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

194 ❘
Teaching, supervising, learning
qualifications and the achievements and attributes that may be expected of holders of
qualifications, and aim to provide assurance that qualifications from different institutions
and for different subjects represent similar levels of achievement.
The higher education qualifications awarded by universities and colleges in England,
Wales and Northern Ireland are at five levels: the Certificate, Intermediate, Honours,
Masters and Doctoral levels. Generic ‘descriptors’ indicate the expected outcomes at each
level and provide a reference point for course development and review, whatever the
subject. Lecturers and institutions need to ensure that their programmes match the
appropriate level (see also Chapter 4).
Subject benchmark statements
Produced by senior academics in consultation with the sector, subject benchmark
statements are statements about the ‘threshold quality’ or ‘minimum standards’ of
graduates’ achievements, attributes and capabilities relating to the award of qualifications
at a given level in each subject.
The statements are used alongside qualifications frameworks so that for any
programme there is compatibility between the intended learning outcomes and the
relevant programme specification. The benchmark statements are regularly reviewed to
reflect developments in the subject and the experiences of institutions and others of
working with them.
Lecturers need to be aware of the benchmark statements for their own subjects,
particularly if they are involved in curriculum design or the production of programme
specifications. Statements are one reference point for designing new programmes or when
reviewing the content of existing curricula. The benchmark statements are also used by
external bodies as reference points for audit and review.
Student satisfaction surveys
Higher education institutions are charged with providing timely, accurate and relevant
public information but they must also demonstrate engagement with and consideration
of the student, employer and other stakeholders’ ‘voice’ (Cooke, 2002). The National
Student Survey, which began in 2005, systematically gathers and reviews student
feedback on programmes and institutions to improve the quality of the student learning
experience (see also Chapters 9 and 10 for further consideration of the impact of the
surveys).
Lecturers (and administrators) need to be aware of national, institutional and
departmental requirements for the collection of data from students and employers, to
respond to the comments received, and to ensure that information is made available for
public consumption.