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QAA is supporting 13 Collaborative Enhancement Projects in 2021 following call for expressions of interest

Date: March 24 - 2021

In December 2020, QAA called for expressions of interest to lead a Collaborative Enhancement Partnership Project. The partnerships will provide institutions with the opportunity to work together on areas of shared interest, and the response was very positive with 32 innovative project proposals received.

We can now confirm that we are able to support 13 projects this year, each to be led by a QAA Member. A further 55 partners are engaged in one or more of the projects.

The approach to running the projects draws on the successful collaborative clusters that have been a part of the Scottish sector Enhancement Themes for a number of years. We are offering funding for groups of QAA Member institutions to work in clusters to enhance the quality of their own students' learning experiences, while also developing outputs that will benefit the wider QAA Membership and higher education sector.   

The topics covered in the 13 projects running in 2021 are: 

  • Reviewing approaches to blended learning
  • Supporting PGR students to prepare for vivas
  • Challenging the current reliance on examinations
  • Developing a set of inclusive assessment design attributes for use across the HE sector 
  • Belonging through assessment: Pipelines of compassion
  • Making the language of assessment inclusive
  • Exploring how students read and the impact on their learning 
  • Differing perceptions of quality
  • Social induction framework
  • Embedding mental wellbeing
  • A learning community: An exploration of the Lincolnshire Tripod
  • A flexible learning toolkit to enhance module design
  • Modular learning by design not by default.

Ailsa Crum, QAA’s Director of Membership, Quality Enhancement and Standards, said: ‘I’m delighted by the response to the call and the range of topics these projects will cover. As they progress their work we’ll keep finding ways of sharing progress with our wider membership.’