Programme development, monitoring and review - annual monitoring
7.1 Annual monitoring helps ensure the continued quality of the student experience, the appropriateness of learning aims and outcomes, and the effectiveness of curriculum and assessment strategies. It provides an important opportunity for:
- Staff to evaluate, critically, the programmes for which they are responsible;
- Staff and students to engage in dialogue around the student experience;
- Each School Academic Board to understand fully the entire range of programmes for which it is responsible;
- Each School Academic Board, on behalf of the Senate, to exercise its responsibility for ensuring the academic standard of programmes offered in the name of Queen Margaret University;
- Identifying actions that will enhance the student experience;
- The sharing of good practice across the School and the University;
- Identifying areas for development;
- Staff to report on action taken in response to any recommendations from External Examiners and other stakeholders.
Annual monitoring reports also contribute to the evidence base for periodic internal subject review and external review processes, including Enhancement-Led Institutional Review (ELIR) and, for some programmes, PSRB review.
7.2 Report authors draw on a wide evidence base to inform actions for the following academic session. It is expected that report authors will consider qualitative and quantitative datasets, including, but not limited to:
- Data on admissions, progression and retention;
- Graduate destinations;
- Survey results, including National Student Survey (for eligible programmes) and QMU Student Survey results;
- Module evaluation results;
- Programme Committee and Student-Staff Consultative Committee minutes;
- External Examiner reports and feedback from other stakeholders, e.g. employers, service users and PSRBs.
Report authors are encouraged to consider evidence that becomes available through formal and informal channels. The latter might include staff and student conversations and email correspondence that do not directly feed into the standard documented quality procedures listed above.
7.3 Identified actions are clearly recorded within the annual monitoring template together with a clear indication of timescales and responsibilities for implementing the agreed changes.
Programme report
7.4 Each Programme Team must produce an annual monitoring report for each academic session. A report template and guidance notes are available on QMU’s Quality website.
7.5 In some cases it may be appropriate for a single report to cover a number of related programmes. The Division of Governance and Quality Enhancement can advise on the format of reports and appropriateness of combining two or more programmes within a single report form.
7.6 Programme annual monitoring reports are completed in two stages. Stage one should normally be submitted to the Division of Governance and Quality Enhancement no later than 30 June. This timing coincides with the end of semester two and allows for timely identification of actions to be put in place before or during the coming academic session.
7.7 The stage two report should normally be submitted to the Division of Governance and Quality Enhancement no later than 31 October. Stage two provides the opportunity to amend the report content to reflect additional matters arising from consideration of evidence that becomes available after 30 June. Most obviously this includes progression and retention data and National Student Survey results (typically provided in July).
7.8 The main audience for the report is the Programme Committee, which should meet to discuss and approve the report and action plan. It is important that the views of students and all staff are represented at these meetings.
7.9 The Programme Committee will consider the report at the semester one meeting. If any changes to the report are agreed at this meeting, an updated template will be submitted to the Division of Governance and Quality Enhancement after the meeting.
7.10 It is expected that the Programme Committee will consider progress towards actions at the semester two meeting. The Programme Committee may also with to discuss other matters arising through the report at this meeting, for example further development of good practice.
7.11 Reports should be made available to the wider student population, either on the Hub, or through another agreed mechanism. It is suggested that annual monitoring and External Examiner reports be co-located on the Hub to facilitate student access.
7.12 Exceptionally, a report may contain information which is it not appropriate to share beyond the immediate audience of staff in the Division. Any such information should be captured in the final section of the reporting pro forma. The Division of Governance and Quality Enhancement will discuss with the Head of Division whether a report can be published in full. Reports will only be published in full with explicit agreement from the Head of Division.
7.13 The Division of Governance and Quality Enhancement will provide each Head of Division and Dean of School with a copy of all programme level Annual Monitoring Reports from their Division/School shortly after the deadline for receipt of such reports.
7.14 Heads of Division are responsible for providing feedback to Teams on the content of reports. This will include an indication of any actions planned to address matters that cannot be resolved directly by the Team. Often, but not always, such matters relate to resourcing.
Report stages
Stage one programme report to GQE
- Deadline - 30 June
- Responsible - Programme Leader
- Audience - programme team
- Purpose - reflection on the evidence base available by 30 June; early action planning for coming year
Stage two programme report to GQE
- Deadline - 31 October
- Responsible - Programme Leader
- Audience - programme team
- Purpose - Opportunity to amend stage one report following reflection on additional evidence since 30 June.
State two programme report to Head of Division
- Deadline - 15 November
- Responsible - GQE
- Audience - Head of Division
- Purpose - Oversight of all programmes in Division; preparation of School report
Programme Committee consideration; publication of report on the Hub
- Deadline - Semester one
- Responsible - Programme Leader
- Audience - Programme Committee / class reps / wider student population
- Purpose - facilitates engagement with programme development actions
Ongoing consideration through the Programme Committee continues throughout the academic year.
School composite report
7.15 The Division of Governance and Quality Enhancement, in collaboration with the School Manager and Dean, will be responsible for producing a composite summary report on behalf of each School. Normally, this report will be available by 15 December.
7.16 Heads of Division will support the preparation of the composite School Reports by identifying key themes for their Division to highlight within the report.
7.17 The composite School Reports will be considered and approved at the subsequent meeting of the School Academic Board.
7.18 It is expected that the School Academic Board will maintain oversight of progress towards actions at subsequent meetings. The Board may also with to discuss other matters arising through the report at subsequent meetings, for example further development of good practice.
7.19 The School reports will also be considered by the Student Experience Committee, which reserves the right to remit items back to the School Academic Board.
7.20 The Student Experience Committee will track progress against actions that have been identified for the attention on an institution-level. The mechanism for this will depend on the number and nature of actions identified, but typically, the Committee will receive one or more progress reports at subsequent meeting(s).
7.21 School Reports will be made available to all staff on the Division of Governance and Quality Enhancement Intranet site.
