the Code, by reference to the colours, and will be used on all chapters to demonstrate that they are part of the single Quality code.
of ‘sound practice’
Replace precepts
Indicators

3. Terms Threshold academic standards Academic quality Enhancement
Threshold academic standards are the minimum acceptable level of achievement that a student has to demonstrate to be eligible for an academic award. For equivalent awards, the threshold level of achievement should be the same across the UK. Individual awarding bodies are responsible for setting the grades, marks or classification that differentiate between levels of student achievement above the threshold academic standard within an individual award.
Academic quality is concerned with how well the learning opportunities made available to students enable them to achieve their award. It is about making sure that appropriate and effective teaching, support, assessment and learning resources are provided for them. In order to achieve a higher education award, students participate in the learning opportunities made available to them by their higher education provider. A provider should be capable of guaranteeing the quality of the opportunities it provides, but it cannot guarantee how any particular student will experience those opportunities. By ensuring that its policies, structures and processes for the management of learning opportunities are implemented effectively, a higher education provider also ensures the effectiveness of its outcomes.
Enhancement is the process by which higher education providers systematically improve the quality of provision and the ways in which students' learning is supported. This can take place in different ways and at different levels, but a higher education provider should be aware that it has a responsibility to improve the quality of learning opportunities and to have policies, structures and processes in place to detect where improvement is necessary. Willingness to consider enhancement should be embedded throughout the higher education provider, but should stem from a high-level awareness of the need to consider improvement. Quality enhancement should naturally form part of effective quality assurance
These definitions of standards and quality and explanation of enhancement can be found in the General Introduction to the Quality Code:
Defined or explained in the General Introduction to the Quality Code

4. Chapters of the Quality Code
Part A: Setting and maintaining threshold academic standards
Part B: Assuring and enhancing academic quality
B1: Programme design and approval
B2: Admissions
B3: Learning and teaching
B4: Student support
B5: Student engagement
B6: Assessment of students and accreditation of prior learning
B7: External examining
B8: Programme monitoring and review
B9: Complaints and appeals
B10: Management of collaborative arrangements
B11: Research degrees
A1: The national level
A2: The subject and qualification level
A3: The programme level
A4: Approval and review
A5: Externality
A6: Assessment of achievement of learning outcomes
Part C: Information about higher education provision
As indicated above there are three parts to the Quality Code, held together by the General Introduction. This presents a much clearer structure for the single Quality Code, rather than the uncertainty that surrounded the components of the Academic Infrastructure.
Parts A and B are divided into chapters, three of which are new, having been identified by the sector as omissions from the Academic Infrastructure: Learning & teaching, student engagement and student support. Part C, which is also new, is not divided into chapters.
Most of Part A involves cross-referencing to relevant chapters in Part B, as some areas such as external examining and assessment relate to both standards and to quality.
A1 includes the frameworks for higher education qualifications. A2 links to the subject benchmark statements and the Foundation degree qualification benchmark statement
The structure is broadly designed around the notion of the student lifecycle; this should make it easier to follow
General introduction

5. All students are treated fairly, equitably and as individuals.
Staff are supported, enabling them in turn to support students' learning experiences.
Students have the opportunity to contribute to the shaping of their learning experience.
Sufficient and appropriate external involvement exists for the maintenance of academic standards and the quality of learning opportunities.
Students are properly and actively informed at appropriate times of matters relevant to their programmes of study.
Overarching values
All policies and processes are regularly and effectively monitored, reviewed and improved.
All policies and processes relating to study and programmes are clear and transparent.
The Overarching Values pick up the ‘duplications’ identified in the Academic Infrastructure – the things which were repeated between sections of the Code of practice in particular. The principles summarise these, and provide a short summary of what the Quality Code is really about.
In addition ,there are also a number of overarching themes which need to be considered for all Chapters of the UK Quality Code. These cover a wide range of issues from employability to equality and diversity and the responsibilities of awarding bodies amongst others.
Strategic oversight of academic standards and academic quality is at the highest level of academic governance of the provider.

6. Who needs to know about the Quality Code?
Students
Academic Staff
Quality Managers
Professional, statutory and regulatory bodies (PSRBs)
The Quality Code is owned by the UK higher education sector and is published and maintained by QAA on their behalf. QAA works with the sector in developing and maintaining the Quality Code, to ensure that it represents expectations on which all higher education providers are agreed.
The Quality Code is relevant to a wider audience than just HE providers, and QAA works with a wider audience to develop the Quality Code. Students are at the heart of QAA’s work and QAA engages directly with students and with representative bodies such as the NUS
We also recognise that there are different audiences within HE providers, including those with specific responsibilities for quality and standards, academic staff, and those who act as reviewers for QAA.
Our ‘get involved’ page on the Quality Code web pages - – indicates how people from different stakeholders can contribute to the development of the Code. In particular work on each chapter involves public consultation.
Employers
Other stakeholder groups

7. Quality Code – under construction
The existing elements of the Academic Infrastructure put back together in a different order
Some completely new chapters e.g. student engagement
Review and editing of the whole for consistency and to reduce duplication
Some reworking to cover topics in a more appropriate way
We use the image of the jigsaw to demonstrate how the development of the Quality Code involves taking apart the Academic Infrastructure, putting back together in a different shape to make it more coherent, and adding to it new chapters

8. The Quality Code Jigsaw
Part B: Assuring and enhancing academic quality
Oct 2011 Chapter B7: External examining
Mar 2012 Part C: Information about higher education provision
Jun 2012 Chapter B11: Research degrees
Chapter B5: Student engagement
Sep 2012 Chapter B3: Learning and teaching
Dec 2012 Chapter B10: Management of collaborative arrangements
Mar 2013 Chapter B4: Student support, learning resources and
careers education, information, advice and guidance
Apr 2013 Chapter B9: Complaints and appeals
Part A: Setting and maintaining threshold academic standards
Jul 2013 Chapter A1: The national level
Chapter A2: The subject and qualification level
Chapter A3: The programme level
Chapter A4: Approval and review
Chapter A5: Externality
The Quality Code has been linked to a jigsaw made up of many key component parts that are brought together to form a comprehensive reference point for Higher Education Providers that has been developed in partnership to meet the needs of an ever changing sector.
This animation shows the timeline that each constituent Chapter will be published in whilst demonstrating how the Quality Code fits together and emphasising that it is a UK-wide Code.
Chapter A6: Assessment of achievement of learning outcomes
Jul 2013 Chapter B6: Assessment of students and accreditation of prior learning
Sep 2013 Chapter B1: Programme design and approval
Chapter B8: Programme monitoring and review
Oct 2013 Chapter B2: Admissions

9. Timing issues
The QAA have likened the launch of the Quality Code to the television digital switchover
The Academic Infrastructure and the Quality Code were running in parallel
The Academic Infrastructure will cease to be used in QAA reviews from the start of academic year (calendar year 2013 for Educational Oversight reviews)
When a new or revised chapter is published there will be a period of up to one year in which HE providers can consider what changes are needed to their procedures and practices
So the AI will continue to be available for users via the QAA website:
This parallel running is designed to ensure a smooth transition from the AI to the Quality Code without disrupting individual institution’s reviews.
Historically, providers have been given one year in which to implement a new/revised section of the old Code of Practice. In some cases one year will continue to be the case, but for some chapters a shorter period will be appropriate. The decision will be made by QAA informed by the advisory group. The decision will be informed by the nature of the chapter, the extent of any changes where it is a revised chapter and how the timing relates e.g. to the academic year.

10. This is part of work being produced by QAA to inform and engage students and wider audiences both in the Quality Code and in quality assurance more broadly. It is supported by a series of podcasts available on the QAA website -
A guide for students is now complete and can be found at
We are currently working on a video to accompany this work.

11. Further information Website: www.qaa.ac.uk/Qualitycode Email:
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