1. Quality Assurance at Aberystwyth

A pdf copy of this section is available for download: Section 1 PDF

• 1.1 About the Handbook

  1. The Academic Quality Handbook (AQH) provides an accessible source of the policies, regulations and procedures which support the management of academic standards and quality at Aberystwyth University. It is for use by university staff, external examiners, external reviewers and collaborative partners. The Handbook is published online but its individual sections can also be downloaded as a pdf and printed. It also contains a link to the University’s Rules and Regulations and Examination Conventions.

  2. Every member of staff has a responsibility to ensure that the reputation of Aberystwyth University is maintained and enhanced wherever possible, and that our quality assurance procedures remain rigorous and transparent.

  3. Additional information and electronic copies of forms and templates (including forms for external examiners) can be downloaded from the relevant section of the AQH.  As forms are updated regularly, they should always be accessed via the Handbook rather than saved and re-used from previous years.

• 1.2 Quality Assurance Systems

  1. Aberystwyth University prides itself on the high standards of learning and teaching opportunities offered to its students.  These are underpinned by effective quality assurance systems developed over many years and refined in light of the QAA frameworks and guidance. The University’s quality assurance systems have four main roles:

  (i) To ensure the currency, validity, standard and quality of our schemes of study, and that these are properly planned, delivered, modified, and monitored

  (ii) To maintain the highest standards of academic quality and continuous enhancement, in compliance with the expectations outlined in the UK Quality Code for Higher Education

  (iii) To enhance quality by promoting continual critical reflection, so that we are always seeking ways of improving the quality of the student experience that we offer

  (iv) To underpin the strategic development of the schemes and academic disciplines that we offer.

  2. The UK Quality Code for Higher Education gives all higher education providers a shared starting point for setting, describing and assuring the academic standards of their higher education awards and programmes and the quality of the learning opportunities they provide. It is the core reference point used in all QAA review activity: https://www.qaa.ac.uk/quality-code

  3. The Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications of UK Degree-Awarding Bodies provide important reference points for higher education providers, assisting them in setting and maintaining academic standards. The frameworks are central to the Expectation in Chapter A1: The National Level of the UK Quality Code for Higher Education that degree-awarding bodies use external UK and European reference points to secure threshold academic standards across the higher education sector: https://www.qaa.ac.uk/quality-code/the-existing-uk-quality-code/part-a-setting-and-maintaining-academic-standards

  4. Subject Benchmark Statements are part of the Quality Code. They set out expectations about standards of degrees in a range of subject areas. They describe what gives a discipline its coherence and identity, and define what can be expected of a graduate in terms of the abilities and skills needed to develop understanding or competence in the subject: https://www.qaa.ac.uk/quality-code/subject-benchmark-statements

  5. QAA also provide a range of other guidance material, for example covering topics such as the award of academic credit, the equivalence of qualifications throughout the countries of the UK, and how contact hours and assessment contribute to the quality of your education.

• 1.3 Academic Committees

  1. In accordance with Aberystwyth University’s Supplementary Royal Charter the Senate is ‘the academic authority of the University and shall be responsible to the Council for the academic functions of the University in teaching and research and the regulation of the academic interests of the students’. The Senate’s constitution, powers and functions are provided by Ordinances. Further details on the Senate’s responsibilities, membership and decisions can be found on the relevant sub-pages.

  2. Senate has overall responsibility for ensuring that the University adheres to the UK Quality Code, and delegates responsibility for individual sections to the following boards: Academic Board, Recruitment and Marketing Board, Research Board, and the Collaborative Provision Board. The terms of reference and membership of these bodies are published online, together with a chart of academic committee structures: https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/governance/sub-committees/. Staff at Aberystwyth can also access terms of reference, templates for minutes and committee papers, and details of committee meetings through Academic Registry webpages.

• 1.4 University Officers with responsibility for Quality Assurance

  1.The Vice-Chancellor is the chief academic and administrative officer of the University with responsibility for its overall performance, and is the Chair of Senate.

  2. The Pro Vice-Chancellors, Learning & Teaching and Research, are key members of the University Executive and report to the Vice-Chancellor on their specific areas of responsibility.

  3. Responsibility for the conduct of a Faculty is vested in the Faculty Pro Vice-Chancellor, who is accountable to Council, via the Vice-Chancellor. Faculties facilitate the organisation and academic work of the University.

  The Faculty Pro Vice-Chancellors perform a crucial co-ordinating role between the departments operating within their respective spheres of interest. They are also empowered to take executive action on issues of concern, subject to reporting to their faculties, the Academic Affairs Committee, Pro Vice-Chancellors Learning & Teaching and Research, and Vice-Chancellor as appropriate. The Faculty PVCs co-operate closely in their areas of responsibility and organise, via the Academic Registry, to discuss and make recommendations on items common to the faculties. In this they are greatly assisted by key Registry support staff. They also meet regularly to ensure that the faculties deal with student issues in a consistent way. They are supported in their roles by Associate Deans, who have specific responsibilities for Learning & Teaching, Research, and Welsh Language provision.

  Each academic department within a faculty has a Head with designated roles and responsibilities, which include oversight of academic programmes and structures. The Faculty Pro Vice-Chancellor and Associate Dean of Faculty are supported by a Faculty Manager and advised by an Executive Committee, which includes staff with responsibility for key areas such as Learning and Teaching and Quality Assurance and Enhancement. All faculties are required to have an Academic Affairs Committee. This is set out in University Ordinances and Regulations.

  Heads of Department are charged with the day-to-day management of the teaching and research within their departments within the guidelines established at University level, including the Academic Quality Handbook. Departments have designated Directors of Learning and Teaching and Directors of Research reporting to the Head of Department on these issues. Each department is required to hold departmental meetings involving all academic staff at least once a term to discuss academic issues. The functions of the meeting include:

  (i) To serve as a medium of consultation with and provide advice to the Head of Department on the conduct of departmental affairs

  (ii) In furtherance of the above to discuss the following:

  • the nature and content of courses
  • the allocation of teaching and other departmental duties
  • the allocation of departmental funds and accommodation
  • the use of secretarial, research and technical assistance.
    
    

  As part of the above, they receive the reports from Departmental Learning and Teaching Committees, of formal programme monitoring undertaken in the department annually and also formally log in the reports of the departmental Staff-Student Consultative Committees which serve as a useful feedback mechanism between staff and students.

  4. The Head of the Graduate School is responsible for the provision of Researcher Development training within the University as a whole, and also has a co-ordinating role in the development of policy on postgraduate matters, the provision of facilities for postgraduates, and for monitoring the recruitment and academic progress of postgraduate students. The Head of the Graduate School also approves nominations for external examiners on research degrees.

  5. A number of senior Academic Registry staff are involved in the operation of Quality Assurance procedures reporting to the Academic Registrar. The Academic Registry also provides support at faculty level.

• 1.5 Levels of responsibility at University and Faculty level

  1. To reflect the structure of the University and recognise the role of the faculties in quality assurance and enhancement, some quality functions are delegated to faculties whilst others remain at University level.

  University level processes

  2. Responsibility for the following quality assurance processes and procedures is retained by the University’s Senate, Academic Board and other sub-committees:

  (i) Development and approval of academic frameworks, regulations and procedure

  (ii) Departmental Periodic review, including periodic revalidation of provision

  (iii) Approval of new and major restructuring of schemes

  (iv) Approval of External Examiner appointments.

  Faculty level quality procedures

  3. Responsibility for the following procedures and processes is delegated to faculties and exercised through faculty committee structures:

  (i) Implementing policy and procedures for quality assurance and enhancement in schemes of study, including for their design, approval, monitoring and review

  (ii) Consideration of Annual Monitoring of Taught Schemes

  (iii) Scheme suspension, withdrawal, and changes to titles

  (iv) Module approval (process overseen by Academic Board)

  (v) Considering student feedback (through feedback processes and student representation)

  (vi) Accreditation of schemes by Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies (PSRBs).

• 1.6 Family and Personal and/or Professional Relationships

  1. This policy applies to any personal and / or professional relationships that could, or be perceived to impact on the integrity of the working relationships within the University.

  2. Where a student or applicant is:

  (i) The sibling, parent, child or other family relation of a member of staff

  or

  (ii) The partner or is in a relationship with a member of staff.

  Then the member of staff must play no part in the admission, supervision or assessment of that applicant/student. This is primarily to ensure impartiality in the treatment of the applicant/student, including the possibility that they would be assessed more strictly in order to emphasise the intention not to show favouritism. It is also to protect staff from accusations of favouritism and to avoid any perception of favouritism in third parties.

  3. Members of staff must declare any such relationships to their line manager as soon as a potential conflict becomes apparent, so that arrangements can be made to ensure they are not involved in any activities where there is a conflict of interest. In this context, ‘members of staff’ includes anyone contracted to undertake teaching and related activities, including students with part- time contracts, and ‘applicants/students’ encompass all levels of study up to and including research students.

  4. Members of staff may also consult the Management of Conflict of Interest in the Workplace Policy https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/hr/policy-and-procedure/managingofconflict/

• 1.7 Monitoring and Review

  1. Academic Board retains overall authority for reviewing the effectiveness of the University’s quality assurance and enhancement processes as set out in the QAA Quality Code. Detailed consideration of these processes may be delegated to its sub-committees as appropriate. It will also publish a revised version of the AQH at the beginning of each academic session.

  2. The Academic Registry welcomes comments on the content and presentation of this Handbook from all users as part of the continuing process of improvement and for the development of future versions. Any comments should be sent to: quality-assurance@aber.ac.uk

• 1.8 Academic Quality Handbook 2021/22: Summary of Key Changes

  The following table provides a list of changes which have been made following the publication of the 2020/21 version of the AQH in September 2020.

   

  Section	Change	Date
  Chapter 2: Development and Review	2.2 Module Approval - guidance updated to reflect introduction of APEX (online module management system)   2.5 Non-Executive Approval Pathway – Minor Scheme Changes (SDF3) – guidance in section 2.5 updated to reflect the Portfolio Planning Committee’s recommendation that minor changes to degree scheme structure should be considered at the appropriate Faculty Academic Affairs Committees and not PPC. SDF3 template form also updated to reflect this.	Sept 2021 PPC Jan 2021
  Chapter 3: Assessment of taught schemes	3.2 Assessment Policy and Procedures - Principles for simultaneous translation during oral assessments to be added.   3.4 Submission of Coursework – guidance updated to reflect electronic submission of PGT theses only and that hard copies would no longer be required.     3.7  Examinations and Examination Boards – updated to take account of permanent change to hold exam boards online – also see Chapter 5.7   3.7  Exam Board meetings may be recorded for the purposes of drafting the minutes.  The recording must only be retained until the minutes are confirmed.  Board members will be reminded not to download or retain recordings themselves.  3.8 Special Circumstances and Reasonable Adjustments – updated to reflect return to use of special circumstance forms, and amendment to requirements for evidence.   3.9 Coursework Extensions - updated to reflect return to pre covid process for extension requests, and amendment to requirements for evidence.	Academic Board (June 2021)   Academic Board (November 2020)   Academic Board (June 2021)   Academic Board (Sept 2021)     Academic Board(Sept 2021)   Academic Board (Sept 2021)
  Chapter 4: Examination Conventions	Addition of 4.21  Award Rules for Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)	Academic Board (July 2021)
  Chapter 5: External Examining	An annual review was undertaken and the chapter updated: Reference to AdvanceHE learning resources added; Human Resources to undertake right to work checks until July 2021; Specify that all modules that contribute to an award, or accreditation by an accrediting body, should be examined; Examination Boards to be conducted remotely uness there is a good reason for them to be conducted in-person; Requirement for external examiner participation during semester one; Reference to role of ARCHE external; Reflect the introduction of the new fee structure; Minor clarification to existing guidance; Faqs and template forms updated to reflect the above	Sept 2021
  Chapter 9: Learning and Teaching	9.3 Credit Accumulation and Tranfser - Accreditation for Prior (Experiential) Learning (AP(E)L) amended to Recognition of Prior (Experiential) Learning (RP(E)L), and, maximum of 50% Recognition of Prior (Experiential) Learning (RP(E)L) added to table of credit transfer limits for Pre-Registration Nursing schemes.   9.8 Addition of guidance on Work-based Learning (WBL) and Student Placements	Sept 2021         Academic Board (June 2021)
  Chapter 12: Academic Appeals	An annual review was undertaken and the procedure updated to clarify and update the terminology in the existing procedure.	Sept 2021
  Chapter 14: Complaints	An annual review was undertaken and the procedure updated to to clarify and update the terminology in the existing procedure. A section on vexatious appeals has been added – to be finalised.	Sept 2021
  Chapter 16: Fitness to Practise	16.7 Appendix 3: Fitness to Practise Policy and Procedure for Healthcare Education Professional Programmes (Nursing) added	Academic Board (June 2021)
  Regulations for Modular Initial Degrees	Amendment to the regulations for Recognition of Prior Learning for the Pre Registration Nursing schemes: 30. NB In the case of Pre-Registration Nursing schemes a maximum of 50% Recognition of Prior (Experiential) Learning (RP(E)L) is permitted.	Academic Board (July 2021) and Senate (Sept  2021)
  Part B – Academic Regulations	Accreditation for Prior (Experiential) Learning (AP(E)L) amended to Recognition of Prior (Experiential)Learning (RP(E)L) in all regulations	September 2021
  Part B – Academic Regulations	Regulation for the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) updated	Academic Board (July 2021)
  Part B – Academic Regulations	4.22 Addition of Progression Rules for AU/RVC BVSc Veterinary Science Pre-clinical phase (years 1 and 2) (sent to translation and to be published in AQH prior to registration of BVSc students)	Academic Board (March 2020) and Senate (April 2020)
  Part B – Regulation on Unacceptable Academic Practice	Updated to reflect: UAP on professionaly accredited courses; Impact on progression when determining if UAP has occurred.	September 2021

   

   

   

  Updated: Sept 2021