Quality Assurance Agency For Higher Education
The stated misson of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) is to 'safeguard standards and improve the quality of UK higher education'. Established in 1997 through the transfer of functions and staff from the former Higher Education Quality Council and the quality assessment divisions of HEFCE and HEFCW, this independent agency works to ensure that higher education qualifications in the United Kingdom (UK) are of a sound standard. It protects the public interest by checking how universities and colleges maintain their academic standards and quality. This work is supported by a range of guidance developed in cooperation with the higher education sector, principal among which is the UK Quality Code for Higher Education (the Quality Code).
QAA is the body entrusted with advising the Privy Council on which institutions should be granted degree awarding powers and the right to be called a university. Since 2011 QAA has been designated by the UK Border Agency (UKBA) to conduct educational oversight of higher education providers, to enable them to apply for 'highly trusted sponsor' status under UKBA Tier 4 regulations. Providers having, or acquiring, this status are entitled to recruit overseas students into the UK.
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. It does this by monitoring the Access Validating Agencies that award the Diploma.
QAA's mission to safeguard standards and improve quality is supported by four strategic aims, which may be summarised as follows: to address the needs of students and be valued by them; to safeguard standards in an increasingly diverse sector; to drive improvements; and to improve public understanding of UK higher education.
Read more about Quality Assurance Agency For Higher Education: Structure and Funding, History
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