QUALITY ASSURANCE & ENHANCEMENT IN THE UK AEUA Presidents’ Meeting, 4 July 2011, Groningen Professor Ella Ritchie Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Newcastle University

STRUCTURE OF PRESENTATION What is ‘quality’ in Higher Education and how do we assure it? National context UK. QA and accreditation in the UK. The International/European context. Examples from Newcastle University. Key messages and points of learning.

WHAT IS QUALITY AND HOW DO WE ASSURE IT? (I) Big and complex question – it’s about the whole institution and all its partnerships. It’s about the role of universities. Difficult to measure and compare: – Output measures? Research output. Employability of students. Student satisfaction? – Reputation. – League tables/ranking.

WHAT IS QUALITY AND HOW DO WE ASSURE IT? (II) Some attempts to measure quality cross-nationally: – World league tables. – International Student Barometer. – International accreditation gives some benchmarking. Beware of cross-country comparisons since quality and quality assurance is shaped by culture, state/university relations and governance which is country specific.

QUALITY ASSURANCE How do we know something is of good quality? How do we assure quality? Quality Assurance: – Can be bureaucratic. – Have over-complex processes. – Have complex governance arrangements. Can be seen as stifling innovation.

KEY MESSAGE To avoid bureaucracy It is important to focus on: – What QA and accreditation is for. – Quality culture. – Student experience. – Continuous improvement (QA should look forward as well as back).

NATIONAL CONTEXT UK (I) Reputation for high quality degrees assured by autonomous institutions, through sound processes and good governance. Both Teaching and Research are assessed nationally: – Research historically through Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). – Now Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 by peer review of quality of publications (75%), impact (25%). I will focus on teaching.

NATIONAL CONTEXT UK (II) Strong focus on quality of Higher Education and comparability of degrees. Coalition government has increased domestic fees post-2012 and has put more emphasis on quality: – Strengthened External Examining system. – Introducing Student Charter outlining rights and obligations of students. – Streamlined and risk based QA system. – Key Information Set (to be published from 2012 for all programmes)

KEY INFORMATION SET

QUALITY ASSURANCE AND ACCREDITATION IN UK (I) QA is the responsibility of the university within a framework set by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA). QAA is independent of government and sets standards and assures quality of Higher Education through academic infrastructure (currently being reviewed). QAA conducts Reviews of each institution every five years.

QUALITY ASSURANCE AND ACCREDITATION IN UK (II) External Examiners assure and benchmark quality (key feature of UK). Involvement of students. Involvement of employers. All programmes assured nationally. The professions are additionally regulated by professional bodies eg: – Institute of Electrical Engineers. – Law Society. – General Medical Council. – General Dentistry Council.

INTERNATIONAL/EUROPEAN CONTEXT (I) European UK participates in the Bologna Process and the new European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Bologna Process set up three cycles of degree to which the UK conforms. The QAA Framework of Higher Education Qualification (FHEQ). The UK is a member of European Network for QA (ENQA). European Standards & Guidelines (set up in 2005) currently being reviewed. In practice mobility of staff and students helps to contribute towards benchmarking.

INTERNATIONAL/EUROPEAN CONTEXT (II) International UK is involved in delivering a large number of programmes internationally. These programmes are governed by the QAA’s collaborative provision policy and often by local QA systems, and, where appropriate, professional bodies. Many professional associations have developed norms and guidelines for sectors internationally, eg: For Business Schools – EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System). – AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business). For Engineering – Washington Accord, an international agreement and organisation for the accreditation of engineering schools globally. These types of organisations are powerful tools for regulating delivery of professional programmes and help to promote transnational education.

WHAT WE DO AT NEWCASTLE Medium sized Research intensive university in North East England. Member of Russell Group. Teach nearly all subjects – highly devolved institution. Quality processes need to work with the academic grain of the institution and focus on student experience. We ask of QA at Newcastle: – What does this do to meet requirements of public accountability? – What does this do to enhance the student experience?

THE NEWCASTLE APPROACH About 50% of our programmes are professionally reviewed or accredited. All of our programmes are reviewed by a continuous cycle of annual and periodic review. All are monitored by External Examiners. We are responsive to issues raised by the annual National Student Survey (NSS) and by internal student surveys via the Board of Studies. National framework (eg KIS) also shapes agenda.

QUALITY MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE Senate University Teaching, Learning and Student Experience Committee Faculty, Teaching, Learning and Student Experience Committee Board of Studies Staff-Student Committee Graduate School Committee Faculty University School (discipline)

EXAMPLE OF DOCTORAL TRAINING AT NEWCASTLE (I) National Background Professionalisation of UK doctoral education. QAA sets national Code of Practice. Key elements: – Supervisory teams. – Support for students outside of supervisors. – Monitoring of progress. Expansion of Research Training (RT): – Subject specific skills (Research Council guidelines). – Generic skills. Measured by submission and completion rates and tracking of post- doctoral careers.

EXAMPLE OF DOCTORAL TRAINING AT NEWCASTLE (II) Newcastle Context Introduced Code of Practice (2004/05): – Supervisory teams. – Training of supervisors. – Tighter control of progression. – Monitoring of data. – Obligations of Research students. Introduced three faculty training programme, Research Masters. Over years:  Better submission and completion rates.  All students engage with RT.  Greater interdisciplinarity.  Recognised as best practice.

KEY MESSAGE A Quality Culture Good quality management is not just about structures and processes, but about people and culture. Good quality management is not just about assuring minimum standards, but about encouraging continuous reflection, development and improvement. It is not just about processes but students. Student engagement has grown in importance in quality and management over the last four years.

A QUALITY CULTURE (I) Clear and commonly owned strategic direction where learning and teaching is valued. Recruiting the best people. Developing talent: – Initial training of staff (CASAP). – Enhancing Teaching Skills (EQUATE). Dealing with poor performance. Reward and recognition of excellent performance: – Promotion criteria. – Vice-Chancellor’s Teaching Awards.

A QUALITY CULTURE (II) Encouraging development and innovation. – Small grant schemes. – Mechanisms to share and grow successful initiatives. Facilitating sharing of practice and ideas: – Networks and events. – Case studies.

CONCLUSIONS Ask “......and so what does this mean for students?” – Concentrate on the impact, not just the process. Ask six key QA questions: – What are we trying to do? – Why are we doing it? – How are we doing it? – Why is that the best way to do it? – How do we know it works? – How can we improve it? Work with the academic grain of the institution. Be prepared to manage the people as well as the process. Encourage, develop, reward.