About the Academic Infrastructure

The Academic Infrastructure provides a means of describing academic standards in UK higher education. It allows for diversity and innovation within academic programmes offered by higher education. QAA has worked with the higher education sector to establish the various parts of the Academic Infrastructure which are:

• Code of practice for the assurance of academic quality and standards in higher education
• frameworks for higher education qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and in Scotland
• subject benchmark statements
• programme specifications

Also:

• progress files

Country specific documents relating to the Academic Infrastructure

• Guidelines on the accreditation of prior learning in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Facilitating credit-based links in Scottish higher education: Guidelines to support colleges and higher education institutions
  
  
• Canllawiau ar gyfer sefydliadau addysg uwch yng Nghymru ar arfer da, effeithiol mewn arholi ac asesu mewn iaith sy'n wahanol i'r iaith addysgu
  Guidelines for higher education institutions in Wales for effective practice in examining and assessing in a language other than the language of tuition

Developing the Academic Infrastructure

The Academic Infrastructure has evolved from recommendations about quality and standards made in the Reports of the National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education and its Scottish Committee (Dearing and Garrick reports) in 1997. Archival material on developing each part of the Academic Infrastructure is available on the relevant page.