QAA curriculum reform project puts student voice into course redesign

Updated Oct 27, 2026

On 16 October 2026, QAA highlighted a curriculum reform project examining how universities involve their communities in course redesign.

What the curriculum reform project recommends

Led by the University of Exeter, the collaboration brought together seven English universities at different stages of curriculum change. QAA's project resource page dates the report's publication to 12 October 2026.

In their accompanying account, the project authors recommend student partnership throughout discovery, design and evaluation. They also call for institutions to define success early and evaluate changes over time.

The full report, page 22 describes Exeter changing its plans after students preferred building community within their departments or programmes. A proposed university-wide first-year module gave way to student co-created resources for existing teaching. The report draws on partner experience and includes programmes still being evaluated.

References

[Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education]: "QAA-funded project develops effective practice in curriculum reform" Published: 2026-10-16

[Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education]: "Curriculum Reform: A Whole Community Approach" Published: 2026-10-12, as listed on QAA's project resource page

[Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education]: "Curriculum Reform: a whole-community approach" Published: page date not stated; report listing dated 2026-10-12; checked: 2026-10-17

[Jess Power and Beverley Hawkins, QAA Blog]: "Taking a whole-community approach to curriculum reform" Published: 2026-10-16