University of Leicester Students' Union

SSCs AND THE QAA

As well as being important for dealing with immediate issues, the SSC system is also a mechanism for ensuring the overall quality of degree provision at Leicester. There are a number of ways in which quality is assessed, both internally and externally:

Quality Assurance Agency (QAA): Leicester were subject to an audit of its quality assurance procedures in December 2004. To view the full report and for a copy of the Student Submission prepared by the Students' Union for the Audit visit www.leicesterstudent.org/advice/edu/research/. Although the next review will not be for four or five years it is important that the Students' Union is able to effectively reflect students views to the University. It is also important that we can comment on trends and how students views have changed when the next QAA Audit occurs. With this in mind the Students' Union is going to run a Students' Survey this year and will seek to involve Course Representatives as much as possible from the initial design of the questionnaire right through to distributing the results of the survey to students.
University Departmental Reviews: The Academic Review Committee of the University runs a rolling cycle of departmental reviews. These cover a wide area, including the teaching and research of the department, and its management and quality assurance arrangements. The reviewers consider a range of documents, including SSC minutes, and talk to staff and students about the work of the department. Particular attention is paid to the effectiveness of SSC arrangements.
Departmental Reviews/Course Reviews: As well as seeking feedback from students through module questionnaires, departments also review their courses and modules on a regular basis. The methods employed vary between departments, but in most cases the SSC (or representatives of the SSC) are involved.