QAA Scotland publishes TQER Thematic Review

QAA Scotland has published a Thematic Review of Tertiary Quality Enhancement Review (TQER) outcomes during academic years 2024-25 and 2025-26.

TQER is the method by which QAA reviews Scottish tertiary education providers as part of Scotland’s Tertiary Quality Enhancement Framework. Introduced in 2024-25. TQER is designed to support quality enhancement and to improve the student experience across the sector, encompassing all 43 Scottish colleges and universities on a periodic seven-year cycle.

The new report provides a thematic analysis of the areas of good practice and recommendations for action from the reports for the eight institutions participating in TQER in 2025-26 and the two institutions which participated in 2024-25.

The report is structured around the six TQEF principles: enhancement and quality culture; excellence in learning, teaching and assessment; supporting student success; student engagement and partnership; data and evidence; and externality.

The report's conclusion notes: "The findings point to a sector with strong foundations in student support and staff development, and clear strategic ambition. The most consistent area of good practice – identified in nine of ten review reports – was the quality and comprehensiveness of student support, with employer engagement and work-based learning also emerging as a distinct sector-wide strength. The most significant area for development was student engagement and partnership: while institutions demonstrated effective mechanisms for gathering student feedback, eight of ten received recommendations to move beyond consultation into genuine student partnership and co-production."

The full report is available on the QAA Scotland website.