Preparing for IQER

Tanya Izzard and Maria MarzaioliUniversity of Brighton

t.izzard@brighton.ac.uk, m.z.marzaioli@brighton.ac.uk

Aims and audience• to introduce college staff to the requirements,

processes and outcomes of IQER• to develop understanding of the QAA Academic

Infrastructure and its use• to introduce college staff to

Partner College Review and its role in preparation for IQER

• for all college staff who may be involved in these processes

• also of interest to students participating in either process

Integrated Quality and Enhancement Review

• Developed by the QAA at the request of HEFCE• Replaced academic subject review• Consultation in 2006, pilot in 2007• Focus on college responsibilities within the context

of agreement with awarding bodies (i.e. UoB)• College engagement with QAA academic

infrastructure through partnership with University of Brighton

What is IQER?

IQER is an evidence based peer review which considers:

• college management of student learning experience• academic standards and quality of HE provisionScope• All colleges providing HE programmes that are

funded by HEFCE will take part in IQER.• IQER does not apply to research degrees.

Aims and objectives of IQERAims1. Support colleges in evaluating and improving their

management of HE.2. Foster good working relationships3. Enable HEFCE to discharge its statutory responsibility

for assessing quality4. Provide public information.

Objectives1. Engage colleges in a process of self evaluation and

peer review2. To produce reports of these review activities3. To contribute to public information

IQER themesThe IQER review process explores 3 core themes

1. Academic standards– the level of achievement a student has to reach in order to

achieve a particular award or qualification2. Quality of learning opportunities

– the effectiveness of everything that is done or provided by the college, to ensure that students have the best possible opportunity to meet the stated outcomes of their programmes and academic standards of the awards they are seeking

3. Public information– published by the college about academic programmes,

academic standards and the quality of learning opportunities

Process

IQER takes place in TWO PHASES.1. Developmental engagement– supporting the college to develop its HE provision and

management of student learning experience

2. Summative Review– reviewing management of student learning experience– making judgements about effectiveness of management

• Colleges will have one DE and one SR before 2011/12• Minimum of 1 year between DE and SR

ProcessBoth phases of an IQER review:

• Focus on management of the HE student learning experience

• Acknowledge shared responsibilities and seek to enhance relationships

• Share the three core themes • Assume HE provision is already managed effectively• Are lead by teams of peers• Prioritise the interests of students• Lead to the production of reports

Developmental Engagement• Reflects the first two overarching aims• Adopts two of the IQER objectives• The first developmental engagement will focus on

assessment• Most colleges will have only one DE• Takes place with the full participation of the college;

college institutional nominees join review team• Employs lines of enquiry proposed by the college• Report is confidential.• Usually one developmental engagement

Developmental Engagement outcomes

• Identify good practice

• Recommendations

– Essential recommendations

– Advisable recommendations

– Desirable recommendations

• Report

• Action Plan

Developmental Engagement Timeline

Summative Review• Reflects all the overarching aims and adopts all

objectives• Covers all aspects of college managed HE provision• Does not employ lines of enquiry proposed by the

college• No college nominees on the review team• Judgements regarding core themes 1&2, conclusion

on core theme 3• Summative review report is published openly

Summative Review outcomes• Provisional judgements related to core themes 1 & 2– Confidence– Limited confidence– No confidence

• Provisional conclusion related to core theme 3– Reliance can be placed– Reliance cannot be placed– May also reach the conclusion that the information is

accurate, but incomplete, or vice versa.

• identifies good practice and recommendations

Summative Review Timeline

Self Evaluation Document (SED)A Self Evaluation Document (SED) is required for both Developmental

Engagement and Summative Review• Headings common to both SEDs are:

– Introduction to college and awarding bodies– Details of college responsibilities for HE– Outline of recent changes affecting HE provision

• Developmental Engagement SED also requests:– Outline of assessment policy and practice– Lines of Enquiry

• Summative Review SED also requests:– academic standards– quality of learning opportunities the three core themes– public information

Student involvementReflects Aim 1 – to support colleges in reviewing and improving

their management of HE provision for the benefit of students• IQER teams seek to identify student views about their

experience as HE learners• IQER teams meet students during visit • IQER teams invite students to produce a student written

submission. • Student submission should reflect students own views of their

experience as learners• Colleges can help students to prepare for submission by

sharing info with them• QAA will provide further guidance to students and colleges

during preparations for IQER.

Role of awarding bodies• IQER correspondence between QAA and College will be copied

to awarding bodies. Colleges are encouraged to copy information to their awarding body also

• Awarding bodies identified in IQER reports• IQER reports will be used as evidence for HE institutional audit.• Institutional audit reports will inform the number of

developmental engagements• Judgements, conclusions recommendations and action plans

arising from IQER are not addressed to the awarding body, but may have implications for their relationship with colleges

• Agreement reached early in DE and SR processes regarding the involvement of awarding bodies

UOB InvolvmentThe following principles were endorsed by the Academic

Partnership Committee in February 2008• UoB to offer advice and guidance with SEDs• SEDs to be sent to UoB as well as review team• UoB to offer advice and guidance on evidence base• Colleges to invite UoB representation at preparatory

meetings• Attendance at other meetings to be agreed - UoB can

offer support where needed• UoB to attend judgement meetings• UoB to offer advice and guidance on the development of

action plans

QAA Academic Infrastructure

• Comprises four elements:– Programme specifications– Framework for higher education qualifications– Subject benchmark statements– Code of Practice for the assurance of quality and

standards in Higher Education

Programme specifications

QAA defines as:• Concise description of the intended learning

outcomes of a HE programme and the means by which they are achieved and demonstrated

• Definitive publicly available information on aims, intended learning outcomes and expected learner achievements

• Format not specified but core content suggested

Programme specifications

Uses:• Source of information for students and

prospective students• By institutions for programme approval,

review, monitoring & evaluation, as core programme documentation

• Source of information for external reviewers, employers, PSRBs

Programme Specifications at Brighton

• See the policy on Programme Specifications– Developed for each taught award-bearing course– The primary record of an approved course– A key document in course development and approval– Evidence to support periodic review of courses– Part of the agreement between the University and the

student– Approved at validation and thereafter annually by Faculty

Academic Boards• Published on Staffcentral and included in student

handbooks• Standard template defined

Framework for HE Qualifications

• A national framework for England and Wales• Defines levels of HE awards and provides

qualifications descriptors• HE providers must “demonstrate that

students will gain qualification awarded in accordance with” the FHEQ

Framework for HE qualifications

FHEQ at Brighton

• Common Academic Framework• Course development and validation• Qualification descriptors• New awards (eg Foundation Diploma)• Diploma Supplement: ongoing work

Subject area benchmarks

• Set out expectations about standards of degrees in a range of subject areas

• Many subject areas defined; updated every five years

• Include information on subject knowledge and understanding, attributes and skills, thresholds for student achievement

• Foundation degree benchmark• Guidance not prescription

Subject area benchmarks at Brighton

• Support programme development• Validation panels may expect course

development teams to have taken account of the relevant benchmark

• Assist with delivery of programme• Contribute to periodic review

Code of Practice• Guidance on maintaining quality and standards for universities and

colleges subscribing to QAA• 10 sections

1. Postgraduate research programmes2. Collaborative provision and flexible and distributed learning

(including e-learning)3. Students with disabilities4. External examining5. Academic appeals and student complaints on academic matters6. Assessment of students7. Programme design, approval, monitoring and review8. Career education, information and guidance9. Work-based and placement learning10. Admissions to higher education

Code of Practice at Brighton

• Precepts and detailed guidance• Used to inform development of policy and

procedure• Programme teams encouraged to refer to

relevant sections during programme development and review, especially: – section 6 Assessment of students– section 9 Work-based and placement learning

Academic Infrastructure and IQER

• Review teams will be guided by expectations of Academic Infrastructure

• Brighton’s engagement already evaluated through Institutional Audit 2008

• College judged in the context of its agreement with awarding HEI

• Developmental Engagement will focus on assessment

• University policy or subject-level engagement?• Guidance or compliance?

Partner College Review

• a University of Brighton process developed in consultation with colleges

• carried out at least every five years• designed with IQER in mind to provide an

effective preparation for colleges• considers the effectiveness of the partnership

as well as college effectiveness

Partner College Review aims

• University and college can consider, evaluate and improve the quality of partnership working

• assure University that management and delivery of responsibilities for HE can be supported by the college

• review and evaluate college HE strategy• identify areas for development and enhancement• identify good practice for dissemination

Partner College Review documentation

• based on draft self-evaluation for IQER Summative Review

• college HE strategy• report of significant changes in resources• report from University, including Faculty commentary,

central department commentary, and analysis of outcomes of quality assurance processes

• annual institution-level monitoring and evaluation reports

• extracts from external inspection and review reports

Partner College Review process

• resource inspection• panel meet with course leaders, link tutors,

current students• panel discuss outcomes of these meetings and

issues from documentation with college review team

• normally one and a half days

Partner College Review outcomes

• confirmation that college is able to manage and deliver its responsibilities

• recommendations and commendations• development of action plan for the college

and the University• received by senior University committees• progress monitored by Academic Partnership

Committee