Scotland’s Tertiary Quality Enhancement Framework

• Academic standards and awarding
• Strategic leadership of learning and teaching
• Curriculum planning, design and delivery
• Learning environment, resources and technologies
• Professional development
• Currency of learning and teaching
• Peer review and evaluation of learning, teaching and assessment
• Innovation in learning, teaching & assessment

• Institution wide culture of assurance, improvement and enhancement
• Institution-led review/activity and action planning
• External institutional peer review
• Sector enhancement activity
• Impact of collaboration
• External outlook – globally responsive

• Enabling student success – wellbeing, inclusion, equality, student support
• Context and community – meeting the needs of students
• Effective and successful transitions
• Support for employability, skills development and lifelong learning
• Achieving positive outcomes for every learner
• Responsiveness to concerns

• External institutional peer review
• Sector reference points/requirements
• External specialists/experts
• Public information and assurance

• Students as partners in their learning experience
• Students at core of review and enhancement activity
• Student Voice – Every student, every place, every level
• Effective and robust student representation
• Responsiveness to student feedback

The TQER is the external peer-led and enhancement focused review method for Scotland’s tertiary sector and is a single method for colleges and universities. SFC has commissioned QAA to manage and deliver the TQER with support from CDN and sparqs to raise awareness, deliver training and development.

A dedicated website has been launched to support the sector, where staff and students can access resources such as the TQER: Guide for Institutions.

AQE – The AQE has two aspects:

1. Institution Liaison Meetings (ILMs) which will be led by QAA as part of the TQER process.
2. SFC Outcome Managers will continue to lead discussions around “high-quality learning and teaching” and the outcomes of the SEAP, which is part of the SFC Outcomes Framework and Assurance Model (OFAM).

For more information on AQEs see SFC’s Guidance on Quality for Colleges and Universities AY 2024-25 to AY 2030-31.

Colleges and universities are autonomous institutions with responsibility and ownership of the quality of their provision. This is done through institution-led quality assurance and enhancement activities. SFC expects all institutions to put in place arrangements and operate systems of annual monitoring and periodic review which are necessary for evaluating their provision.

SFC’s Guidance on Quality for Colleges and Universities AY 2024-25 to AY 2030-31 informs institutions of the arrangements for quality assurance and enhancement and includes specific Guidance on Institution Led Quality Review which outlines SFC’s expectations and a framework for meeting them.

SFC and quality agency partners are committed to supporting and driving the achievement of an excellent learning experience and outcomes for our students. STEP is the national programme of co-ordinated enhancement activity that will enable Scotland’s colleges and universities to work together to deliver innovation, improvement and enhancement of learning, teaching, student experience and staff development.

CDN and QAA have been commissioned to work in partnership with the sector to manage and deliver Scotland’s Tertiary Enhancement Programme with support from sparqs.

One of the key delivery mechanisms outputs is the SEAP which each of our colleges and higher education institutions will complete annually (unless an institution is in its year of external review as part of the TQER process) and submit to SFC.

The SEAP is a reflection on the previous year’s developments and captures themes which have emerged from internal and external quality assurance and enhancement activities and review processes. The SEAP showcases what each institution believes are their strengths and areas for development and identifies the key actions addressing how they are going to enhance their learning and support provision. The SEAPs feed directly into SFC Annual Quality Engagements and QAA’s Institutional Liaison Meetings with institutions.

The SEAPs also play an important role as part of the evidence that institutions will submit to TQER review teams to build a picture of the strategic direction of the institutions and their challenges and successes.

The SEAPs will also provide the basis for the SFC to produce an annual thematic overview report which will highlight areas for enhancement but also the strengths of our institutions.

In addition to the SFC thematic report, QAA will produce a report on its findings from TQER activity and again will provide an opportunity for sector wide learning and best practice sharing.

As an output of Scotland’s Tertiary Enhancement Programme (STEP), QAA and CDN will lead on producing reports on the progress and learning from the STEP projects.

Education Scotland is the national body for supporting quality and improvement in Scottish education. Education reform will see the separation of the inspection functions from Education Scotland and the creation of a new independent body, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education.

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) is very grateful for the support of Education Scotland in the first year of delivery of the Scotland’s Tertiary Quality Enhancement Framework (TQEF). In particular, we appreciate Education Scotland’s support, through HM Inspectorate of Education, in the development and early implementation of the TQEF. Education Scotland’s review of the first set of Self-Evaluation and Action Plans (SEAPs) ensured that actions from the previous methodology were captured and identified, and the exercise benefited greatly from Education Scotland’s significant knowledge of the sector.

As a body which is independent of government, QAA has been commissioned by the Scottish Funding Council to undertake external review of both colleges and universities as part of the TQEF, ensuring that the framework remains compliant with European Standards and Guidelines.

Commissioning QAA to undertake external review of colleges represents a fundamental change in the basis of SFC’s engagement with Education Scotland and the requirements we have of the current organisation. It is for this reason that we will no longer be commissioning Education Scotland to support the delivery of the TQEF. This will apply from AY 2025-26 onwards. SFC may, in future, draw on the expertise of HM Inspectors to support specific sector needs, with their agreement.

We have provided Education Scotland with six months’ notice of this change and we will work with relevant staff to support transition arrangements.

We have made these changes in the context of a continuing, challenging financial environment and have considered a number of factors including:

• Securing best value for public investment.
• The ongoing requirements of the TQEF.
• The goal of developing a partnership-focused approach to delivery amongst the quality agencies whilst eliminating duplication and reducing burdens on institutions.