The Quality Student Experience
At its heart, quality assurance and enhancement is about assuring and improving the student experience at Swansea University. Academic Quality Services is dedicated to working in partnership with students to ensure they have a voice in the quality of their learning, and how to ensure this is continually improved. The University is committed to working with students as partners in the quality of their student experience as outlined in the QAA Advice and Guidance on Student Engagement.
Academic Services has instigated the development of a Student Review Community. Members of this Community are committed to supporting a range of activities around the Quality Assurance and Enhancement including programme design, development, approval and review. Members of the Student Review Community are fully trained and supported to make effective contribution as members of approval and review panels. Students from the Student Review Community can be called upon to engage in the processes, thus ensuring that student involvement is secured.
Students are also full members of all Committees and Boards at Faculty/School and University level, and are invited both to submit papers and also raise business through dedicated Student Windows. Students are members of Boards of Studies at subject level, where they are able to directly influence curriculum design, and are also part of the team tasked with drafting the self-evaluation document for Quality Reviews.
The Students’ Union represent students on the Programme Management Board, which is responsible for approving new programme developments and tuition fees. We work with Student Representatives through the Programme Approval Committee to ensure that students are a key part of the process for the design and approval of new programmes. A recent student representative attending the Programme Approval Committee commented:
“I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and found it very rewarding…. We did not feel excluded at any point during the meeting and I was very happy about how the chair would turn and invite us to speak in regular intervals throughout”
Biochemistry Student Representative, Programme Approval Committee 2018
We are currently developing a range of information for students about quality assurance processes, including the Programme Approval Committee (PAC) Student Guide.
