QAA Scotland is part of the UK-wide The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA). QAA analyses and advises on standards and quality in UK higher education. Our mission is to safeguard standards and improve the quality of UK higher education wherever it is delivered around the world.
The QAA Scotland Strategic Advisory Committee oversees our work and provides information about the legislative, regulatory, funding and policy environment for Scottish higher education. It is made up of a Board member from Scotland, our Director of Regulatory Services , and external Scottish representatives and meet at least twice a year.
Our role in Scotland
We have devolved responsibilities for the work of QAA in Scotland and play a key role in the Scottish tertiary education sector.
We are an independent guardian of quality and standards with drive for change and development. We safeguard the public interest, the interests of students and of other external stakeholders. We support the work of our partners through peer review, quality enhancement and the student learning experience.
How we work
Our work is enhancement-led, in line with Scotland’s Tertiary Quality Enhancement Framework (TQEF) We build and maintain, strong and effective relationships with Scotland’s colleges and universities, students’ organisations and other sector agencies.. We share our institutions’ aspirations to provide excellent learning opportunities for all students. We create innovative and tested ways to allow institutions to learn from each other.
Student voice is at the heart of all our work. Student representatives are full members on all our working groups and committees, ensuring that the student voice informs the direction of all enhancement activities. Students also make an integral contribution to our enhancement-led peer review method, Tertiary Quality Enhancement Review (TQER). Each review panel includes at least one student reviewer, who provides the review panel with expertise on the student voice in institutional quality assurance and enhancement processes. We work closely with NUS Scotland and student partnerships in quality Scotland (sparqs) to support student engagement in all aspects of the TQEF.
We provide dedicated support for Scotland’s enhancement culture within its higher education institutions, overseeing Quality Arrangements for Scotland Higher Education (QASHE) Group, and the Teaching Quality Forum (TQF).
We deliver conferences, a range of shorter events and suites of resources that are intended to support Scotland’s colleges and universities to enhance the learner journey. These events and resources are responsive to emerging issues and provide practical solutions for shared challenges. Examples of innovative practice within Scotland’s colleges and universities are presented alongside learning from international perspectives, so that we can learn from national and international practice.
Our main areas of work
Scotland’s Tertiary Enhancement Programme (STEP)
We manage Scotland’s Tertiary Enhancement Programme (STEP), in partnership with College Development Network (CDN). STEP is a multi-year programme that enables college and universities to explore a specific topic in depth and develop innovative approaches .The current topic, ‘Supporting Diverse Learner Journeys’ will run from 2024-2028. The STEP Steering Group provides strategic oversight for the programme which includes representatives from colleges, universities and sector agencies.
Tertiary Quality Enhancement Review (TQER)
We deliver TQER, the external quality review of Scotland’s colleges and universities. TQER is a peer-led, enhancement-focused approach to review. The aims of the review are to maintain academic standards and enhance the quality of the student learning experience. We do this on behalf of Scotland’s tertiary education sector and the Scottish Funding Council (SFC).
The Tertiary Quality Enhancement Review (TQER) began its first cycle in 2024-25. This cycle
of external review will be the first time that all of Scotland’s colleges and
universities are reviewed with the same review method. The current cycle of
TQER will run from 2024 until 2031.
Previous areas of work
Enhancement Themes
From 2003-2023, QAA Scotland delivered the Enhancement Themes, a sector-leading national enhancement programme of activity for Scotland’s universities. The Enhancement Themes provided a structure within which the Scottish higher education sector could explore collaborative working on specific themes that directly impacted the student experience.
External institutional review
QAA Scotland previously
delivered the Enhancement-led Institutional Review (ELIR) and Quality Enhancement
and Standards Review (QESR) for Scotland’s universities. More information about
these review methods, including thematic reports and evaluative activity, can
be found on our webpages.
Focus On
Focus On was a programme of annual thematic projects that focused on a topic that emerged from the recommendations and commendations from the ELIR method. Focus On tied the outcomes to developmental activities, resources and events that engaged the whole Scottish higher education sector and supported the enhancement of policy and practice.
Tertiary Enhancement Topic
From 2022-24, QAA Scotland, Education Scotland, College Development Network (CDN) and student partnerships in quality Scotland (sparqs) worked together with the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) to support the design and delivery of an effective and inclusive digital/blended offering in Scotland’s colleges and universities. This was the first cross-sector project of its kind.