This practice emphasises that it is essential for partners to establish a mutual understanding of what academic standards, quality assurance and enhancement mean in the context of the partnership. It identifies that this mutual understanding supports the development of a comprehensive and robust policy and process framework that enables confident assurance and compliance with regulatory obligations. It also promotes a shared collaborative culture that fosters a positive learning experience for students and staff.

The guidance highlights the importance of partners agreeing mechanisms for the monitoring and evaluation of quality assurance and enhancement that are proportionate to the size, scope and model/type of partnership arrangement and reflect the size, maturity and experience of partners. The guidance offers considerations for communicating these mechanisms across the breadth of the partnership.

This practice stresses the need for strategic due diligence processes embedded within educational partnership approval or renewal processes. It highlights that these processes enable the early detection of risk or factors which require mitigation as part of the approval process and recognises that due diligence is a risk-based process which scrutinises factors that may adversely impact the partnership or a provider’s/organisation’s reputation.

The guidance offers advice around who undertakes due diligence and when it might occur, it outlines information around additional checks and what those may comprise and offers different approaches as to how a provider may assign risk levels to different partnership arrangements within their own context.

The underpinning guidance highlights the benefits of such a record, citing facilitation of good management of the partnership arrangement and quality assurance of partnerships and that this repository offers a framework for quality assurance activities, including monitoring, approval and review. It also mentions that a record of partnership arrangements offers a definitive source of information for accurate, publishable information about the partnership arrangement. 

The guidance goes on to offer advice around the maintenance of internal records of partnerships and a separate public record. It offers information about identifying information to keep, managing records, the location of information and publishing information for public record.

Partnerships are subject to ongoing scrutiny that includes periodic monitoring, evaluation, and review to assure quality and facilitate enhancement.

This practice encourages providers to ensure that all aspects of their partnership arrangements are regularly monitored, evaluated and reviewed to assure quality, ensure the partnership is managed effectively, to encourage enhancement and sharing of good practice. 

It explains that effective monitoring and evaluation can facilitate a shared understanding of quality and standards and the student experience between staff, students, and providers across the arrangement, enabling the development of a culture of accountability, transparency, and two-way learning.

The guidance explores the importance of a mutually developed and agreed approach to monitoring and evaluation and that this encourages open dialogue between partners. It highlights areas for consideration in the design and review of processes including points for consideration around the use of externality.