Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education
| Abbreviation | QAA |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1997 |
| Legal status | Non-profit organisation |
| Purpose | Maintaining and enhancing academic quality and standards in UK tertiary education |
| Location |
|
Region served | UK |
Chief Executive | Vicki Stott |
Main organ | QAA Board |
| Website | qaa.ac.uk |
The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (usually referred to simply as the Quality Assurance Agency or QAA) is the independent expert quality body for the United Kingdom's higher education sector. Its mandate is to maintain and enhance the quality of teaching and learning in tertiary education within the United Kingdom and internationally. The QAA conducts quality assessment reviews, develops reference points and guidance for providers, and undertakes or commissions research on relevant issues.
The QAA plays a nationwide role in the United Kingdom on behalf of the sector, maintaining sector-owned reference points such as the United Kingdom Quality Code for Higher Education and Subject Benchmark Statements. It also maintains the Credit Frameworks used across the various nations of the United Kingdom and the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications, which is applicable throughout the United Kingdom, except in Scotland.
QAA provides guidance and other publications, and runs events, relating to the maintenance of standards and the enhancement of quality of teaching and learning. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland these enhancement activities are part of the formal quality arrangements; in England they are provided through a separate membership scheme, through which the sector in England also contributes to the funding of the sector-owned reference points.
QAA undertakes cyclical quality review of higher education institutions throughout the United Kingdom, except currently in England, where the regulator, the Office for Students (OfS), has not implemented a cyclical review approach and QAA has chosen to focus on its enhancement activity, including new paid-for services to help the sector meet regulatory requirements and enhance quality.
In addition to its role in sustaining the reputation of United Kingdom higher education, QAA also regulates the Access to Higher Education Diploma, a qualification that enables individuals without A Levels or the usual equivalent to enter higher education.
QAA works closely with other organisations that have an interest in the reputation of United Kingdom higher education, including the Scottish Funding Council, Medr, Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland, Universities United Kingdom and GuildHE.