| Description | Minutes of University of Birmingham Quality Assurance and Enhancement committee, renamed Quality Assurance committee from October 2011. There is a complete set of minutes from 31 October 2005 to 14 February 2019. There are also copies of Chair's Action papers for meetings held 2018-2019, consisting of copies of policy documents and programme approval papers
The Quality Assurance and Enhancement committee was established in 2005 and the inaugural meeting was held on 31 October. Its terms of reference were to develop and keep under review the University's approach to the assurance and enhancement of academic quality and standards, and related policy development and implementation. It was responsible for initiating and co-ordinating action relating to challenges or opportunities in connection with national and international developments in the area of academic audit and review, advancing academic quality and standards in learning and teaching, and considering reports and feedback generated by BIQAES (Birmingham Integrated Quality Assurance and Enhancement System) to monitor, review, and enhance academic standards, quality of learning, teaching, and assessment, and the academic support given to students. It also oversees the student representation system, the quality of pedagogic practices including curricula design and delivery, and establishes collaborative, validated, or accredited provision of programmes with other institutions.
Other reponsibilities are to facilitate and develop the University's capacity for educational enhancement, including the dissemination of good practice; to supervise and regularly review the effectiveness and fitness for purpose of BIQAES; to consider and make recommendations arising from analyses of teaching quality data, student feedback, and survey results and reports regarding complaints and appeals; and to commission studies or external advice in relation to relevant trends or good practice and make recommendations on actions to be taken as a result.
Additional terms of reference were added in September 2008 to consider reports from the Graduate School on quality assurance and enhancement matters relating to postgraduate taught and research students; to consider proposals and reports from College Quality Assurance and Enhancement committees; and to monitor strategic risks relevant to the work of the committee as determined by the Strategic Risk Register.
The committee's terms of reference were revised October 2011 to reflect the new model for managing academic quality and standards within the University. Responsibility for quality enhancement was transferred to the University Education committee, and the Quality Assurance and Enhancement committee was renamed University Assurance committee. The committee received reports from the Education committee on quality and standards issues arising from the Vice-Chancellor's Reviews. A new Collaborative Provision committee was established and reported to the Quality Assurance committee on matters relating to collaborative provision and Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies. From the 2017 to 2018 academic session the Quality Assurance Committee became a sub-committee of the University Education Committee
The committee reports to the Senate, and solicits and considers input from a range of groups including other committees of Senate, Heads of Budget Centres, Directors of Learning and Teaching, Heads of Academic Programmes, and other groups as appropriate
Records of this committee are no longer transferred to the University Archives. For reports of this committee after May 2019, see minutes of University Education Committee (UB/COM/54) |