Posted on Mon 24 Feb 2014 at 12:44 by
Zahid Raja
The University is currently going through an Institutional Review. This review happens every 6 years for every UK University and is carried out by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA). The purpose of the review is to determine if Swansea University meets UK standards in terms of the quality of Education delivered at Swansea University.
It’s kind of like the Ofsted inspections which schools go through..
The QAA is able to impose judgements on the University in a number of areas. The judgements range from ‘is commended’ all the way to ‘does not meet UK expectations’. The outcome determined by QAA on Swansea University is public, and therefore carries a huge reputational risk for the University. This has implications on not only how our degrees are perceived by prospective employers, but also how the University is able to recruit more students. The official UK Government website for comparing Universities now links to the most recent QAA report: http://unistats.direct.gov.uk/Institutions/Details/10007855/ReturnTo/Institutions
Naturally, with the unfortunate resignation of the Students’ Union Education Officer before the start of the academic year, this is where I have focused my attention.
In determining their judgement, the QAA will consider a self-evaluation document from the University, a student written submission from the Students’ Union, and finally the University’s regulations that guide quality and standards at our University. We will be submitting this tomorrow (25/02/14) You can access the student written submission here: http://www.bigswanseareview.com/ or watch it on YouTube here: http://youtu.be/SthAhYUo708
Following the submission, the QAA will then visit Swansea University. Once in April to spell out what they’re going to be looking for. They will then return for about a week in May where they will interview students and staff as part of their review.
The review has provided a HUGE opportunity for the Students’ Union to improve student life. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been involved – you have helped make a huge difference to our University.
Following the submission, the next stage of the review will be to prepare for the site visit by the QAA in May. My role as the Lead Student Representative here will be to select students and prepare them to meet the review team. Obvs May is exam time, the Union has communicated this to the QAA and QAA have assured us that they will be flexible in order to meet students.
Below is an infographic that shows the extent to which the process has been a success: