We are a sector-leading quality agency with unmatched experience of providing impartial regulatory and collaborative quality assurance and enhancement in Scotland. We work in partnership with the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), other sector quality agencies, students, and Scotland’s colleges and universities to ensure that learners experience the highest quality of education.
QAA was delighted to have been commissioned by SFC to lead key areas of Scotland’s Tertiary Quality Project (TQP). The TQP involved the development and delivery of the Tertiary Quality Enhancement Framework, which articulates a common approach to assuring and enhancing quality in Scotland’s tertiary sector.
Our activity in 2025-26
Scotland’s Tertiary Enhancement Programme (STEP)
QAA will continue to partner with College Development Network (CDN) to deliver Scotland’s Tertiary Enhancement Programme (STEP), the national enhancement programme of activity for Scotland’s colleges and universities. The focus of the second year of ‘Supporting diverse Learner Journeys’ will be on implementing the collaborative projects designed in the Discovery Phase. QAA and CDN will support project teams to deliver impactful activity that improves and enhances the learner experience in Scotland’s colleges and universities.
Tertiary Quality Enhancement Review (TQER)
In 2025-26, QAA Scotland will deliver the second year of the current external institutional review method, TQER. TQER is a peer-led, enhancement-focused approach to review. It contains the flexibility to support different institutional contexts, modes of delivery and levels of learning. Taken together with the wider TQEF, TQER is intended to support assurance and enhancement of academic standards and the quality of the student learning experience for Scotland’s colleges and universities.
Latest news
QAA publishes TQER report for the University of St Andrews
QAA and CDN take two more STEPs forward
Blogs
Micro-credentials good practice: A tertiary view from Scotland
17/11/2023 - Dr Anne Tierney, Deputy Chair of the Scottish Tertiary Education Network for Micro-credentials
Quality enhancement through collaboration, trust and empowerment (a celebration of the Scottish approach)
28/09/22 - Sir Paul Grice, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh
Past, present and future: Evaluating Enhancement Themes - a journey through space time?
10/08/22 - Clare Parks, Quality Enhancement Specialist, QAA Scotland
Featured
Read our reports
Browse the latest ELIR review report for Scottish higher education institutions.
Find out about Enhancement Themes
Discover more about the national programme of Enhancement Themes.
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