Strategic plan 2003-05 Foreword
This Strategic plan sets out the Quality Assurance Agency's objectives, strategies and targets in the period up to the end of 2005
In developing this Strategic plan 2003-05, the Board of Directors started by examining the Agency's mission statement. The statement that was adopted in 1997 no longer captures as fully as we would wish the purpose and nature of the Agency's work, the benefits we hope we provide, and our overall contribution to the success and effectiveness of higher education in the UK. The Board has therefore adopted a revised mission statement, and developed alongside it statements of the Agency's key purposes, the values that underpin our work and the standards to which we subscribe in conducting our work. Those statements can be found on pages 8 and 9.
Strategic planning is not an exercise in prophecy or stargazing, nor is it an exercise in detailed operational planning. This plan reflects the Agency's understanding of the environment in which we work, the shifts and currents in that environment, the needs of our stakeholders and how those can evolve, and our own role and capacities. Through that process we have identified priorities for the period of the plan that will allow us to meet our stakeholders' needs by achieving our mission and key purposes.
We have taken a three-year perspective, which we believe is an appropriate one at this point in the Agency's work. We have tried to establish clear priorities for that period and show what we hope to achieve by the end of that period and how we propose to measure our progress. At the same time the environment is not static, and will change during the course of the plan. Shortly before publication of this document, the Secretary of State for Education and Skills published The future of higher education. Some parts of that document were not directly relevant to the work of the Agency, other parts of it were - in relation to arrangements for degree-awarding powers; university title; and the Access Recognition Scheme that the Agency offers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland - and we will wish to work with our partners in the sector and governments to ensure that the implications of change are fully understood and then effectively implemented.
The Agency is a UK organisation. All UK higher education institutions (HEIs) are Agency subscribers, and we contract with the four HE funding bodies to provide specific services. We value the diversity and differentiation that a devolved educational environment brings with it. To support that, we have reviewed and renewed the way we manage our work in Scotland and Wales, so that we can continue to function effectively as a UK body in a devolved context.
The Agency is also a leading player on the European and international quality assurance scene, where we seek to make sure that the UK voice is heard clearly and effectively. The European dimension in particular will become increasingly important over the period of this plan, with moves towards a European higher education 'space', and it is crucial that a UK body is engaged in those debates.
I believe that the agenda we have set out for the next three years is a challenging one. The Agency is in a transitional period: it has completed the programmes of reviews and audits it inherited from its predecessor bodies and has carried out the developmental brief it inherited from the Dearing and Garrick reports. It is now tasked with developing and implementing the successor methods and roles, which are proceeding at different speeds and with different emphases across the UK.
Finally, I should like not only to express my own confidence in the Agency's Board and staff, whose hard work will be needed if this plan is to be achieved, but also to offer particular thanks to the many hundreds of colleagues from across the sector and the professional bodies and subject associations who work with us. We will not be able to achieve any of our objectives without the high degree of professionalism, objectivity and commitment that characterises their contributions.
The Agency tries to be as transparent as possible - you will see that openness is one of the standards we have set ourselves - and we would welcome any comments you might have on this plan.
Christopher Kenyon
Chairman, Board of Directors
Introduction by Peter Williams, Chief Executive
The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (the Agency) was established in 1997 with the mission to 'promote public confidence that quality of provision and standards of awards in higher education are being safeguarded and enhanced'. Further details on the Agency are given in Annex A.
This Strategic plan 2003-05 is the successor to the business plan 2000-03, and describes the Agency's intentions for the period from 2003 to the end of 2005. Annex B reviews achievements against the business plan 2000-03, published in October 2000.
Current position
The years 2003 to 2005 are transitional ones for the Agency
The years 2003-05 are transitional ones for the Agency. The programmes of subject review and continuation audit - inherited from our predecessor bodies - that formed the main part of our activities over the first five years, are now finishing. The programmes of academic reviews of subjects and institutions - implemented in Scotland from October 2000 and in England from January 2001 - have reduced to a small number in Scotland (in newly designated HEIs only) while continuing in England (mainly in further education [FE] colleges) in 2002-03. We are developing and implementing successor programmes of review activity:
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In HEIs in England and Northern Ireland, the first full programme of institutional audits began in February 2003 and will be completed by 2005; thereafter, it is intended that a six-year cycle should become the norm. During the period up to 2005 we will also carry out a limited number of academic reviews of subjects (in England) and developmental engagements at subject level (dependent in each case on the timing of the institutional audit and the track record in audit and assessment since 1995). There will also be distinct, and separate, programmes of reviews of foundation degree programmes, which started in February 2003. In Northern Ireland, we will carry out the reviews of foundation degree programmes in partnership with the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI). In England, we will be implementing and carrying out a programme of reviews of NHS-funded healthcare HE provision.
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In Scotland, the years 2003-05 will see the first two years of the agreed four-year cycle of the new enhancement-led institutional reviews (ELIR). We have been contracted to provide the professional support to the sector in planning and implementing the quality enhancement engagements that are part of the new model in Scotland, and 2003-05 will also be the first two years of implementation of this aspect of the model.
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In Wales, following a programme of developmental engagements in HEIs in 2002, a new quality assurance and standards framework is being developed for implementation in the academic year 2003-04. We are developing the operational description and handbook for the new process and will be working with partners to implement the new framework.
As well as transition in the review programmes that we run, there will also be change in our development and enhancement work. The developmental agenda that we picked up from the Dearing report - the Code of practice, subject benchmarks, qualifications frameworks, and programme specifications - is now largely complete. While maintenance of the various elements of the academic infrastructure will be an important part of our future work - for example in updating sections of the Code of practice and benchmark statements - we are now developing a more active strategy for its contribution to quality enhancement. This draws on the intelligence obtained from our main review and audit activities, with a sharper focus on liaison with stakeholders and active dissemination of information, and works within the context provided by the Teaching Quality Enhancement Committee(TQEC) and the new quality enhancement body proposed in its final report.
Strategic position by 2005
We measure ourselves, and expect to be measured, against the contribution we make to the work and standing of the HE sector; our success in meeting the needs of stakeholders; and the strengthening of our own capacities
We have reviewed our mission statement. Informed by, and informing, the revised mission statement is a statement of the Agency's key purposes. These four key purposes have been used as the organising structure to express the Agency's objectives for the period up to 2005. Those purposes are themselves underpinned by the Agency's core values - what we believe in - and the standards we set ourselves in the way we do our work.
The strategic position we have set out is expressed in terms of the impact on the external environment and the development of the Agency. We will measure ourselves, and expect to be measured, against the contribution we make to the work and standing of the HE sector; our success in meeting the needs of stakeholders - involvement, information, advice, explanation; and the strengthening of our own capacity to provide a fair and impartial review and information service that meets the public interest in a way that is robust and proportionate.
We will have satisfied our mission and purposes if, by the end of the plan period:
The sector
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the providers of higher education in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have demonstrated the robustness of their management of standards and quality and have dealt effectively with any causes for concern that the Agency has identified
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HEIs' capacity to manage standards and quality has been strengthened through the respective audit and review processes in the different parts of the UK and through the Agency's liaison, evaluation, dissemination and support work
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the HE sector in England and Northern Ireland is in a position to complete the transition from an initial three-year programme to a six-year institutional audit programme from 2006 (note: there are no transitional arrangements for Scotland and Wales)
The stakeholders
The stakeholders' interests will be met through the Agency's review and information processes
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there is clear and reliable information on the nature of standards and quality in higher education and on institutions' management of their responsibilities for standards and quality
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that information is publicly available and is actively disseminated to stakeholders
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the stakeholders' interests - particularly those of students and employers - are identified through involvement with the Agency and are met through the Agency's review and information processes
The Agency
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is seen as a body that works in the public interest
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is seen by students, employers, the sector and other stakeholders as a source of reliable and helpful information
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is seen as a body that meets the needs of its clients in a professional, fair and independent way, is responsive to the changing environment, and works effectively in the context of UK devolution
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is seen as a body that helps to develop institutional capacity to manage standards and quality
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is seen by the sector and by governments as the natural focus for discussions on the assurance of standards and quality in higher education
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is seen as a source of expertise, advice and consultancy on the assurance of standards and the enhancement of quality in higher education
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is seen to have an effective voice, on behalf of UK higher education, on the European and international scene
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is seen as providing the sector with clear enhancement benefits, effectively disseminated and communicated
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is seen as a body that has established effective and productive relationships with the range of stakeholders in higher education
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has carried out its 2003-05 programmes of work effectively and efficiently, to budget and on time
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is seen to have a clear and agreed agenda and programme of work for the period from 2006
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is seen as a body that uses resources effectively and efficiently; that adds value; and that meets its stated purposes and operates according to its stated values and standards
Our mission
The Agency's mission
The Agency's mission is to safeguard the public interest in sound standards of higher education qualifications and to encourage continuous improvement in the management of the quality of higher education.
The Agency's purposes
To achieve its mission, the Agency works in partnership with the providers and funders of higher education, the staff and students in higher education, employers and other stakeholders, to:
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safeguard the student and wider public interest in the maintenance of standards of academic awards and the quality of higher education
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communicate information on academic standards and quality to inform student choice and employer understanding, and to underpin public policy making
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enhance the assurance and management of standards and quality in higher education and promote a wider understanding of the value of well-assured standards and quality
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promote a wider understanding of the nature of standards and quality in higher education, including maintenance of common reference points, drawing on UK, other European, and international practice
The Agency's values
The Agency's work is underpinned by the following core values:
The importance of higher education
The Agency values knowledge, intellectual challenge, imagination, discovery and achievement in higher education; respects the constitutional, intellectual and operational autonomy of higher education providers, and the diversity of institutional mission within the different legislative and educational contexts across the UK; acknowledges the academic calling and the importance of higher education in the personal, professional and economic lives of citizens individually and collectively; values the high international regard in which UK HE and its awards are held; and recognises the importance of UK engagement in European and other international developments.
The entitlements of learners
Students are entitled to a higher education with academic standards that reflect national expectations and awards that meet published specifications; and to fair and equitable treatment in all aspects of their studies. The Agency values the participation of students in the assurance of academic standards and quality.
The significance of the responsibilities of the providers of higher education
The providers of higher education have the primary responsibility for protecting academic standards and quality; the Agency aims to work with the providers in meeting that responsibility. Effective assurance of academic standards and quality is a key indicator of professionalism in higher education and a key guarantor of the student and wider public interest. It also provides the foundation for continuous improvement and the enhancement of quality. We take as the starting point for our reviews the belief that providers wish and intend to do a good and professional job in meeting their responsibilities as guardians of their academic standards and quality. The Agency is neither a regulator nor an inspectorate, and we value the insights and benefits that peer review brings to our audit and review processes. The Agency depends on the valuable contribution made by the many hundreds of colleagues from the HE sector and professional and subject bodies who work with it. We value their skills and diversity and their contribution to peer processes.
The validity of the public interest in higher education
Higher education in the UK is an important contributor to the well-being, interests and prosperity of the country. The public invests significant resources in higher education, and has a legitimate expectation that the standards of higher education qualifications will be maintained and that the quality of provision - notwithstanding diversity of institutional missions and modes of delivery - will allow learners to achieve the necessary standards.
The Agency's standards
Our standards are integrity, professionalism, accountability and openness.
The Agency sets itself high standards in all its undertakings.
Integrity: We aim to show impartiality, fairness, independence and honesty in our work. Decisions and judgements - whether positive or critical, welcome or unwelcome - will be evidence-based and transparent, stated clearly, without fear or favour.
Professionalism: We aim to show high professional standards and provide a cost-effective service. We aim to get it right first time and be prompt, courteous and constructive in all our dealings. Where we get something wrong, we will acknowledge this, learn from it and improve our own work. The Agency carries out a range of functions in relation to the work of the providers of higher education. In some cases our role involves the making of public judgements; in some, it involves guiding and encouraging; in some, it involves advising and commenting. In all cases, the Agency will conduct itself in a way that is fitting and proportionate both to the function and to the role.
Accountability: The Agency is accountable to its subscribers - the higher education institutions - as well as to a wide range of other stakeholders, partners and users of our services and the information we provide. We aim to demonstrate that we use our resources to good effect and with probity and conduct our work with integrity and impartiality; and to ensure that stakeholders are able to depend on the information and advice we provide.
Openness: We aim to be open and approachable; to be transparent in our work and methods, to build confidence and trust among stakeholders, and to provide information about the Agency's work to the wider public. We aim to communicate in a clear, consistent and accessible way.
The planning context
The capacities, structure and organisation of the Agency itself must evolve in the light of this changing picture
A strategic plan is a way of facing the future. It is about identifying priorities, deciding where we would like to be at a future date, and assessing the best route or routes to get there. This plan sets out clear aims and objectives for the three years from 2003-05. Although this is a relatively short period, the recent history of quality assurance in higher education suggests that much can change in three years. It also suggests that the external environment in which the Agency operates is inherently volatile and likely to continue to be so.
Whether or not this turns out to be the case, our planning must begin by making an intelligent effort to understand the characteristics of the world in which we are now working, to observe its shifting patterns and note its underlying influences, to identify possibilities and probabilities, and to recognise both the importance and transience of individual players. The capacities, structure and organisation of the Agency itself must evolve in the light of this changing picture.
The environment
Chief among the environmental factors that will affect our work in the next three years are likely changes:
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among the providers of higher education
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in the student population
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in the influence of international higher education
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in the relationship between higher education, the state and society
Higher education providers
Higher education may be moving towards a less regulated, outcomes- and student-centred structure in which the principal objective, other than research, will be to provide tertiary educational services to students paying for their education. This is likely to be true irrespective of current differences of approach to student finance in the different parts of the UK. These services will principally involve making available the opportunity to obtain nationally or internationally recognised tertiary qualifications/credentials (and may or may not specifically offer 'education' in the broad sense of the word). In these circumstances, providers are likely to be influenced in their own strategies by:
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the widening/increasing participation agenda
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probable changes in the school examination system
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development of new forms of opportunity for 'experience' of HE
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greater differentiation of type and purpose of institution, leading to more niche and specialist provision
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the appearance of a greater range of providers of HE including virtual, private, for-profit and international organisations
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their wish to see a significant reduction in external scrutiny
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increasing divergence of UK higher education caused by the development of separate higher education strategies and priorities in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales (and possibly, in due course, regionalisation in England)
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continuing pressures on funding of HEIs
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an increase in transnational higher education provision and pressure from Europe for the achievement of the European Higher Education Area
All of these factors will have a considerable impact on the work of the Agency, not least because they will together create a new landscape that will be more difficult for the ordinary onlooker to understand. It will be one of the Agency's tasks to provide both a map and a commentary on the chief features in the landscape, so far as they relate to standards and quality. The Agency will also need to develop a clear view of the implications of the new landscape for higher education institutions' responsibilities as the awarders of the UK's national tertiary qualifications.
Students
How far the role and expectations of students in higher education have altered in recent years is a moot point, but it seems unlikely that any extension of fee-charging arrangements - whether through up-front fees, graduate tax, income-contingent loans or other means - and notwithstanding the differences of approach in the different parts of the UK, will not bring with it a change in the relationship between providers and learners. The expectations of paying students can scarcely fail to be raised and this is likely to create new demands on institutions. Among these may well be:
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increasing demands for public information and reassurance about standards and quality, both in general terms and in relation to individual institutions
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reliable programme specifications that explain clearly what students will receive
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more transparent admissions procedures
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clearer expectations about the criteria for, and methods of, assessment
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more student involvement ininternal and external quality assurance processes
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readily accessible student complaints and appeals procedures
Again, the Agency can expect to be looked to as a provider of both advice and good practice on the management of standards and of quality assurance in these areas.
The international and intranational scene
The UK's higher education system has so far been largely untouched by the major changes that are being developed and introduced in Europe and elsewhere in the world. These include:
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development of elements of a European standards infrastructure
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development of a European evaluation process
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international demands for closer policing of transnational higher education
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possible changes in the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) from a credit transfer to a credit accumulation system
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the forthcoming General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)/World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations to liberalise international access to higher education markets
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proposals for international accreditation processes
All these moves are likely to have a considerable impact on UK higher education and the Agency in the next three years.
Within the UK, the devolved national systems are moving in different directions and at different speeds, reflecting local strategies and needs. Although all are at present bound together by the same standards infrastructure, at some point this may come under strain and with it the very concept of a 'UK higher education system'. This would be hastened if the criteria for the granting of degree-awarding powers and university title were to vary within the UK. The Agency will need to be alive to the implications of any such developments for its work.
The relationship between higher education, the state and society
Many of the changes listed in the previous three sections may be seen to reflect more fundamental movements that are occurring in the relationship between higher education, the state and society. These have not yet been the subject of much public discussion or debate and do not appear to have been planned or foreseen, being the adventitious consequences of incremental developments. They are important, however, because they may well determine the structure and function of higher education in the UK for many years to come. It may also be that within the timescale of this plan a more formal national discussion will be needed, to clarify some of the following questions:
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What is the role of higher education in today's society?
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What is the right balance between institutional autonomy and public accountability?
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Is there a distinction to be drawn between higher education institutions as, on the one hand, the providers of education, broadly defined, and, on the other, the awarders of accredited qualifications and vocational credentials?
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Is higher education a public service or a private good?
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Should higher education institutions be viewed primarily as private or as public bodies?
These are, of course, wider questions that are not confined to the UK. But if there is to be a debate, whether in this country or internationally, it will be important that the Agency plays its full part in informing the discussion.
All of these factors will have a bearing on how the Agency develops and implements its strategy in order to reach its intended goals. Clearly, adaptability in the face of new circumstances will be a key characteristic for our success, but adaptability that is consistent with the Agency's declared purposes, values and standards.
The Agency
It is important for the well-being of higher education that the Agency is seen to act independently to meet the needs of all stakeholders
There are a number of factors in the status and evolution of the Agency as an organisation that will need to be taken into account as the Agency adapts to, but also helps to shape, the environment it works in. Chief among these over the next three years and beyond will be:
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the Agency's status
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its capacity to make wider use of its expertise
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its capacity to work with devolved government structures in the UK
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its role in relation to quality enhancement
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its relations with key stakeholders
The Agency's status
Although constitutionally 'owned' by the representative bodies of higher education, it is important for the well-being of higher education that the Agency is seen to act independently, without fear or favour - whether as auditor, adviser, consultant, or provider of information - to meet the needs of all stakeholders. In this way it can help to demonstrate that a largely self-regulating modus operandi is both appropriate as the form of higher education governance, and effective in meeting external requirements. We will work to strengthen the higher education community's understanding of the value of our independence and the importance of meeting the public interest in matters relating to standards and quality.
Wider use of Agency expertise
The Agency is one of the leading higher education quality assurance organisations in the world and has a greater depth of experience and expertise in a wider range of activity than probably any other. We are frequently asked for help by other organisations in the development of review methods, the training of staff and reviewers, and the provision of consultancy services. At present the Agency's constitution prevents it from charging commercial rates for these activities. As a result it can only meet the requests that come to it on an ad hoc, expenses only, basis, and cannot commit any resources to this work. This has two consequences. First, the Agency's capacity to influence international developments in quality assurance (and thereby to promote the interests of the UK) is reduced and, secondly, it is missing an opportunity to establish a funding stream that would help to lighten the financial burden on institutions. The Agency will explore with its Members (the representative bodies) whether, and how, this restraint on its activity might be modified.
Devolution in the UK
Devolved government structures in the UK mean that the Agency has had to adapt its structures to best meet the varying requirements of its different partners and to work most effectively as a UK-wide body in a devolved context. The Agency has a separate office in Glasgow. In November 2002, the Board reconstituted its Advisory Committee for Scotland as QAA Scotland, with delegated responsibilities from the Board for the management of the Agency's work in Scotland. For Wales, the Agency has a designated officer for Wales and will implement during 2003 a QAA Welsh Language Scheme. Following consultation with the sector in Wales, the Committee for Wales has been reconstituted as the Advisory Committee for Wales, with revised terms of reference and membership, to advise the Board on the development and provision of its services in Wales.
Quality enhancement
The Agency is one of the leading higher education quality assurance organisations in the world
Current developments in the area of quality enhancement have recognised a unique and separate role for the Agency, concentrating on the findings of reviews, the better understanding of quality and standards matters, and a strengthening of the informal interactions between institutions and the Agency. We will implement our agreed policy in the light of the wider developments and will work with the proposed new Academy for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education - building on the constructive relationships we have with the Higher Education Staff Development Agency (HESDA), the Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (ILTHE) and the Learning and Teaching Support Networks (LTSNs) - to ensure that there is additional value in having two distinctive, but related, approaches.
A distinctive approach to quality enhancement has been taken in Scotland, with the introduction of an integrated enhancement-led quality assurance model. This includes both an enhancement-led institutional review (ELIR) process which will be implemented and carried out by the Agency, and a sector-driven structure of quality enhancement engagements for which the Agency will provide the professional and administrative support.
Relations with key stakeholders
The Agency's increasing effectiveness will depend to a considerable extent on the strengthening of our relationships with our key stakeholders. It is vital that we know what their interests and concerns are, that we advise them impartially in the light of our experience and expertise, and that we act as an effective conduit for communication among them on matters relating to standards and quality. To this end we will look to identify our key stakeholders' needs more precisely than hitherto, actively manage our relations with them, and develop strategic partnerships where this appears to provide the best way of providing a more effective and efficient service.
It is also important that we should demonstrate that we are achieving our declared purposes and providing a service of value to those we serve. We will develop existing ways of obtaining feedback on our work, and extend the range of those from whom we seek it.
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