Quality assurance

It is not in the interests of institutions with high-quality provision to offer courses that fall short of the mark, says OfS chair Lord Wharton 

World Bank’s head of education calls for focus on creating ‘single ecosystem’ in tertiary education

Australian regulator allows Perth institution to address its problems behind closed doors

We should embrace the possibility of degrees made up of a pick-and-mix of modules from around the world – but comparability is crucial, says Nick Isles

Lord Storey says he would be happy for government to take over legislation ‘as issue is more important than the politics of it’

Normally static sector’s landscape sees uncharacteristically rapid change as new standards take effect

With a vast youth population but relatively low participation rates, higher education in the Asean region looks ripe for expansion. But can challenges over funding, quality and regional cooperation be overcome? Joyce Lau reports 

‘Patronising’ to expect lower standards from students from disadvantaged backgrounds, says OfS following newspaper report

Liverpool and Leicester plan to scale back moderation and external examining, and to use algorithms to generate grades

Former UK foreign policy adviser fears countries could lose ‘monopoly’ over accreditation for failing to inject critical thinking, curiosity, emotional intelligence and empathy into higher education

Peter Coaldrake also warns universities against ‘sleepwalking’ through Covid-induced risks to their business model

Government says it will give OfS powers to enforce ‘minimum expectations of quality’ before regulator responds to consultation on plan

Sally Mapstone tells QAA conference that lecture will continue to evolve, but will not disappear

Students who take promotional jobs could face massive fines and prison time, Australian regulator says

Clare College rejects recommendation to pay student compensation, in first-of-its-kind case

UK watchdog calls for universities to commit to tackling essay mills, after Australian agency warns of malware redirecting students to contract cheating sites

Director promises action as QAA says prestigious institution failing to meet sector standards and struggling to adapt to Covid-19

Complaints about essay mills peaked as online delivery concerns subsided, regulator’s report says

Graduate employment outcomes are obviously crucial. Yet we must be wary of judging courses and institutions on the basis of a few useful but misleading metrics

Demise of ACICS, favoured by for-profits, still leaves larger problem of venue shopping

Australian reviewer who proposed benchmarks before the crisis must now decide how and when to apply them

Degree outcome statements show some universities have clamped down on rising number of firsts

Forthcoming policies on ‘low-value courses’ and grade inflation must acknowledge how pandemic will hit graduate prospects and undergraduate preparedness for years to come, says QAA deputy chief executive Vicki Stott

Full impact of pandemic on Office of the Independent Adjudicator caseload may yet emerge

Campuses rated below par for three years in a row could be asked to suspend undergraduate recruitment

Office for Students proposal to measure student progress to ‘professional’ jobs without benchmarking could deter universities from recruiting disadvantaged learners, sector warns

More than 13,000 sign petition calling for blanket policy to protect students’ grades from impact of coronavirus pandemic

New minister’s old work on online education could be revived to encourage tertiary sector integration, experts say

Critics say draft benchmarks for assessment of scholarly activity are overprescriptive, exclusionary and onerous

Report finds that 40 out of 56 universities in country would not meet strict new standards proposed

Essay mills’ opportunism, preying on student anxiety about online assessment methods, strengthens the case for legislation, says Douglas Blackstock

Two decades of Bologna-driven programme accreditation has proved that universities can be trusted to assure their quality, says Michèle Wera 

English regulator to work with students and their unions to increase awareness of its powers

English and Welsh ombudsman willing to admonish universities over Covid-related disruption only if they have not made effort to deliver quality online learning, case summaries reveal

Paper from Social Market Foundation calls on government to either invest more or trust universities on providing information   

Students who suffer financial loss from institutional failures should be compensated by sector scheme, says English ombudsman

Office for Students sets out plans for tougher minimum standards related to student outcomes, including degree completion rates and graduate employment

Academics say Chinese higher education has long been hobbled by the lack of an ‘accurate system of academic evaluation’

Office for the Independent Adjudicator proposes new system as it expects high volume of grievances relating to Covid-19 disruption

The pandemic has underlined the need for student assessment strategies to adapt to extraordinary circumstances, say Alexander Amigud and David J. Pell 

Regional Australian university under cloud as it argues the toss over transparency commitments

Bloomsbury Institute added to English register after Court of Appeal quashed Office for Students’ original refusal

Scant feedback raises transparency concerns over Australian regulator’s compliance activities

As DfE prioritises drive against ‘low-value’ courses, TEF said to be viewed as inadequate while OfS may be reset under new chair

English regulator ordered to pay substantial costs to Bloomsbury Institute after blocking loan access

Falling staff-student ratios and low quality in some graduate programmes are prompting concern that more will mean worse, says Zhang Ruomei

English regulator also says it wants to reduce overall burden on providers

Universities that boost numbers in lucrative courses are unlikely to attract the attention of Australian regulator’s new watchdog

New arm gives Australian regulator a voice in areas already well covered, representative body says

Despite greater focus on students’ learning outcomes, in Europe institutions are still largely assessed on the basis of ‘input’ measures, such as staff-to-student ratios, rather than trickier ‘output‘ measures

New institutions will add nothing unless there is a greater emphasis on quality, says Eric Fredua-Kwarteng

As Pope Francis urges Catholic HE to change, the Holy See’s quality agency evaluates close to 300 ‘ecclesiastical faculties’ worldwide – with just four staff

As Ireland reports success from ban on advertising, campaigners say UK risks reputation of its degrees by not following suit

Tory manifesto pledge brings questions over Office for Students’ future approach on quality - and whether it is right organisation to judge

English regulator’s chief executive sets out priorities for year ahead, including admissions and recruitment review

Sleepless summer beckons for policy wonks, as Canberra endorses another major review

The plan promises big leaps in innovation, quality assurance and lecturer training, say Youmin Xi and Xiaojun Zhang  

Prominence of gratis services causes ‘uneasiness’ among researchers, as Australia eyes law against contract cheating

TEQSA also promises not to pursue ‘innocent mums and dads’ over contract cheating

The competition among 20 Georgian institutions for international medical students raises a host of quality concerns, says Michèle Wera