QAA sets out student involvement in Scotland’s awarding review

Updated Sep 07, 2026

QAA announced its National Review of Awarding Arrangements guide on 27 April 2026; the guide itself is dated 24 April. Commissioned by the Scottish Funding Council following the Glasgow targeted review, the national exercise seeks additional assurance about awarding arrangements across Scotland. QAA announcement.

The published process

The announcement describes four phases: existing-evidence review, method development, reviews at sampled institutions, and shared learning. It says the first two were complete by the announcement.

The sampled reviews use three trained peers, including a student reviewer. Teams consider an institutional self-evaluation and hold meetings that include students and Students’ Association or Union representatives. This phase produces recommendations and identifies good practice, rather than formal judgements about academic standards.

The scope includes Scottish universities’ awarding processes and related assessment and support mechanisms, including partnerships where the university awards the qualification. It does not cover every qualification delivered by a college. SFC scope FAQ.

Subsequent update: SFC records that nine universities were named for review on 26 May 2026. Selection does not imply a concern. SFC anticipates completion by the end of 2026; QAA says individual reports will not be published, but an overarching thematic report will follow. SFC update, QAA review page.

Preparing evidence with a clear purpose

Our practical suggestion is to map relevant student concerns to the decisions and processes they concern. Distinguish a student’s experience of communication from evidence about whether an award was made correctly.

Keep the provenance of survey responses, representative discussions and formal case records visible. They serve different purposes and should not be automatically merged or shared with the same audience.

Use the actual review guidance for the institution’s submission. The inclusion of student meetings does not establish a new UK-wide requirement to buy analytics or combine all student evidence into one system.

The governance checklist can support planning for a suitable survey comment review. Comment themes can identify questions to investigate; they cannot certify academic standards or a provider’s review outcome.

Review note, 7 September 2026: distinguished announcement and guide dates, added the later sample update, clarified scope and publication limits, and removed claims that the method creates a general new analytics requirement.