The UK Quality Code and Higher Education Reviews Admissions Policy and the QAA Quality Code – Are you ready?

Catherine Kerfoot, Development Officer, QAA

UK Quality Code Chapter B2: Recruitment, selection and admission to higher

education

Cathy KerfootQAA

22 July 2014

The UK Quality Code Part B, Chapter 2: Recruitment, selection and admission to higher education

Development process

• Up to December 2011 – The Code of Practice, Section 10: Admissions to Higher Education

• Since December 2011 – the UK Quality Code Chapter B2: Admissions (repackaged version of Section 10, content broadly the same)

• Now published and current for the purpose of review from September 2014 – UK Quality Code Chapter B2: Recruitment, selection and admission to higher education(restructured, revised, updated)

What’s new?

• The title• Introduction• Structure:

• General principles• Stages of the process

• Explanatory information• But everything building on what was there

before

The Expectation

Recruitment, selection and admission policies and procedures adhere to the principles of fair

admission. They are transparent, reliable, valid, inclusive and underpinned by appropriate

organisational structures and processes. They support higher education providers in the

selection of students who are able to complete their programme.

A1: UK and European reference points for academic standards

A2: Degree-awarding bodies’ reference points for academic standards

A3: Securing academic standards and an outcomes-based approach to academic awards

B1: Programme design, development and approvalB2: Recruitment, selection and admission to higher educationB3: Learning and teachingB4: Enabling student development and achievementB5: Student engagementB6: Assessment of students and the recognition of prior learningB7: External examiningB8: Programme monitoring and reviewB9: Academic appeals and student complaints B10: Managing higher education provision with othersB11: Research degrees

Part A: Setting and maintaining academic standards

Part B: Assuring and enhancing academic quality

Part C: Information about higher education provision

General introduction

Chapters of the Code

Higher Education ReviewReview judgements made about:• The setting and maintenance of the threshold

academic standards of awards(or the maintenance of the threshold academic standards of awards offered on behalf of degree-awarding bodies and/or other awarding organisations, for non degree-awarding bodies)

• The quality of student learning opportunities • The quality of the information produced by the

provider about its provision• The enhancement of student learning

opportunities

www.qaa.ac.uk/InstitutionReports/types-of-review/higher-education-review/

Reviewers look at each Expectation

Extract from table in current HER handbook, Annex 2 (p.41)

Judgements made against Expectations

Extract from table in current HER handbook, Annex 2 (p.34)

Resources for further information

www.qaa.ac.uk/qualitycode

• Frequently asked questions• Knowledge bases

Questions?