Circular letter CL02/10

Number	CL02/10
Subject	Notice of publication of four Outcomes from Institutional review in Wales papers
Date	10 February 2010
Recipients	Heads of higher education institutions in Wales; Higher Education Wales; the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales; the Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills; the Higher Education Academy; the National Union of Students (Wales)
Further information	outcomes@qaa.ac.uk

Dear Colleague

I am writing to inform you of the publication of our series of Outcomes from Institutional review in Wales (Outcomes...) papers, which have been commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales. These papers are thematic accounts of the findings of the Institutional review reports published between 2004 and 2009. Each paper discusses the findings of relevant sections of the review reports, as well as the features of good practice and recommendations that were identified. The papers provide important information and messages to the sector as a whole and will, we hope, help those who are responsible for quality and standards in higher education institutions, at all levels, to review and compare their own practice with that of others, and learn from the experience.

There are four papers in this series:

• Institutions' quality frameworks and arrangements for programme approval, monitoring and review
• Institutions' arrangements for managing academic standards
• Institutions' arrangements for engaging with students and with the
  wider world
• Institutions' intentions for enhancement and support for teaching
  and learning.

Summaries of these papers are attached. They will be published on 17 February 2010 and will be available from www.qaa.ac.uk/outcomes.

I hope that you will find this advance notice of publication and the summaries useful. Any feedback should be addressed to outcomes@qaa.ac.uk.

Yours sincerely

Anthony McClaran
Chief Executive

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Paper summaries

The paper on Institutions' quality frameworks and arrangements for programme approval, monitoring and review notes that institutions had generally effective frameworks for assuring quality and standards, with strength in areas such as strategic leadership and academic planning. Some areas for further development, especially in relation to upward reporting structures, were identified. Arrangements for programme approval and review were similarly effective, but in some institutions systems for annual monitoring were found to be in need of development. On the whole, good use was made of external advisers in such processes, and institutions generally took conscientious account of the views of external bodies conducting reviews at programme and institutional levels.

The paper on Institutions' arrangements for managing academic standards finds positive institutional practice in this area. Arrangements included a generally rigorous use of external examiners, and of external reference points such as the Academic Infrastructure, published on behalf of the UK higher education sector by QAA.
While assessment procedures were generally sound, some review reports noted the need for greater consistency in some aspects of assessment. The use of progression and completion data was a developing area in many institutions.

The paper on Institutions' arrangements for engaging with students and with the wider world finds strength in the way that institutions in Wales engaged with students. Arrangements for student representation and feedback were generally found to be effective, and some strength was found in engagements with employers. Clear procedures were in place for handling complaints and appeals. Some strengths were identified in the management of collaborative provision at the operational level, although recommendations were made on the need to provide strategic direction to, and oversight of, such provision in a number of cases.

The paper on Institutions' intentions for enhancement and support for teaching and learning finds that plans were in place for the enhancement of provision that were linked to wider strategies and made use of staff development and quality assurance activities in the dissemination of good practice. Institutions generally made careful arrangements for the recruitment, induction, training and continued support of academic staff. Distributed and distance learning, while not a major area of activity for many institutions in Wales, was generally well managed, as were learning support resources. The findings of the review reports were particularly positive in terms of the academic and personal support and guidance offered to students, and it would appear that this was an area of considerable strength in institutions in Wales.

In general terms, the findings of all these papers are consistent with those of the relevant Outcomes from institutional audit papers for England and Northern Ireland.