Student Learning & Experience Committee
1. INTRODUCTION 1
2. PURPOSE OF SCHOOL QUALITY HANDBOOK 2
2.1 Sample Contents 4
3. UPDATING OF SCHOOL QUALITY HANDBOOKS 5
Appendix A - School Quality Handbook – Content Areas 6
Appendix B – OVERVIEW OF CONTENT AREAS AND REFERENCES 16
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School Quality Handbook
CAMS / Credit Accumulation & Modular SchemeLTS / Learning and Teaching Strategy
QA&E / Quality Assurance & Enhancement
QM&E / Quality Management & Enhancement
SLEC / Student Learning & Experience Committee
SQH / School Quality Handbook
TQSs / Threshold Quality Standards
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School Quality Handbook
1. INTRODUCTION
Schools will wish to determine the precise content, over and above that specified here, and the style of this document to reflect their experience and specific needs. The University wishes to encourage Schools to experiment and innovate, subject to the key aspects being covered, and will wish to share and review the range of practice as it changes so as to identify aspects of best practice.
School Quality Handbooks (SQHs) are a means of providing staff with information on quality assurance and enhancement procedures and processes relevant to their specific roles. Schools are required to clarify such roles in detail and to map them onto processes to provide an indication of who does what.
Schools are not encouraged to rewrite or summarise standard University-wide procedures and documents, e.g. Credit Accumulation & Modular Scheme (CAMS), Academic Appeal. Rather, they should explain the importance of any component to individual staff roles and indicate where the original may be found. In all instances, staff should be referred to the online version of the University Quality Handbook. If Schools collectively take the view that any particular piece of University documentation could benefit from a user-friendly introduction, then it would be better to provide this from a single source which can be adopted by all. This could either be Academic Registry authoring such a document, or after consultation, adopting a School authored document.
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2. PURPOSE OF SCHOOL QUALITY HANDBOOK
A SQH should:
§ Explain how University procedures and processes are to be operated through School structures and roles, noting that University procedures and processes are to be adhered to.
§ Be available online via the School’s SharePoint site (or similar) in order to ensure accessibility to all staff and be listed under the School’s chosen title for the SQH to ensure that staff recognise what constitutes the School’s Quality Handbook.
§ Identify School-based processes for the review and enhancement of the SQH.
In doing the latter Schools will need to:
§ Explicitly indicate the management, academic, and if relevant any administrative or technical roles that have responsibility for quality management and enhancement processes and/or procedures within the School.
§ Ensure that the University Quality Assurance & Enhancement (QA&E) procedures/processes are explained only within the context of School procedures, and that the correct procedure/process titles are used when referencing these, as used in the University Quality Handbook.
§ Define the processes to be used at School level to deliver the Threshold Quality Standards (TQSs)[1] or enhanced School Standards, and identify where the School has decided to operate in excess of Threshold Quality Standards and/or other policies.
§ Include key School staff contact details in relation to procedures/processes, including the point of contact within the School for staff to discuss regulatory queries in the first instance.
§ Indicate any variances from Threshold Quality Standards; note that variances to Credit Accumulation & Modular Scheme (CAMS) regulations should be stated in course handbooks unless they are applicable across all School courses.
§ Maintain online links within the SQH to the University Quality Handbook, or other relevant University links, e.g. the University Student Handbook, to ensure that the most up-to-date information is accessible.
The Quality Assurance and Enhancement procedures/processes that should be referenced are:
§ Approval & Review of Courses
§ Assessment, Award Progression Regulations
§ CAMS Framework
§ External Examiner Process
§ Continuous Monitoring & Enhancement
§ Assessment & Feedback Policy
§ Processes and procedures developed via committees.
The Threshold Quality Standards that should be referred to are:
§ Student Support Systems.
§ Student Learning in the Workplace.
§ Student Representation.
§ Informing Students.
§ Student Evaluation.
§ Use of Electronic Module Sites.
§ Personal Development Planning.
§ Student Induction.
§ Communication with Students.
Schools should also consider the inclusion of online references to:
§ Learning & Teaching "Rough Guides"
§ An overview of key School Committees
The SQH should also:
§ Indicate to staff where they can find additional information on any particular topic.
§ Provide details of any Quality Assurance and Enhancement procedures which the School operates which are not part either of University requirements or Threshold Quality Standards.
2.1 Sample Contents
Attached for information are a list of content areas relating to Quality Management & Enhancement (QM&E) procedures and processes that Schools are required to reference and explain how they manage these at an operational level in the SQH (see Appendix A).
Attached for information is a contents list based on the current list of TQSs and good practice (see Appendix B).
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3. UPDATING OF SCHOOL QUALITY HANDBOOKS
The Academic Board has requested that Schools review and update their Handbooks annually, and have in place processes to ensure routine checks of content such as online links, titles of committees/policies, etc., to ensure they remain current and accurate (UAB 2290 refers).
Policy Owner: / Academic RegistryLast Review: / January 2017
Date of Next Review: / Summer 2018
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Appendix A - School Quality Handbook – Content Areas
The following specifies content areas relating to Quality Management & Enhancement (QM&E) procedures and processes that Schools are required to reference and explain how they manage these at an operational level in the School Quality Handbook (SQH).
The content areas are not meant as a prescriptive list of the content titles for a SQH, or the order of content, but are to be used as a reference to ensure that all QM&E processes and procedures are incorporated into a SQH. Schools may wish to add more content over and above that specified. An overview table of the content areas, references and links detailed below is provided in Appendix B.
IMPLEMENT THE FOLLOWING THROUGHOUT A SQH:
§ Naming of University Regulations, Committees, etc. – when referring to standard University Regulations, Committees, etc., ensure that the correct titling is used as defined in the University Quality Handbook.
§ TQSs - Schools are also reminded that in relation to TQSs[2], they are required to identify where the School is operating in excess of a TQS or the reason why aspects are not met.
§ Online Links - where there are references to sections of the University Quality Handbook, Section D3: TQSs, for example, or where other documents are available online, e.g. University Level Descriptors, the SQH should include an online link for staff to access further information.
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CONTENT AREAS:
1. INTRODUCTION TO THE SCHOOL QUALITY HANDBOOK
Statement of Purpose of the School Quality Handbook
This statement should provide the purpose of the SQH and explain that it provides information to staff regarding how the University procedures and processes are operated at the School level.
Accessibility
The introduction should also include reference to the University Quality Handbook as the source for standard Quality Assurance and Enhancement procedures and processes and provide links to both online versions of the University Quality Handbook, and the SQH.
Review of the SQH
Provide an explanation of how and when the SQH is reviewed and updated by the School, and who has overall responsibility for this.
It is good practice to include:
§ The key principles which underpin the School’s approach to QM&E, e.g. sector benchmarks, peer review, as part of the Introduction.
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2. SCHOOL ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
School Roles with Quality Management and Enhancement Responsibilities
This content area should include an overview of the job roles within the School that have responsibility for QM&E processes and/or procedures. Include the key contact who has the lead responsibility for QM&E within the School, and explicitly indicate management, academic, and if relevant any technical and administrative roles that contain aspects of QM&E.
Key School Roles
Schools should also include an overview of the job roles within the School with key responsibilities, e.g. Module/Course Leader, Special Needs Co-ordinator, and provide the contact details for each.
3. MODULE APPROVAL & REVIEW
Explain the School’s process for module development, approval and review, including reference to the Assessment & Feedback Policy, which includes guidance for Assessment Approval, the Retention of Assessed Work, and Information to be retained on Modules (Module Boxes).
4. ESTABLISHMENT OF TAUGHT AWARDS
This area should describe the School’s operation of the University’s procedures and processes in relation to Award Title Approval, New Location, New Mode of Delivery of an Existing Award, Change of Title, Award Suspension/Deletion and Termination of Partnership. Specific mention and an online link should be made to the following Section of the University Quality Handbook:
§ Section B: Portfolio Development.
5. COURSE APPROVAL AND REVIEW
This area should describe the School’s operation of the University’s procedures and processes in relation to the approval and review of course as overseen by the Student Learning & Experience Committee (SLEC). Specific mention and an online link should be made to the University’s Approval and Review Guidance documents held by Academic Registry, and the following section of the University Quality Handbook:
§ Section C: Course Approval & Periodic Review of Teesside University Provision
Schools may also like to reference the Learning and Teaching Strategy (LTS), Academic Registry Rough Guides and University Level Descriptors.
Professional Accreditation
An overview of any Professional, Statutory & Regulatory Bodies that accredit any of the School's courses should also be provided and also who the key contacts are for liaising with these bodies.
6. VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
Clarify the requirement for virtual learning environments and provide key contact information of staff with lead responsibilities for this area within the School. Schools should also reference and provide an online link to the D3-TQS 6[3]: Use of Electronic Module Sites, in order that staff involved in developing sites and content are aware of this standard, and also to inform more general aspects of enhancing the learning experience for students plus other innovations.
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7. PLACEMENTS
Include an overview of the Schools processes and procedures for the management of student placements, including key School contacts for this area. Reference and provide online links to the D3-TQS 2[4]: Student Learning in the Workplace, in order that staff have access to the checklists of requirements for the Placement Provider Handbook, and Student Placement Handbook.
8. ASSESSMENT
Schools are required to include a description of the School’s operation of the University’s procedures and processes in relation to assessment, referencing and providing online links to the:
§ University’s Assessment, Award & Progression Regulations.
§ CAMS Framework.
§ Assessment Feedback Policy (Taught Components and Courses).
§ University Academic Misconduct Regulations (contained in the University Student Handbook).
§ University’s Extenuating Circumstances (Taught Components and Courses) (contained in the University Student Handbook).
Schools should also include the key contact person within the School for applying to SLEC regarding any variances to standard Assessment and Progression Regulations, TQSs, or other regulations.
It is good practice to include:
§ An overview of the administration and management of the School’s assessment boards.
§ An explanation of the different assessment board types and who is expected to attend.
Schools may also like to reference the University's Assessment Criteria and Level Descriptors held by Academic Registry.
9. EXTERNAL EXAMINERS
This content area should contain an explanation of the School’s administration of the University’s External Examiner Process and key School contacts that have responsibility for identifying and liaising with External Examiners. Explicit reference and online links should be provided to the following sections of the University Quality Handbook in order that staff can access further information regarding the University procedures for Appointing and Approving External Examiners, Processing External Examiner Annual Reports, Monitoring Reciprocity, and for Induction/Support for External Examiners including Pearson External Examiners:
§ Section D2: External Examiner Process.
and, in relation to the roles and responsibilities of External Examiners:
§ External Examiner Handbook.
10. STUDENT EVALUATION
This should contain the School’s strategies for the evaluation of modules and courses with reference to the D3-TQS 5[5]: Student Evaluation. Staff should be made aware of the mechanisms by which evaluations are conducted and the key roles and contact(s) within the School who have responsibility for evaluation. Staff should also be informed of where the School co-ordinates evaluations over and above the standard. An online link should be provided to the:
§ D3-TQS 5[6]: Student Evaluation
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11. CONTINUOUS MONITORING & ENHANCEMENT
Schools are required to include an explanation of the School’s practice in relation to the University’s Continuous Monitoring & Enhancement procedure, and the key contacts within the School who have responsibility for providing reports that feed into the Continuous Monitoring & Enhancement process. This content area should reference:
§ Section D1: Continuous Monitoring & Enhancement
A statement is also required to explain that Schools are expected to monitor the effectiveness of all their processes as part of Continuous Monitoring & Enhancement, including an overview of the processes at School level that will be reviewed.
12. COMMUNICATION WITH STUDENTS