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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.
National Review of Awarding Arrangements
In 2025-6, QAA was commissioned, through a four-phased process, to provide assurance to the SFC, beyond that provided by existing quality assurance mechanisms, that arrangements for the awarding of qualifications are being applied consistently, effectively and transparently; and that academic standards are being maintained.
Latest news
QAA Scotland publishes list of institutions included in National Review
| Date: | May 26 - 2026 |
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QAA Scotland has published the list of higher education institutions to be included in Phase 3 of the National Review of Awarding Arrangements.
In response to the systemic risks identified by the Targeted Peer Review (TPR) of the University of Glasgow undertaken in October 2025, the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) commissioned QAA to undertake a national review of awarding arrangements in Scotland to provide assurance, beyond that provided by existing quality assurance mechanisms, that the issues identified through the TPR at the University of Glasgow do not represent a systemic issue within the Scottish tertiary education sector.
Institutions have been selected for inclusion through a sampling methodology according to criteria published on 27 April as part of the National Review's Guide for Institutions. Institutions were also given the opportunity to put themselves forward to be included within this sample. Institutions selected to undergo deep-dive reviews met several criteria within the sampling methodology.
It is important to emphasise that inclusion in the sample does not suggest that there is a concern about the awarding arrangements at an institution.
QAA has written to those institutions which have been included in the sample for the National Review (including those that volunteered to be included), and to those which have not, to inform them of this decision. Those included in the sample have also been provided with details and timescales for their review processes, and have been asked to complete a self-evaluation questionnaire.
Phase 3 of the National Review will not result in formal judgements about the academic standards of institutions' awards but will result in the identification of recommendations for action to address any areas for development or weaknesses and areas of good practice.
The following institutions have been included in the sample for the National Review of Awarding Arrangements in Scotland:
- Abertay University
- Glasgow Caledonian University
- Heriot-Watt University
- Robert Gordon University
- University of Dundee
- University of Edinburgh
- University of St Andrews
- University of Stirling
- University of the West of Scotland
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Find out about Scotland's Tertiary Enhancement Programme (STEP)
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