Course Rep
Conference
2014
Quality Street!
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
Before we kick off…
Who am I?
Clare Pitkin
Representation Assistant
Former UoP student
Globe trotter
Student Voice Team
Passionate about participation
Museum geek
Who are you?
 Name
 What made you choose Portsmouth?
 Who is your favourite Disney character?
First things first…
All universities are independent bodies, awarding
their own degrees.
They manage the quality and standards of these
awards.
Shout out…
What do you think we mean by
‘quality assurance’?
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.
Exercise
With this definition in mind, what sort of
areas do you think we might need to
look at related to quality assurance?
FEEDBACK
Standard of
feedback
Teaching
standards
Communication
Quality Assurance
Student engagement
– action resulting
from student
feedback;
representation
Learning
resources
and facilities
Diversity of
assessment
methods
Information
available
Organisation &
Management
“Quality assurance is all about
guaranteeing the standards and
quality of the education you get.”
Quality Assurance Agency, 2014
Quality Assurance
Agency (QAA)
Who are the QAA?
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
Although they don’t have the power to close
Universities…
How does the QAA define
‘quality assurance?
http://youtu.be/Jaq8b6mgg98?list=PLBCg761
xnlfZiWdRGYCdoQ5sW3KUrUcBu
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
You all already contribute to quality
assurance by:
 Filling out questionnaires about your
course
 Speaking at Student Staff
Consultative Committees
 Being a Course Rep!
University of Portsmouth
Student Reviewers
Focus Groups
Meeting the QAA Reviewers
Lead Student Representative:
Kayleigh Teague, VP Education &
Democracy
How does the QAA review the
University?
The QAA produces the UK Quality Code for
Higher Education.
This sets out expectations that all UK
universities and colleges are
required to meet.
Three parts…
Part A: Setting and maintaining threshold
academic standards
Part C: Information about Higher Education
Provision
**Part B: Assuring and
Enhancing Academic Quality**
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.
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…
So why should quality matter to
you?
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.
Any questions…?