2. What is Quality?
•How well the
university
supports students
in their learning
How
•Through teaching
•Through support
•Through resources
•How students are
assessed
• Best possible
experience
Student
Satisfaction
3. What are standards?
•Level of
achievement
students need to
succeed on their
course and get their
qualification.
HOW
•Systems and
procedures in place
with internal and
external scrutiny
• Quality assurance is
ultimately all about
maintaining standards
and ensuring students
have the best possible
experience at university
or college.
Student
Satisfaction
7. Quality & Academic Partnerships
Validation &
Review
External
Scrutiny
(External
Examiners &
PSRBs)
Curriculum
Team
QAP
Working with
Others – UK &
International
partnerships
Student Voice
Embedded
Quality Officers
8. Student and Academic Services
Quality and Academic Partnership (QAP)
Director of Student and Academic Services
Jane Bunce
Head of Quality and Academic Partnership
Anne Craven
Senior Quality Officer
(Development)
Judith Allibone
Senior Quality Officer
(QAA Institutional Facilitator)
Matthew Watson
Senior Quality Officer
(UK Partnerships)
Kevin Carroll
Quality Officer
Student Voice and Externality
Vivien Houghton
School
Quality
Officer
(SOS&T &
SOTA)
Aileen
Cowan
School Quality
Officer
(SOE/SOH)
Lyndsey
Williams
School Quality
Officer
(NBS/SOSS)
Julie Williamson
Curriculum Team Leader
Mandy Smith
Quality Officer (Validation &
Review)
Tanya Osborne
Quality Coordinator
Pam Dimmock
Curriculum
Administrator
Kate Toal
Curriculum
Administrator
Liana Turner
Curriculum Team Coordinators
Sarah McGarry
Lisa Irons
9. What is Validation?
•Development of
programmes, strategies
and ideas
Development
Approval Process
Validation
•Approval of new
programmes and modules
•External scrutiny
• Approval of changes to
existing provision
• Input from External
Examiners
• Input from current
students
Change of
Approval
10. Why is Validation Important to
the University?
Responding to
the Changing
HE
environment
Reflecting on how
provision is
aligned with the
University’s
strategy ‘Raising
the Bar’
11. What is PSR?
Scope
Function
Happens on a 5 year cycle
Standards of every credit
bearing programme
PSR
Student-focused initiatives.
The process by which the
University assures the
quality and standards of
its provision
Innovative teaching & learning.
Subject team strategy, including
staff development and research
activity
12. Why is PSR Important to the University?
Satisfies
Quality
Assurance
Agency
regulations
An
opportunity to
engage with
external voices
A chance to
reflect on
team strategy
A chance to
share good
practice
Opportunity to
involve
students
directly in
quality
processes
15. External Examiners
How do we
maintain
academic
standards?
How do we
ensure rigorous,
consistent and
fair assessment?
How do academic
standards
compare with
other
institutions?
16. External Examiners
What they do
Who are they?
Qualified &
experienced
academics (or
professionals) from
other institutions give
an independent view
to assure:
The University
Our students
Prospective students
PSRBs
Other stakeholders
QAA
Comment on good
practice worth sharing
Identify areas for
enhancement
Advise on curriculum
development
Summarise trends over
a 4 year period
20. Responsibilities of Team
Maintain
ADS
QLX
KIS database
SLC database
Policing &
documenting
the University
Supplementary
Regulations
Produce and
Maintain
Programme
Specs
Award maps
Module Specs
Module
Catalogue
Deal with
Change of
Approval
requests
Preparation for
PSR &
Validation
events
21. Student Loan Company database
UCAS
SLC
Collaborative
working with
Finance, Student
Services, SAT
and Admissions
22. KIS Key Information Sets
Covers every
undergraduate
programme of
more than 1
year duration
Meeting
student’s
information
needs
Draws
together data
from a variety
of sources
27. HE Provision in Northamptonshire
LEICESTER
COVENTRY
*
CORBY
*
Coventry
University College
WARWICK
PETERBOROUGH
University Centre
Peterborough
Tresham
DAVENTRY
KETTERING
Northampton College
Tresham
*
NORTHAMPTON
* UN Park
WELLINGBOROUGH
Tresham
* UN Avenue
Northampton College
Moulton College
*University Provision
HE in FE
University
College/Centre/Campus
MILTON KEYNES
University Campus MK
Milton Keynes College
CRANFIELD
*
28. Managing HE with Others
Responsibility
for academic
standards
Degree
awarding
bodies
The
Expectation
Quality of
learning
opportunities
29. QAA Higher Education Review
2015
Setting and
maintaining
threshold
academic
standards of
awards
Quality of
students’
learning
opportunities
Quality of
information
about higher
education
provision
Enhancement
of students’
learning
opportunities
Meet UK
expectations
Requires
improvement
to meet UK
expectations
Does not meet
UK
expectations
Commended
(for academic
standards only)
30. ‘Mock’ QAA to carry HE Review
w/c 16th June 2014
QAA to carry out desk-based analysis in
June/July 2015
Key
documents
Self
Evaluation
Document
‘REAL’ QAA HER to take place in
Autumn term of 2015
Panel will comprise of 5/6 members
including a student reviewer
Key
documents
Student
written
submission
Panel will wish to talk to
specific academic staff,
external examiners
Final report will be
published 12 weeks after
visit
33. THANK YOU!
Anne Craven
Head of Quality & Academic Partnerships
Email: Anne.Craven@northampton.ac.uk
Pam Dimmock
Quality Coordinator
Email: Pam.Dimmock@northampton.ac.uk
Mandy Smith
Curriculum Team Leader
Email:
Mandy.Smith@northampton.ac.uk
Kevin Carroll
Senior Quality Officer (UK Partnerships)
Email: Kevin.Carroll@northampton.ac.uk
Aileen Cowan
School Quality Officer (SOS&T & SOTA)
Email: Aileen.Cowan@northampton.ac.uk
Sarah McGarry
Curriculum Team Coordinator
Email:
Sarah.McGarry@northampton.ac.uk
Judith Allibone
Senior Quality Officer (Development)
Email: Judith.Allibone@northampton.ac.uk
Julie Williamson
School Quality Officer (NBS/SOSS)
Email:
Julie.Williamson@northampton.ac.uk
Liana Turner
Curriculum Team Administrator
Email:
Liana.Turner@northampton.ac.uk
Vivien Houghton
Quality Officer Student Voice and Externality
Email.Vivien.Houghton@northampton.ac.uk
Lyndsey Williams
School Quality Officer (SOE/SOH)
Email:
Lyndsey.Williams@northampton.ac.uk
Kate Toal
Curriculum Team Administrator
Email: Kate.Toal@northampton.ac.uk
Matthew Watson
Senior Quality Officer
(QAA Institutional Facilitator)
Email:
Matthew.Watson@northampton.ac.uk
Tanya Osborne
Quality Officer (Validation & Review)
Email: Tanya.Osborne@northampton.ac.uk
Lisa Irons
Curriculum Team Coordinator
Email: Lisa.Irons@northampton.ac.uk
Notes de l'éditeur
ANNE to presentQuality - -an elusive conceptIn manufacturing, a measure of excellence or a state of being free from defects, deficiencies and significant variations. It is brought about by strict and consistent commitment to certain standards that achieve uniformity of a product in order to satisfy specific customer or user requirements.Universities: more dynamic concept – quality of learning opportunities; how standards are reached.Can be enhanced – added to, made ‘more’ (opportunities/quality; not standards)
ANNE to presentStandards should not vary from one higher education provider to another.
ANNE to present
ANNE to presentFrom the lowest level of the wall to the highest – ‘an approximate journey of a course’Goal: Excellent student experience
ANNE to presentAcademic governance (cf. governing council)Collegial way of decision-making, governing academic matters and developing our provisionHighest: SenateKey upper level committees: Academic Quality and Standards Committee; Student Experience Committee; Research CommitteeSub-committeesSchool-level committees
ANNE to presentQuality & Academic Partnerships look after most of the quality assurance processes in place at the University of Northampton to assure quality and standards for studentsWorking together with academic Schools and several other support departments to promote and enhance quality.
ANNE to presentOur team! Hand over to the next presenter
MATTHEW to PresentLinks to other points in the life cycle:After a programme has been approved for development by University Executive Team, it progresses to ValidationAt validation, the academic standards and quality of the proposed programme and its market placement are examined and, if successful, the programme is approved to run.At any point in its life cycle a validated programme may go through Change of Approval. This allows a Programme Team to add new modules, change assessment methods, learning outcomes, content, and so on. If proposed changes are significant, the programme may need to be completely revalidated.
MATTHEW to PresentIts an opportunity to engage with external voice who can cast an independent eye and give an objective opinion
MATTHEW to PresentAll academic departments have to go through Periodic Subject Review = PSR on a regular basis, as a requirement set by the QAA.The schedule for PSR is held by Quality and Academic PartnershipsEvery credit bearing programme validated by the University is subject to PSR, including those offered at partner institutions, and it is the responsibility of the University to ensure that these programmes are reviewed.The academic standards of programmes are tested for currency and adherence to QAA subject benchmark statementsThe quality of student learning opportunities is assessedThe strategy of the team, part and present, is assessed in light of their wider activity
MATTHEW to present
MATTHEW to presentThe Embedded Quality Officers work closely with the Schools in a variety of waysEnsuring the Quality Code is embedded Planning and Approval ProcessValidationsChange of ApprovalAnnual Subject Monitoring and School Annual ReviewStudent Representative SystemsExternal Scrutiny, Review and Professional Body AccreditationSchool Committee ServicingQAA Institutional Review
LISA to present
LISA to presentExternal examiners a key feature of maintaining quality and standards in HE in the UK (barely exist elsewhere in the world)We appoint ExExs for all provision that leads to an HE award. They provide impartial & independent advice and informative comment on standards and on student achievement in relation to those standards. Applies to collaborative provision as well as what we deliver here at UN.ExExs report on whether or not UN is maintaining the threshold academic standards set for its awardsThe assessment process measures student achievement rigorously and fairly against intended learning outcomes, and that our policies and procedures are properly followedThe achievements and standards of students at UN are comparable with those in other UK HE institutions within the examiners’ experienceAmong other things they are asked to check exam papers and other assessment items to make sure they are appropriate in terms of content, level and learning outcomesSample marked students’ work so that they can confirm that grading criteria have been properly and consistently applied Comment and make recommendations on good practice that they have identified / areas which could be further enhanced – i.e. room for improvement (They are expected to meet students to help them form opinions in relation to the student experience.) Programme teams and others in the University are expected to respond to any issues and suggestions made by ExExs (which may sometimes mean explaining why a particular suggestion won’t or can’t be acted upon!) – there should be a productive dialogue between ExExs and programme teams
LISA to presentExExs must be experienced and appropriately qualified with the standing and credibility to command the respect of their academic peers. We follow a thorough appointment process in line with QAA national criteria for appointment to ensure they have the necessary qualifications and experience /expertise and that there are no conflicts of interest. They must be independent and impartial to assure us, our students, prospective students (possibly), PSRBs, QAA and other stakeholders that quality and standards are being maintained.Last slide summarises what they do; what they don’t do is mark students’ work! They may be effectively Critical Friends rather than ‘examiners’ but are one of the key features of how we – and all HEIs – manage quality and standards
LISA to presentHow do we see students in the 21st century? stakeholders, customers partners? – all of them to some extent.Post-KIS and increased fees, students may see themselves as consumers more than in the past. HEIs prefer to think of them as partners in learning. Both recognise that students are stakeholders. The old view of students as passive recipients of knowledge is just that – OLD!In a competitive environment the University must make sure it knows what students think, what they want and expect, what works for them and what doesn’t in terms of achieving their goals. Academics and professional staff have knowledge and experience; so do students! The potential scope of student engagement is vast so can only cover a few areas here. Students are increasingly engaged in QA processes – our responsibility to make sure they have access to information and opportunities to maximise this. The more we know and understand – through dialogues of different kinds - how students see their ‘student experience’, the more effectively we can work together to improve that experience – a collaborative process.
LISA to presentEngagement happens at all levelsBase – all students – engage with QA through surveys, evaluations, communications with their tutors and with their course repsAll students may have the opportunity to take part in focus groups, PSRCourse reps, trained and supported by the SU and by QAP – influence their programme of studySchool reps – greater involvement through School Committees and closer contact with SU (We will be working with SU this year to make this layer more effective)SU sabbatical officers – democratically elected by the student body, any student can stand for election; sabbs represent students on committees up to the highest level – Senate and Governing CouncilONLY WORKS of there is communication - listening/responding and closing the feedback loop
LISA to present
LISA to presentQL-x underpins the student record database (QL-s), underpins NILE, Specific information is pulled from and into QL-p and QL-fADS is used to store all curriculum documentation to ensure version control and ADS is used to export the information to QL-xADS – Control of InformationADS holds definitive programme and module information and is the first tier in the Curriculum Team’s database system.It is used to flood down information to the second tier in the database, which is called Curriculum Maintenance. Here, sessions and Stand Alone programmes can be created and maintained.ADS is also used for version control. Each time a programme or module is updated a new version of the programme/module is created within the database and the old version is archived.
LISA to present
KEVIN to presentThis set of information, is published on our own website, will give applicants the information they want at the level of the individual programme. Draws on a variety of sources including (National Student Survey, DLHE data and so on)What the KIS will do is draw it all together into a consistent and simple format, easily found on The University of Northampton’s website.It will also appear on UNISTATS website – a ‘compare the market’ website for universities which provides potential students with an opportunity to compare courses at different institutions.Regularly update and check the information on QLX relating to the KIS course identifiers. Ensure there is uniformity and the fields are correctly completedUse the HESA workbench on QLX to run reports which needs to pass validation with HESA.If the data is incorrect we are providing students (our customers) with false information about the courses.
Kevin to present
KEVIN to present
KEVINto presentAccreditation by PSRBs may be essential for professional registration – e.g. Nursing, Social WorkOffer exemption from professional exams – e.g. Law, AccountingConfer eligibility for membership of the professional body – e.g. Psychology, Architectural TechnologyOr give students an edge over others when applying for jobsWhichever way you look at it, it is important!Accreditation is shown in KIS data - impact on recruitment if our courses are not accredited and the competitors areUN – many successfully accredited programmes Scope for more in a competitive environment
KEVIN to Present
KEVIN to Present
KEVINDegree awarding bodies are responsible for (what is in the bubbles) irrespective of where these are being delivered or who provides them.Arrangements for delivering learning opportunities with organisations other than the degree-awarding body are implemented securely and managed effectively.
MATTHEW to present
MATTHEW to present
LISA??
ANNE to concludeIt all comes down to student experience; all centres on students.Quality and Standards – assuring and enhancing quality – help improve student experience and the new graduands’ employability.QUALITY MATTERS TO STUDENTS – THEREFORE IT SHOULD MATTER TO ALL OF US CONTRIBUTING TO THEIR STUDENT EXPERIENCE.Thank you.