1. Course Rep Conference 2014 Quality Street!

2. Today’s session: We will cover:  What do we mean by Quality Assurance?  Who are the Quality Assurance Agency?  Why does ‘quality assurance’ matter to Reps?  How can I embed the idea of quality in my work? By the end of the session (hopefully!) you will:  Know what we mean by quality assurance  Understand how it is relevant to your role  Feel confident in taking ideas forward to improve quality in your subject area

3. Who am I? Clare Pitkin Representation AssistantStudent Voice Team Former UoP student Passionate about participation Globe trotter Museum geek Who are you?  Name  What made you choose Portsmouth?  Who is your favourite Disney character? Before we kick off…

4. First things first… All universities are independent bodies, awarding their own degrees. They manage the quality and standards of these awards.

5. Shout out… What do you think we mean by ‘quality assurance’?

6. What do we mean by Quality Assurance? Quality assurance relating to Higher Education quite simply means making sure that students are getting the best out of their university experience by monitoring and ensuring standards.

7. Exercise With this definition in mind, what sort of areas do you think we might need to look at related to quality assurance?

8. FEEDBACK

9. Quality Assurance Teaching standards Standard of feedback Diversity of assessment methods Communication Information available Student engagement – action resulting from student feedback; representation Learning resources and facilities Organisation & Management

10. “Quality assurance is all about guaranteeing the standards and quality of the education you get.” Quality Assurance Agency, 2014

11. Quality Assurance Agency (QAA)

12. Think of them as Ofsted for Universities…  The QAA for Higher Education aims to ‘safeguard standards and improve the quality of UK higher education’.  They offer advice, guidance and support to help UK universities provide the best possible student experience of higher education.  They conduct reviews of institutions – Higher Education Reviews Who are the QAA?

13. Although they don’t have the power to close Universities…

14. http://youtu.be/Jaq8b6mgg98?list=PLBCg761 xnlfZiWdRGYCdoQ5sW3KUrUcBu How does the QAA define ‘quality assurance?

15. As a student and especially as a Course Rep there are lots of opportunities for you to get involved… We call this student engagement. http://youtu.be/AVrRlAFH_3U?list=PLBCg761xnlfZiWdRGY CdoQ5sW3KUrUcBu

16.  Filling out questionnaires about your course  Speaking at Student Staff Consultative Committees  Being a Course Rep! You all already contribute to quality assurance by:

17. Student Reviewers Focus Groups Meeting the QAA Reviewers Lead Student Representative: Kayleigh Teague, VP Education & Democracy University of Portsmouth

18. The QAA produces the UK Quality Code for Higher Education. This sets out expectations that all UK universities and colleges are required to meet. How does the QAA review the University?

19. Part A: Setting and maintaining threshold academic standards Part C: Information about Higher Education Provision **Part B: Assuring and Enhancing Academic Quality** Three parts…

20. Part B: Assuring and Enhancing Academic Quality Each chapter of Part B will outline an expectation. It will then outline indicators that the expectation is being met.

21. Your turn to use the Quality Code…  Match the chapter, the expectation and the indicator  Read the scenarios/examples and decide under which Chapter they might fall…

22. Having quality and standards means you and everyone you are representing can have confidence in your education at the University of Portsmouth and your degree. So why should quality matter to you?

23. Any questions…?