Dear colleague
The Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland (DEL) has commissioned the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) to develop a version of its method, Integrated quality and enhancement review (IQER), designed specifically for further education colleges (colleges) which provide higher education funded by DEL. The main purpose of the review is to support and provide an opportunity for a college to demonstrate the effectiveness of its management and delivery of the academic standards and quality of its higher education provision as set out in its partnership agreements with higher education institutions and their other awarding bodies.
The first IQER teams will visit colleges during academic year 2010-11. DEL will advise colleges and QAA, in due course, of the number of colleges to be reviewed each year. I am now writing to seek your views on the proposed review method as set out in the Draft operational description for Integrated quality and enhancement review of higher education in colleges of further education in Northern Ireland.
The method takes account of the fact that colleges are not awarding bodies and that QAA is not the only (or the main) quality and standards body with which colleges deal. QAA is mindful of the current government and higher education agenda to reduce burden while enabling DEL to fulfil its statutory reporting responsibilities. The method tries, therefore, to limit the duplication of effort by relying on colleges’ own quality assurance processes and on work carried out by the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI).
By using the IQER process, QAA intends to help ensure comparability of academic standards between higher education delivered in higher education institutions and higher education delivered in colleges. The method has an enhancement focus and offers colleges the opportunity to develop their quality assurance processes within a supportive framework. It also retains the overall aim of providing public information by reporting on quality and standards to the colleges, their awarding bodies and DEL. The reports will also be shared with the ETI. The reports of the first stage of IQER, the Developmental engagement, will not be published. The report of the final stage, the Summative review, will contain judgements and will be published.
QAA will analyse all comments received during this consultation and will use this analysis to develop questions for discussion at a focus group of college and awarding body representatives to be held in Belfast towards the end of April 2010. The focus group’s views will inform the development of the review handbook, due to be published in July 2010.
There are a number of areas in the proposal on which we would particularly welcome your views. We would be grateful if you would respond to the following questions on potential advantages and disadvantages and any operational difficulties you foresee, with particular reference to the draft operational description. Please use the response form for recording your comments.
- What are your views on the extent of the involvement by colleges, students and other parties interested in the IQER process?
- What are the potential advantages and disadvantages of the institutional nominee role?
- What are the potential advantages and disadvantages of using a reviewer in each team from another Northern Ireland college?
- When conducting an IQER, do you think the team should visit all campuses which teach higher education courses?
- Does IQER provide the potential for the enhancement of the students’ learning experience?
- What are the potential advantages and disadvantages for a college of QAA conducting an IQER Summative review in the same term as an ETI inspection?
- What are the potential advantages and disadvantages for colleges of the IQER process?
- Do you foresee any operational difficulties associated with the implementation of the IQER process?
We welcome your comments on the draft operational description. Please submit them electronically or in hard copy, as you prefer, to Gillian Hayes, Deputy Director (Review) at northernirelandconsultation@qaa.ac.uk or by post to QAA, Southgate House, Southgate Street, Gloucester GL1 1UB. The closing date for the consultation is 1 April 2010.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to comment on the draft document. If you wish to discuss any of the information in this letter, please contact my colleagues Derek Greenaway (01452 557146, d.greenaway@qaa.ac.uk) or Barbara Edwards (01452 557190, bea.edwards@qaa.ac.uk) in the first instance.
Yours sincerely
Anthony McClaran
Chief Executive
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