Quality

Teaching quality and the maintenance of academic standards is a very important subject at all universities but particularly so at Harper Adams where in our last Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) inspection we were awarded a 'broad confidence' judgement. In addition, the college consistently attains high achievement levels in terms of student employment and, in recognition of such achievements, has recently been designated a Centre of Excellence in Teaching and Learning.

All staff are expected to act in a professional manner and maintain the highest of standards in their work. To ensure that this is the case, in addition to external verification by periodic QAA review, the college operates a sophisticated and effective quality assurance system.

One of the key components of the QA system is the Academic Standards Committee (ASC) of the college. This committee comprises members drawn from each of the five academic departments within the college as well as senior managers, representatives from our partner colleges and independent advisors. It is the ASC that is responsible for setting standards and ensuring that they are being achieved.

The quality assurance process begins when a new course is first proposed and it is subjected to a validation event. At such an event the course team is questioned by a panel of subject experts from other universities and industry to ensure that the new course will provide students with an excellent learning experience and produce employment prospects for the students as well as having academic rigour and integrity.

Another important check on academic standards is provided by the process that is employed to handle the marking of student work. After the assignments have been anonymously marked by the Harper lecturer that taught the students, a sample is then second marked by another member of the Harper lecturing staff and finally they will be reviewed by an External Examiner.

The External Examiners are usually academics working at other universities who are considered experts in their respective field and are appointed to report on standards on every module and every course. Normally, they will visit the college twice a year and after reviewing assignments and exam scripts they will actually meet with a number of the students registered on each course.

In order to operate effectively the whole process requires a huge amount of effort by the lecturers and the support staff. However, students can be assured that no single person decides their fate and that the decisions that are taken are subject to scrutiny by experts who are independent of the college. This means that the system is fair to the student and that standards are comparable to standards achieved by students on similar courses at other universities.