Academic Standards and Quality

Quality framework and teaching quality management structure

The Teaching Quality management structure is underpinned by the following general principles:

• That the continuous improvement of the student experience is at the core of the quality assurance and enhancement activity.
• That all members of staff take a personal responsibility for the quality of their contribution to the student experience.

The main components are:

• The formation of a quality framework to ensure consistency of standards whilst enabling appropriate diversity in local practice.
• A teaching quality management structure designed to support quality assurance and enhancement and foster a culture of critical review and reflection.

The formation of a quality framework to ensure consistency of standards whilst enabling appropriate diversity in local practice

The University’s quality framework is developed and maintained by the Quality Assurance and enhancement committee and managed by the Academic Standards and Partnerships Office. The framework, constructed with due regard to the QAA's UK Quality Code for Higher Education, consists of five key elements:

• approval;
• annual review of courses;
• periodic review;
• external examiners;
• student feedback.

These five elements are further supported by guidelines governing specialist areas such as work-based or distance learning.

The purpose of the quality framework is to enable the monitoring and enhancement of academic standards and the quality of the student experience. The framework operates within the context of established standards, determined by Senate, and expressed within the University’s undergraduate and postgraduate taught rules of assessment, credit frameworks, assessment policies and marking policy.

The framework is aimed at ensuring that there is equivalence in the security of degree-awarding function across all University of Essex degrees, whether students study at the University itself or at partner institutions. Within the overarching structure of the quality framework there is flexibility to accommodate variation at the level of the faculty, department, centre or partner institution, as long as the required outcomes are not compromised.

The ongoing effectiveness of the Framework is kept under review by the Quality Assurance and Enhancement Committee in light of internal experience and external best practice.

A teaching quality management structure designed to support quality assurance and enhancement and foster a culture of critical review and reflection.

The teaching quality management structure has, at its pinnacle, the University’s Senate. Beneath Senate teaching quality is managed by:

• Academic Board- to develop quality assurance policies and procedures for taught and research programmes, and to maintain an overview of the quality of the student experience.
 
• Faculty Education Committees - To keep the taught programmes of study offered by the faculty under review, including course approval. Provide a forum to discuss and review,  recruitment, progression, curriculum, employability and teaching methods.
• Departments, partners and other teaching units – responsible directly for the quality of the student experience.

The Deans of the Faculties form a key role in liaison between the different tiers of the decision-making process; they form the majority of the Quality Assurance and Enhancement Committee (QAEC), sit on the Academic Board and chair the Faculty Education Committees. Deans are aware of the quality of teaching and learning within teaching units, and who take forward action arising from this. Both within and outside the formal committee structure, Deans encourage the dissemination of good practice and consult Faculties, departments and collaborative partners on proposed University level policy developments. Deans also play a central role in quality assurance procedures and are responsible for overseeing the annual and periodic process of scheme review, departmental response to external examiners and the outcomes of student feedback mechanisms.

Page last updated: 16 August 2013