QAA publishes TQER report for the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

The Quality Assurance Agency has published the report of its Tertiary Quality Enhancement Review (TQER) of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS).

TQER is the method by which QAA reviews Scottish tertiary education providers as part of Scotland’s Tertiary Quality Enhancement Framework.

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland traces its origins to 1847, when it was founded as the Glasgow Athenaeum with a mission to provide cultural enrichment and education across society. In 2011 it became the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, encompassing the full range of performing arts. Today, RCS articulates its goal as to "raise the transformative power and reach of the performing arts in Scotland and beyond".

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland 's review visits took place on 10-11 February and 24-26 March 2026. The review was conducted by a team of four independent reviewers, including a student reviewer.

The TQER team makes a judgement as to whether an institution meets sector expectations in managing academic standards, enhancing the quality of the learning experience and enabling student success, and has the quality assurance and enhancement arrangements in place to enable this to continue into the future. 

The team judged that the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is effective in managing academic standards, enhancing the quality of the learning experience and enabling student success. 

The review report lists seven areas of good practice and one recommendation for action.

The TQER team identified the following features of good practice:

• The involvement of individual practitioners and industry partners/organisations in curriculum development, delivery and review, placements and/or work-related experiences in real-world settings that help ensure that its students are prepared to be work-ready graduates.
• The benefits to the doctoral student experience offered by the partnership with the University of St Andrews, that enables access to shared research events, additional staff expertise and additional resources and opportunities to support student progression. 
• The encouragement for, and facilitation of, meaningful collaboration across artistic disciplines, broadening students’ experience and skillsets.
• The approach to supporting EDI initiatives through sustained funding and training to promote a fair, inclusive, and accessible learning environment for staff and students.
• The establishment and development of the Creative Enterprise Development Office that enables RCS to provide support for current students and graduates to develop their careers as self-employed entrepreneurial creative artists.
• The comprehensive and impactful opportunities for student representation at discipline and programme level, that supports and embeds the student voice.
• The integration of a wide range of internal and external stakeholders into the institution’s academic governance and quality processes to help inform the strategic approach to managing quality and standards. This enables the development of a strong quality culture based on continuous reflection and a shared sense of responsibility for delivering excellent learning opportunities and the student experience.

The TQER team made the following recommendation for action:

• RCS should clearly communicate the strategic approach to student partnership to all staff and students, improving awareness and visibility of the Student Partnership Agreement, Student Experience Project, the Student Experience Forum and programme open forums supporting their ongoing implementation.

Professor Jeffrey Sharkey FRSE, Principal of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, said:

"We welcome the outcomes of the recent and rigorous TQER review and external assessment process which recognise the excellence of learning and teaching at RCS and the distinctive and inclusive creative environment in which our students are demonstrably seen to thrive.

"We are particularly delighted the Review recognises RCS’s strengths in engaging industry partners in curriculum development and delivery, including placements and/or work-related experiences in real-world settings that help ensure that our students are prepared for multi-faceted employment opportunities. It is pleasing that the Review recognises and commends RCS’s encouragement for and facilitation of our students’ meaningful collaboration across artistic disciplines which in turn broadens their experience and skillsets. In addition, we’re delighted to be commended for supporting current students and graduates to develop their careers as self-employed entrepreneurial creative artists, as well as being recognised by the Review panel for our approach to supporting EDI initiatives through sustained funding and training to promote a fair, inclusive, and accessible learning environment for staff and students.

"Finally, and importantly, this Review resonates with the commitment embedded in RCS's strategic plan to grow a sustainable community that nurtures, supports and celebrates inclusive art making from grassroots to world-leading performance and production."

The full report can be read on our website.