The 2018 version of the Quality Code was developed by QAA on behalf of the UK Standing Committee for Quality Assessment (UKSCQA), in consultation with the higher education sector. It was designed to protect the public and student interest, and champion UK higher education's world-leading reputation for quality.
Changes to the regulatory framework in England provide an opportunity for the sector to take ownership of the future scope and structure of the Quality Code to ensure it is a valuable aid to institutional evaluation and enhancement.
In July 2022, we agreed with the UKSCQA that the time was right to hold a UK sector-wide conversation about the future scope and structure of the Quality Code.
To ensure it remains useful to the sector, we are embarking on a detailed set of conversations with our members, and other groups, to understand how they would like it to evolve. This work is undertaken in our capacity as a Membership organisation.
We are putting in place a series of roundtable discussions, sharing ideas with members through our existing networks and events, and also engaging directly with other sector bodies and groupings (such as Universities UK, GuildHE, Quality Strategy Network, Academic Registrars Council and related groups in the UK nations).
We will start by considering the ‘central’ part of the Quality Code (currently known as the Expectations and Core/Common practices), thinking about how that should be structured and what its scope should be, before considering a realistic timetable for reviewing the Advice and Guidance. This work needs to be cognisant of how the Quality Code is used across the UK, especially in those nations where it underpins external review arrangements.
From our current work and discussions to date, we think it would be helpful for the next iteration of the Quality Code to:
The review provides an opportunity for the sector to take ownership of the scope and structure of the Quality Code to ensure it is a valuable aid to institutional evaluation and enhancement.
We held a range of interactive online events for the sector to share their views - these workshops were open to all staff and students who wished to contribute to the discussions.
The outcomes of the online discussions will be shared during our in-person Member Network Conference on 20 April - members can register via our event booking site.
We have held discussions with our members in a range of network meetings including:
This document offers a summary to date of the key areas of feedback from the review of the Quality Code.
Publication date: 26 Apr 2023
