Quality assurance across the globe is being asked to respond to a range of drivers, and needs to be flexible and responsive in order to remain relevant. The UK is a case in point, with the nations that make up the union each having increasingly divergent needs and expectations of HE quality assurance. The UK is the ‘experimental sandpit of QA’, each corner adapting differently in response to these external drivers and the nature of its sector.

• In England, government policy to increase competition between HE providers to deliver greater value for money to students has seen the emergence of a risk based, data driven approach which marks a deliberate move away from cyclical, external review, leaving the business of enhancement to individual institutions and the market, with impetus from the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).
• In Wales a continuation of the cyclical (6 yearly) external review has been implemented, but with an emphasis on collaboration to promote a culture of enhancement.
• In Scotland - the launch of the revised cyclical (5 years) enhancement led review with increased student participation and a focus on the promotion of good practice and the institution’s own demonstration of meeting the required standards.
• In NI – an opportunity to consider the most appropriate elements of each to fashion an appropriate approach for themselves.

Nonetheless, all of the national approaches have fundamental features in common that bind them as UK HE

• The student at the heart of the HE system.
• An increased focus on student outcomes and the evidence (including data) that illustrates the challenges and successes of institutions and the system.
• A common set of standards and practices, represented by the UK Quality Code and its underpinning advice and guidance as a sector agreed and developed set of principles for sound operation that embraces new and established providers.

The UK experience shows how HE quality assurance can be adaptable while still assuring the quality of the student academic experience in a coherent framework.

Author Profile(s)

Ian joined QAA in February 2015. He leads on engagement with universities and services for subscribers, including enhancement, and oversees QAA’s stewardship of the Quality Code and associated external quality reference points. He also leads on QAA’s innovation and enterprise activity.

Ian came to QAA from the Australian Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA). He developed TEQSA’s regulatory and quality assurance processes, before being appointed Executive Director, Regulation and Review, a position he held for three years. He was previously Executive Director of the Office of Higher Education for the State Government of Queensland for seven years, and during this time had responsibility for the regulation of vocational education and training and non-state schools.