A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Enhancing academic and Practice

Quality, standards and enhancement
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Institutional audit
QAA quality assurance processes include:
• submission of a self-evaluation document (SED) or reflective analysis (Scotland only)
by the institution or programme which describes and analyses internal monitoring
and review procedures;
• scrutiny of the information published by the institution about its provision;
• visit(s) to the institution, involving discussions with senior managers, staff and
students;
• peer review involving external scrutiny by auditors and reviewers (academics,
industry and professional body representatives);
• a published report on the review activities.
Up-to-date information on QAA arrangements, including guidance documents and
review reports, may be found on the QAA website (see Further reading).
One institutional audit visit is usually carried out to each HEI by an external review
team every six years. The audit is based around production of a SED followed by a briefing
visit and a longer audit visit. Audits consider examples of internal QA processes at
programme level and across the institution, selecting the particular focus of attention
(which may be at subject level) depending on the findings and concerns of the audit team.
The main aim of the audit is to verify that internal QA processes are robust enough to
ensure and enhance educational quality across all the provision that the institution
manages. Review by professional statutory bodies (PSBs) continues alongside
institutional audit. Following the visit a public report is published summarising the main
findings and recommendations, and stating the level of confidence the audit team has in
the provision. If there are serious weaknesses, follow-up visits and scrutiny are arranged.
For institutions that demonstrate sound QA and enhancement mechanisms, audit will
have a ‘lighter touch’ in future.
Audit and review place considerable demands on lecturers and other staff. Audit teams
require details of internal assurance processes, student evaluations, student satisfaction
surveys, employers’ evaluations and input to programmes, examiners’ reports (internal
and external), intake and graduate data and detailed information concerning programme
content and assessment. Provision and take-up of staff development and training are
considered (particularly around teaching and learning) including numbers attaining the
UK professional standards for teaching or belonging to professional organisations.
Institutions are required to publish a Learning and Teaching Strategy. In addition to
consideration of the student learning experience and internal monitoring and review
procedures, the QAA review teams consider how institutions demonstrate adherence to
the Learning and Teaching Strategy and effectively use any associated Teaching Quality
Enhancement Funds (TQEF). Teams will also consider the development, use and
publication of programme specifications and progress files and how well institutions and
programme teams have used external reference points, including: