Quality assurance

Rise in complaints to new record levels driven by medical students and those from beyond EU

England’s higher education regulator takes on quality scrutiny role after Quality Assurance Agency steps back

Agencies created to help institutions improve themselves, then asked to guard federal student aid, now face fight over battling partisan attacks on academia

Tough new demands requiring institutions to produce world-class research could put some universities’ titles under threat. But is that a good thing?

Hopes that a new regulator would bring light-touch, proportionate regulation in England have been dashed, says Iain Mansfield

Australian regulator advises against shortcuts, such as recruiting moonlighting big hitters, as universities confront new research quality benchmarks

Agency rebuts Office for Students report which ‘substantially misrepresents’ role in assessing higher education providers, as major rift exposed

Vice-chancellors hope for overseas expansion after Unesco agreement on recognising qualifications ratified

Concerns over regulator’s independence and sweeping new powers necessitates parliamentary investigation, letter to Robin Walker states

Provider with low graduation rates due to admissions policies struggling to meet Office for Students benchmark

Dame Julie Lydon joined at Commission for Tertiary Education and Research by former Research England chief David Sweeney

More than half of those polled by Hepi and NUS express support for education designed with employment in mind

Zayed University provost Michael Allen says lack of course flexibility regarding microcredentials is hurting graduates’ chances in the labour market

Two-thirds of larger providers failing to meet every student outcomes benchmark in every subject, THE analysis finds

Australian public service chief rails against scale in call for “alternatives” to huge comprehensive institutions

English regulator focuses on law, business and computing courses not meeting thresholds for continuation, completion and progression

Always left holding the wrong end of the stick, independent institutions hope for a ‘reset’ from the misleadingly named universities accord

New subject guidance mandates ‘narrowly skewed perspective on the history of mathematics’, leading academics claim

While remote delivery remains popular with many international students, authorities hose down prospects of fully online degrees

United Nations report examines how academic credits can be validated more easily

Members hope closer cooperation will help disrupt innovative multinational fraudsters that target and blackmail vulnerable students

But report concludes that balance of face-to-face and online learning is ‘not the key’ factor in teaching quality

Even as institutions offering mediocre engineering qualifications go out of business, private providers are expanding into the digital space

After body’s decision to relinquish quality role, sector fears lack of options for replacement risks undermining autonomy

Bringing students into departmental conversations on standards safeguarding can reinvigorate a process that has served UK universities well for almost 200 years, says Clare Peddie

Universities urged to adhere to set of 12 principles as key quality mechanism comes under increased strain because of large workloads

Critics highlight historic plagiarism allegations and ‘flawed’ selection process

Lifting of suspension follows agency decision to relinquish role in monitoring standards in England

New cooperative approach targets biggest essay mills without need for court action

Internationally renowned experts relinquish quality role just as English regulator steps up interventions 

Independent quality body steps back from providing assessments for OfS due to non-compliance with European standards

First-of-its-kind commitment promises return to 2019 levels of first- and upper-second-class degrees

Former regulator highlights increasingly interventionist Westminster policies

Michelle Donelan addresses criticisms of flagship policies at Higher Education Policy Institute conference

Lifelong Learning Commission says proposals to exclude microcredentials from loan entitlement are a mistake

Following ministerial orders, England’s independent regulator will look at business and management courses, including online provision

Six in 10 firsts awarded in England last year would get lower classification under historic marking standards, claims Office for Students

Ombudsman says difficulties finding alternative remedies during pandemic partly to blame for £1.3 million bill

Focus on organisational hygiene and you get a nice place to work. Quality and high performance may or may not follow, says Grahame Dowling

Older and more prestigious institutions could be among the 10 to 15 being inspected next year

As Republicans pile up assaults on academic freedom, experienced out-of-state president suggests extensive costs to brand value

Government also demands English regulator mount 10-15 on-site inspections checking factors such as use of online teaching

Hundreds of academics refuse to take part in system as part of ongoing industrial action, prompting institutions to draw up contingency plans

Announcement comes amid growing criticism of extra regulatory load placed on universities by reforms 

Universities UK raises concern about ‘requires improvement’ TEF rating and overall administrative burden

Concern that ‘prioritisation’ process for investigations opens up risk of political interference

Latest stage of English plan to tackle ‘poor quality’ via absolute baselines for student outcomes brings threat of punishment for institutions that fall short

Representative body says institutions should consider contextual data on issues such as local and NHS employment, alongside metrics preferred by ministers

Robbert Dijkgraaf's appointment to the Netherlands’ new government has got academics very excited, says Michèle Wera

‘There will not be armies of OfS inspectors assessing teaching quality,’ says chief executive in annual report

Discounts, chatbots, money-back guarantees are tricks in contract cheating websites’ promotional armoury

Half of respondents to survey admit cheating overall, but only 21 per cent of students from Singapore own up

New Office for Students strategy also promises action on free speech, sexual harassment and ‘levelling up’

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland must follow English lead on outlawing essay mills

Court orders telecommunication companies to take ‘assignment help’ service offline

Institutions could face fines if they do not assess written English, sector regulator says

Amendment to skills bill would criminalise providing, arranging or advertising cheating services

Standardised appointment requirements and training under consideration in sector-wide drive to tackle grade inflation

English sector leaders fear cuts to London weighting and arts funding could be compounded by fee cut

Regulator proposes new conditions of registration that also include standard on grade inflation