Quality enhancement the Scottish way

The approach to quality assurance in Scotland adopted in 2003 differs from elsewhere in the UK in several ways. The key is the prioritisation of enhancement over assurance and diversity over compliance within a proactive, rather than reactive, framework.

The Scottish quality enhancement model

The Quality Enhancement Framework is made up of five inter-related pillars:

• institution led review at the subject level
• enhancement led institutional review
• the gathering of public information published by institutions about their provision
• a greater voice for students in quality management (supported by a national development service known as sparqs)
• a programme of enhancement themes to develop and share good practice

The enhancement themes

The themes are planned and directed by the sector through the Scottish Higher Education Enhancement Committee (SHEEC) and are intended to help Scottish institutions to:

• address the problems and challenges inherent in 21st century mass and global higher education
• find high quality and effective solutions to improve the student experience
• be more efficient and effective in delivering transformational change

The themes:

• Assessment (2003-04)
• Responding to student needs (2003-04)
• Flexible delivery (2004-06)
• Employability (2004-06)
• Integrative assessment (2005-06)
• The first year (2006-08)
• Research-teaching linkages: enhancing graduate attributes (2006-08)
• Graduates for the 21st century: integrating the enhancement themes (2009- )

SHEEC has also undertaken work on:

• Managing enhancement (2007-08)
• Indicators of enhancement (2007-08)
• Benchmarking student support (2007-08)

Reports and resources on all the above themes are available. The Guide to the outcomes of the themes gives an overview of findings, divided into the chronology of the student journey from application to graduation and beyond.

Last Modified: 30 June 2010