New report highlights both good practice and gaps in engaging students in quality processes

The Quality Assurance Agency has published a thematic analysis of institutions' efforts to engage students as partners in quality assurance and enhancement processes, based on the outcomes of 35 quality reviews carried out across the UK and internationally between 2024 and 2026.

The analysis has found that many providers demonstrate a commitment to embedding student engagement strategically within institutional frameworks, ensuring that partnership working is student‑centred, embedded in institutional culture, and supported through formal governance and quality processes. It points out that student feedback is being used to inform changes to curriculum design, teaching practice, assessment and support provision.

It also observes that the emergence of partnership approaches and co‑creation activities indicates an understanding of engagement which has moved beyond consultation towards shared responsibility for enhancement.

At the same time, however, it identifies several recurring challenges – including in relation to the coherence and consistency of institutional approaches, to differences in participation and representation, and to the effectiveness of feedback loops.

The QAA report notes: "While engagement activity is often embedded within strategic frameworks, it is not always fully integrated or consistently applied across all areas of provision… Evidence of low uptake of representative roles, uneven attendance at committees, and barriers relating to time, location and competing commitments indicates that engagement opportunities are not always fully inclusive… While mechanisms for collecting student feedback are generally well developed, there is less consistent evidence that feedback is systematically analysed, translated into action, and communicated back to students… Although many providers offer a wide range of engagement mechanisms, the challenge lies in their coordination and effectiveness rather than their availability."