Quality Assurance - Keele University
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Quality Assurance

Quality Assurance and Enhancement at Keele

Introduction

The University operates an integrated system for quality assurance and enhancement which makes an effective contribution to the achievement of the University’s Strategic Plan [Particularly Strategic Aims One and Two http://www.keele.ac.uk/strategicplan/ and which underpins the academic planning process. The ultimate aim, underpinning this system, is the University’s commitment to produce the best possible student experience. Such a system must be sufficiently robust to safeguard the standards of the academic awards and clearly articulate with the UK Quality Code for Higher Education.

The University understands the importance of keeping abreast of external developments and best practice in higher education and sees this as part of being a self-critical academic community which evaluates and enhances its quality assurance procedures to encourage that culture. The maintenance and enhancement of the academic standards of the institution depend foremost on the commitment of all staff continually to evaluate and reflect on the quality of the educational experiences provided for students. 

The University has well-established, comprehensive and rigorous arrangements for the approval, review, modification and annual monitoring of its academic provision.  These arrangements for quality management and enhancement build upon many years' experience and reflection.  The University has been subject to external audit as well as scrutiny from a wide range of professional and statutory regulatory bodies.  Over the years, the University has modified many aspects of its quality assurance policies and procedures to ensure they reflect best practice internally and across the sector and the University is committed to further changes and enhancements in years to come.  The key principles set out below, together with the management procedures explained in more detail in the AQSM, are important as guides to staff in their endeavour to secure the standards of the awards and a high quality student experience.

Key Principles

The main principles underpinning the University’s quality and standards policy are:

  1. that quality assurance and enhancement within a collegial system are best achieved through the fostering of an ethos of critical self-reflection in partnership with students;
  2. that members of the University’s academic community, individually or in groups, should have  responsibility for enhancing the quality of the learning experience of their students, whilst acknowledging  that students, as adult learners, will take responsibility for their own learning [see Keele Student Charter, 2012]
  3. that collegiality and rigorous external peer review are vital means to identify areas for improvement, to foster collaboration and the exchange of best practice; 
  4. that the benchmarking of its academic standards is at the heart of the University’s procedures;
  5. that it is desirable to promote consistency rather than standardisation wherever possible;
  6. that quality assurance and enhancement need to be mindful of the challenges presented by the University’s dual honours provision, the interdisciplinary nature of the curriculum, and the strong links with the professions at Keele;
  7. that students and other stakeholders are key contributors  to the shaping of University policies and mechanisms in the area of quality and standards;
  8. that all policies and procedures relating to quality and standards should be subject of regular review to ensure their ongoing fitness for purpose in a rapidly changing internal and external environment.

The QA Webpages

These webpages replace the format previously known as the "AQSM" (last approved Senate 2008) but may, until approved otherwise, draw upon the same processes, materials and documents.  The aim of these webpages is to present agreed policies and procedures relating to the quality assurance and enhancement for taught programmes and the student experience at Keele University.