This February, the University will be reviewed by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education in order to ensure their teaching & learning standards are up to scratch! We're looking for a number of students to support the review by meeting with the inspectors at one of the following groups on Monday 15th February:
Undergraduates & Postgraduate Taught Students who are NOT Student Reps - 15:00-16:00
Postgraduate Research Students (including some of you who teach!) who are NOT Student Reps - 16:30 17:30.
If you're interested in taking part, email studentvoice@guild.bham.ac.uk by 4pm on Friday 29th January.
Want to find out more? Read on...
What is the QAA?
The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA)?? is the independent body entrusted with monitoring, and advising on, standards and quality in UK higher education. All publicly funded Higher Education Institutions (like Birmingham!) in the UK subscribe to the QAA, and are subject to inspections periodically. You can think of the QAA as Ofsted for Universities! The University of Birmingham last had an inspection in 2009, and the next one is on 15th February.
What happens at the inspection?
The assessors will meet with a variety of staff and students from the University, and talk about the issues raised in the University’s Self Evaluation Document (SED). This has already been compiled and submitted, and is the University’s chance to reflect on its strengths and weaknesses, and on progress made since the last inspection.
Alongside this document, the Guild has compiled a Student Written Submission (SWS) which draws student feedback from a wide variety of sources, and puts across the views of students about key areas of their academic experience. Our Education Officer, Izzy Lenga, has taken the lead on developing this document and we have been careful to ensure it is representative of the students’ voices.
You can read our SWS here.
What will I need to do?
You will be meeting with the assessors in small groups, and they will ask you questions about your experiences at University, with a focus on issues that have been raised in the Student Written Submission. It would be helpful if you are familiar with the document in advance of the meeting, but don’t worry, you won’t be expected to have in-depth knowledge of it!
Anything you say to the assessors will be recorded confidentially, and you will not be identifiable in the finished report.
We want you to give honest feedback, but please bear in mind the QAA assessors cannot help with specific issues, or deal with complaints about members of staff.
We will ask participants to attend a briefing at the Guild ahead of the QAA meeting (during w/c 8th February). The times/locations of these briefings will be communicated to participants as soon as possible.