Circular letter CL06/05

Number	CL06/05
Subject	Proposed audit of UK higher education programmes and opportunities, provided through collaborative arrangements between UK higher education institutions and partner organisations, within the People’s Republic of China (the PRC) – 2006
Publication date	Wednesday 2 March 2005
Recipients	Heads of higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UK
Further information	Nicola Channon (n.channon@qaa.ac.uk 01452 557104)
Response date	Friday 15 April 2005
Respond to	Tracey Hendry (t.hendry@qaa.ac.uk)
Attachments	Details of partnership links in the PRC – form for completion (Word document)

Dear Colleagues

As part of QAA's responsibility for safeguarding the public interest in the quality and standards of higher education awards, from time to time we undertake audits of partnerships between UK HEIs and organisations overseas that lead to the award of UK degrees. The audits assess how effectively the UK institutions manage both the maintenance of the standards of their awards and the quality of the students’ learning opportunities.

The development of partnership links in the PRC has been very rapid over the past five years. We understand that around one third of UK HEIs now have links of some kind with partner organisations in the PRC and many more have recruited overseas students from China. This growth of links in the PRC has led QAA to decide that it would be appropriate to conduct an audit of links in the PRC in early 2006. The timing of the audit is important not only to provide assurance that UK HEIs are managing this rapidly developing situation effectively, but also to provide assurance to students and others in the PRC that programmes offered through partnership arrangements are comparable in quality with programmes available in the UK, and lead to awards that meet UK academic standards.

The audit will review a representative sample of partnership arrangements. Traditionally audits of overseas partnership links have focused on established partnerships where programmes are delivered at the partner organisation and lead to awards by the UK HEI. This audit will attempt to cover a wider range of collaborative links in line with the revised scope of the Code of practice, Section 2: Collaborative provision and flexible and distributed learning.

Early in 2004 we asked you to tell us about links that you had in the PRC, and I am grateful for the information that we received. However, I am aware from other information that we have received that some of the responses may not have been comprehensive in their coverage, that some of the information is now already out of date, and as a result there are gaps in our information base. To enable us to fulfil one of the objectives of this visit, which is to include a wide range of partnership links within the sample, it would be very helpful if you could let us know about all the partnership links that you have, regardless of whether you would define them as ‘collaborative’ or not. To this end, and to help us make a practicable choice of partnerships to be included in this visit, I should be grateful if you would complete the attached, more detailed form for each partnership that your institution has in the PRC or is planning for 2005-06. This form is also available on our website at www.qaa.ac.uk/news/circularletters/CL0605.asp

I should be very grateful if you could let us have this information by 15 April 2005, including nil returns. If you have any questions about the questionnaire or the visit please contact Nicola Channon (n.channon@qaa.ac.uk 01452 557104).

Thank you for your help with this. We intend that the outcome of the visit should assist all UK HEIs that are working with partners of all types in China.

Yours sincerely

Peter Williams

Chief Executive