Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Academic Quality Enhancement
We are part of the Academic Services Group and have a broad range of responsibilities including:
- Managing the university’s assurance of academic standards, quality and enhancement of our university’s taught academic provision
- Managing the development and implementation of the university’s Academic Regulations and their alignment with sector regulation and requirements including: the Office for Students Regulation, the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications, the UK Quality Code, European Standards and Guidelines Part 1, and applicable Professional, Statutory and Regulatory requirements
- Managing the validation, review and on-going good standing of our university’s taught higher education courses
- Managing the development and delivery of the university’s Collaborative and Apprenticeship Provision
- Managing the appointment and support for External Examiners and advisers and Examination Board process requirements
- Managing the university's register of Collaborative Provision and Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Body Accreditation
- Managing academic audit and assurance processes and assurance and annual reporting to the university’s Board of Governors, Academic Board and other committees/groups, and associated external bodies
- Providing a professional secretariat service for the university’s Academic Quality and Standards Committee and associated Groups and processes including: Academic Planning and Collaborations Group, Collaborations Oversight Group, Apprenticeships Oversight Group, Examination Board Group and the university’s Validation Panel
- Providing advice, information, guidance and staff development on issues of academic regulation, quality, standards and enhancement
- Managing the university’s Student Protection Plan and Student Transfer Plan and the university’s Teaching Excellence and Academic Outcomes Framework submission
- Providing assurances concerning the standard of institutional honours degree awards and the methodologies by which they are classified, published in the university’s Degree Outcomes Statement
Our services are accessed by a range of stakeholders both internal and external to our university and information can be found online via the information on this page.
Academic Quality Enhancement team
Academic assurance and Academic Regulations
The university’s Academic Assurance and Enhancement Policy sets out our university’s approach to providing, maintaining, enhancing and assuring the academic quality and academic standards of our higher education provision.
Our university Academic Regulations set out our institutional approach to the setting and maintenance of academic standards and the assurance of the academic quality and continuous and systematic enhancement of our awards and student learning opportunities.
These Academic Regulations apply to all awards and courses of study of the university including undergraduate, postgraduate, professional, short course and continuing professional development provision and research degrees.
Our Academic Regulations reflect national and international higher education expectations and legislation and constitute our policy for quality assurance as required by the European Education Area’s Standards and Guidelines.
Our university is a registered by the Office for Students as a higher education provider. The register is available from the Office for Students website.
The university has a robust academic quality framework for safeguarding academic standards and improving the quality of the student experience. The university’s Academic Regulations align with sector regulation and requirements including: the Office for Students Regulatory Framework, the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications, the UK Quality Code, European Standards and Guidelines Part 1, and applicable Professional, Statutory and Regulatory requirements.
Many of our courses are accredited by Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies and we also are required to meet national and international regulatory, sector and reporting requirements.
The Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) is a national assessment, overseen by the Office for Students (OfS). Our university was awarded a Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) Silver rating (to July 2021) meaning as a university, we consistently exceed rigorous national quality requirements for UK higher education.
A Higher Education Review was conducted by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) from 7 to 11 April 2014. This review found that we meet UK expectation with regards to:
- The setting and maintenance of the threshold academic standards of awards
- The quality of student learning opportunities
- The quality of the information produced about its provision.
- The enhancement of student learning opportunities
Academic standards of the University Awards
The university sets, maintains and assures robust academic standards of our taught academic awards, to assure their value at the point of qualification and over time, in line with the Office for Students (OfS) conditions of registration and sector recognised standards at and beyond the threshold.
Our university Academic Regulations and the standards of our awards are informed by and align with national and European higher education expectations including the Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ), UK Quality Code and other external reference points.
External examiners are an essential part of the university's framework for quality assurance for the assurance of academic standards. All approved courses and pathways leading to an award of the university require an external examiner.
The role of external examiners is to assure the quality of students' learning experiences and ensure that they are assessed fairly in relation to other students on the same course and to all students across the university and nationally.
Further information and details about the process of external examination is available on our External Examiners page.
Meet the team
Our Quality Assurance Frameworks and Processes (QAFP) Team and Collaborations and Partnerships teams have responsibility for supporting schools and our collaborative partners in maintaining academic standards, assuring the quality of our courses, whether these are delivered onsite or at one of our partners, and enhancing the academic experiences of our students through the delivery of a flexible and proportionate quality framework.
We work in partnership to support the university’s strategic objectives and Education Strategy to provide all our students with an excellent education and experience.
We work in partnership with the university’s academic and professional services teams in Schools and with the university’s Apprenticeship team, Academic Services Group, the International Office and with the university’s collaborative partners to support the provision of high-quality courses wherever these are delivered.
The Quality Assurance Frameworks and Processes (QAFP) team, working in partnership with schools, academic services and the Students’ Union, oversee the assurance of our onsite taught provision and provide definitive university advice, guidance and support on the use and interpretation of our university’s Academic Regulations and on matters relating to academic standards, academic quality and enhancement of higher education and collaborations and partnerships.
The team is responsible for providing authoritative institutional guidance relating to:
- New course proposals
- The validation, review and on-going good standing of courses
- The development of degree apprenticeships
- Collaborations, partnerships and articulations
- External examiners and examination boards
- Academic standards and assessment
- Academic integrity and
- Progression/award or course information for students and applicants
For any enquiries relating to our Academic Regulations, matters relating to academic standards, academic quality and enhancement of onsite taught provision please contact the QAS team - qas@leedsbeckett.ac.uk.
The Collaborative Provision Team, working closely with the Quality Assurance Framework & Processes (QAFP) team, is responsible for maintaining and enhancing our University's overall Quality Assurance Framework to ensure collaborative provision & partnerships comply with the framework.
The team ensures that Schools and our collaborative partners receive appropriate guidance and other information to support compliance and enhancement and consistency of approach and to facilitate the sharing of best practice institutionally and with partners.
The team is responsible for providing authoritative institutional guidance and advice relating to:
- New collaborations and partnerships proposals
- Institutional recognition, approval of collaborative delivery and review
- Implementation and oversight of operational delivery and assurance frameworks
- The development of regulations, policy and processes to support collaborative activity
- Undertaking enhancement and compliance-based audits
- Maintaining the University’s register of collaborations and partnerships and associated Office for Students (OfS) and in country reporting
- Staff development for partners and internal colleagues
The Collaborative Provision team also works closely with our partners to support their understanding of the university's Academic Principles and Regulations, our quality assurance processes and how they are expected to fulfil our requirements.
A register of our collaborations and partnerships is available in Section 15 of our Academic Regulations.
For any enquiries relating to our Collaborations and Partnerships activities please contact the Collaborations and Partnerships team - collaborations@leedsbeckett.ac.uk.
Resources for staff and associate staff
The responsibility for adherence to our Academic Regulations and matters relating to academic standards, academic quality and enhancement rests with all staff, students and collaborative partners in accordance with the specific regulations, roles and responsibilities defined in our Academic Regulations and supplemented by our University’s associated policies and procedures.
To support colleagues with these processes, we have a variety of resources available for staff and associate staff on our dedicated Academic Quality Enhancement web pages. To access these resources, you need to have a university log in.
