1 On 3 May 2006 a second conference of the institutional liaison scheme was held in the Holiday Inn, Regent’s Park, London. This followed the success of the first such conference held last year. These conferences are an opportunity for representatives of institutions participating in the liaison scheme to meet with QAA officers to discuss a particular theme. This year the theme was the Outcomes from institutional audit [Outcomes…] series of papers, published by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) since January 2005. The event was well attended, with over 70 liaison contacts being present.
2 There was a brief introduction by the leader of the institutional liaison scheme, Fiona Crozier, Assistant Director, QAA, who explained that the purpose of the day was to elicit the views of delegates on the Outcomes… papers, and to discuss how the series might be further developed.
3 This was followed by a keynote address from Peter Williams, Chief Executive, QAA, who gave an overview of QAA’s enhancement activity. He noted the absence of an agreed definition of enhancement, and pointed to the various ways in which QAA is seeking to support such work being conducted in the sector. This support includes:
- an increased emphasis on enhancement in audit and review methodologies, for example institutional audit, and integrated quality and enhancement review
- the publication of a range of intelligence based materials of which the Outcomes… papers are an important element
- the continued support and maintenance of the Academic Infrastructure
- the work conducted in collaboration with the Higher Education Academy (HEA).
It was explained that this support was conducted in the belief that an enhancement of the quality of students’ learning opportunities benefited students, institutions and the sector as a whole.
4 This was followed by brief presentation from Nick Harris, Director of the Development and Enhancement Group, QAA, who argued that quality assurance had no single purpose, method or definition, and noted that it could be seen as a journey rather than a destination. Given this, the work undertaken by QAA needed to be fit for purpose and gatherings like the liaison conference are an important part of establishing this.
5 David Cairns, Assistant Director, QAA, leader of the Outcomes… project, noted QAA’s strategic commitment to produce intelligence-based materials that are of use to the sector. It was explained that the Outcomes… papers are intended to address the need for timely information on the good practice identified by QAA’s institutional level activity. The origins and development of the. series were discussed, and the key messages of some of the published papers were described. Some of these papers had been suggested by the distribution of the features of good practice and recommendations in audit reports, and others by colleagues in the sector with particular interests. The planned new developments in the series were outlined. These include:
- Outcomes from institutional audit, series 2
- Outcomes from collaborative provision audit
- a longitudinal and thematic qualitative study of the outcomes from institutional reviews and audits from 1997
- a series of papers in the Outcomes style based on the new institutional audit methodology (from 2007).
6 This was followed by a series of brief presentations from some of those outside QAA who have made use of the Outcomes… papers in their own work.
7 Marie Stowell and Matthew Jellis, University of Worcester, outlined the use of the Outcomes… papers on a project to enhance student feedback arrangements. The papers were used to identify institutions with features of good practice in this area. A member of the project team then conducted interviews with academic staff from comparable institutions. The information derived from these interviews and from the Outcomes… papers (and other QAA publications) was used to identify the main characteristics displayed by successful approaches to student representation and feedback. These characteristics were then used in the formulation of the key recommendations of the project.
8 Lesley Douglas, University of Wales, Newport, described how the institution had identified a need to review its annual monitoring and evaluation processes. It was explained how the Outcomes… paper on annual monitoring had been used to identify examples of good practice and to form the basis of a dialogue with institutions where features of good practice had been identified. Other papers in the series were also used in work on assessment and the use of external examiners’ reports for the purposes of enhancement.
9 Howard Colley, HEA, explained how the HEA had used the Outcomes… paper on external examiners and their reports in their own project on external examining. Once again the paper had been used to identify good practice, and areas that represented challenges to the effectiveness external examining systems. Furthermore, the paper had been used in supporting presentations to outside bodies and higher education institutions, in framing workshop and round table discussions, in planning research and targeting focus groups, and finally in influencing the design of the HEA’s online handbook.
10 Julie Raby, York St John University College, explained how her institution had undertaken work on exploring good practice in the management of joint and combined honours arrangements, in an effort to enhance their own Joint Honours Framework. The project had used the ‘raw data’ from which Outcomes… papers are written, provided by QAA, as the basis for discussions with other institutions. These elements had helped identify the key matters for consideration in this area.
11 Norman Sharp, Director, QAA Scotland, gave an overview of the nature of the Quality Enhancement Framework in Scotland and outlined the five inter-related elements of the Quality Enhancement Framework: internal subject review, Teaching Quality Information, student participation, Enhancement Themes and the enhancement-led institutional review process. He explained that the Enhancement Themes were an attempt to discuss areas that posed challenges for the sector as a whole, for example the issue of assessment. The focus of this activity is on the management of enhancement: on building the structures that create and sustain ‘reflective institutions’, that nurture enhancement cultures, that actively engage students, and that monitor of continued effectiveness.
12 The rest of the programme was given over to discussion, in questions to the speakers, group discussions and in a plenary discussion at the end of the day. A number of points were made that it will be important for QAA to consider:
- most delegates who had used the Outcomes… papers had found them useful, however, QAA’s methods of dissemination might need further consideration; it was suggested that in some cases ‘round table meetings’ might provide a better format than published papers
- the need for QAA to find a language and format that is more accessible to academic colleagues
- the need for QAA to provide timely support to institutions on the nature and implications of enhancement, and for QAA to ensure that its own auditors were fully aware of the new focus on enhancement
- the need for the good practice identified in Wales, through the institutional review process, to be shared more widely
- the opportunity for further Outcomes… papers, for example on combined honours, joint honours and multidisciplinary programmes.
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