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

Quality, standards and enhancement
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Awareness of the concepts, terminology and expectations of national agencies concerned
with quality, coupled with increasing competence and understanding of teaching and
learning processes, can help the individual teacher and course team member to feel more
engaged with and contribute more effectively towards the development and
enhancement of a quality culture in higher education.
REFERENCES
Bologna Declaration (1999) and further information at: ec.europa.eu/education/
policies/educ/bologna/bologna_en.html (accessed July 2007).
Cooke, R (2002) Information on Quality and Standards in Higher Education (The Cooke Report,
02/15), Northhaven: HEFCE.
Harvey, L, Burrows, A and Green, D (1992) Criteria of Quality: Summary Report of the QHE
Project, Perry Barr, Birmingham: University of Central Birmingham.
National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education (1997) (Dearing Report) Higher
Education in the Learning Society, London: NCIHE, HMSO.
QAA (2007) www.qaa.ac.uk/aboutus/qaaintro/intro.asp (accessed 4 May 2007).
Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) A Guide to Quality Assurance in UK Higher Education.
Available online at www.qaa.ac.uk/aboutus/heGuide/guide.asp (accessed 29 March
2007).
Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) Policy on Programme Specification. Available online at
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/crntwork, www.qaa.ac.uk/aboutus/qaaintro/intro.asp
(accessed 4 May 2007).
FURTHER READING
The Higher Education Funding Council for England’s website contains publications relating
to academic quality and standards: www.hefce.ac.uk.
The Scottish Funding Council’s website includes details of review and quality assurance
procedures: www.sfc.ac.uk.
The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales has responsibility for assuring the quality
of provision in Welsh colleges and universities: www.hefcw.ac.uk.
In Northern Ireland, responsibilities for assuring educational quality are distributed between
the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland at www.delni.
gov.uk/index/further-and-higher-education/higher-education.htm and the Northern
Ireland Higher Education Council at www.delni.gov.uk/index/further-and-highereducation/higher-education/nihec.htm.
The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) www.qaa.ac.uk. Includes information on codes of
practice; national qualifications frameworks; latest information on educational review and
institutional audit (including handbooks); programme specifications; progress files and
subject benchmark statements.
The Higher Education Academy also provides information about educational quality at
www.heacademy.ac.uk.