Quality Assurance Agency
We have a statutory duty to ensure that the teaching at universities and colleges we fund is of good quality.
Like the other UK funding bodies, we carry out this duty by contracting the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) to devise and apply quality assurance methods. The QAA is therefore responsible for reviewing the quality of all publicly funded higher education (HE) teaching provision in England on behalf of HEFCE, in both higher education institutions (HEIs) and further education colleges (FECs).
From 2011-12 The QAA carries out two methods of quality assurance in England:
- Institutional review in HEIs, including separate collaborative provision audits of large or complex provision. The institutional audit cycle commenced in 2005-06 and will run up to 2010-11.
- Integrated Quality and Enhancement Review (IQER) of HE delivered in FECs. This review method commenced in 2007-08 and will continue up to 2011-12.
The QAA's role includes providing advice to the Minister for HE when institutions make applications for the grant of taught degree-awarding powers, research degree-awarding powers and university title. Guidance for applicant organisations is available.
The Government's recent HE White Paper, 'Students at the Heart of the System', has proposed changes to the process and criteria for granting degree-awarding powers and university title.
Contract with the QAA
We have an annual contract with the QAA. This sets out which institutions will be audited in the coming year. It also includes details of the regular information the QAA provides to us and the standards of conduct expected by the two organisations.
Contract for Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education
[ Download Contract for Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education as Adobe PDF 220K ]
QAA review
An external review of the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) was carried out in April 2008. The review was a requirement for continued membership of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) and for inclusion in a register of quality assurance agencies. Both require members to conform to the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area.
A steering group of all the QAA's key stakeholders in the UK was convened in October 2007, with responsibility for commissioning a review panel to carry out the review of the QAA, and for forwarding the resulting report to the ENQA Board. The review panel was appointed in January 2008. The review took place on 21-23 April 2008 at the QAA's offices in Gloucester and Glasgow, and the final report was passed to the ENQA Board for consideration at their meeting in November 2008.
The ENQA Board approved the report and confirmed its findings that the QAA is fully compliant in 14 of the 16 European standards, and substantially compliant in the remaining two.
- The full report along with the QAA's self-evaluation document prepared for the review
- European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education
Further information
Further information about the QAA is available on the QAA web-site or can be obtained from Tish Bourke, e-mail t.bourke@hefce.ac.uk, tel 0117 931 7219.
Last updated 2 November 2011