Tertiary Quality Project

The Tertiary Quality Project (TQP), was a three-year journey running from 2021 to 2024 which led to the development of Scotland’s Tertiary Quality Enhancement Framework (TQEF). The TQP originated from the SFC review of coherent provision and sustainability. One of the recommendations in the final report on Coherence and Sustainability: A review of tertiary education and research was that SFC, and the sector, begin to explore a single tertiary approach to quality.

SFC in partnership with the tertiary education sector and our quality agency partners, developed the project through four key phases:

Workstreams

Development of the TQEF was supported by the completion of five distinct  workstreams which ran through phase three and four of the project and were led by SFC and agency colleagues. These workstreams involved extensive input from staff and students from across the sector. The topics were:

• Shaping Scotland’s Tertiary Quality Enhancement Framework
• Using data and evidence to understand, evaluate and improve student outcomes
• Strengthening institutional monitoring, self-evaluation and reporting on quality
• Evaluating and enhancing the student learning experience and student partnership
• Tertiary sector enhancement activity

Methods of Engagement

Co-creation has been at the heart of the TQEF journey and SFC will continue to partner with institutions, students and sector agencies to ensure that Scotland’s tertiary education sector continues to deliver the highest standards of learning and teaching and meets our ambition of making Scotland an outstanding place to learn and educate – now and for the future.

Over the course of the three-year project SFC engaged with the sector and key stakeholders through a variety of methods including:

• Attendance at key university and college sector committees.
• Commissioning agency partners to lead and work with the sector on key aspects of the TQP.
• Direct engagement with institutions.
• Running sector wide co-creation workshops with sector agencies, students and staff.
• Running an institutional pilot of the Self-Evaluation and Action Plan.
• Establishment of key project groups, such as the Tertiary Quality Framework Expert Advisory Group and Tertiary Quality Steering Group.
• Production and circulation of sector briefings, bulletins and updates.
• Organisation of sector wide drop-in sessions on the new quality guidance.
• Development of web resources for students and staff, such as the TQEF introductory video and TQEF Toolkit.